| Name | Syed Fahad Ali |
| Height | 175 Cms |
| City | Lives in Melbourne, (from Karachi, Pakistan) |
| Highest weight measured | 101 kgs |
| Transformation weight | 96 – 74 |
| Weight lost | 22kgs |
| Current weight | 80 kgs |
| How much time it took me to lose weight | 16 weeks |
The point when I decided to lose weight
One day at my work’s restroom. I saw myself in the mirror and thought that why I am not focusing and exerting the same level of energy on my health as I exert on other aspects of life i.e. work, career, fun, etc. I was not happy. I was doing long working hours on a desk job while eating a lot of junk food every day. That day, I said to myself, that’s it! It’s time to prioritize my health.
Any special diet I follow:
As I used to go to the gym before and knew quite a bit about different diets and workouts. I was never being consistent in the past. I usually used to go hard for 5-6 weeks then jump back to the same chips and chill. This time, I decided, whether it’ll take me years, I will get rid of these love handles.
There was no special diet, it was all about calories in vs calories out. I made a lot of mistakes when it comes to deciding how much calories to consume and what macros proportionate to divide these calories for. But, hey! We make mistakes to learn. It’s part of a process.
In the morning I used to have a whey protein shake after a cardio session. Followed by oatmeal with berries. Then I used to eat few eggs/ egg whites (again depends on the calories + macros planned). For lunch, tuna, or grilled chicken with veggies/rice. Post-workout whey protein shake. Followed by dinner, sometimes red meat, fish, or chicken with rice/potato, all depend on what I have in the fridge. Yogurt, nuts, or casein before bed. I was using the Myfitnesspal app to track everything I eat. Remember, carbs are friends, I learned that the hard way!
What type of workout I did to lose weight?
For the first 7-8 weeks, I was doing full-body compound exercises i.e. squats, bench press, shoulder press, rows, core (abs). Occasionally, biceps curls, tricep extensions, and calves. That doesn’t mean, I was doing squats every single day. Our body is very smart that’s why we need to shock it otherwise it gets used to the things we do every day. For example, my full-body workouts used to look like something:
Monday: squats, flat bench press, shoulder press, barbell row, core, bicep curls
Tuesday: Leg press, incline dumbbell press, overhead military press, weighted pull-ups, triceps, calves
From week 8 or 9, I split the workouts in push, pull and legs split with heavy weights, low reps worked for me.
Was it hard for me to lose weight?
To be honest it was hard as I was doing it for the very first time and had doubts as I had no supervision no coach. All the information was gathered from the internet and I was experimenting with all that on myself with many doubts in my head.
It was very hard when I went too low on carbs. I had no energy, but still, have to push myself to lift heavy and eat those tons of protein and veggies. In my case, going to the gym and working out was the easy part. Difficult was to eat that much protein and spend all the time in the kitchen, try to sleep on those low carb days.
What is the most difficult part of being overweight?
For me, it was more of a psychological thing than to look good. I was ok when I was overweight, just less enthusiastic, active, and happy. Believe me, when you move this body, those endorphins do magic.
I experimented with many things in these four months, from low carbs to carb cycling. From steady cardio to HIIT. From high reps to low reps. From compound to isolation exercises. From paleo to Keto. Learned so much about fitness/bodybuilding/ dieting. Made so many mistakes! That what I say, again and again, I made so many mistakes. Best mistakes of my life!
How do I stay motivated towards my weight loss goals?
Before starting this transformation. I came across a guy on Instagram who said “Motivation is fake and temporary. The key to achieve something is discipline.” That sentence just stuck in my head. It is true, I experienced this. There were days when I just want to stay at home, order a pizza, and watch some movies. But those phrases kept me going. So there was no motivation at all, it was all discipline. By the way, that guy was, Tony Doherty, founder of Doherty Gyms Australia.
Lesson learned from weight loss
We, humans, are incredible and we all have some special gift. Finally, after trying hundreds of things, I can say that I have found what really makes me passionate.
Some other points to tell:
- It takes time.
- Consistency is the key
- I knew about fitness/bodybuilding 4-5 years prior to this transformation. I was never been consistent. I used to workout 1-2 months and quit then start again and quit and so on until this transformation.
- I have not trained for 5-6 months and was eating crap before starting this transformation.
You can also share your weight loss story with us. Send your weight loss story to us at [email protected]
