I went from morbidly obese to 6 pack abs! Ask me Anything

ShapingTheLaw · April 2016

ShapingTheLaw wrote: »

vismal wrote: »

IF didn't affect my lifting performance any more than a typically calorie deficit did. I always stall or slow way down in strength gains during a deficit and IF did not stop this from happening. That being said, it also was not detrimental in any way. I adjusted to IF in about a week and a half. By the end of two weeks fasted training was going great and sticking to the fast was mostly effortless. I will not that I never ate much before training to begin with so going fasted was not a huge change for me. As far as baby steps, I'd not do that. I'd jump right in knowing full well that the first week or two might be difficult. The quicker you begin to maintain the new eating times, the quicker you will adjust. The single best resource for intermittent fasting is still www.leangains.com. Martin Berkhan popularized fasting several years ago and that is his blog. The articles are science based and well cited. Martin makes a pretty convincing case that fasting is at worst no different than a regular calorie deficit and and best has a host of health benefits. Take note that doing leangains and doing IF are not the same. Leangains is the Martin's full diet and training regime and involves not only IF but macronutrient cycling as well as reverse pyramid training. You do not have to do all of those things to be successful with IF (though you could if you wanted. I LOVE reverse pyramid training but not so much macronutrient cycling).

Thanks Vismal... I will definitely look up . leangains and forget about the baby steps. I just gotta wrap my mind around this change. I've come this far. I can do this. Thanks for being so open about sharing your journey with us. I really do appreciate your help. Good luck, my friend!

sanamm22 · April 2016

OMG!
really awesome!

FitToLead · April 2016

Thanks so much Vismal.
On one of the first posts you said something about integrity as a health professional. I too am a health professional, and while I have never hated myself, or my 'fat', I do think the quite subtle, often unconscious sense of lack of integrity impacts on the choices I make.
I get that some people try to feel better about their choices, though in the end, nothing beats living with integrity. I am only 6.3kg down, but, having made the mental switch, --IT'S HUGE. And while still about 54kg overweight, I already feel so much more in charge, so much more respectful of myself, so much more integrity about talking to my patients and students.
I love this thread.. Thank you.

TylerWhiite · April 2016

vismal wrote: »

I've always wanted to do an AMA so I thought I'd set one up here. The basics about my story are that I went from 315lbs to 195 and have been making small gains in muscles/losses to fat ever since. Ask me anything, anything at all!

Add me as a friend on here too!

Damn that's crazy man, congratulations! I started at 315 as well, and down to 206. When did you lose your stomach fat? I'm down 105 pounds almost and still have a large amount of stomach fat.

Lillyloooo · April 2016

Hi

I find that if I exercise everyday , I feel bigger , heavier and less lean and im heavier on the scales , yet my progress bikini pics are showing improvement however ive found this week that with nill exercise and just simply staying at a calorie defecit I feel slimmer. Clothes feel looser and ive lost weight on the scales yet my bikini pics don't look much different ?

I hate feeling heavy but I want a nice bikin body . Im worried that if I start exercising again I will be heavier on the scale and feel discouraged . Can you give me any advice ? X

vismal · April 2016

tw807278 wrote: »

vismal wrote: »

I've always wanted to do an AMA so I thought I'd set one up here. The basics about my story are that I went from 315lbs to 195 and have been making small gains in muscles/losses to fat ever since. Ask me anything, anything at all!

Add me as a friend on here too!

Damn that's crazy man, congratulations! I started at 315 as well, and down to 206. When did you lose your stomach fat? I'm down 105 pounds almost and still have a large amount of stomach fat.

Usually the stomach, especially the lower abdominals, is the last spot for fat to leave on a man. You can see that from the pictures when I get around 195 my stomach is fairly lean. As far as my gut, it gradually reduced as I lost weight from the very beginning until the end. Your height will make a big difference. I'm 6'1 and get fairly lean around 200 lbs. Some other people my height have to get to the 180's to be fairly lean. If you are shorter, you might have to lose a good bit more. Genetics play a huge factor here.

TylerWhiite · April 2016

vismal wrote: »

tw807278 wrote: »

vismal wrote: »

I've always wanted to do an AMA so I thought I'd set one up here. The basics about my story are that I went from 315lbs to 195 and have been making small gains in muscles/losses to fat ever since. Ask me anything, anything at all!

Add me as a friend on here too!

