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

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!
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unknown

leoboyten wrote: »

leoboyten wrote: »

Amazing journey thanks for sharing, you really look awesome and your hard work has definitely paid off. So I would say that I have a slow metabolism in the regards that if I eat more than 1000 cal I gain weight, if I go under I lose weight. I'm not restricting calories on purpose, I just don't get hungry, i've been using MFP to try and be more consistent and eat more. Also I've been using MFP for 56 days to track calories and I've lost over 28 pounds.
Male
5'11"
Weight 143
Never worked out before, have done cardio in the past. I still have fat to lose, and I'd probably be down to like 122 pounds by the time I lose all the fat I wanted too. I want to start the ice cream fitness 5 x 5 that you've talked about in so many posts. If I started that workout what would do you think would be realistic calorie intake that would still allow me to keep losing fat?
Thanks
James

At 5'11 you do not need to lose any weight. Getting down to 122 lbs would make you rather underweight. If you still feel you have too much fat at your current height and weight, the problem is more likely that you lack lean body mass, rather than have lots of excess fat. What I would do is attempt to gain around 0.5 lbs a week for at least the next year. Do this in conjunction with adequate protein intake and a lifting program. You will gain some lean mass and it will likely make you look even leaner. As to how many calories to eat, that will be determined by trial and error. Ideally you want to be gaining 1/2 a lb a week but in your case, you could afford to gain a little faster, at least at first.

I really appreciate you giving honest feedback, what would be the best way to track my body fat %? I have a scale, but I read they are not accurate at all!
Thanks
James [/quote]Don't bother with trying to track body fat percentage. Most ways to track it are incredibly inaccurate. The ways that are accurate are expensive. If you are gaining the weight slowly, and your lifts are going up in the gym, then you should be fine.

unknown

Great achievement!!! Well done you. You are fine the way you are now so don't listen to negative comments, that's if you get any. If you can do it then anyone can so that is encouragement in itself. One little question....... Do you use a sunbed???
I've lost 10kg in one month, I don't want to go back to that "Big Momma" that looked at me in the mirror as I walked by. I have to watch the exercises I do cos I had four c-sections and tend to get pain under my scar if I over stretch that area or overdo. Probably because I got lazy in exercise. Started strength training yesterday and OMG did my legs and arms feel like jelly, lol.
Enough about me! What was your inspiration to lose weight, get really fit and tone up?

unknown

Great achievement! I've started myself on an exercise regime and have since gone from 78 kg (Aug 14) to 71 kg (Apr 15). I feel really healthy and I've cut my shirt (L to M) and pant size (37" - 33")! I'm currently doing cardio (runs and HIIT), as well as body weight exercises (such as chin ups) and free weight lifting to increase my muscle mass. I have been eating whole foods and supplementing with a protein isolate BUT so far my shoulders are broader but so far not much muscle gains at all in other areas. Any idea what I might be missing in my routine?

unknown

hi can you maybe advise what is the good percentages for weight loss. % of carbs, protein and fat?

unknown

you go glenn coco!

unknown

Too awesome, man. I'm your height, but got about 80lbs on your starting weight, unfortunately. I've used MFP in the past and lost around 50lbs, but then *kitten* happens and as always, it rolls downhill.

Anyway, quick question! What do you think of Kettlebell workouts? I've just recently started looking into them, and with my schedule they will be ideal, if the talk on them is accurate.

unknown

Hey Vismal,

Every now and then you read and come across different techniques for achieving fitness goals to lose fat and build muscle and I would like to understand the concept better and would know your opinions on these whether they sound/seem plausible or futile.

1. Pairing Strength Training (5x5) (3x a week) with HIIT to lose fat (2x): Doing them on different days to reduce impact on recovery?

2. High calorie - Low calorie days: A recomp technique which suggests you eat 10% above maintenance on training days and 20% below maintenance on rest days.

3. HIIT based Nutrient Partitioning: That HIIT promotes energy be delivered to the muscle promoting muscle growth from strength training and fat loss.

4. Eating majority of carbs around workout only.

Also for someone beginning out with low LBM, can fixing a diet, say from 60g protein to 130g protein a day, progressively lead to increase in muscle even on a cut? Similarly does a beginner with under 6 months of weight training experience noticable muscle gains on a cut?

unknown

Wowowooowowow!!!! That's extremely awesome. How did u have motivation to keep u going?

And I want to lose but I don't know if i should lift or just do cardio because I love my curves and i just want to lose the excess weight. I don't know if I will lose my curves if I start lifting or keep doing cardio.How would lifting affect me ?

unknown

jace1100 wrote: »

Too awesome, man. I'm your height, but got about 80lbs on your starting weight, unfortunately. I've used MFP in the past and lost around 50lbs, but then *kitten* happens and as always, it rolls downhill.

