Thanks everyone for the encouraging words!!! I will try your suggestion ghost and let you know the how it goes. Roetheshy the skin is still there not as bad as it could be though. I do a lot of ab work to help tighten the excess skin up. Still have a long way to go!!!
I can only imagine how much better you must feel daily! Congratulations on the stunning results. Was it your kid in the picture that motivated you to lose the weight? I know a couple people that have lost weight to be able to keep up with the small ones.
He was one of the reasons, I knew that if I kept going a the rate I was, I wasn’t going to be around much longer. I was to the point I could barely walk without getting out of breath and having to stop to catch my breath. My blood pressure was over 200 and my cholesterol was well over 300. I just got tired of being tired from walking or doing daily activities that most people dont have an issue with. One thing that I noticed as the weight started to drop was people started to treat me differetnly. Especially in dept. or retail stores.
I used to walk in and would be completly ignored or get the typicall eye roll, now when I walk in I always approached and asked if I need anything or people sometimes will just start talking to me. Its sad that society is like that, I will say however this whole experience has been a complete self esteem booster, which is something I have ever had (self esteem that is)
Great job, buddy. WAY TO GO!!! YEAH!!
FFB
YOur post prompted me to sign up here. I am just beginning to do what you have done. I have bookmarked your thread as inspiration, in case I ever get down. I started at 362.5 lbs. on Nov. 22 (day before Thanksgiving), as of last Thursday (1.31.08) I was down to 316.5…Glad to see that someone here has already gone through this!
Thanks for starting this thread!
10
OUT-FREAKIN-STANDING!!
[quote]stillearning1 wrote:
Thanks!!! I just want to continue to grow, this has become a complete lifestyle change for me. The more I see results the more I want!!! I would like to gain about 20-25 pounds of muscle. So far my experience has been that it is going to be much harder to gain the muscle weight i want compared to the fat loss I have had!! But I am up for the challenge!!![/quote]
Ok, well you wanted some tips on gaining muscle for your goal. I’ve got a few for you, a lot of which you probably already know…
-
train and eat like a small skinny person trying to get bigger. What I mean is, get that mentality of someone who’s always been wimpy and small and is pissed and wants to be huge. I DON’T mean to eat indiscriminantly (for those of you who may jump on me), but I’m sure you already knew that. I mean bring that mentality. You’ve been big and fat for a lot of your life, you just wanted to be lean–that started your transformation. Now switch gears mentally. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut because you’re afraid of putting on any fat. This is understandable given your history, but don’t let it handicap you on your way to a muscled physique–you grow while you rest. Just remember, the fat came off once, you can get it off again. If you’re not sloppy in your eating habits, you won’t have too much to burn off after you finish gaining.
-
You’ll probably want a low carb approach as a FFB. You’ll need an insulin spike after your training sessions, but otherwise carbs might not help you as much.
-
Find pictures of your end goal and stick them up where you will see them first thing in the morning, and last thing at night. Surround yourself with visual representations of what you want. It will keep you focused.
-
Enjoy the journey. Half the fun is getting there.
Finding new ways to challenge yourself is what it’s all about. -
Lift heavy (for you) iron on the big lifts. If you focus on getting stronger, you’ll get bigger. Certainly, higher reps and changing methods are helpful, but you’re pretty much guaranteed to improve if you keep your overall focus on heavy weights and improving strength levels. Keep the conditioning out of the weight room and on the track or field (no complexes or circuits for fat loss). Arnold, Big Ron, The Myth, and countless other legends are proof of that.
-
Have a plan every week. Know what your immediate goals are and accomplish them. Most people go in to the gym without a plan and as a result don’t focus, or even KNOW where their focus should be.
-
Remember, you grow on the days you rest. As an FFB it will be a temptation to never take a day off as it worked for you in losing your fat, but muscle gain requires recovering first. Besides, injuries suck.
-
Remember that your temptation will be to under-eat because of your history. So if you end up stalling, look to the kitchen, then to your training.
Hope that helps. Just basic stuff, but sometimes it helps to read what you already know.
Definitely an awesome transformation but a 6.8? I honestly think some of this rating is due to great effort and an awesome attitude.
OP, I give you a 5 because you def still have some work to do. Don’t worry though, I’d only give myself a 4…
[quote]djsoil wrote:
YOur post prompted me to sign up here. I am just beginning to do what you have done. I have bookmarked your thread as inspiration, in case I ever get down. I started at 362.5 lbs. on Nov. 22 (day before Thanksgiving), as of last Thursday (1.31.08) I was down to 316.5…Glad to see that someone here has already gone through this!
