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

connorlauren3638 · January 2017

Can you tell me how many calories I should be having a day to loose weight? Im 29 female . Height 4ft 11, weight 8st 7, minimal exercise

vismal · January 2017

ieroen wrote: »

Hey dude, I've been checking out your vids on YT and saw your opinion on not eating back any earned calories. My question is: do you feel the same about so-called "refeed days"? Say for example, I cut at a daily 500 calorie deficit and I workout 3 times a week. Since my diet is already in place for my cutting, would it be a good idea to take one day in the week and add those workout calories back into my diet with extra carbs and fats? I heard that it will keep the metabolism from slowing down and that eating more carbs will replenish glycogen levels. I was wondering what your take on this is.

A refeed day is only necessary for those who are already fairly lean. They do less to help your metabolism and more to fuel workouts through glycogen replenishment and can also be a psychological break. If you want to reduce the mild adaptations that occur during dieting a 2 week diet break, not a refeed, is the best approach.

If you are already lean and want a refeed you do not want extra fats during a that day, fats should be get as low as reasonably possible during a refeed. I usually eat maintenance calories, my normal amount of protein, 30 grams of fat or less, and the rest carbs. Refeeds are not cheat days. They are just as structured as any other day just with different macros.

jennyooh99 wrote: »

you mention a few pages back for a beginner to start with 3 days/week full body weight training, and I think 3 days cardio. you also mention if you use hiit for cardio to only do hiit one out of the 3 cardio days. why is that?

also, for the weight training you recommend 5x5, which looks like a great program to follow, but the heavy weight sounds so intimidating! if i'm at the start of my weight loss adventure (i have about 60 pounds to lose, i'm a 50 yo woman, 5'9"), is 5x5 a good place to start or is starting slowly, with lower weights and higher reps better while i'm initially in a weight loss phase early on?

thank you so much!

Well, 3 days lifting and 3 days cardio is the maximum I recommend but is too much for many people. Capping HIIT at 1 day is because it taxes recovery similar to lifting. So 3 days lifting + a HIIT day for the body is a lot when recovery is already impaired due to being in a calorie deficit. The focus of losing weight should always be based on diet and not cardio. Cardio is a tool to burn additional calories but too much of it can cause problems for many people. There is no beneficial reason to doing high reps with low weights when in a calorie deficit. 5x5 "heavy" training helps preserve lean muscle tissue. You must remember that heavy is subjective though. Whatever weight causes the 5x5 to be a challenge and causes you to just barely finish the set is considered "heavy" for you, even if it's an empty bar. I would say if you are unfamiliar with lifting in general that squat and deadlift can be dangerous if performed incorrectly and starting with dumbbell variants of those lifts is acceptable until you grow more comfortable.

harribeau2012 · January 2017

I am unfit and round (for background)
I have tennis elbow (would be funny if it didn't hurt so much,)
I would like to lift but am scared of pain.
Did you have to work with any injuries?

Taylor076097 · January 2017

This is so inspirational. I have lost 25 Pounds with 75 to go. I have had people tell me that I shouldn't be lifting weights or doing any resistance training until I get to my goal weight. I did not listen. And seeing your success makes it so worth it

Savagedistraction · January 2017

are you single?

lilmiss_sunshine29 · January 2017

Strokingdiction wrote: »

Did you lift during your entire weigh loss? If so, what type of lifting did you do?

Extremely impressive physique change, btw!

This☝

vismal · January 2017

connorlauren3638 wrote: »

Can you tell me how many calories I should be having a day to loose weight? Im 29 female . Height 4ft 11, weight 8st 7, minimal exercise

Very petite women are sometimes hard to guess a calorie goal for and unfortunately often times that goal is very low. I typically recommend starting at around 10 calories per lb you weigh for weight loss which puts you right around 1200 calories. It's a decent starting point. I'd track calories closely and try to clock in around 1200. If after a few weeks you lose weight then you can remain at that number, if you do not, slowly reduce calories.

harribeau2012 wrote: »

I am unfit and round (for background)
I have tennis elbow (would be funny if it didn't hurt so much,)
I would like to lift but am scared of pain.
Did you have to work with any injuries?

I had a pretty severe back injury a few years ago that still dictates how I can train today. I am forced to choose less than optimal exercises in order to not re-injure myself. My advice would be to find out which exercises you tolerate and find substitutes for those you do not. While substitutions aren't always optimal, they allow you to train injury free which is going to be most import for the long run.

Taylor076097 wrote: »

This is so inspirational. I have lost 25 Pounds with 75 to go. I have had people tell me that I shouldn't be lifting weights or doing any resistance training until I get to my goal weight. I did not listen. And seeing your success makes it so worth it

For whatever reason many people are pretty ignorant when it comes to understanding resistance training. They read to many magazines and believe too many fitness myths. Weight training is extremely important for someone trying to lose weight if body composition is at all part of their goal.

