A Nerd who lost a lot of weight, you can do it too!

[mflacy]

Well I'm riding the inspiration wave too due to John's site.

ME: 5'10 160. I'm not overweight, I'm just out of shape. In fact, I've never been in shape my entire life. I've got toothpick arms, a slight double chin, a jiggly midsection, and a fat ass. I have never worked out through high school or college. I'm also extremely pale for a southerner.

As for last Wed., I haven't had any sweets, junk food, or my vice: chocolate. I'm watching what I eat closely and drinking lots of water. I've hit the treadmill about 3 times for a total of 9 miles. I'm painfully trying to go some crunches in the morning and at night. I've only hit the weights once, but I'm going to start regular training when my stuff arrives from BodyBuilders.

Thanks again and again for the site, John. I hope to be where you are at in 3 months.

 

I wish i would have taken weekly pictures, starting the week before my 21st birthday.
I could put them in reverse order and have a similar site.

Kudos on the weight loss thought John.

 

[Babbles]

Good job and good motivation. I am in the process of trying to lose fat and gain muscle and thus far the only difference is my metabolism is way out of whack.

 

[Dacalo]

awesome work man, you inspired me to get into shape!

 

[Riprorin]

Great job, John!

Can you describe your cardio workouts and give a laymans description of HITT?

My progress isn't nearly as dramatic as yours, but I am making progress!

Before and After Pics

 

[yellowperil]

Wow, impressive site you've got there JohnStoneFl. Glad to see an Orlando-ean kicking some ass

I'm about 5'9"-10" and 180lbs. I'm trying to lose about 15 pounds and bulk up this summer. People tell me I look normal/healthy but I'm out of shape and probably hypoglycemic. I guess the main obstacle for me is not abstaining from overeating or exercising but the type of food and frequency of eating - my schedule during the fall and spring is pretty hectic and I doubt I could find the time to eat 5-6 times a day. Also I'll be the first to admit that I have no cooking skills so I end up eating fast food a lot. But starting today I'm going to start a new running/weightlifting schedule, cut out non-diet sodas, and try to eat smaller portions. Thanks for the inspiration

 

[HarryAngel]

Amazing, really impressive! Great work!!!!

 

[JohnStoneFl]

Originally posted by: TubStain
John, one question: Do you try to burn a specific amount of calories per day? I try and get about 600 or more done, per day. It takes me about half an hour, but I'm not sure if that is healthy. I do come out of it dripping with sweat, heart pumping and feeling great. Plus it gives me 30 minutes to reprocess my whole day.

There's nothing wrong with what you are doing, 30 minutes with your heart in its aerobic zone (65%-80% of your heart rate max) is a great workout! You could even go for 45 minutes if you feel up to it. As Moralpanic indicated I do HIIT (high Intensity Interval Training). It burns calories while you do it, but the main purpose of HIIT is the "afterburn" effect. Check that article he linked to for detailed information.

Originally posted by: Riprorin
Great job, John!
Can you describe your cardio workouts and give a laymans description of HITT?

Hey man, check out the HIIT link Moralpanic posted above for a good description of it, and check out my Training Page for my specific HIIT workouts. Saw your pics, great work so far, keep it up!


Man, it's so cool to read all these posts from people who are getting into shape and eating better. Those of you who stick with it and give it 100% will have similar or better results than I've had, and you'll feel great mentally and physically. Keep up the hard work, I'm really looking forward to seeing a bunch of before/after photos over the next few months!

 

[mflacy]

Update on my progress:

I'm still on a fairly strict diet. I haven't had any chocolate or any candy, pop, or junk food for the past 20 days. I don't miss it much, except for Dove dark chocolate :evil: . I'm trying to remember to drink water all the time, but I do drink a little sweet tea occasionally.

I've been on the protein and vitamins for 6 days. Bodybuilders.com was a little slow to ship, but the prices are good.

I'm still running every day on the treadmill. 3 miles usually except for weight days after which I do my speed of John's 12 minute HIIT. I've gone from jogging/walking/weezing the 3 miles in 50 minutes to a constant jog in about 37.5 minutes.

I haven't lost a pound, which isn't my intention. Instead, my double chin has been reduced by about half. My fat ass is slightly less jiggly. My midsection looks about the same, but you can see my ribs poking through slightly.

 

[CrazyPerson]

:disgust:

 

[Ns1]

john, if you'r estill reading this....


HOW THE F DID YOU GET THAT TAN IN 4 MONTHS?!

 

[dafatha00]

Looking good John. Your whole body looks to be in great shape but you might want to consider shaping your chest a little more. Are you targeting all the areas?

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: NeuroSynapsis
john, if you'r estill reading this....


HOW THE F DID YOU GET THAT TAN IN 4 MONTHS?!

Hell a tan is the easiest part If you spend a week on the beach and use sunscreen in the right amounts you can go from pastey to quite dark and then another week you can basically top it off. Alternatively with tanning beds you can reach your tanning potential in much less than 4 months if you want!

 

[JohnStoneFl]

Originally posted by: NeuroSynapsis
john, if you'r estill reading this....

HOW THE F DID YOU GET THAT TAN IN 4 MONTHS?!

Eating lots of fish, of course. That, and pushups.

Originally posted by: dafatha00
Looking good John. Your whole body looks to be in great shape but you might want to consider shaping your chest a little more. Are you targeting all the areas?

Thanks, yes I'm hitting my pecs and delts extra hard, both of which are lagging (I know). Takes time, but progress is being made!


mflacy, good work -- keep it up!

 

[mflacy]

Well, I'm still on it and I'm finally seeing some results. When I started my body fat was at 20%, now I'm down to 16%. My calves are starting to look quite defined, probably from all the running and lower body work. My butt is definitely smaller. Also, I've trimmed a half inch around my waist. I'm disapointed that I'm not seeing more progress in my midsection, but I'll keep at it.