Thanks for starting this thread!
10[/quote]
djsoil: DJ keep up the great work, you can deffinatly do it. There will be times that you will get stuck, dont let that discourage you stay consistent and you can push through it. It will all be worth it, just stay goal oriented.
Set yourself a weight goal each month and when you hit that goal never look back. That is one thing that kept me motivated, setting a goal and breaking through it. It is one of the best feelings in the world!!! Keep us posted
[quote]Aragorn wrote:
stillearning1 wrote:
Thanks!!! I just want to continue to grow, this has become a complete lifestyle change for me. The more I see results the more I want!!! I would like to gain about 20-25 pounds of muscle. So far my experience has been that it is going to be much harder to gain the muscle weight i want compared to the fat loss I have had!! But I am up for the challenge!!!
Ok, well you wanted some tips on gaining muscle for your goal. I’ve got a few for you, a lot of which you probably already know…
-
train and eat like a small skinny person trying to get bigger. What I mean is, get that mentality of someone who’s always been wimpy and small and is pissed and wants to be huge. I DON’T mean to eat indiscriminantly (for those of you who may jump on me), but I’m sure you already knew that. I mean bring that mentality. You’ve been big and fat for a lot of your life, you just wanted to be lean–that started your transformation. Now switch gears mentally. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut because you’re afraid of putting on any fat. This is understandable given your history, but don’t let it handicap you on your way to a muscled physique–you grow while you rest. Just remember, the fat came off once, you can get it off again. If you’re not sloppy in your eating habits, you won’t have too much to burn off after you finish gaining.
-
You’ll probably want a low carb approach as a FFB. You’ll need an insulin spike after your training sessions, but otherwise carbs might not help you as much.
-
Find pictures of your end goal and stick them up where you will see them first thing in the morning, and last thing at night. Surround yourself with visual representations of what you want. It will keep you focused.
-
Enjoy the journey. Half the fun is getting there.
Finding new ways to challenge yourself is what it’s all about. -
Lift heavy (for you) iron on the big lifts. If you focus on getting stronger, you’ll get bigger. Certainly, higher reps and changing methods are helpful, but you’re pretty much guaranteed to improve if you keep your overall focus on heavy weights and improving strength levels. Keep the conditioning out of the weight room and on the track or field (no complexes or circuits for fat loss). Arnold, Big Ron, The Myth, and countless other legends are proof of that.
-
Have a plan every week. Know what your immediate goals are and accomplish them. Most people go in to the gym without a plan and as a result don’t focus, or even KNOW where their focus should be.
-
Remember, you grow on the days you rest. As an FFB it will be a temptation to never take a day off as it worked for you in losing your fat, but muscle gain requires recovering first. Besides, injuries suck.
-
Remember that your temptation will be to under-eat because of your history. So if you end up stalling, look to the kitchen, then to your training.
Hope that helps. Just basic stuff, but sometimes it helps to read what you already know.[/quote]
WOW…Thanks for the great advice, you described me perfectly when it comes to eating and my workout routine. It is very difficult to get out of the mindset that I have to eat more to get bigger. I have been cutting everyday for the last year. I have been doing better just not enough, gotta eat more to get BIGGA!!!
I have cut back on my training as well, as I did have the mindset if I wasnt working out then I wasnt making progress. (stupid misconception I know) I am starting to take 2 days a week off to help rest and notice a big difference in how I feel so hopefully more progress will come!!
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
Definitely an awesome transformation but a 6.8? I honestly think some of this rating is due to great effort and an awesome attitude.
OP, I give you a 5 because you def still have some work to do. Don’t worry though, I’d only give myself a 4…[/quote]
Your right I still have a long way to go!!!
[quote]stillearning1 wrote:
Aragorn wrote:
stillearning1 wrote:
Thanks!!! I just want to continue to grow, this has become a complete lifestyle change for me. The more I see results the more I want!!! I would like to gain about 20-25 pounds of muscle. So far my experience has been that it is going to be much harder to gain the muscle weight i want compared to the fat loss I have had!! But I am up for the challenge!!!
