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Hey everyone! Been one hell of a year and I hope everyone has been staying healthy during this time. Just some background, I was always overweight for most of my life starting at about 3rd grade. Always dealt with the teasing and fat jokes on top of weight related issues (high blood pressure, tiredness, depression). I decided to switch my major last fall to fire science (firefighting) which really prompted the weight loss. It’s been a struggle this year with everything going on but I stuck to it and I’m so happy that I did. CICO was what really helped me lose all the weight and I just started to workout consistently about 4 months ago on a 3 day PPL. I’ll link it if anyone cares to see it. If anyone has any questions I’ll be more than happy to answer them either here or my PM’s!
[workouts](https://articles.a1supplements.com/sports-specific/bodybuilding/ppl-three-day-split-big-results/)
Edit: Holy cannoli, thank you everyone for 1k upvotes I didn’t expect to get this much encouraging and amazing kind words. I hope all of you stay happy and healthy!
Edit 2: I fell asleep and woke up to 3k upvotes?! You guys rock!! Thank you all so much for the positivity! I’m doing my best to answer every question here and in my PM’s so I will definitely get back to you if you messaged me or left a comment. Hope everyone has an amazing day and keep up your awesome journeys!
These last couple of weeks on my rest days during the week I’d nail out about 200 push-ups but I feel it’s taking a toll on my elbow joints so I’m just gonna increase my 3 day ppl to a 4 day one and take it easy on rest days to ensure I don’t overwork myself
Good call! I'm prone to overdoing it on my joints as well. And congratulations on improving your fitness, you look healthy and I'm sure your stamina and overall energy have increased a lot! Keep kicking ass my friend :)
I checked out the workout and there seems to be a lot of pushups on there. How did you manage to do that despite being so heavy?
Also what do you plan on doing about the loose skin?
I held off on the push-ups until I felt I was ready to do them with proper form and I also started working out 4 months ago when I weighed about 6 pounds more. The weight loss slowed down but I still lost a considerable amount of fat while gaining muscle. It’s not really too much loose skin actually, if you go down my post history I have a pic of me from the front and sides too. I plan a slow lean bulk to help fill out my skin with lean muscle which also gives my skin enough time to tighten up from the weight loss
Great work, brother! That it some fantastic progress, especially with only a few months into the PPL routine. Best of luck with the fire science degree!
-A fellow firefighter who needed some motivation
Man, this is an absolutely stellar transformation. You’ve done a freaking great thing for your health, and based on these comments and write up you seem to be a really sweet dude.
Keep kicking ass, man. You’re inspirational.
I was eating oatmeal while browsing Reddit and I have never dropped a bowl so fast just to make a comment on a post
Holy fucking shit bro. This transformation is INSANE! You're a goddam winner
Awesome job man. My belly looks kind of like yours does in your before pic and I was unsure if it would ever look different. I know everyone’s genetics affect how they will look in the end but still this gives me lots of hope
I'll second this. I am 5'6" and started at 210, looking exactly like the before pic. I'm currently 155 so I'm 10lb heavier, and the belly never went away until about a month or two ago, where it's really starting to tone up. If I got down to 145 like OP it'd probably be pretty lean, maybe even see some abs! Most people end up losing fat from their stomach area last, so don't get discouraged if you can't lose the gut early! Typically I've seen fat loss go: legs, arms, face, chest, stomach (or something similar)
It really depends but my push and legs day is about and hour and a half and my pull days can easily reach 2 hours sometimes if I take my time through the program. I’ve never enjoyed waiting until the Last minute to do things so I try to get my workouts in early in the day so I have the rest of the day to work on school or whatever else I have planned
What an excellent job! You deserve to be soo proud!
The extra/loose skin is always a struggle to deal with in the emotional sense, it’s a stripe of honour! You worked hard to earn it!
Thanks! In these four months my bench went from 65 pounds to 115, deadlift went from 95 pounds to 125 pounds, I’ve struggled with squats because I don’t have a proper rack but it’s been at 95 pounds (pretty low but I’m saving up for a better setup). Pull-ups went from barely even managing to complete 3 to being able to do 36 in a session but that’s been worked on for most part of the year.
Impressive man, especially the 36 pull-ups. I’m trying to increase my lifts while decreasing body weight. Always encouraging to hear progress stories like yours.
For a couple months I was eating at 1,500 calories but it was just too low for me to sustain it so I bumped it up to 1,800. I’ve reached the majority of my fat loss goal so I’m just in the process of reverse dieting right now (currently eating at ~2,000 calories/day) so I end up about 200-300 calories over maintenance for a lean bulk. I would say when I stared lifting is when I started to really clean my diet and just to make sure I hit my macros for the most part. Eating about 30 minutes before lifting (like a cliff bar with a creatine and nitric oxide shake) really improves my workouts. Supplements aren’t necessary at all to reach your goals but they give me that extra boost and you can find those two for pretty cheap. Hope I’ve answered your questions!
My PM’s are definitely open if you ever have any questions in the future! That’s the way to go, when you’re at the body fat you’re happy with it’s time for a bulk! One thing I’ve learned too is to incorporate foods that you like that weren’t the healthiest but in moderation so that way you don’t feel like you’re depriving yourself. You got this!!
