Just curious. Has anyone gone from a really high body fat (obese)to becoming lean, and not doing it through surgery, but rather through diet and cardio/wts? Id love to hear details!!

Thanks,
Jennifer

well I've never been in that situation but I watch The Biggest Loser for inspiration and some of those people go from morbidly obese to super cut and lean and have six packs. But that's only the dedicated and committed.

But it is possible!

yeah ive seen the show but i dont think living that kind of lifestyle is reasonable/realistic.

jennifer

How else would they lose all that excess fat if not by changing their lifestyle?

They don't keep their day jobs when they're on that show.

Firstly, they're accustomed to eating 3,000 calories per day or more. The trainers on the show restrict their calories to about 1,500 or so, and it is strictly enforced.

Secondly, they work out under the trainers' supervision for 3-6 hours per day.

When Jennifer said she didn't think "that kind of lifestyle is reasonable/realistic," I don't think she was arguing that they "changed their lifestyle." She probably meant that it isn't reasonable or realistic for the average person to reduce their calorie intake by half and increase their daily exercise by 5x or 6x.

Might as well go to boot camp.

Mind you, getting a job as say, a mailman/woman would be a decent way to get fit and get paid for it.

That depends on where you are. I didn't see a mailman that walked around to deliver mail until I moved to Pittsburgh 9 years ago. Some of the mail people here are very fit because of the hills and stairs. It would be great to have that job here.

Before I moved here though, our mail delivery came by truck. I got more exercise walking to my mailbox than the mailman got delivering it!

Ah, that explains it.

I watch TV for about 30 mins. a day with my son and had no idea that is what it took.

That said, I wish I could get on that show.

Neat, the mailfolk here use bicyles, but in true French style, half of the ones I see on their routes often have a cigarette hangin' outta their mouths...

Viv la France!

this guy is pretty stinking amazing: http://www.traineo.com/14_1493_0.html

later

He had surgery. Great for him, useless for anyone wanting to lose weight without a crutch.

As for me: I am far from lean at this point, but I've lost over 80lbs on the "stop being pathetic" diet. In under a year, I'm confident I will be in shape.

Heheheh! Gotta like the 'tell it like it is' style.

GOOD ON YA, Rich, or--off ya, more like it.

Here's to both your confidence and your goal.

That's about as cynical an interpretation of his progress as I could imagine. Yes, he did have surgery. But since then he's been working out at least an hour a day (often more), and his diet has improved immensely. He has reduced his body fat percentage to levels most of us can only dream of, and he did that through hard work and discipline over a short but realistic time period.

Unless you consider exercise or smart eating to be crutches, his example should be quite useful.

Keith: I'm sorry about your imagination.

Minu: Thanks I guess we'll see in a year if my confidence was warranted, heh.

i apologize that i didn't notice that he had surgery. i was just astounded that he was once 445lbs and now is in incredible health. and yes, it is great for him. 'crutch' or no, he is now in good health.

i also apologize to the original poster for your thread being crapped on.

carry on.

Congrats to everyone and all of their efforts, surgery, no surgery, tv show, no tv show. It all is hard work regardless. Everyone has their own beliefs and whatever works best for them is what they should do. Hopefully, it is healthy and they can maintain it.
I asked the original question not to stir controversy but b/c it is so rare to see people go from "fat to fit" w/o surgery, and doing it by diet and exercise alone, and im hoping to find people i could talk to about this. I am really inspired by it.

Thanks,
Jennifer

Hi, again, Jennifer,

Well--I did it, though by no means in the extremes of 'hundreds of pounds', but on a 5'4" frame, going from near 200 to 137 lbs naturally in a year made for ONE HELL OF A JOURNEY in terms of not only physical transformation, but of learning and most importantly, FEELING ohhhhhhhhhhhh so much better.

I had gained that weight in a pretty quick manner too, which resulted in quite a bit of back troubles, most of which have now diminished to the point of managability, and all I can say is, truly, if there's a will, there IS a way.

I wish you all the best on your road to health, AND that it is a ONE WAY.

Love your diet, love your CV, but make sure you love your resistance training just as much, if not more.

There's no point working that hard if you're not going to get the body you truly deserve at the end.

I see a lot of people shed serious weight, so this is a truly achievable objective. However, the ones that skip their resistance work still have ugly bodies which is so sad after such an inspiring journey. Their skin droops, shoulders droop, bum sags.

This is so so so so easy to prevent, just by simple resistance work. You'll lose the weight faster and look a million dollars at the end.

Good Luck!!

I have lost close to 100 lbs by eating right and exercising. I have not lowered by BF % too much, but that is my goal in my 2nd year of my journey to a new me.

congrats minu! awesome job! what was your workout/diet like? do you have loose skin now?

Awesome job too Fred! Why do you think your bf didnt lower much? thats so hard to believe? did you do weight training?what was your diet/workouts like? thanks!