Ok, well you wanted some tips on gaining muscle for your goal. I’ve got a few for you, a lot of which you probably already know…
-
train and eat like a small skinny person trying to get bigger. What I mean is, get that mentality of someone who’s always been wimpy and small and is pissed and wants to be huge. I DON’T mean to eat indiscriminantly (for those of you who may jump on me), but I’m sure you already knew that. I mean bring that mentality. You’ve been big and fat for a lot of your life, you just wanted to be lean–that started your transformation. Now switch gears mentally. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut because you’re afraid of putting on any fat. This is understandable given your history, but don’t let it handicap you on your way to a muscled physique–you grow while you rest. Just remember, the fat came off once, you can get it off again. If you’re not sloppy in your eating habits, you won’t have too much to burn off after you finish gaining.
-
You’ll probably want a low carb approach as a FFB. You’ll need an insulin spike after your training sessions, but otherwise carbs might not help you as much.
-
Find pictures of your end goal and stick them up where you will see them first thing in the morning, and last thing at night. Surround yourself with visual representations of what you want. It will keep you focused.
-
Enjoy the journey. Half the fun is getting there.
Finding new ways to challenge yourself is what it’s all about. -
Lift heavy (for you) iron on the big lifts. If you focus on getting stronger, you’ll get bigger. Certainly, higher reps and changing methods are helpful, but you’re pretty much guaranteed to improve if you keep your overall focus on heavy weights and improving strength levels. Keep the conditioning out of the weight room and on the track or field (no complexes or circuits for fat loss). Arnold, Big Ron, The Myth, and countless other legends are proof of that.
-
Have a plan every week. Know what your immediate goals are and accomplish them. Most people go in to the gym without a plan and as a result don’t focus, or even KNOW where their focus should be.
-
Remember, you grow on the days you rest. As an FFB it will be a temptation to never take a day off as it worked for you in losing your fat, but muscle gain requires recovering first. Besides, injuries suck.
-
Remember that your temptation will be to under-eat because of your history. So if you end up stalling, look to the kitchen, then to your training.
Hope that helps. Just basic stuff, but sometimes it helps to read what you already know.
WOW…Thanks for the great advice, you described me perfectly when it comes to eating and my workout routine. It is very difficult to get out of the mindset that I have to eat more to get bigger. I have been cutting everyday for the last year. I have been doing better just not enough, gotta eat more to get BIGGA!!!
I have cut back on my training as well, as I did have the mindset if I wasnt working out then I wasnt making progress. (stupid misconception I know) I am starting to take 2 days a week off to help rest and notice a big difference in how I feel so hopefully more progress will come!!
[/quote]
No problem. It’s not a stupid misconception, it’s very common. As Christian Thibaudeau has said, losing fat and gaining muscle are both highly emotional issues for people. We get emotionally involved with how we get to our goals, often times so much that we can’t see things that would be obvious to others. Besides the fact that throughout the culture at large more work is associated with more success. Arnold’s 4-hours-a-day-6-days-a-week routine obviously worked for him. So it’s understandable. Even CT has stated that he’s fallen into the trap himself.
Anyway, work your balls off when you’re in the gym, but rest just as hard as you train. Big compound lifts, 4 days a week. Keep 2 days off in the week from everything including cardio. So if you lift 4x a week and run 2x that means 1 day is cardio + weights, and one day is cardio only, with 2 complete rest days. Obviously this is open to experimentation. Certain people do better on less days lifting, and certain people do better on more days training.
Just follow the kinds of food choices you made while cutting, only get more of each. That’ll keep fat gain to a minimum. Also, cardio can in fact help keep you lean while gaining muscle. However, it should be the first thing to be cut down training wise when you stall out (not eliminated, mind you, just reduced).
man thats awesome, did the skin aroud the mid-section ever firm up?
[quote]Wildman90 wrote:
man thats awesome, did the skin aroud the mid-section ever firm up?[/quote]
It has tightend up quit a bit over the last few months but no not completely. I do have to small sags in the front from the loose skin and some lose skin on my midsection. I went to a plastic surgen to see about haveing it taken off and he felf that if I were to continue to grow in muscle size that I would not need surgery. He suggested waiting another year, so thats what I am working towards. It will save me a ton of money.
first off good job
second did you have cheat days or low, medium, high carb days?
or just around 2000kcal all the time and enough protein?