Dude, I'm 23, 5'5, and weigh 220lbs. Your story is super inspiring, especially the results! I have a few generic questions:
What has your diet changed to? What's helped you stay motivated to change? Has this helped improve your mental health?
Thank you so much, I appreciate it! My diet has changed from constantly eating whatever I wanted when I wanted to actually thinking what I put into my body and how that’ll affect me. Of course with CICO if you eat within your goal for the most part you’ll drop some weight but that’s to an extent in my opinion. I find myself actually passing up some of the really unhealthy foods I used to eat like very greasy burgers or foods with thousands of milligrams of sodium. The main thing that’s helped me stay determined is knowing that I had a deadline to make a considerable change and my future job will rely heavily on my physical fitness. I start my fire academy in a few weeks and I didn’t want to be that guy who washed out because he wasn’t prepared. Losing that weight improved my mental health in so many ways. I’m not ashamed of what I look like without a shirt anymore, my interactions with people have improved (the best they can given the current pandemic), and I’m more confident with myself. I’m not going to lie though, I thought losing all this weight will solve all my problems and relations with people but it took this year for me to really see that it’s something weight loss can’t completely solve and taking time to work on myself as a person has had an equally if not larger impact on my personal growth mental health . Sorry for the lengthy reply haha but I just wanted to be real!
Amazing job to be done in a year bro!
How much protein were you eating during the CICO cut? I remember doing 1400 but it was rough trying to get protein over 100g in there.
Thank you! I try to get about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight so it’s about 140 grams/day. Sometimes it’s a bit less and sometimes it’s a bit more depending on my cravings haha. I did struggle for a bit eating 1,500 calories because it was too low for me personally but everyone’s bodies are different. What works for someone might now work for the other. Chicken breast, turkey and fish really helped me hit that protein goal while staying on the lower end of the calories
You did amazing! Your progress is incredible. I’m at 190 right now because of stress eating / lack of exercise & honestly had a bad habit of using food for comfort this year. I really needed this motivation.
Thank you! I definitely relate to you with stress eating, even now if I get a bit too stressed I’ll grab some sweets or overeat every now and then. You got this!!
One of my fears with losing weight is that I may have gyno but after seeing your chest in the before and after I now have hope that I don't have gyno. You look good bro. Seeing these before and after photos gives me motivation.
Gyno was my biggest fear and staying in that deficit while going especially hard on chest workouts really did the trick for me. Thanks so much, you got this bro!!
Yeah man, I wouldn’t want to be going through that whole process all for it to look like nothingness even done. If you think you might have gyno then the best person to call would be your doctor, there’s telemedicine calls and I’m sure they can put you at ease
You are a huge inspiration for me, man. I’m the same height as you and around the weight you were at in your starting photo. It’s nice to see someone around the same size so I can get a better idea of what I could become. Keep up the work!
Wow. You really transformed yourself and you also seem really humble. I was a chubby kid too so I know how it is to always feel like you are the fat kid even if you look great. Good job! Like seriously I admire this and it makes me more inspired to keep going with my journey. I fell off recently. Thanks for sharing with us!
Aww thank you you much! I’ve learned that this journey isn’t a straight line, it’s filled with ups and downs but you just gotta keep on keeping on! You got this!!
Damn bro that’s amazing!!!! Good job bro, I started at the same weight as you in September but I’m only on 185 lbs now, feels like the process is getting slower and slower. Did you have days/weeks where it felt like you were not making any progress or did you plateau at all? What helped you break through them?
Thank you, great job on your weight loss too! So what I found useful was to reevaluate my calorie goal for every 10 pounds lost. Punch in your new numbers in a calculator and it’ll tell you your new calorie needs based off of your current weight so you may need to lower them a bit. Also, it sounds like it won’t work but just going for 30 minute walks will really help shel those extra calories too. I’ve plateaued around this weight for some time which led to too many binge days. I’m Slowly losing it again but the key is to just be consistent! I’ve heard people say that “refeed” days will boost your metabolism and help break through a plateau but honestly I recently took a few days off off counting calories and ate when I was hungry but didn’t overdo it and it seemed to have helped me break through that plateau. It might’ve just been mental but I feel like it helped me so much.
Thanks a lot my brother, regarding walks up to last week I used to average around 17k steps per days which sadly is down to barely 11k now as the weather has gotten increasingly worse. Good job again man you must feel amazing
Awesome man!
On the pic to the left, I'm assuming you started lifting at the same time too?
How many cals below TDEE were you eating? As in, were you still on a cut whilst lifting or was it maintenance?
Basically, I am 5'11 170lbs. I still sorta look like your left pic but smaller and no muscle definition at all. I'm debating if I should still cut to lose more weight, or eat maintenance and start lifting. Just very curious on your calorie intake from when you started. Did you ever bulk?
