I was just eating my breakfast and thinking of how much it has changed in just a year.
This is me a year ago when I finally had enough of being fat
All I changed was exercise and how I looked at food.
After getting really into researching nutrition and fitness I realized a few things. The most important thing is everybody's body is different. Most fat guys are frustrated from trying what is “supposed to work” and not get results. It creates a mindframe of “well it doesn't work for me so there is no point.” I used to run 3 miles a day and eat only 1-2 meals a day and I still didn't lose much weight. I was still chunky. If I stopped running for a few days I ballooned up even more. It was fucking depressing. I had a friend I ran with who was literally 8% body fat and I could never understand how we both ran the same but he looked so much different.
I finally stumbled into strength training. I've always been a big guy so this was something I was naturally good at. If you are big you have an advantage in lifting weights.
Once again, let me pause to mention I don't mean just going to the gym and doing circuits of 12 rep exercises, or things like that. By strength training I mean going to the gym doing 3-5 very heavy reps for 3-5 sets. Do this for 3 exercises and go home. That's it. it started being awesome to watch the numbers go up on my lifts. Every week you get a score of how awesome you were the week before. When you see that number pass 100, 200, and eventually 300 you become ecstatic. There is an inherent badassery and confidence in being in a room full of people and knowing you are stronger than all of them.
No sweating and panting either. Just go to the gym 30-45 minutes a day for 3 days a week (later 4 and 5 days as you get addicted.. and you will get addicted). Just put in all your frustration and anger into each lift and then go home tired and eat like a fucking madman. That is the other part. The fat guy mentality is to try to eat all the weird low fat and artificial diet foods on the market. None of that. Following sage advice I only ate whole, pure, man's food. Think what a badass would eat 1,000 years ago and that were the staples of my diet. My breakfast this morning was 8 slices of bacon with eggs and avocado. Dinner on a normal night is 1.5lbs of ground turkey with some beans and avocado thrown in. Sometimes I just eat an entire rotisserie chicken with some olives. The fat guy mentality is to starve yourself but after lifting I now eat 3,500 calories on most days and still lose weight. It is the most amazing feeling ever.
I'm not saying strength training is for everybody. All bodies are different. But I know there are some big guys out there who have never been able to get in the shape they want no matter what they try. I was one of those people. I found strength training and my body responded to it like nothing it ever has before. I'm hoping this convinces some other people to do the same thing. If so, check out Starting Strength (which I started on) or Strong Lifts. Also /r/fitness is largely strength-friendly.
Also, just for fun: some of the meals you get to eat when you lift heavy and require over 3,000 calories a day
Also if anybody has any questions, feel free to ask.
submitted by funkyskunk