Thanks Dean! I agree with your approach. I love my diet now, the cv i like except on high intensity days, and im working with a trainer to do resistance training. i have come far and know it is a long journey to get the results i want to do it the right and permanent way.

thanks!
jennifer

Good for you!!

You've already made the biggest step you'll ever make on this journey, and your enthusiasm is very positive and reassuring. It is this kind of direction and commitment from strong individuals like you, that I take with me when I train, as I get a lot out of hearing what others are doing and how they are smashing through limits.

'When you are facing the right direction, all you have to do is keep walking'

Keep us posted

Dean

Well thank you, Jennifer. And no, I do not have loose skin, thank the stars, (and good genes, I guess); not even stretch marks--so I'm a lucky girl.

As far as how I did it, it kinda went in phases as I learned, tried and tweaked.

The first phase was basically lowering my daily calories and cutting out the nasty carbs--those processed and sugary useless ones, not those found in veggies or whole grains, cereals and fruits. Plus cutting out the daily wine-enjoying.

I also began working out, for a good hour each day either power walking, or on the elliptical machine, and in doing that lost the first 15ish lbs.

Then I discovered the "BFFM" program and followed that to a T for about 5 months, keeping up the 1 hour of cardio per day, usually 6 days a week, and that took off another 25 lbs.

I got a lil tired of eating so bloody often with that system and learned about another method known as Intermittant Fasting, (basically one day with real low cals., then one day with regular cals.), & that helped me peel off another 15lbs or so--always making sure to keep the foods as natural as possible.

At that point I discovered something called, "Fast 5", which is basically eating only within a 5 hour window each day at the same time and that removed another chunk o' flab. It's a little like "The Warrier Diet", if you're familiar with that. It was around this time that I started jogging, which I quite enjoy. I also would mix the calorie cycling with the F5 approach when I felt the need.

I'm now back to using the caloric cycling a la, "Johnson Up Day Down Day", aka, "JUDDD", coupled with a continued very clean diet, meaning lots of NATURAL foods, and of course keeping up the hour of sweatin' it out each day. I do enjoy a lil vino again from time to time, after all I'm IN FRANCE! ;)

Throughout the whole process (and of course now) I drink ~ 1-2.5 Liters of H20 per day.

I exercise before breaky, and eat just what's needed post workout.

Not everyone will agree with my methods here, but for me, it's all about what works, what's sustainable and that it feels good. And my cholesterol levels, BP and heart rate are all top shelf, so I must be doin' something right.

Looking forward to reading of your progress!

No idea about BF. Quite disappointed about it as time goes by. Could be I do too much cardio. I have been doing weight training since last year. I increased the intensity over the last couple of months. The diet has been very strict at times, but the BF % never moves, so I am flexible (to a point) with my diet. I eat about 2200-2500 cals per day. Mostly protein (50%), carbs (30%) and fat (20%). I will be playing around with the numbers soon to see if the BF % goes down. I workout about 1 hour per day. I weightlift 3-4 days, cardio 3-4 days also.

Good luck!

Fred, I'm confused by this statement. The way I see it, those 100 pounds had to be fat, so your percentage had to have gone down, and by a LOT.

Unless you are referring to your ratios now, and that they haven't changed much since you shed that first hundred?

No matter what, those are some shed-pounds worth celebrating, way to go on that major work!

Minu,
thanks for sharing your story and info. I appreciate it. G-d bless you and no stretch marks or loose skin!! congrats and keep doing what works for you! 1 question-do you do any weight training?? how long were you overweight for?

Fred,
again awesome work! curious, what way do you measure your bf?

Before I joined traineo, i lost 80 pounds through diet and exercise. I still have alot of work ahead of me, and loose skin issues, stretch mark issues etc but i havent even come close to reaching my body fat range and weight range. we are on the journey together.

jennifer

I slowly crept up 'n up from '02 to '06.



No, but I used to some 10 years ago. I quite liked it too.



You're welcome. And if it serves to spur, then yay.

I use a handheld BF% device. I know it is not the greatest thing. However, I use one at work and one at home, by 2 different makers and they both give me the same results. After losing close to 100 lbs, the BF % has only gone down about 5% DURING the 100 lb weight loss. IF you compare that to a lot of other people that lost that much weight via weightlifting and cardio, that is pretty bad. Yes, of course I am very happy I lost close to 100 lbs. However, now my next step is to lower my BF% after I lose another 25-30 lbs. Believe me, if the BF% does not go down after 6-8 months, I will look into some professional help.

I was at 165 a couple years ago and really fat. I remember getting tired going up and down the stairs. I am 135 now and I'm 5'6. I don't know if i was considered obese but i definitely looked gross.

great job sean! how did you do it? what is your diet/exercise routine?
thanks!

jennifer

my BMI was 30 when i weighed 222lbs. 30 is in the obese range. i have lost around 30lbs. i now hover between 190 and 195. i did it my lowering my calorie intake and low carb lifestyle as well as body weight exercises.

as of now i don't do any weight training, but once i'm done with basic training i'll start as i'll have access to an air base gym

later