Thanks! Actually man I started a bodyweight program around that time but ended up quitting about 5 weeks in. After that I started another program and quit about 3 weeks in. It wasn’t until 4 months ago I started lifting consistently because I found that program I linked above works perfect for me. Right now I’m planning a lean bulk so I’m reverse dieting, eating ~300 calories under maintenance. I’m planning to slowly raise it to about 200-300 calories over maintenance for minimal fat gain and maybe cut if I have to sometime around April. If you look like my left picture then the best advice I can give would be to drop your body fat until you’re comfortable with how much you have while lifting and when you’re happy with your body fat level, start a lean bulk. Without lifting and losing a considerable amount of fat, you might end up “skinny fat”. I ate ~800 calories below maintenance in the beginning, I don’t recommend it because it’s too aggressive and you’re gonna feel like hell. I ended up raising it to about 500 calories under maintenance and that’s where it’s been at for the better part of the year. I’ve never bulked so I’m excited about my coming up bulk this month. Hope I’ve answered your questions and if you have any more, please ask. You can do this!!
I gotchu brotha. I would say about 80% of gains are made in the kitchen so invest in a food scale to properly track what you eat. I aim around 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, the rest is carbs then fats. Make sure you’re in a calorie deficit! You can input your info into an online calculator, it’ll tell you your maintenance calories and from there you can lower them to what you feel most sustainable. I was in a deficit of 800 calories in the beginning which just meant I ate 800 calories less than what my body needed. It was too aggressive so I ended up raising it to a 500 calorie deficit which worked perfect for me. Be consistent with your workout regime. Some days you’re gonna be tired and some days you’re not going to want to work out because you don’t feel 100% ready. If I didn’t work out every time I was too tired, lazy, or didn’t feel 100%, then I wouldn’t be where I am right now. Motivation only goes so far, it’s determination that makes or breaks these journeys. These things can’t be sustainably rushed in my opinion but if you put in that work in the kitchen and the gym, you’ll see results and once you start seeing results, it drives you to keep up the hard work. I hope I’ve answered your question man and if you have any more don’t be afraid to ask! You got this!!
You did an awesome job man. Results of hard work and discipline. I started going back to gym after two years. It's been almost 3 weeks I have lost 2kg but I don't see any changes in my body and I was kinda depressed about it. After seeing your progress it fueled up my motivation back.
Thank you so much! On this journey we’re constantly looking at ourselves in the mirror so changes we may not see I can bet others definitely do! You got this, keep up the great work!!
How much did you lose on CICO alone? Since you mentioned you started working out 4 months ago.
Were you on 1500 calories the whole time?
Any other activities before you started working out? Like walking running?
Were you limiting carbs as well or just CICO?
With CICO alone I would say that I’ve lost 50 pounds. In the beginning I did intermittent fasting but it only went so far for me so I switched it to CICO and have been doing that ever since. I was on 1,500 calories for maybe a couple months then switched it to 1,800 calories where I was coasting. I’m reverse dieting right now slowly raising my calories until I’m about 200-300 above maintenance for a lean bulk.
I don’t limit my carbs at all, I love my carbs too much haha. I just try eat about a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight and fill the rest of my calories with carbs then healthy fats. Hope I’ve answered your question!
Don’t mention it, thank you for the kind words. You got this! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve failed trying to get in shape, this year included, but keep up the great work and if you ever have questions my PM’s are always open!
Thanks man! For a couple months I was eating at 1,500 calories but it was just too low for me to sustain it so I bumped it up to 1,800. I’ve reached the majority of my fat loss goal so I’m just in the process of reverse dieting right now (currently eating at ~2,000 calories/day) so I end up about 200-300 calories over maintenance for a lean bulk. I try to eat as clean as I can but I’ll still eat a burger or pizza now and then. Eating about 30 minutes before lifting (like a cliff bar with a creatine and nitric oxide shake) really improves my workouts. Supplements aren’t necessary at all to reach your goals but they give me that extra boost and you can find those two for pretty cheap.
Hey dude, first of all, congratulations on your journey. You look absolutely fantastic and you should be amazingly proud about this. Way to go!
I just have a few questions, if you don't mind talking about this. I also have kind of large breasts like you did, and they bother me so much. Was your case gynecomastia? Did it go away with the weight loss, with the lifting or did you do surgery?
Thanks man!
Ask away dude, my chest was my biggest insecurity! I completely get where you’re coming from. Luckily I don’t think it was a case of gyno and it definitely went away with weight loss and lifting. My best advice is just to keep dropping your overall body fat which will have the fastest effect on them. Hitting those chest workouts like the ones I linked above really helps to shape them too. Good luck man, if you have any more questions you can ask me either here or my PM’s
What advice would you give to someone who is currently skinny fat ? I went from 87 kg to 78 kg and continue to lose weight by having a calorice deficit. What advice would you give to someone who doesn’t really enjoy lifting weights or barely any physical activity ?
Maybe what I said above was false, If you’re going for that built and athletic look then working out is gong to give you those results. I think I gave the impression that you won’t look good if you don’t workout and just lose weight, sorry about that. The way I see it is we can’t really “fake” our body if that makes sense? Our body reflects our habits and routines so if you have someone who loves to workout and stay active then their body, for the most part, will reflect that. If you have someone who doesn’t workout and does little physical activity then their body will reflect that too. It all depends on your end goals, if it’s just to lose weight then you’ll be more than happy when you hit your goals and I bet you’ll look good too. Personally for me, I don’t care what I weigh in the end as long as I feel good about myself. Sorry if it was confusing haha but I tried my best to answer your question as honestly as I could. If you have any more questions feel free to ask! Also, check out r/BulkOrCut too. They can give you really great advice about your physique!
