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

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  • ShapingTheLaw
    ShapingTheLaw Posts: 65 Member
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    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
    sanamm22 Posts: 35 Member
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    OMG!
    really awesome!
  • FitToLead
    FitToLead Posts: 275 Member
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    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
    TylerWhiite Posts: 108 Member
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    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!
    fat+skinny+fit.jpg

    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
    Lillyloooo Posts: 174 Member
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    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
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    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!
    fat+skinny+fit.jpg

    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
    TylerWhiite Posts: 108 Member
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    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!
    fat+skinny+fit.jpg

    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
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    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
    ShapingTheLaw Posts: 65 Member
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    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
    myfightforfitness Posts: 136 Member
    edited May 2016
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    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
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    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.
    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:
    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
    ShapingTheLaw Posts: 65 Member
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    Thanks Vismal :)
  • myfightforfitness
    myfightforfitness Posts: 136 Member
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    What a great guy, thanks.
  • annna777
    annna777 Posts: 8 Member
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    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
    angpowers Posts: 83 Member
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    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__
    __leis__ Posts: 100 Member
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    Bump, so much good info
  • Lillyloooo
    Lillyloooo Posts: 174 Member
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    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
    cbrunenkant Posts: 16 Member
    edited June 2016
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    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
    stephenearllucas Posts: 255 Member
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    Hi Vismal, how did you decide when you had lost enough weight?
  • mr_electrician
    mr_electrician Posts: 64 Member
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    What do u do for a living? Desk jockey or physical labour?
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