I’ve been reading this web-site for about a year and there is so much here. There is lots of advise and things to learn here but is there anyone out there that was in great shape, got fat and then back in great shape…What workouts did you do and what diets did you do that helped you…Im 6’5" 260lbs 29yrs old is there and advise.
Thanks
I started getting fat when I was 11. By them time I hit 24, I was 200 pounds (a landmark if you’re a vagetarian), with a 42" waist. This was with lifting weights.
I gave up rice, pop, and started interval training in the mornings (running). Dropped down to 150 by the time September hit.
Now I’m back to serious lifting (well, for the past 3 years).
So, you were reading the site for a year… did you forget to do something else? 
I started working out.
Seriously, that’s how you do it. You gotta start somewhere. Even if it’s not the perfect program, just do something.
As you do it, read and learn. You’ll start to see where you need to change things. But you have to start by doing something.
Look at it this way, even if you choose the crappiest program out there to start with, it will still be better than doing nothing.
I was 200 lbs at 5’6". On a chick, that ain’t pretty.
Now I’m a reasonably curvy girl at 160 lbs (with a fuckton less bodyfat). I just started lifting weights. Then I started running. And THEN, I started eating better. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say.
Well, I can relate to reading a while before you start doing something, although I was/am a bit younger when I started reading here. My best advice is to follow Berardi’s 10 habits. As far as working out, I’d say pick up the book by Alwyn Cosgrove and Lou Schuler, The new rules of lifting.
Start with that and then get a coach, not just some dude at your local Bally’s but a coach. Best thing I’m done in my 3 years was to hire Coach Staley. If you feel real ambitious like me, get a coach for your diet and supps too. I always suffered with the urge to change my diet/programs too quickly, now with coaches, I don’t, I want to, but I don’t do anything but give 110%. Any questions pm me.
2 years ago, I was 6’ 290lbs 42" pants… got tired of being fat… Took me 18 month to go to 172lbs (11% bf)…I got tired of being skinny, so 4 months later I’m 200lbs (14% bf) 
Don’t forget the simplest method of losing weight is to create a calorie deficit… ( less food, more cardio! )
[quote]ThisIsMyRifle wrote:
but is there anyone out there that was in great shape, got fat and then back in great shape…
Thanks[/quote]
That is a perfect desription of my story which you can read on this http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=658379&pageNo=121 page if interested.
The first most important step is commitment. If you do not want it bad enough to do whatever it takes you’re wasting your time. I gotta tell ya though vegetarianism is going to work against you if putting lean meat on your bones is part of your goals. Muscle is the furnace calories are burned in. The more you have the easier it is to stay lean unless you’re a hopeles junk food addict in which case you won’t be gaining much anyway.
–Tiribulus->
At 17 I was a rugby, football and cricket player working out with weights 3 days per week and training or playing sport 3-4 days per week depending on the season. 5 11 tall, 220LB, 34 inch waist, strong and fit. Oh and I worked a manual job.
Then I went on a dreaded hiking expedition, smashed my ankle to pieces and ended up limping and sometimes on crutches for the next 4 years. Virtually all of my physical activity ground to a halt.
Added to this 3 years at University, a vicious cycle of regret (“I could have been a contender” and all that bollocks) and stupidly turning to food and beer for comfort, I ballooned up to 308… Ugh.
By then I had hit rock bottom and pleaded with my consultant to undertake a risky op that could have led to the joint being permanently fused if things didnt go well, I was ready to take the gamble.
To cut a long story short it went better than expected (thank God) and I started rehabilitation and got my nutrition in order.
2 years after the op Im down to 238LB, hitting the weights hard again (never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to squat again!!!) and back working in construction which I love. My goals are to lose another 18LB, get stronger and start playing my sports again.
Just thought that might be helpful to anyone reading who feels low about where they are at the moment. You can change, its a long and hard frickin road at times but you can do it with determination, perseverance and knowledge.
You are reading T-Nation so the knowledge is right here in front of you, now find the determination inside yourself and just do it. I swear it will be worth it.
Some wise men said,
“We improve ourselves by victories over ourself. There must be contests, and you must win.”
“Accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.”
And most importantly…
“Stop making excuses for why you don’t have certain things, don’t look a certain way and can’t do this and can’t do that. Get off your lazy fucking ass, grow some balls and go make shit happen. Create your own destiny and use the most powerful thing you were given since birth - free will.”
Gotta go to sleep now. Tomorrow im building a roof, attacking some weights and starting a V-Diet cycle… gotta make that shit happen!
Still a faty, but down to 25% BF from the huge 45+%. Down to 211lbs from 280lbs. Did it in about a year or so. Still along way to go… It took me long time to get fat its gone take me a llong time to get small again.
It’s more a matter of changing your lifestyle than losing the fat. You can pick many diets or workout plans, but you really need to just change your lifestyle and be consistent for the rest of your life. Don’t change everything at once. Start small and every month improve the nutrition and exercise.
Guess you can say former, but still a bit of a FB.
4 years ago I a round 342 pounder at 5’9" and 43 years old, yes and guess what heart attack time, Sept 1 2002.