Damn that's crazy man, congratulations! I started at 315 as well, and down to 206. When did you lose your stomach fat? I'm down 105 pounds almost and still have a large amount of stomach fat.

Usually the stomach, especially the lower abdominals, is the last spot for fat to leave on a man. You can see that from the pictures when I get around 195 my stomach is fairly lean. As far as my gut, it gradually reduced as I lost weight from the very beginning until the end. Your height will make a big difference. I'm 6'1 and get fairly lean around 200 lbs. Some other people my height have to get to the 180's to be fairly lean. If you are shorter, you might have to lose a good bit more. Genetics play a huge factor here.

Yeah I'm 6'3 and still have a large stomach. Not sure what I'm doing wrong haha. I eat so clean, might have to see a nutritionist and see what they say. My diet is very consistent and haven't had a cheat day in months. Did you happen to cut carbs or any other foods? Or did you focus on calorie intake?

vismal · April 2016

Lillyloooo wrote: »

Hi

I find that if I exercise everyday , I feel bigger , heavier and less lean and im heavier on the scales , yet my progress bikini pics are showing improvement however ive found this week that with nill exercise and just simply staying at a calorie defecit I feel slimmer. Clothes feel looser and ive lost weight on the scales yet my bikini pics don't look much different ?

I hate feeling heavy but I want a nice bikin body . Im worried that if I start exercising again I will be heavier on the scale and feel discouraged . Can you give me any advice ? X

If you visually are showing improvement then the "feeling heavy" is purely in your head. The scale weight in a vacuum is irrelevant. You must watch your weight over the course of several weeks for it to be meaningful. When one begins exercising there can be an accumulation of water weight, but it will go away. This is why individual weigh ins are so misleading. Try weighing yourself every day, paying zero attention to the result and simply write the number down. After a week, take an average. After a month, compare the weekly averages. This number is much more telling of what your weight it actually doing. Ultimately, exercising or not, if you are in a calorie deficit you will lose weight over the long run. If you do not it is because you aren't actually in a calorie deficit.

ShapingTheLaw · May 2016

Hi Vismal,
I recall on one of your older posts here or in Calorie 101 you recommended a particular whey protein. I believe it was the Gold Standard by ON? ...I was using Nitro Tech by Muscle Tech but they've recently changed their ingredients and I'm not happy about it. Basically, I have to use more to get 30 grams of protein but this also means more calories. Not cool! Can you tell me what protein you are currently using?
Also, I've been reading about this new Hydrowhey protein powder. Optimum Nutrition has one with some impressionable Bcaas. What do you think about Hydrowhey? Yay or Nay?
Last question, I promise: I'd like to grow some more muscle and am thinking of adding some 100% Casein to my diet (before bedtime) to help me with recovery. Do you think it's necessary or can I do without it?
Fyi, I weigh 118-120 lbs. I get a fair amount of protein in daily at 115t to 125 grams daily. Thanks in advance for your help Vismal. I really appreciate your dedication in sharing what worked for you. I'm a fan ☺.

myfightforfitness · May 2016

Hi! first of all congrats on your amazing transformation. I have a few questions as someone on a weight loss journey!

- I'm 20 y/o, and started around 250lbs how can I minimise the amount of loose skin I'll get after I (hopefully) lose around 120lbs ?

- I'm around 200lbs now, lost weight mainly from cardio and want to start weight training. But should I start when I lose another 30lbs or now? I'm afraid it might slow down my weight loss.

- although I've lost weight from my upper part of the body, my thighs are not shrinking and its evident in clothing size. How can I make my legs smaller?

Thank you

vismal · May 2016

ShapingTheLaw wrote: »

Hi Vismal,
I recall on one of your older posts here or in Calorie 101 you recommended a particular whey protein. I believe it was the Gold Standard by ON? ...I was using Nitro Tech by Muscle Tech but they've recently changed their ingredients and I'm not happy about it. Basically, I have to use more to get 30 grams of protein but this also means more calories. Not cool! Can you tell me what protein you are currently using?
Also, I've been reading about this new Hydrowhey protein powder. Optimum Nutrition has one with some impressionable Bcaas. What do you think about Hydrowhey? Yay or Nay?
Last question, I promise: I'd like to grow some more muscle and am thinking of adding some 100% Casein to my diet (before bedtime) to help me with recovery. Do you think it's necessary or can I do without it?
Fyi, I weigh 118-120 lbs. I get a fair amount of protein in daily at 115t to 125 grams daily. Thanks in advance for your help Vismal. I really appreciate your dedication in sharing what worked for you. I'm a fan ☺.

