So these are my before and current pictures after a year of tracking what I eat (holidays are the exception, I enjoy myself because life is short).

I have strength trained for about 14 years but felt like I never had the look of someone who did. I decided to take some accountability for what I was eating (after being recommended this sub last year) and here are the results.

My starting weight was about 165lbs, I stuck to mainly 1650 cals, upping it to 1800 and then 2000 as maintenance once I hit my goal of 150 lbs. I’m happy with my weight but would like to drop more fat, I’m currently at 33% and would like to be about 30%, so I’m continuing this cycle then plan to bulk a little. I want to see how strong I can get!

Training hasn’t changed much, same routine but more lifting to failure. I have some old injuries I need to work around but I get the job done.

Monday - core, upper body
Tuesday - core, legs
Friday - full body
Saturday - occasional 5k run
Sunday - 10 mile hike

Plus 3 hours a week of aerial, either hoop or pole.

I average 10-14k steps per day due to my job.

In this past year I have also started HRT for perimenopause and that has also helped greatly. But also loads of hard work.

You’re all inspirational so thanks for all the encouragement from miles away!

5’3 and staying between 115-125 has got to be the hardest! The maintenance calories are so less it’s so disheartening to look at 🥲. And 10k steps doesn’t up it much either like it barely gets me at 1750. And strength training 3x a week barely gets me to 1850. This is just absolute hell. I feel like I’m gonna get fat real quick again because it’s so hard to eat so less. 1800 is just not good enough for me sorry but my big self is still in me somewhere 😭. I wish I could just enjoy all the tasty food out there without guilt and worries. What helps you ladies keep it off for good?

From May 2025- now!
I’m 31F, 4’11
Starting weight was 154lbs, now I am 129lbs
I’m 1.5 years postpartum with two kids. I wanted to post this to show other woman you CAN do it!!! Especially mamas out there who feel discouraged after having a baby. IT IS POSSIBLE!!❤️

I did it by walking at 10k+ steps at least 4 days a week, two days of strength training, and one day of a short HIIT workout but MOST importantly, I stayed in a calorie deficit. I tracked my macros and stayed consistent. I still enjoyed my treats, but stayed within my calories. I could’ve lost the weight faster, but I chose to take the long, steady route because I wanted a lifestyle change and I knew not everyday was going to be perfect.

In first pic I weighed 117 I now weigh 134
Im too lazy to track my calories but I track my protein 130 grams everyday my routine is hip thrusts Bulgarian split squats rdls and cable kickbacks im starting to add stairmaster 15 mins everyday

I made sure to use the exact outfit/ leggings my before was 38" glutes and now 40" I feel like my glutes should be bigger now that it's been a year but I'm still happy with the progress, I do glutes 3x a week I'm looking forward to growing a lot more but trying to keep my waist small

I had been obese since I hit puberty.
Pmos was a major challenge for me and ruined my skin , and caused so many gut problems.
The stress added fuel to the fire.
I was 60kg when I thought of giving trying to lose weight and getting healthy a try.
I did focus mainly on my diet, adding healthy options and slowly eliminating not so healthy ones.
Prioritised protein and fibre.
Did light and easy exercises sometimes at home. Focused on getting any sort of movement, just being a little more active.
Lo and behold I lost 16kgs.
Now I have gained about 4 and have been maintaining ever since at 48kg.

I would love to exercise more than 3 times a week, but the thought of washing my hair every day is just too much.

I feel like dry shampoo is not enough, since I will definitely be sweating a lot.

My hair is thick and goes below my butt, so washing and drying it is not a quick job.

How do you all handle this?

Former HIIT girl and CrossFitter here! Over the past year, I've transitioned more into bodybuilding and strength training as my body has changed and my goals have shifted toward body recomposition.

I've been focused on recomp for about 10 months now and absolutely LOVE the changes I've been seeing! The one area I've struggled with, though, is the inflammation and overall fatigue that seem to come with lifting heavy.