I was forced to cheat one day with 1 slice of cake for an office party for my birthday just to be polite. I did run an extra mile that morning in preperation though. Everything else has been healthy.

I've been alternating 23 minute HIIT days and 4-5 mile endurance days for the past couple weeks. It's becoming easier and easier to run faster and for longer periods of time which is very cool. I've really had to increase the intensity of my weight days since I stopped getting sore the day after I lifted.

How is everyone else's progress?

 

[JohnStoneFl]

Ok, it's been a few months now....how's everyone doing? Those of you who dedicated yourselves and stuck with it have no doubt made some excellent progress. Even if you didn't (or did, and then fell off the wagon), there's no reason that you can start right now. In 2 or 3 months you could look and feel like a different person.

I have ended my weight loss program, and have entered the next phase, which is bulking/maintenance. I still update my transformation page every single day, and am pleased with my progress so far in this new phase of my transformation. Here's a picture of my back and arms from today, compared to a picture from 3 months ago: http://www.twowiresthin.com/john_back_compare.html. I wish I'd taken a "before" back shot in January--that'd be a real h00t to look at.

I won't start my real bulking program until this fall, but in the meantime I've managed to gain some lean mass and not put on any fat. This fall I'm going to get as huge as I can, and will probably add some amount of fat in the process. I'll probably start cutting again in January or February and then stay that way. I don't want to look like a bodybuilder.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Rilescat

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
i am 6 feet even tall and i went from 210lbs to 159lbs in less than 2months. (truthfully) after trying my dads wierd diet. its staying off.

So what is the "weird" diet?

replacing food with low carb bars and doing this thing called "excersising"

 

[astroview]

yea, I have had trouble keeping up with my diet and working out, when school starts I'm right back at the gym

my other problem is when do I stop cutting a lot and focus more on lifting...

 

[virtuamike]

*sniff* I feel so inspired

I've been on a semi-strict diet because I'm trying to get my blood pressure down, meaning I've cut out all the cholesterol, bad fats, and processed sugars. The only carbs I get now are from fruits and grains. Could be doing a better job with the fats but at least my BP dropped 10 pts and I've lost 10 lbs since I started.

What I really needed was some type of workout schedule with an emphasis on weight loss. I really hate jogging because I have a reconstructed knee, so I was thinking either eliptical or bike. Think I'll spring for one with my next paycheck and start working on dropping the pounds.

I don't think I can do the high protein diet though, I thought that was bad for people with high BP. Not trying to build muscle mass yet. I'm thinking muscle would be a good thing to start building up in winter, so I can have something nice to show off in spring Hopefully by the time I'm ready the BP drops to normal, right now I'm still borderline.

I think I'll keep a photo/weight log too, I'll share when I'm ready.

 

[astroview]

I did ellypticals virtuamike, they worked like a charm for me. I strongly recommend them, build yourself up to 45 minutes a day and the pound will come off really easily!


I've got to lose that last 5 pound or so, before I start lifting. Problem is I've been sick for a month now, nothing serious just a long virus the doc said, and I'm not near my gym for the time being.

 

[mflacy]

I'm still going strong.

I'm down to 14% body fat. 15 to 14 took forever. I've also dropped about 5 pounds. I didn't really want to do that, so I suppose I need to eat more. My double chin is about 80% gone. My legs are quite toned. Also, my Abs and chest are finally taking shape. Areas I still need to work on are the fatass, lovehandles, and my arms.

I'm concentrating more on short intensity runs than long endurance runs, so I won't lose more weight. I'm lifting every other day now, with a concentration on my biceps, triceps, and wrists. I am also started to do cruches on a consistent basis instead of every few days. I'm up to 85 a day. I'm trying to increase by 5 each day.

Lastly, I've dropped a little more than a pants size. I've gone from tight 34's to loose 32's. I need to go get a tan too.

 

[technogeeky]

Did you find that initally, you were gaining muscle mass faster than losing weight, so your weight didn't go down much?

I'm 300 lbs, but I'm eating 2000 cals instead of 1400.

I'm at like 35% BF now, but I think I'm going down.

 

[astroview]

Has anyone been told that they look too unhealthy because they are skinny? I've been hearing this from my mother and sister a lot, and from some of my friends, but I still have love handles, etc...

I'm not sure what to do.

 

[JohnStoneFl]

technogeeky,
No, I started dropping weight quickly. When on a fatloss diet you have to be very careful about losing muscle, so usually the reverse of what you describe is true. I think the best way to protect your existing lean mass when cutting is to make sure you are eating enough, make sure you are getting enough protein, lift weights and consider supplementing with glutamine. Even doing all that, it's very difficult to gain lean mass while your calories are so restricted.

astroview,
Oh yes, I know all about that! People were telling me a looked like a crackhead about halfway through my cutting program, even though I still had visible fat. Honestly at that point I didn't look too good, but I knew what I was doing and kept at it. Once my abs started to pop out, people shut up. Just make sure you are lifting weights and doing everything you can to protect your lean mass and ignore those people. Anyway, not too long after my abs were showing I started putting on some real muscle and, because I have so little body fat, it really shows. Pretty much the only people who tell me I'm too skinny at this point are the meathead body builder types. Some of them can't seem to understand that not everyone wants to look like they do.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
i am 6 feet even tall and i went from 210lbs to 159lbs in less than 2months. (truthfully) after trying my dads wierd diet. its staying off.

Wow, you must be a stick! I weigh in at 195 Lbs at 6 feet and I'm skinny (large frame built like a football player). I must have more muscle weight then I thought or I'm just full of sh*t.