Pretty much any whey protein is fine. I prefer MTS, Cellucor, and Trutein mostly because I think they taste the best. Gold standard is fine but I feel like it costs the same or more as the brands I mentioned and isn't as tasty, but taste is subjective. Hydrowhey is just a marketing ploy to get you to pay more money for protein. Casein is useful to bake with and has a different taste/texture than whey but meal timing and protein timing is basically meaningless. Taking casein before bed will not enhance recovery, again, marketing ploy but it's fine to use in place of whey or in recipes where you bake protein powder.

myfightforfitness wrote: »

Hi! first of all congrats on your amazing transformation. I have a few questions as someone on a weight loss journey!

- I'm 20 y/o, and started around 250lbs how can I minimise the amount of loose skin I'll get after I (hopefully) lose around 120lbs ?

- I'm around 200lbs now, lost weight mainly from cardio and want to start weight training. But should I start when I lose another 30lbs or now? I'm afraid it might slow down my weight loss.

- although I've lost weight from my upper part of the body, my thighs are not shrinking and its evident in clothing size. How can I make my legs smaller?

Thank you

For loose skin, there isn't anything you can do to minimize it. I have a video about loose skin here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVddgtwaC1A

Weight training should ideally be started as soon as you begin losing weight. Weight training ensures that the majority of the weight lost is fat, not lean tissue. Any slowdown of weight loss would simply be from water retention and would have nothing to do with fat loss so it's not anything to worry about. You cannot spot reduce fat, if you continue to lose fat it will eventually come off your legs. Different people lose fat from different spots at different times, you may find that you need to get very lean before fat leaves certain areas of your body. Everyone struggles with this to some degree, it is more profound in some than others. Just keep at it and eventually you'll lose fat from everywhere.

ShapingTheLaw · May 2016

Thanks Vismal

myfightforfitness · May 2016

What a great guy, thanks.

annna777 · May 2016

I am sure you lost a lot of weight that would create loose skin. How did you loose extra skin on stomach? Such as exercises because I am trying to tone up my stomach from weight loss.

angpowers · May 2016

How often and how long are you lifting??

I hurt my back 2 months ago (still painful) but its been so long since I've SERIOUSLY lifted, I'm just not even sure where to start anymore. I've done stronglifts 5x5 and was honestly just bored with it??

I run quit a bit, do strength training and HIIT/circuit training with FitnessBlender and some kickboxing stuff ... but I love the way muscle looks ... on both men and women.

I have the type of build that could hold muscle well. Idk ... just curious to what you do.

__leis__ · May 2016

Bump, so much good info

Lillyloooo · May 2016

Hi there need advice , I read a book that say petite girls shouldn't do cardio as it makes U hungrier and fat and we should only do weights. Is this true ?

cbrunenkant · June 2016

Thanks for all the great advice in this thread! I'm down 40 lbs and really starting to enjoy running and bike riding. Thanks to you, I've started ICF 5X5 2-3 times a week and I'm looking forward to not being "skinny fat" when the weight comes off!

stephenearllucas · July 2016

Hi Vismal, how did you decide when you had lost enough weight?

mr_electrician · July 2016

What do u do for a living? Desk jockey or physical labour?

vismal · July 2016

For whatever reason I stopped receiving notifications on this thread getting replies. Sorry for taking so long to answer your questions!

annna777 wrote: »

I am sure you lost a lot of weight that would create loose skin. How did you loose extra skin on stomach? Such as exercises because I am trying to tone up my stomach from weight loss.

There is a video explaining loose skin right above this post. It explains all your questions. The long and short of it is that there are no exercises to deal with loose skin and simply fat loss and time are all that work.

angpowers wrote: »

How often and how long are you lifting??

I hurt my back 2 months ago (still painful) but its been so long since I've SERIOUSLY lifted, I'm just not even sure where to start anymore. I've done stronglifts 5x5 and was honestly just bored with it??

I run quit a bit, do strength training and HIIT/circuit training with FitnessBlender and some kickboxing stuff ... but I love the way muscle looks ... on both men and women.

I have the type of build that could hold muscle well. Idk ... just curious to what you do.