Savagedistraction wrote: »

are you single?

Married with a baby girl

trinityann8423 · January 2017

I was told by a trainer that you could not lose weight and gain muscle at the same time...then how can lifting while trying to lose weight help? I am 5'6 female and weigh 161 (weight goal of 130, at my highest 5 years ago I was 240)and have been going to the gym for almost a month 5 days a week and haven't lost any weight (though oddly enough my clothes fit better) ,have only just started with myfitnesspal this last week and never go over calories (though I have discovered using it that I have more fat and sugar in my diet than I thought) anyways....I don't want too much loose skin but I also wanted to get smaller before I put on lean muscle mass and so confused on how to do so

Congrats on your progress and maintaining btw, very motivating!

vismal · January 2017

trinityann8423 wrote: »

I was told by a trainer that you could not lose weight and gain muscle at the same time...then how can lifting while trying to lose weight help? I am 5'6 female and weigh 161 (weight goal of 130, at my highest 5 years ago I was 240)and have been going to the gym for almost a month 5 days a week and haven't lost any weight (though oddly enough my clothes fit better) ,have only just started with myfitnesspal this last week and never go over calories (though I have discovered using it that I have more fat and sugar in my diet than I thought) anyways....I don't want too much loose skin but I also wanted to get smaller before I put on lean muscle mass and so confused on how to do so Congrats on your progress and maintaining btw, very motivating!

The trainer who told you this is wrong. There are a few categories of people who can gain lean tissue while they lose weight. Teenagers, the obese, people on PEDs, and those new to weight training (or coming off of a long break from weight training). If you fall into one or more of those categories you can gain some mass whilst losing weight. In the trainers defense it's not nearly as much mass as someone who is gaining weight but it can be significant. Even if you do not fall into any of the above groups, there is still a very important reason to incorporate weight training into any weight loss program. Lifting weights also prevents the loss of lean tissue whilst losing fat. When you reach your goal weight, if you lifted weights the entire time, you will be left with more lean tissue than if you did not lift weights.

ieroen · January 2017

I've been looking for a program that I can stick to for the next 18 weeks while cutting. I need a novice full body workout to do 3 x week. I like things simple and straightforward. That's why I was drawn to the Stronglifts program, but also a little put off by the high set count & doing squats every time. Then I saw this program on Reddit, an adaptation to Greyskull LP. I kinda like its progression system, fewer sets and separating squats and deadlifts. Feels like something I can stick to. Any thoughts on this program?

trinityann8423 · January 2017

But I won't gain weight from lifting instead of losing? I just worried since I have 30 to lose. I am not obese,by medical standards I am only 6 pounds overweight (because of my height of 5'6 I can be healthy and weigh up to 155 but I want to be on the slimmer side of healthy at 130),but I am new to weightlifting.

Zoee2017 · January 2017

Great job! Here's to many happy fit years of marrige... Really great to hear your story.

vismal · January 2017

ieroen wrote: »

I've been looking for a program that I can stick to for the next 18 weeks while cutting. I need a novice full body workout to do 3 x week. I like things simple and straightforward. That's why I was drawn to the Stronglifts program, but also a little put off by the high set count & doing squats every time. Then I saw this program on Reddit, an adaptation to Greyskull LP. I kinda like its progression system, fewer sets and separating squats and deadlifts. Feels like something I can stick to. Any thoughts on this program?

Greyskull is a fine program. I would warn you that much like the 5x5 you may not be able to regularly progress while in a calorie deficit. These programs are ideally designed to be run along with a calorie surplus. That being said, most novice lifters can progress in strength despite the deficit so your progression will depend on how advanced you are.

trinityann8423 wrote: »

But I won't gain weight from lifting instead of losing? I just worried since I have 30 to lose. I am not obese,by medical standards I am only 6 pounds overweight (because of my height of 5'6 I can be healthy and weigh up to 155 but I want to be on the slimmer side of healthy at 130),but I am new to weightlifting.

You won't gain fat from lifting. You might gain some water weight initially but that's all. If you are gaining fat it is because you are not in a calorie deficit, not because you are lifting weights.

marvinhayles · January 2017

That's an incredible transformation well done! I started at 280 now I'm 240 I still weigh 17 stone. I started lifting an cardio straight away as well as eating right I'm not really losing weight though any tips?

vismal · January 2017

marvinhayles wrote: »

That's an incredible transformation well done! I started at 280 now I'm 240 I still weigh 17 stone. I started lifting an cardio straight away as well as eating right I'm not really losing weight though any tips?