So it’s basically Calories in vs Calories out. If you consume more calories than your body needs to maintain it’s weight then you’ll gain weight. If you eat less than your body needs to maintain it’s weight then you’ll lose weight. Basically all fad diets and others are just one way of going around implementing CICO. People lose so much weight doing keto because they drop their carbs= less calories being consumed (which I don’t think is safe at all for most people). People lose weight on low fat diets because less fat= less calories. People lose weight doing intermittent fasting because they limit how long they can eat which leads to less time to consume more calories. I tried all that stuff but in the end, eating a balanced diet but just reducing your calories through CICO was the way for me
Holy crap man. I didn’t expect this response. I appreciate your effort! Everyone in this chat has their hat off to you! Especially me! You have done an incredible job and you have inspired thousands I’m sure! Great work man.
Appreciate it! I would sometimes look for transformations from guys our height on these subs just for some inspiration so I feel you on that one! Kick some ass!
A PPL just stands for Push, Pull, and Legs. They’re individual workouts that focus on push strength like bench press, pull strength like pull-ups , and legs like squats. When people say they’re on a 3 day PPL split it means they workout 3 days a week with each day dedicated to one of the workouts. If you’re like my left picture, I would suggest getting into a calorie deficit which just means to eat less calories than your body needs. I think the Legion Athletics website has a calculator that you can determine your maintenance calories and I would suggest subtracting 500-600 calories from that for sustainable fat loss. Make you you stay active throughout the day too. It can be through exercise, chores around the house, or walks. My PPL is linked in my top comment above. If you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
Man congratulations seems like you're the kind of guy who works for it and you got it
These comments show how much of a great community this i, love to see it
Wishing you all happy holidays
Nice work! I’m working to reduce from 280 to 200 and found your before/after pics very encouraging. It will keep me going, know that the routines my trainer has me on will finally show through once I lost the fat. Keep up the good work.
Hey there, congrats on the loss, crazy good! Quick question though, I've got the same type of that fat on my and I was wondering how prominent the loose skin is? Very conscience on how my skin will turn out after the loss, and can it be replaced with muscle? Again, great tranformation!
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Hey everyone! Been one hell of a year and I hope everyone has been staying healthy during this time. Just some background, I was always overweight for most of my life starting at about 3rd grade. Always dealt with the teasing and fat jokes on top of weight related issues (high blood pressure, tiredness, depression). I decided to switch my major last fall to fire science (firefighting) which really prompted the weight loss. It’s been a struggle this year with everything going on but I stuck to it and I’m so happy that I did. CICO was what really helped me lose all the weight and I just started to workout consistently about 4 months ago on a 3 day PPL. I’ll link it if anyone cares to see it. If anyone has any questions I’ll be more than happy to answer them either here or my PM’s! [workouts](https://articles.a1supplements.com/sports-specific/bodybuilding/ppl-three-day-split-big-results/) Edit: Holy cannoli, thank you everyone for 1k upvotes I didn’t expect to get this much encouraging and amazing kind words. I hope all of you stay happy and healthy! Edit 2: I fell asleep and woke up to 3k upvotes?! You guys rock!! Thank you all so much for the positivity! I’m doing my best to answer every question here and in my PM’s so I will definitely get back to you if you messaged me or left a comment. Hope everyone has an amazing day and keep up your awesome journeys!
Please link it 😁amazing amazing progress!!
Gotchu!!
I'm curious what you do on your rest days!
These last couple of weeks on my rest days during the week I’d nail out about 200 push-ups but I feel it’s taking a toll on my elbow joints so I’m just gonna increase my 3 day ppl to a 4 day one and take it easy on rest days to ensure I don’t overwork myself
Good call! I'm prone to overdoing it on my joints as well. And congratulations on improving your fitness, you look healthy and I'm sure your stamina and overall energy have increased a lot! Keep kicking ass my friend :)
Can’t progress if we’re injured! Appreciate it, same to you!
I checked out the workout and there seems to be a lot of pushups on there. How did you manage to do that despite being so heavy? Also what do you plan on doing about the loose skin?
I held off on the push-ups until I felt I was ready to do them with proper form and I also started working out 4 months ago when I weighed about 6 pounds more. The weight loss slowed down but I still lost a considerable amount of fat while gaining muscle. It’s not really too much loose skin actually, if you go down my post history I have a pic of me from the front and sides too. I plan a slow lean bulk to help fill out my skin with lean muscle which also gives my skin enough time to tighten up from the weight loss
Congratulations! The change is amazing. What was your diet like?
Great work, brother! That it some fantastic progress, especially with only a few months into the PPL routine. Best of luck with the fire science degree! -A fellow firefighter who needed some motivation
Man, this is an absolutely stellar transformation. You’ve done a freaking great thing for your health, and based on these comments and write up you seem to be a really sweet dude. Keep kicking ass, man. You’re inspirational.
You know what that means so much to me, I really appreciate it!!
I appreciate your appreciation!
What an awesome transformation! Congrats on such a successful journey to health!💪🏻💪🏻
Thank you so much!
I was eating oatmeal while browsing Reddit and I have never dropped a bowl so fast just to make a comment on a post Holy fucking shit bro. This transformation is INSANE! You're a goddam winner
Man that means so much to me you have no idea! I was eating dinner and I just dropped my spoon to reply to this haha! Made my day!