The amount of days I lift depend on how much I am eating. If I am gaining weight, I lift 5-6 times a week. If I'm losing it's 3-4 and for maintenance it's usually 4 days. Workout length is also dependent on diet. When in a calorie surplus I can tolerate much more volume so lifting days can be longer 1-1.25 hours. During maintenance about an hour is typical, and during a deficit I reduce volume by a fair amount and a lifting session can be as quick as 45 minutes.

Lillyloooo wrote: »

Hi there need advice , I read a book that say petite girls shouldn't do cardio as it makes U hungrier and fat and we should only do weights. Is this true ?

No. It's not universally true at all. While cardio might make some people hungry, it can also make others not hungry at all. Being petite shouldn't affect that either, it's simply a person to person thing. Additionally, cardio cannot make you fat. That's just nonsense. The only thing that can make you fat is eating in a calorie surplus so unless doing cardio causes you to break your diet, you won't get fat and it's the breaking of the diet, not the cardio that did it. Further, many petite women must eat fairly low calories in order to lose weight due to simply burning fewer calories per day because of their small frame. Cardio might be necessary in order to be able to eat a little bit more and achieve satiation. All if this boils down to personal preference. If you enjoy cardio or it enables you to stick to your diet, by all means do it. If it makes you hungry or you absolutely hate it, then don't do it. Either way you adjust your diet to achieve your goals. All that being said, I believe cardio or not, petite or large, deficit or surplus, man or woman, you should do some kind of weight lifting routine to maintain (or gain) muscle mass.

vismal · July 2016

stephenearllucas wrote: »

Hi Vismal, how did you decide when you had lost enough weight?

When I reached a point where further weight loss was going to negatively effect my physique. You ultimately reach a point where losing more weight and getting more lean is going to cost you muscle mass and strength. At that point I usually transition back to a gaining phase, put on additional muscle, then return to a weight loss phase later in the year. I have it pretty well timed out to be my most lean in the middle of summer (shirts off season) and be the least lean in the middle of Ohio winter (shirt and sweatshirt and coat on season!).

mr_electrician wrote: »

What do u do for a living? Desk jockey or physical labour?

I'm a registered nurse working in a trauma ICU so depending on the night I can be either. If it's relatively slow I may spend long periods of time sitting doing charting/paperwork but if it's busy I may be moving for 12 hours straight. I've logged as little as 3000 steps in a 12 hour shift and as many as 15,000.

Jezreel12 · July 2016

I just learned to balance the dance that you are doing in cutting and gaining as you mentioned from you and I have to thank you here and on YouTube for teaching us how to do it by your gentle and yet direct way of explaining things through your experience!

stephenearllucas · July 2016

Hi Vismal, I'm about halfway through my goal of a 75-pound loss. I have also been doing weightlifting and have seen steady improvement in the amount I can lift. Now it seems like I'm leveling off on strength gains. I'm guessing that I should just keep lifting and trying to improve, but if I can't, I shouldn't worry about it--I should continue to concentrate on weight loss until I hit my goal, then I can start on a bulk phase. Please let me know if this correct or not, and thanks so much for all the help you provide everyone on this thread!

alex111444 · July 2016

hey vismal, i have a question, i am on a weight loss journey myself (having lost about 105 pound so far) and people always tell me that i cut my calories too far ( it's actually true), but what they then say is that my body will '' hold on'' to fat the second i give it back more calories and that i will more rapidly get fat back ( i don't intend bumping back to maintenance the second i reach my weight goal, i am increasing my calories by about 50-100 per week until i reach desired number)

vismal · July 2016

stephenearllucas wrote: »

Hi Vismal, I'm about halfway through my goal of a 75-pound loss. I have also been doing weightlifting and have seen steady improvement in the amount I can lift. Now it seems like I'm leveling off on strength gains. I'm guessing that I should just keep lifting and trying to improve, but if I can't, I shouldn't worry about it--I should continue to concentrate on weight loss until I hit my goal, then I can start on a bulk phase. Please let me know if this correct or not, and thanks so much for all the help you provide everyone on this thread!