Luckily a “minor” one had 3 stents put in. and was in a good location if any is “good” no heart damage what so ever. So lost 70 pounds in cardiac rehab, in a year, Learning to eat right and healthy, but after that got lazy, and went back up to 330 where just 5 months ago I WOKE UP again and went in for a hospital monitored Ketosis diet, A protein/vitamine drink/fast. And got back into weight training, to keep some muscle. So now I am sitting here at 252 and still need to lose some more, but an hitting the weights hard, full body routine, and all reps pushed to failure. Have seen some nice gains in strength and defination (if you wanna call it that) Bench up 30 #'s not alot but for me cool. and feeling ALOT better overall, and lots of cardio in between training days. Want to get cut down to my wedding day weight of 235 that was when I was 20 years old. and go up from there muscle weight wise as continuing losing fat.
Yes commitment is the key and is my factor in this, Never again want to be up there again, and want to see my son and daughters weddings and enjoy my grandkids one day, as a fit/strong person.
Actuallt just today I ordered Metaballic Drive low carb, Surge, Creatine and BCAA from here, So away I go
Sorry for being long winded, but if this “old” fart can do it you kids sure as hell can
Take care and keep at it
I was fat as a kid. I was 200 Lbs during my 8th grade year. Got a weight set for my birthday freshman year of high school. I started lifting and I quit eating a full box of Suzie-Q’s every day. I got in shape. I have fluctuated up and down in weight but I have never been that out of shape again.
It is true that all you need is the dedication to lift weights and work out every week and you will change. You don’t need to do anything special, just run your fat ass around the block a couple times every week, lift something besides a beer or sweetroll, and eat something that was alive and running in the woods a few days earlier. You’ll be fine
grew up as a fat kid in a fat family and (not so surprisingly) turned into an obese, completely inactive adult. at 5’10", i maxed out at 272, then became an endurance weine, followed the lo-fat craze and dropped to 160. since then, i’ve bumped around in weight a bit and am currently about 190.
what i’ve found for folks like myself who grew up fat or who have a history of dramatic weight fluctuations is that caloric cycling seems to work best (at least for me). i’ve also never been leaner and meaner than when i shifted my cardio to short interval sessions, consistently hit the iron, and shifted my diet to include a higher percentage of calories from protein. those simple modifications changed my world.
i’ll be 36 in a few months (older than i’ve ever been - really!) and expect to be in the best shape of my life. which is nice, since this is right about the time that most foks in my age range start falling apart.
best of luck on finding your mojo.
About 3 years ago I weighed around 250 (I’m 6’2"). Got tired of how I looked and hit the gym. I don’t remember the weight program I used but foodwise I followed Beardi’s principles and lost 15 pounds but plateaued weightwise after that.
I got sick of being in the gym so I switched to kettlebell training and had Mike Mahler design a kbell program for me. Kbell program worked great, but I wasn’t budging much from 235 lbs. Mahler also creates nutritional programs so I signed up for that and explained why. He was WTFing because I was doing some intense workouts and should’ve shown some progress weightwise.
I sent him a food log and within 5 minutes he e-mailed me back saying my diet was way too acidic and completely overhauled it. I lost another 10 lbs and felt much better overall (energy levels and mentalwise) as well. I didn’t pay attention to the acidic/alkaline levels in food before this - I do now!
At 225 lbs I decided to go on the Velocity Diet and went back to the gym using ABBH. I lost 25 lbs in 5 weeks.
That was about 5 months ago. My weight has stayed around 200 lbs and I’m back to following the nutrition guidelines Mahler set up for me. Workoutwise I switch back and forth between kbells using the program Mike designed and going to the gym using TBT.
Guy’s that is good stuff to hear for sure. It’s glad to hear advise from folks that have been there and no from everyone that has never been over wieght in thier life. Not saying they don’t know what they are doing but I just thinks it different to hear real life stories and what they did to change thier life through diet and exercise. Thanks for the motovation.
[quote]ThisIsMyRifle wrote:
Guy’s that is good stuff to hear for sure. It’s glad to hear advise from folks that have been there and no from everyone that has never been over wieght in thier life. Not saying they don’t know what they are doing but I just thinks it different to hear real life stories and what they did to change thier life through diet and exercise. Thanks for the motovation.[/quote]
Good luck and keep it up!
By the way you have got to see this
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1250565&pageNo=0
Truly inspirational stuff. One of the best threads I have ever seen.
Im only halfway towards my own goals but I cant emphasise enough much my life has changed since I started.
Even though the road looks so long and daunting to begin with, dont worry, the journey itself is an awesome, life improving experience.
And that feeling you get when you start hitting your targets… priceless.
Just keep at it, it will be worth it.
Im am seriously thinking of the v-diet. Does anyone have any recommentaions on workout routines and also what are some ways to come off the diet and not blow up…
Thanks
[quote]ThisIsMyRifle wrote:
Im am seriously thinking of the v-diet. Does anyone have any recommentaions on workout routines and also what are some ways to come off the diet and not blow up…
Thanks[/quote]
Chris Shugart does a good job of covering what it takes to come off the V-Diet successfully, so that’s the best place to start reading.
Any time you come off a low carb diet, you want to avoid drastic increases in carbs. It’ll probably take several weeks to fully reintroduce them to your diet.
I was in great shape when I was born. Got fat. Now I’m in great shape again. Does that count?