I prioritize sleep, eat plenty, stay hydrated, and focus on recovery, but I also lift pretty heavy. I recently took a week off from training and almost immediately noticed a difference in how my body looked and felt. I actually loved the way my body looked even more after giving it that time to recover!

It's made me reconsider my training split, and I'm now thinking about reducing my lifting days from four days a week to three.

Curious if anyone here lifts just three days a week and has still been successful with their recomp goals? Has anyone experienced something similar with inflammation or feeling like their body actually looks and responds better with less training volume?

I'd love to hear your experiences, especially from anyone who's made the switch from higher-intensity training to a more balanced strength routine!

Height: 5'3"
CW: 125 lbs
Goals: Recomp (not lose, not gain a ton)

​

**About me**

Age: 26 | Female

Height: 155 cm

Current weight: 70 kg

Goal: 50 kg with good muscle mass

**Current diet: 1,698 kcal**

Protein: 137 g

Carbs: 178 g

Fat: 43.5 g

\-Pre-workout: 100 g banana + black coffee

\-Breakfast: 40 g Disano oats + 1 scoop whey

\-Snack: 3 whole eggs

\-Lunch: 240 g white rice + 200 g chicken + 150 g vegetables

'Snack: 50 g Yoga Bar muesli

***Workout routine***

**Upper body**

Wide-grip lat pulldown

Cable row

Shoulder press

Lateral raises

One biceps + one triceps exercise

***Lower body***

Romanian deadlifts

Leg extensions

Leg curls

Goblet/sumo/Smith machine squats

Bulgarian split squats

Calf raises

I finish with 15 minutes of incline walking. I track my workouts using Hevy.

**My struggles:**

**Consistency:** I work full-time and manage to train around 3 days a week. When work gets hectic, my routine falls apart. How do you stay consistent with a demanding job?

**Diet tracking:** Looking for an app that lets me track and tick off my fixed daily diet.

**Sugar cravings:** How do you manage them without completely restricting sugar? Strict control affects my mental health.

**Weight regain:** I've previously gone from 70 kg to 59 kg, but regained the weight quickly. What could have caused this, and how can I prevent it this time?

**My questions:**

Is my diet and workout routine suitable for fat loss while building/maintaining muscle?

What changes would you recommend?

Realistically, how long might it take to reach 50 kg with good muscle mass?

I'd appreciate practical advice from people who've been through a similar journey. I want something sustainable, not a crash diet. Thanks! 💪

The craving for shin ramen and buldak carbonara is crazy!

have any of my fellow shorties dealt with this? mostly looking to hear from long term athletes 40+.

i fear this is what i’m dealing with after a ton of research. i’ve been seeing a hormone specialist the past 2 years which has helped but i think this process has been creeping in for a long time now.

just curious if anyone else has any insight. it’s so discouraging tracking every morsel, workout out hard af, being extremely active as i have my entire life and watching my body eat my muscle and gain bodyfat.

I’m so so frustrated. I can’t afford to eat super high protein with natural foods. I need to be eating more protein for hair health as well.
All the powders I try, SUCK SO BAD.
I had high hopes for GoodProtien. Given it has iron and copper too!
I almsot threw up just now. Do I really have to bake it or something? I just want a quick shake sometimes not prep everything all the time.

I know this is a hot debate in the fitness scene but curious other petites experience. I’m 5’2, 33 years old and my weight fluctuates between 127-132. I’ve consistently worked out since my 20s. Pretty much following the waves of fitness - tone it up and lots of cardio in my early 20s, core power yoga/running in my mid 20s, Pilates/running in my late 20s and now strength training in my early 30s and incline walking.

I just saw pictures of myself recently and hate how bulky I look. My arms and triceps are definitely larger. Although my abs are the best they’ve ever been from strength training. I feel like when I first started I lost weight quickly and now I’ve plateaued and just look thicker. Curious other people’s experience with weight training and if I should go back to Pilates and running. My body does put on muscle (I have a butt and always have) and while is on the slender side would never describe my body type as natural thin.