[quote]lordstorm88 wrote:
first off good job
second did you have cheat days or low, medium, high carb days?
or just around 2000kcal all the time and enough protein?[/quote]
Thanks, at first I did not have cheat days but then realized that I would “relapse” if I didn’t incorporate at least a cheat meal. I started having a cheat meal after about 5 months. If I have a day where I eat bad for more than one meal I usually feel like crap the next day, so it isn’t worth it to me to eat bad for a day.
I ate most of my carbs before noon and limited any carb intake during the afternoon (if I ate any) Now I do alternate my high low and medium carb days throughout the week to help keep BF down.
[quote]stillearning1 wrote:
lordstorm88 wrote:
first off good job
second did you have cheat days or low, medium, high carb days?
or just around 2000kcal all the time and enough protein?
Thanks, at first I did not have cheat days but then realized that I would “relapse” if I didn’t incorporate at least a cheat meal. I started having a cheat meal after about 5 months. If I have a day where I eat bad for more than one meal I usually feel like crap the next day, so it isn’t worth it to me to eat bad for a day. I ate most of my carbs before noon and limited any carb intake during the afternoon (if I ate any) Now I do alternate my high low and medium carb days throughout the week to help keep BF down.[/quote]
Defenite signs of a changed lifestyle!
Way to go :>
Now heres the problem I have. Ill probably get a little flamage, but this is how I feel. Let me first say that OP you did a phenominal job turning your life around. I was really impressed. However, if you look at two random guys.
Guy A has been working his butt off in the gym for years. Guy A has a solid build. He has stuck to his diet, routine for as long as he’s been training. Lets say Guy A gets a 6/10.
Guy B has been eating fast food and drinking soda for 15+ years of his life. Hasn’t worked out at all for these 15 years. Then all of a sudden he realizes that something needs to happen. So for one solid year he does exactly what Guy A has been doing for 5 or 6 years. Guy B receives numerous compliments and “good jobs” for his transformation. Guy B receives a 7/10.
Just sayin.
Hmmm… Guy A never lived a few years with himself in obesity. Suffering physical, emotional, social, mental distress.
Guy B deserves at least 1 more point for overcoming hardship and having to deal with more crap to get there.
Much like the guy or girl that overcomes some handicap.
Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.
Not that I don’t understand what your saying, but I applaud those that can overcome hardship more then those that apply hardwork.
Hard work is expected in our culture to succeed. Overcoming monumental hurdles is not. I think it is easier to say, that the journey is the most interesting part in the results, when it deals with the aspects of fitness and good health.
First let me say before you read this that I did not take your post as condeming me or putting me down but I do have to respond. I do see what you are trying to say and do agree with you I am not a 7, I still have a ways to go in my journey but plan on getting there.
But klien does have a point as well, when you have never been overweight or obese you really dont know how it feels or the effects it has on you emotionally, mentally, and phyisically. I dont care what some people say obesity is a disease to some people. Yes there are people who are fat and lazy who dont do anything about it (which is there fault).
But there are people out there who are predisposed to being overweight and it is much harder for them to lose the weight then others. I have tried in the past several times to drop wieght and it just didnt happen. When you are overweight and you dont see results it really just puts you in that slump and at times depression even further and you wind up gaining more weight.
I worked my ass off this past year, it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life but damn it was worth every drop of sweat and every soar muscle, every tear shed, and every curse word spewd. My entire life has done a complete turn around, I have gone from a shy, very low self esteem person guy who wore a size 48 pant and XXXXL shirt, to someone who is not ashamed to speak to new people, I have a complete new set of friends, and my self esteem is in places it has never been.
I feel great and look forward to working out on the days that I do. So when talking about guy A and guy B you really are talking about two completly different scenarios.
Didnt mean to get on my soapbox just had to say that. Thanks for the post though!!!
[quote]Senecan wrote:
Now heres the problem I have. Ill probably get a little flamage, but this is how I feel. Let me first say that OP you did a phenominal job turning your life around. I was really impressed. However, if you look at two random guys.
Guy A has been working his butt off in the gym for years. Guy A has a solid build. He has stuck to his diet, routine for as long as he’s been training. Lets say Guy A gets a 6/10.
Guy B has been eating fast food and drinking soda for 15+ years of his life. Hasn’t worked out at all for these 15 years. Then all of a sudden he realizes that something needs to happen. So for one solid year he does exactly what Guy A has been doing for 5 or 6 years. Guy B receives numerous compliments and “good jobs” for his transformation. Guy B receives a 7/10.
Just sayin.[/quote]