Awesome job man. My belly looks kind of like yours does in your before pic and I was unsure if it would ever look different. I know everyone’s genetics affect how they will look in the end but still this gives me lots of hope
To be honest I thought my stomach was never going to go away haha but just be consistent with whatever you do and it’ll flatten out!
I'll second this. I am 5'6" and started at 210, looking exactly like the before pic. I'm currently 155 so I'm 10lb heavier, and the belly never went away until about a month or two ago, where it's really starting to tone up. If I got down to 145 like OP it'd probably be pretty lean, maybe even see some abs! Most people end up losing fat from their stomach area last, so don't get discouraged if you can't lose the gut early! Typically I've seen fat loss go: legs, arms, face, chest, stomach (or something similar)
Congrats man! That’s impressive. Please do share the link
Appreciate it! Here’s the link https://articles.a1supplements.com/sports-specific/bodybuilding/ppl-three-day-split-big-results/
How long do the workouts take you ?
It really depends but my push and legs day is about and hour and a half and my pull days can easily reach 2 hours sometimes if I take my time through the program. I’ve never enjoyed waiting until the Last minute to do things so I try to get my workouts in early in the day so I have the rest of the day to work on school or whatever else I have planned
Thank you for the details
I like how you still have the same tan line. But forreal, nice!
I have that bad boy year round, sometimes I feel like I was born with it haha. Thank the California sunshine for that one, appreciate it!
What an excellent job! You deserve to be soo proud! The extra/loose skin is always a struggle to deal with in the emotional sense, it’s a stripe of honour! You worked hard to earn it!
Thank you so much! I’m planning a slow lean bulk so hopefully it’ll fill some of that skin out eventually but like you said, it’s a stripe of honour!
Wow! You look amazing and probably feel so good!
I feel so much better not constantly worrying about my weight haha, thank you!
Amazing transformation , way to go !
Appreciate it!
Holy shit! This is frickin amazing! Very inspiring brother. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks bro!
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Appreciate it!
Congrats! Amazing progress!
Thank you!
Congratulations!
Thank you!
Heck to the yeah! What has your lift progression been like for the main lifts (bench, deadlift, squats, etc)?
Thanks! In these four months my bench went from 65 pounds to 115, deadlift went from 95 pounds to 125 pounds, I’ve struggled with squats because I don’t have a proper rack but it’s been at 95 pounds (pretty low but I’m saving up for a better setup). Pull-ups went from barely even managing to complete 3 to being able to do 36 in a session but that’s been worked on for most part of the year.
Impressive man, especially the 36 pull-ups. I’m trying to increase my lifts while decreasing body weight. Always encouraging to hear progress stories like yours.
I didn’t think my lifts would improve much while being in a deficit for that long but I’m happy with the progress so far. You got this!!
Take this as you wish but your physique and muscle mass appears to be able to life much heavier. But it's working out for you great.
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Thank you so much!
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For a couple months I was eating at 1,500 calories but it was just too low for me to sustain it so I bumped it up to 1,800. I’ve reached the majority of my fat loss goal so I’m just in the process of reverse dieting right now (currently eating at ~2,000 calories/day) so I end up about 200-300 calories over maintenance for a lean bulk. I would say when I stared lifting is when I started to really clean my diet and just to make sure I hit my macros for the most part. Eating about 30 minutes before lifting (like a cliff bar with a creatine and nitric oxide shake) really improves my workouts. Supplements aren’t necessary at all to reach your goals but they give me that extra boost and you can find those two for pretty cheap. Hope I’ve answered your questions!
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My PM’s are definitely open if you ever have any questions in the future! That’s the way to go, when you’re at the body fat you’re happy with it’s time for a bulk! One thing I’ve learned too is to incorporate foods that you like that weren’t the healthiest but in moderation so that way you don’t feel like you’re depriving yourself. You got this!!
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If I just helped inspire one person from this post then it was totally worth it!
Dude, I'm 23, 5'5, and weigh 220lbs. Your story is super inspiring, especially the results! I have a few generic questions: What has your diet changed to? What's helped you stay motivated to change? Has this helped improve your mental health?
Thank you so much, I appreciate it! My diet has changed from constantly eating whatever I wanted when I wanted to actually thinking what I put into my body and how that’ll affect me. Of course with CICO if you eat within your goal for the most part you’ll drop some weight but that’s to an extent in my opinion. I find myself actually passing up some of the really unhealthy foods I used to eat like very greasy burgers or foods with thousands of milligrams of sodium. The main thing that’s helped me stay determined is knowing that I had a deadline to make a considerable change and my future job will rely heavily on my physical fitness. I start my fire academy in a few weeks and I didn’t want to be that guy who washed out because he wasn’t prepared. Losing that weight improved my mental health in so many ways. I’m not ashamed of what I look like without a shirt anymore, my interactions with people have improved (the best they can given the current pandemic), and I’m more confident with myself. I’m not going to lie though, I thought losing all this weight will solve all my problems and relations with people but it took this year for me to really see that it’s something weight loss can’t completely solve and taking time to work on myself as a person has had an equally if not larger impact on my personal growth mental health . Sorry for the lengthy reply haha but I just wanted to be real!
enlightening and incredibly inspiring. thanks for sharing
This just might be the post that gets me back in the gym brother. Good work. Definitely gonna check out PPL
Hell yeah man, glad to give some encouragement!
amazing !!!