"Eating right" is very vague. How many calories are you eating? The types of foods you eat will not cause weight loss if you fail to create a calorie deficit. When you aren't losing weight in the long run, you are consuming too many calories.

bob_mck · February 2017

Hey amazing transformation very inspiring! I'm currently at 298 started 326 and have been lifting about 3/4 months now. Any advice you could offer me regards lifting or nutrition since you have been on a similar journey.

duvs33 · February 2017

Congrats on your marriage and baby. You are doing an awesome job with the question and answer portion of this feed. You have been answering questions since 2014! Amazing! I wish you blessed success. Thanks for letting everyone know that you can lose weight and weight train. I have been weight training from my beginning, and I lose weight weekly. Kudos to you!

mizar5 · February 2017

About 8 months ago, I stumbled on this thread by accident while following a link from Google. At the time, I was a month short of my 58th birthday and had been adding 20 pounds every decade since college. My weight would fluctuate depending on what diet I was on (Atkins, The Zone, etc.) and how much I was eating (usually however much whatever I wanted, in whatever amounts I wanted). In June 2016 I found myself at 234 pounds, and on my 5'6" frame, it wasn't pretty.

So in early of June 2016, I discovered Vismal's success story thread. I read a few pages, then a few more, and light bulbs started going off in my head. I started tracking EVERYTHING I ate. Seriously, if I popped a couple of M&Ms in my mouth, I logged them. One cracker? Enter it on MFP! I also finally started using my gym membership, doing the Ice Cream Fitness workout Vismal recommended. At first I felt like an outsider in the gym, like the fat guy who would come in a few times then disappear for months.

Anyway, to make a long story (kind of) short, yesterday I hit a milestone: 50 pounds lost in 8 months.

I'm now a gym regular and smile when I see people who are where I was back then, just starting out and trying to get a foothold. My goal weight has changed from 175 -- which at the time hopelessly optimistic because I hadn't weighed that little in 30 years -- to 160 pounds, my college weight. Seven months ago, 160 pounds would have been a preposterous goal; now it's just a matter of time and continued effort.

Moral of the story: ANYONE can do this. Seriously, if a lazy 59-year-old lifelong food addict can learn to get his stuff together, diet-and-exercise-wise, then you can, too. Just keep at it. Don't give up!

Side note: A month after I began this journey, I was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. I'd been borderline for a few years and somehow never thought I was in danger. I had an A1C test, which measures your average glucose level over a three-month span, and it came back as 6.7, slightly above the minimum for a diagnosis. My doctor was ready to put me on diabetes meds and statins (for high cholesterol). After four months on the Vismal Program™

, my next A1C came back at 5.4, well within normal and under even the borderline level. My overall cholesterol also dropped significantly, from 212 to 142.

So let me say THANK YOU, VISMAL! As a result of your inspiration, motivation, and willingness to share your knowledge and experience, I now look and feel better than I have in years, and am likely to remain on this planet a few years longer than I would have otherwise. I can't thank you enough, my friend.

MandertheDB · February 2017

I read through quite a bit of this, but not quite all 70 pages. One thing I didn't see, and please forgive me if it has been answered, or if the answer is elsewhere, I'm new and I'm trying!

Using the great info you've given us here, and trying to create the calorie deficit to lose fat and utilizing MFP, when it gives me my number of calories to reach, is that with a deficit? Or do I need to see a negative number on there to truly create the deficit?
(this question is truly open to anyone with knowledge of MFP, since the guy has been kind enough to answer 70 pages of questions!)
Also, is there a method to knowing exactly how much of a deficit you should have? I know you said giving it three weeks to see if there's loss, but is 500 the place to start? Or is there some formula or something like that to give a more accurate starting point and then adjust from there?

bisonpitcher · February 2017

I'm just beginning a similar journey as you. I have a few questions that I hope you can give me some guidance on. I'm 37, male, 6' tall. Started on Dec. 6 at 286. Have lost 28 lbs. in 2 months to get to 258. I have been using the 2 lbs. per week MFP calorie goal (Currently at 1970/day). I usually do not eat back the exercise calories. I have a long term goal to make a transformation similar to what you have and we are starting from pretty close to the same body type. I'm wanting to maintain lean mass, while cutting the fat until I am happy with where I am at and then start bulk/cut cycles. My current workouts are as follows:

Alternating 2 lifting workouts on M, W, F.

Workout 1 - Squats, Bench, Rows, Triceps and Calf Raises
Workout 2 - Deadlifts, Lat Pull-Downs, Overhead Press, Biceps and Abs.

I usually do a 1 mile walk before my lift as a warm-up.

20 min HIIT Cardio - T, Th, Sa

Something similar to ten 100 meter sprints on track, with 100 meter walk between sprints, plus 1 warm-up and 1 cool down walking lap. Sometimes I will do a stationary bike for HIIT to mix it up.

My questions are:

1. Do you see anything you would change in what I'm currently doing that would help me long-term?
2. What would you recommend as a starting point for my macros?
3. When you talk about taking a maintenance break for 2 weeks, are you saying eat at maintenance and stop lifting/cardio, or just eat at maintenance and continue workouts?

Thanks for your help in advance.

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

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