At 6’1” and 335 pounds, Redditor omgwtfjesuslol was severely obese. With a BMI of 44.2 (anything over 30 is considered “obese”), he writes that although he’d been overweight/obese for the last 19 years of his life it only good “pretty bad” after he was forced to move for work. “I smoked a pack of cigarettes every few days, was completely inactive other than going to work/doing chores, sleeping in my free time for ridiculous amounts of time. Basically, killing myself at an extremely fast pace,” he writes.
It wasn’t until August 2015 that he realized something had to give. “I’m not sure what, or why, but I realized and accepted that I needed to change,” he explains:
I revamped my entire diet, set myself to a 1500-1700 kcal/day limit (I recognize at this point this was entirely too low at my starting weight, but I pushed on due to not suffering any lack of energy), eating clean and healthier foods. I utilized a low carb, moderate fat, moderate protein model, which I would change at this point if I could to incorporate more protein.
That very same day, omgwtfjesuslol says he got a gym membership and busted out 5+ miles on the treadmill in about two hours. “I left with blisters on both feet and drenched in sweat,” he says, “but it was the beginning of a long journey and I had no intention of looking back.” Starting out with cardio six days a week for 90-105 minutes each session, omgwtfjesuslol started out his workout routine slow, then ramped up over time:
I’d walk on the treadmill for about an hour, starting at 2.7mph with a small incline, and stationary cycling for 30-45 minutes. I designed a basic 3 day lifting focused on limiting muscle loss, especially at such a huge deficit. It wasn’t perfect, but it did allow me to add a small amount of muscle. It follows something similar to this:
Day 1: Back/biceps
Assisted chin-ups/pullups 4×6-10 or until failure
Shrugs 5×12
Dumbbell rows 3×8
Misc lat accessory work
Neck pulls (face pull variant focusing on the lower traps) 4×15
Good mornings 4×8-12
Concentration/Hammer curls 5×10-12Day 2: Chest/Shoulder/Tricep
Dumbbell bench 4×6-10
Cable flys 4×12-15
Machine press 4×10
Military press 4×3-5
Seated OHP 4×6-10
Lateral/front raises 4×10-12
Close grip bench 3-4×10-12
Misc tri workDay 3: Legs
I will get hate here, but I don’t squat. I’m not a fan of it, as much as I know I should.
GHR 4×6-8
Leg Press 5×8-12
Hamstring curls/Leg extensions/Hip ab+adduction 4×10-15
I got a lot of leg workouts from the increasing intensity of cycling, which played a big part in my leg development.
At around the 5 month mark, omgwtfjesuslol jogged his first mile in 12 minutes 30 seconds. “I went from not being able to jog for 20 seconds, to doing a 2h15m long run as of last Sunday, as well as breaking into the 22:xx 5k time,” he writes. However, exercise isn’t the only thing omgwtfjesuslol had to overhaul in order to improve his health:
My food intake consisted of the usual items for cutting, chicken breast, greek yogurt, nuts, lean proteins, a ton of vegetables, whole wheat breads, fish, and fruits. I did not have a single cheat meal for 6 months. As I progressed, I re-evaluated my caloric needs, and increased accordingly. As of today, I typically consume between 2300-2800 kcal/day while I continue to shed the remaining fat. I’m a lot more lenient with my diet, but I still shoot for a 40/40/20 macro split, with at least 140-160g of protein. I still go to Subway and Chik fil a at least once a week, and allow myself to splurge (heathily, if that’s even possible) with 3500-4000 kcal days on my long run days.
In the end, omgwtfjesuslol was able to lose 159 pounds in 9.5 months, drop his blood pressure from 140/95 to 110/70 and can now run 14+ miles at a time. And if that doesn’t sound incredible enough for you, let his photos sway you otherwise:
[Via Reddit]