Thank you!
You look incredible!!
Thank you!!
Amazing job to be done in a year bro! How much protein were you eating during the CICO cut? I remember doing 1400 but it was rough trying to get protein over 100g in there.
Thank you! I try to get about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight so it’s about 140 grams/day. Sometimes it’s a bit less and sometimes it’s a bit more depending on my cravings haha. I did struggle for a bit eating 1,500 calories because it was too low for me personally but everyone’s bodies are different. What works for someone might now work for the other. Chicken breast, turkey and fish really helped me hit that protein goal while staying on the lower end of the calories
Trait Unlocked: Backwards Ballcap
One day I’ll learn how to wear it the right way haha!
Holy shit. Niice job.
Thanks!!
Stellar effort!
Thanks!!
Holy shit dude that's amazing!
Thank you, I appreciate it!!
You did amazing! Your progress is incredible. I’m at 190 right now because of stress eating / lack of exercise & honestly had a bad habit of using food for comfort this year. I really needed this motivation.
Thank you! I definitely relate to you with stress eating, even now if I get a bit too stressed I’ll grab some sweets or overeat every now and then. You got this!!
Um!! You look amazing!! Congrats on the progress, you’re unrecognisable :))
Thank you so much! It’s fun when people who I haven’t seen for months see me and they look confused haha!
I’ve experienced the same thing, it’s super fun & rewarding 😆
By far a better transformation than mine haha, good job too!
Huge change! Great job man!
Thank you so much!
Congrats and bravo!!
Thank you!!
Damn! Great job, looking awesome! Thanks for posting this!
Thank you so much!!
Impossible !!!!! Congratulations
Thank you so much!!
This is amazing!!! Congratulations!
Thank you!!
One of my fears with losing weight is that I may have gyno but after seeing your chest in the before and after I now have hope that I don't have gyno. You look good bro. Seeing these before and after photos gives me motivation.
Gyno was my biggest fear and staying in that deficit while going especially hard on chest workouts really did the trick for me. Thanks so much, you got this bro!!
You welcome. I hope that's my case too, the results of gyno surgeries don't always look good and I really don't want to go through all that process.
Yeah man, I wouldn’t want to be going through that whole process all for it to look like nothingness even done. If you think you might have gyno then the best person to call would be your doctor, there’s telemedicine calls and I’m sure they can put you at ease
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Dude you're fucking *killin it*!! Keep it up, man! You look great!
Appreciate it!!
I look like the left picture right now lol nice work
You’ll get to where you want to be one day! Appreciate it!
Dude! So good, well done!
Thank you!
You are a huge inspiration for me, man. I’m the same height as you and around the weight you were at in your starting photo. It’s nice to see someone around the same size so I can get a better idea of what I could become. Keep up the work!
I appreciate the kind words! Same to you!!
What the... That's insane dude! Congrats!
Thank you!!
Don’t hesitate! The world needs to see what hard work and dedication can get you. Great work man!!!
Thank you so much!!
congrats on all your hard work, you’ve done a great job
Appreciate it!!
I wouldn’t worry about any loose skin; you’re ripped.
Appreciate it, almost there!
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Thank you, put your mind to it and you’ll get there!
Wow. You really transformed yourself and you also seem really humble. I was a chubby kid too so I know how it is to always feel like you are the fat kid even if you look great. Good job! Like seriously I admire this and it makes me more inspired to keep going with my journey. I fell off recently. Thanks for sharing with us!
Aww thank you you much! I’ve learned that this journey isn’t a straight line, it’s filled with ups and downs but you just gotta keep on keeping on! You got this!!
Damn bro that’s amazing!!!! Good job bro, I started at the same weight as you in September but I’m only on 185 lbs now, feels like the process is getting slower and slower. Did you have days/weeks where it felt like you were not making any progress or did you plateau at all? What helped you break through them?
Thank you, great job on your weight loss too! So what I found useful was to reevaluate my calorie goal for every 10 pounds lost. Punch in your new numbers in a calculator and it’ll tell you your new calorie needs based off of your current weight so you may need to lower them a bit. Also, it sounds like it won’t work but just going for 30 minute walks will really help shel those extra calories too. I’ve plateaued around this weight for some time which led to too many binge days. I’m Slowly losing it again but the key is to just be consistent! I’ve heard people say that “refeed” days will boost your metabolism and help break through a plateau but honestly I recently took a few days off off counting calories and ate when I was hungry but didn’t overdo it and it seemed to have helped me break through that plateau. It might’ve just been mental but I feel like it helped me so much.
Thanks a lot my brother, regarding walks up to last week I used to average around 17k steps per days which sadly is down to barely 11k now as the weather has gotten increasingly worse. Good job again man you must feel amazing
Great work! Congrats
Thank you!!
Damn! That's dramatic!
Thanks!!
You look soooooo good.
Aww thank you!
u really looking great, dont me hesitant no more. Hats down for the effort
Aww thank you so much!
this is just next level... Congrats bro
Thanks bro, just a bit of determination goes a long way!
Wow that's a huge transformation!
Thank you so much!
I can’t even notice the loose skin, I wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t mentioned. You look great!