Anyway, quick question! What do you think of Kettlebell workouts? I've just recently started looking into them, and with my schedule they will be ideal, if the talk on them is accurate.

Kettlebell workouts are fine. I prefer barbell/dumbbell workouts myself but any form of resistance training that targets all body parts 2-3 times a week, and incorporates progressive tension overload (lifting heavier weight over time) will work. My main issue with kettlebells is that they target certain areas much more effectively than others.

asayrtransport wrote: »

Wowowooowowow!!!! That's extremely awesome. How did u have motivation to keep u going?

And I want to lose but I don't know if i should lift or just do cardio because I love my curves and i just want to lose the excess weight. I don't know if I will lose my curves if I start lifting or keep doing cardio.How would lifting affect me ?

I kept move motivation initially because I liked my results. Now it's more of an internal motivation. I do it because I actually want to and enjoy it. I would feel less satisfied if I didn't. As far as lifting vs not, if you want to keep your curves LIFT LIFT LIFT LIFT LIFT LIFT LIFT LIFT! lol Doing cardio only combined with a caloric deficit will cause you to lose fat as well as lean tissue. No matter what, losing weight typically causes women to have their boobs shrink and their butts get smaller. Lifting won't help the boob situation but it can make a BIG difference in sparing the glutes!

unknown

I plan on making that kettlebell, and the heavier ones to follow, my best friends. Getting to the gym is a bit rough because of my work (I drive a truck 10 hours a day, which doesn't help at all).

If you don't mind, I had some more questions for you! I checked out your dumbed-down video on macros, but I'm still just a little confused. I weigh around 390 right now, and according to MFP I should be intaking about 2460 calories a day, based on my job which is sitting a lot. I went for the Sedentary because I figure my workouts don't really count.

Now, if I go by your numbers, it's like over 3k calories a day, which seems much, while 2460 seems low. Any thoughts?

(In case you need aditional info)

I'm 33, male, 390, 6ft 1inches, and a gemini. My heaviest was 427 and I've gotten back down to about 369, before cake.

Thanks again for any advice, it's greatly appreciated!

unknown

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!

unknown

Congratulations! Thats one hell of a transformation!
Questions: Is it true that no matter how many core workout you do won't help unless you have less that 0.7% body fat? And how do you lose all those body fat?

unknown

EvgeniZyntx wrote: »

Impressive results and commitment, OP. Congrat!

vismal wrote: »

andysport1 wrote: »

Vismal I have been following this thread same as everyone well done.

My situation I'm 5 10 226lb want to be 145lb or look good, I want maybe just a small amount of definition in my abs and biceps which weight program would you suggest.

I recommend most people who are new to lifting do the "Ice Cream Fitness 5x5". Stronglifts 5x5 and starting strength are also both good choices.

rbohac wrote: »

How did you come up with your nutritional goals (Calories, carb, fat & protein ratios). How did that change along the way and why?

I have my own way of calculating I came up with through lots of reading and trial and error. This video explains how I do it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cc18wLJW3k

unknown

jace1100 wrote: »

I plan on making that kettlebell, and the heavier ones to follow, my best friends. Getting to the gym is a bit rough because of my work (I drive a truck 10 hours a day, which doesn't help at all).

If you don't mind, I had some more questions for you! I checked out your dumbed-down video on macros, but I'm still just a little confused. I weigh around 390 right now, and according to MFP I should be intaking about 2460 calories a day, based on my job which is sitting a lot. I went for the Sedentary because I figure my workouts don't really count.

Now, if I go by your numbers, it's like over 3k calories a day, which seems much, while 2460 seems low. Any thoughts?

(In case you need aditional info)

I'm 33, male, 390, 6ft 1inches, and a gemini. My heaviest was 427 and I've gotten back down to about 369, before cake.

Thanks again for any advice, it's greatly appreciated!

My formula for calculation of macros gets slightly skewed if you have around 50lbs or more to lose and very skewed if you have 100 or more to lose. Anywhere between 2500-3000 is probably okay for you to start. As time goes on the number will have to get reduced so I wouldn't advise starting extremely low at first. Also, you will probably end up needing less protein and fat grams than my formula will recommend, I'd make your minimums around 200 and 70 respectively.

amandalola98 wrote: »

Congratulations! Thats one hell of a transformation!
Questions: Is it true that no matter how many core workout you do won't help unless you have less that 0.7% body fat? And how do you lose all those body fat?

0.7% body fat is not compatible with life. If you meant 7% body fat, than that is much lower than I am in my pictures or have ever been in my life. If you are talking about having visible abs, most men have a decent 6 pack between 10-12% body fat. No amount of core workouts change the fact that you must remove the abdominal fat in order to have visible abs.