Strength gains slow as time goes on for everyone, especially if you remain in a calorie deficit. Eventually you simply won't gain strength and maintaining strength is a more suitable goal until you've finished losing weight. As you mentioned, after that period of time, you can slowly put weight back in the form of lean muscle through a bulk and strength gains should come.

alex111444 wrote: »

hey vismal, i have a question, i am on a weight loss journey myself (having lost about 105 pound so far) and people always tell me that i cut my calories too far ( it's actually true), but what they then say is that my body will '' hold on'' to fat the second i give it back more calories and that i will more rapidly get fat back ( i don't intend bumping back to maintenance the second i reach my weight goal, i am increasing my calories by about 50-100 per week until i reach desired number)

Cutting calories extremely low has a number of poor side effects associated with it, but what your friends are describing simply isn't true. The body will only get fat if you feed it enough calories to go over maintenance. If after your weight loss you increase calories to maintenance level (which will be significantly lower than before the weight loss due to losing 100+ lbs) you will not gain fat. Additionally, there is research to show that lean individuals gain proportionately more lean tissue compared to fat as overweight or obese when gaining weight while doing some kind of resistance training. So in actuality, the opposite of what you are being told is true

alex111444 · July 2016

vismal wrote: »

stephenearllucas wrote: »

Hi Vismal, I'm about halfway through my goal of a 75-pound loss. I have also been doing weightlifting and have seen steady improvement in the amount I can lift. Now it seems like I'm leveling off on strength gains. I'm guessing that I should just keep lifting and trying to improve, but if I can't, I shouldn't worry about it--I should continue to concentrate on weight loss until I hit my goal, then I can start on a bulk phase. Please let me know if this correct or not, and thanks so much for all the help you provide everyone on this thread!

Strength gains slow as time goes on for everyone, especially if you remain in a calorie deficit. Eventually you simply won't gain strength and maintaining strength is a more suitable goal until you've finished losing weight. As you mentioned, after that period of time, you can slowly put weight back in the form of lean muscle through a bulk and strength gains should come.

alex111444 wrote: »

hey vismal, i have a question, i am on a weight loss journey myself (having lost about 105 pound so far) and people always tell me that i cut my calories too far ( it's actually true), but what they then say is that my body will '' hold on'' to fat the second i give it back more calories and that i will more rapidly get fat back ( i don't intend bumping back to maintenance the second i reach my weight goal, i am increasing my calories by about 50-100 per week until i reach desired number)

Cutting calories extremely low has a number of poor side effects associated with it, but what your friends are describing simply isn't true. The body will only get fat if you feed it enough calories to go over maintenance. If after your weight loss you increase calories to maintenance level (which will be significantly lower than before the weight loss due to losing 100+ lbs) you will not gain fat. Additionally, there is research to show that lean individuals gain proportionately more lean tissue compared to fat as overweight or obese when gaining weight while doing some kind of resistance training. So in actuality, the opposite of what you are being told is true

thanks for the answer, i also wonder what is your opinion on acetyl l-carnitine. http://ca.myprotein.com/sports-nutrition/acetyl-l-carnitine/10852377.html?countrySelected=Y

vismal · July 2016

The research on ALCAR as a fat loss supplement is fairly weak. I'd save my money.

alex111444 · July 2016

vismal wrote: »

The research on ALCAR as a fat loss supplement is fairly weak. I'd save my money.

thanks for the answers, one last question though, when i said i lost weight, i meant pretty fast... 105 pound in 3month (15th of april to 15th of july), eating ( at start) 500 calories a day, then upping it at about 700 a day now, i stick to it very well, feeling sometime dizzy i won't lie, doing cardio everyday and strenght training 4 times a week, seeing many and many of your videos i start to understand that your opinion about that much cardio is that it's not optimal. i weigh 235 now, and used to weigh as high as 375. so there might be some psychological damage there that is making me scared to drop even one day of cardio, i would like to know if you think it's okay to rush to 200 pounds then focus solely on strenght with only about 30km walks total per week?

RandilovestoRun · July 2016

vismal wrote: »

I've always wanted to do an AMA so I thought I'd set one up here. The basics about my story are that I went from 315lbs to 195 and have been making small gains in muscles/losses to fat ever since. Ask me anything, anything at all!

Add me as a friend on here too!

Congratulations on your success. I am a woman but so inspired by you. I am not looking to have as drastic of a transformation, starting weight is 165 I'd like to be around 135 and want to be lean with muscle. Either way, you saying your biggest regret is not starting to lift from day one is helpful. I am currently running 5-6 days a week and lifting 3 and have been wondering if it's actually not helpful to be lifting so early. But I'll keep lifting! Couple questions: What did you did if and when you plateaued (trying to prepare)? What are your top nutrition/diet tips? Again, congrats!! You look fantastic.

I went from morbidly obese to 6 pack abs! Ask me Anything

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