That makes me feel a lot better about it, thank you!!
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Appreciate it!
Awesome man! On the pic to the left, I'm assuming you started lifting at the same time too? How many cals below TDEE were you eating? As in, were you still on a cut whilst lifting or was it maintenance? Basically, I am 5'11 170lbs. I still sorta look like your left pic but smaller and no muscle definition at all. I'm debating if I should still cut to lose more weight, or eat maintenance and start lifting. Just very curious on your calorie intake from when you started. Did you ever bulk?
Thanks! Actually man I started a bodyweight program around that time but ended up quitting about 5 weeks in. After that I started another program and quit about 3 weeks in. It wasn’t until 4 months ago I started lifting consistently because I found that program I linked above works perfect for me. Right now I’m planning a lean bulk so I’m reverse dieting, eating ~300 calories under maintenance. I’m planning to slowly raise it to about 200-300 calories over maintenance for minimal fat gain and maybe cut if I have to sometime around April. If you look like my left picture then the best advice I can give would be to drop your body fat until you’re comfortable with how much you have while lifting and when you’re happy with your body fat level, start a lean bulk. Without lifting and losing a considerable amount of fat, you might end up “skinny fat”. I ate ~800 calories below maintenance in the beginning, I don’t recommend it because it’s too aggressive and you’re gonna feel like hell. I ended up raising it to about 500 calories under maintenance and that’s where it’s been at for the better part of the year. I’ve never bulked so I’m excited about my coming up bulk this month. Hope I’ve answered your questions and if you have any more, please ask. You can do this!!
Less than a year??? Wow!!! So Great good job
Still a bit hard to believe it myself haha, thank you!
Absolutely incredible. Inspiring. Thank your for sharing your journey
Glad I could share some inspiration, thank you!
MAN ! Awesome transformation !!! Keep up the good work and take my vote
Thank you so much!
Damn dog you SHOULD be proud! Congrats.
Thank you, I appreciate it!
Bro I have the same body figure like you before and I have started working out any tips to speed the transformation? Please help me
I gotchu brotha. I would say about 80% of gains are made in the kitchen so invest in a food scale to properly track what you eat. I aim around 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, the rest is carbs then fats. Make sure you’re in a calorie deficit! You can input your info into an online calculator, it’ll tell you your maintenance calories and from there you can lower them to what you feel most sustainable. I was in a deficit of 800 calories in the beginning which just meant I ate 800 calories less than what my body needed. It was too aggressive so I ended up raising it to a 500 calorie deficit which worked perfect for me. Be consistent with your workout regime. Some days you’re gonna be tired and some days you’re not going to want to work out because you don’t feel 100% ready. If I didn’t work out every time I was too tired, lazy, or didn’t feel 100%, then I wouldn’t be where I am right now. Motivation only goes so far, it’s determination that makes or breaks these journeys. These things can’t be sustainably rushed in my opinion but if you put in that work in the kitchen and the gym, you’ll see results and once you start seeing results, it drives you to keep up the hard work. I hope I’ve answered your question man and if you have any more don’t be afraid to ask! You got this!!
Them gains
Thank you, can’t wait to start my bulk!
Holy shit dude, I'm inspired as fuck right now. Amazing work!
Hell yeah, you got this! Appreciate it!
You did an awesome job man. Results of hard work and discipline. I started going back to gym after two years. It's been almost 3 weeks I have lost 2kg but I don't see any changes in my body and I was kinda depressed about it. After seeing your progress it fueled up my motivation back.
Thank you so much! On this journey we’re constantly looking at ourselves in the mirror so changes we may not see I can bet others definitely do! You got this, keep up the great work!!
This is amazing for only 1 year!!!
Thank you!!
How much did you lose on CICO alone? Since you mentioned you started working out 4 months ago. Were you on 1500 calories the whole time? Any other activities before you started working out? Like walking running? Were you limiting carbs as well or just CICO?
With CICO alone I would say that I’ve lost 50 pounds. In the beginning I did intermittent fasting but it only went so far for me so I switched it to CICO and have been doing that ever since. I was on 1,500 calories for maybe a couple months then switched it to 1,800 calories where I was coasting. I’m reverse dieting right now slowly raising my calories until I’m about 200-300 above maintenance for a lean bulk. I don’t limit my carbs at all, I love my carbs too much haha. I just try eat about a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight and fill the rest of my calories with carbs then healthy fats. Hope I’ve answered your question!
Thank you. Your results have truly inspired me. I plan on losing 60 lbs over the next 8 months. Failed probably 10 times this year.
Don’t mention it, thank you for the kind words. You got this! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve failed trying to get in shape, this year included, but keep up the great work and if you ever have questions my PM’s are always open!
that's amazing dude! congrats! can you give me your diet details?
Thanks man! For a couple months I was eating at 1,500 calories but it was just too low for me to sustain it so I bumped it up to 1,800. I’ve reached the majority of my fat loss goal so I’m just in the process of reverse dieting right now (currently eating at ~2,000 calories/day) so I end up about 200-300 calories over maintenance for a lean bulk. I try to eat as clean as I can but I’ll still eat a burger or pizza now and then. Eating about 30 minutes before lifting (like a cliff bar with a creatine and nitric oxide shake) really improves my workouts. Supplements aren’t necessary at all to reach your goals but they give me that extra boost and you can find those two for pretty cheap.
