u/Stoolcommenter69

Just wanted to share my personal experience. I started on Zepbound and did that for a couple months. I had significant weight loss, but also noticeable drop in strength, so I decided to get my testosterone levels checked. Turns out a lot of men with a higher BMI struggle with low testosterone and mine ended up being very low.

So I started treatment for both, combined with major lifestyle and diet changes. Walking daily and concentrating on a mostly protein diet. I’ve honestly felt like a different person. Just wanted to put this out there for anyone who’s been struggling. It’s never too late to turn things around.
-36years old.
-Went from 48 waist to 36.
-22 neck to 17.
-414lbs to 240 lbs.
-no more high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and my blood work went from all high risk to normal range.

Two summers ago I was a guy in my mid 30s traveling to cool places but too embarrassed to post photos of myself because of how I looked. The pandemic took a real toll on me and I gained a significant amount of weight….. my heaviest was 414 pounds. Seeing photos of myself became the wake-up call I needed to change, but I had no idea where to start.
I’ll be upfront, I went to my doctor and was prescribed a GLP-1 to help with the weight loss. The weight came off quickly, but I noticed I was losing a lot of muscle and felt exhausted all the time. Being someone with a high BMI, I got my testosterone checked and it turned out to be very low. I started TRT, began training hard, and added 15,000 to 20,000 steps a day into my routine.
I listened to a lot of Tony Robbins and i just decided it’s time to change. I wasn’t happy, I had sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high risk factors with my blood work. So I went all in……I completely overhauled my diet, cut out alcohol and soda entirely, and did a full reset on my mindset and lifestyle. This wasn’t just about losing weight it was about changing who I was and how I lived.
Two years later I feel confident and I’m in the best shape of my life. If you’re feeling stuck, I’d encourage you to look into medical options. I know it’s not the right path for everyone, but combined with the right habits and mindset shifts, it was genuinely life-changing for me

Just wanted to share because I once thought i was too old and didn’t think getting in shape was possible. I’m 6 foot 7, 36 years old, starting point 414 pounds. Morbidly obese according to my bmi. I had sleep apnea, high blood pressure, border line being diabetic.

I got to a point where I honestly just stuck. No structure, poor eating habits, drinking, soda, no consistency. Lost all confidence in myself, and really started to be embarrassed by the way I looked.

Full transparency, to get started I used a GLP-1 to kickstart things early on, mainly to control appetite and stop the constant overeating. Around the same time I got bloodwork done and found out I had low testosterone, supposedly a very common thing with high bmi guys in late 30s. Highly recommend guys to get tested and do it the right way through a doctor, don’t use sketchy gym bros.

I started TRT, which helped with energy, recovery, and consistency in the gym.
The meds helped me get moving, but the results came from sticking to the basics daily.

Diet:
I kept it simple and repeatable.
Focus: high protein, low carb
Typical foods:
Eggs (breakfast staple)
Chicken breast
Steak
Occasionally yogurt/protein snacks/popcorn
Big changes:
Cut out soda completely
Cut out alcohol
Stopped mindless snacking
Calories/macros:
I didn’t follow a super strict macro split at the start. The priority was:
Stay in a calorie deficit
Hit high protein daily
As I got leaner, I tightened things up more:
Protein: high (around 1g per lb goal bodyweight)
Carbs: lower/moderate depending on training
Fats: filled in the rest
If I had a higher calorie day, I balanced it out with more activity instead of quitting.

Training:

Biggest thing was this. Walking every day and I mean every single day. I turned tv time and video game time into outdoor walks. I’ve had reconstructive knee surgery and cannot jog. I knew I had to get in some form of cardio so I just started walking. To lose over 40% bw you need to burn more calories then you take in. Also very beneficial to listen to audio books while you walk. Listened to all kinds of books to better myself instead of mindlessly scrolling like I use to do.

Built up to 15–20k steps/day
Lifting:
4–5 days per week
Basic split (nothing fancy):
Chest
Back
Legs
Arms/shoulders

Today I’m healthier than I ever was. My bloodwork has went from very high cholesterol and high risk factors to being perfectly healthy. No longer have sleep apnea and the biggest thing is being confident in myself again. Glad to answer any questions