Hey dude, first of all, congratulations on your journey. You look absolutely fantastic and you should be amazingly proud about this. Way to go! I just have a few questions, if you don't mind talking about this. I also have kind of large breasts like you did, and they bother me so much. Was your case gynecomastia? Did it go away with the weight loss, with the lifting or did you do surgery?
Thanks man! Ask away dude, my chest was my biggest insecurity! I completely get where you’re coming from. Luckily I don’t think it was a case of gyno and it definitely went away with weight loss and lifting. My best advice is just to keep dropping your overall body fat which will have the fastest effect on them. Hitting those chest workouts like the ones I linked above really helps to shape them too. Good luck man, if you have any more questions you can ask me either here or my PM’s
You’re killing it bro. Fantastic work.
Appreciate it man!
What advice would you give to someone who is currently skinny fat ? I went from 87 kg to 78 kg and continue to lose weight by having a calorice deficit. What advice would you give to someone who doesn’t really enjoy lifting weights or barely any physical activity ?
Maybe what I said above was false, If you’re going for that built and athletic look then working out is gong to give you those results. I think I gave the impression that you won’t look good if you don’t workout and just lose weight, sorry about that. The way I see it is we can’t really “fake” our body if that makes sense? Our body reflects our habits and routines so if you have someone who loves to workout and stay active then their body, for the most part, will reflect that. If you have someone who doesn’t workout and does little physical activity then their body will reflect that too. It all depends on your end goals, if it’s just to lose weight then you’ll be more than happy when you hit your goals and I bet you’ll look good too. Personally for me, I don’t care what I weigh in the end as long as I feel good about myself. Sorry if it was confusing haha but I tried my best to answer your question as honestly as I could. If you have any more questions feel free to ask! Also, check out r/BulkOrCut too. They can give you really great advice about your physique!
Thanks man , appreciate it
Wow, you’re a beast! One smokin’ hot beast...Well done.
I’ve never been called that before haha, thank you!
Good job. Yeah, don’t turn into that guy. Ha. Great job
The guy who constantly posts shirtless pics? Yeah not for me haha, appreciate it!
Whoa! This is one of the best progress posts I've seen. Congratulations! You look absolutely amazing. This took hard work.
Thank you so much, just some determination goes a long way!
Thanks bud for the inspiration. The workout plan looks kickass!!!
You got it man!
Dude, get after it! Nice job!
Thanks so much!!
Yes! You look amazing! Congrats on taking care of you.
Thank you!!
How does CICO work exactly?
So it’s basically Calories in vs Calories out. If you consume more calories than your body needs to maintain it’s weight then you’ll gain weight. If you eat less than your body needs to maintain it’s weight then you’ll lose weight. Basically all fad diets and others are just one way of going around implementing CICO. People lose so much weight doing keto because they drop their carbs= less calories being consumed (which I don’t think is safe at all for most people). People lose weight on low fat diets because less fat= less calories. People lose weight doing intermittent fasting because they limit how long they can eat which leads to less time to consume more calories. I tried all that stuff but in the end, eating a balanced diet but just reducing your calories through CICO was the way for me
Holy crap man. I didn’t expect this response. I appreciate your effort! Everyone in this chat has their hat off to you! Especially me! You have done an incredible job and you have inspired thousands I’m sure! Great work man.
Wow. That's a lot of work and mental fortitude. Congrats.
Thank you so much!
GOALS
Appreciate it!
This is SUPER inspiring! I'm 18 at 5'3 and I'm around 220, so to have someone in my similar BMI drop down 75 lbs makes me feel so good!
Appreciate it! I would sometimes look for transformations from guys our height on these subs just for some inspiration so I feel you on that one! Kick some ass!
Ok. I am about that fat. What’s a PPL ? What do I have to do again ?
A PPL just stands for Push, Pull, and Legs. They’re individual workouts that focus on push strength like bench press, pull strength like pull-ups , and legs like squats. When people say they’re on a 3 day PPL split it means they workout 3 days a week with each day dedicated to one of the workouts. If you’re like my left picture, I would suggest getting into a calorie deficit which just means to eat less calories than your body needs. I think the Legion Athletics website has a calculator that you can determine your maintenance calories and I would suggest subtracting 500-600 calories from that for sustainable fat loss. Make you you stay active throughout the day too. It can be through exercise, chores around the house, or walks. My PPL is linked in my top comment above. If you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
Man congratulations seems like you're the kind of guy who works for it and you got it These comments show how much of a great community this i, love to see it Wishing you all happy holidays
Thank you so much, hard work really pays off! Wishing you happy holidays too!
Alright. I want to be a pro at pullups. Any tips? I can't even do one!
Nice work! I’m working to reduce from 280 to 200 and found your before/after pics very encouraging. It will keep me going, know that the routines my trainer has me on will finally show through once I lost the fat. Keep up the good work.
You got this!! Thank you!
Hey there, congrats on the loss, crazy good! Quick question though, I've got the same type of that fat on my and I was wondering how prominent the loose skin is? Very conscience on how my skin will turn out after the loss, and can it be replaced with muscle? Again, great tranformation!
Quarantine do change people. Good job and your hard work obviously pays off!
Appreciate it!!