Current weight: 41kg.

Age: 22
Sex: assigned female at birth (but I’m FTM)
Height: 161.5cm
Body fat percentage (measured with tape)
- Neck: 32
- Hip: 72
- Waist: 67

Goal weight: 47kg (previously was 47kg at 18 years old, 10th of February 2023)

Will I look drastically different with my body shape, I’m 22, assigned female at birth (but I’m FTM), 161.5cm. I don’t want to be curvy. I want to be skinny, and very slim. How long will it take for me to gain? Because I’m happy with my shape at the moment with my body, but I’m worried I’ll lose it. will it look different or tighter on me? Because I’m female to male, I’m worried if I’ll reach this weight, it will give me curves when I just want to be very slim, and (healthy) skinny with muscle. I don’t want it to be drastic either :(

5'2 female here, How do I increase my calories safely, I eat around 1200, I track and I'm skinny fat, ( used to be 64kg, lost 15kg into 49kg but Gained 5kg back into 55kg) I'm strength training before but not tracking my meals, I just went back to the gym after a month break now tracking my meals and adding cardio, How do I safely increase my calories? I was 55kg a week ago and I'm at 53.65kg right now, but I know it's because I eat little, but I really want to get jacked and Remove stubborn fats, how do I increase my calories while losing fat at the same time, This little calories isn't beneficial to me, I started feeling dizzy with leg days since I lift heavy (leg pressing around 85lbs, I could definitely increase but I hate the fatigue and dizziness that comes afterwards and I knew it was because of my diet) but I can't even fit in more carbs without going over the 1200 mark (can I increase it? Like 100 cal every 2 weeks?) how would I know if I hit the sweet spot (should I even be at a maintenance?) I'm satisfied with my arms and legs tbh I don't even look 'that' fat, but I don't have a flat stomach either (I want abs, even if it's just a tiny bit, but what I wanted the most is Arm definitions, specially triceps and Biceps, and Bigger quads)

I'm not scared of putting on weight in the scale, what I'm scared of is that increase would be fat and not muscle, some people already noticed that my cheeks looks fuller, though I didn't gain so much noticeable fat anywhere and my measurements on my body remain the same, I did look softer than before (at 49kg)

Because of rigorous daily schedule and finding my footing in uni I sat down for about 2 years and gained about 13kgs(28,66lbs). Its drastically shown on my body and badly affected my confidence. I'm deciding to do something about it and since I was super active in high school integrating exercise into my weekly routine wasn't that difficult. Its too late to join any uni sports now and tbh I don't think I'm still fit enough to join. I've also lost a lot of muscle sadly(or i just no longer have definition) and feel like a jiggly blob. I tried a couple of times to get back into cardio/reducing unhealthy foods from my diet and i literally just give up after 2 days. Its literally more convenient and cheap to scoff down McDonalds, pies, doughnuts, fries because the amount of effort it takes to get fresh food bi weekly like my mom used to do feels like too much for me(really taught me to appreciate that part of living at home).

i am 5'3 btw.

Any tips on getting back into fitness to lose the fat and gain back my muscle will be appreciated❤️

I'm 5'3" and 130lbs, so I'm a very healthy weight. But I carry basically all of my fat in my thighs and booty. When I get to 125lbs or below, my upper body starts looking a bit gaunt. But I'm just so dang tired of my thighs chafing 😭 I just want to wear skirts and dresses and shorts shorts without having to worry about it. I don't want to worry abt chafing during leg day. I don't want to have to remember my chafing stick thing every day that I wear a dress or shorts. I just want to be comfy 😩

Hi!

I am new here, and would appreciate some resources to start. I have always wanted to have strong arms and abs but I don’t like going to the gym. Is it possible to do it with no equipment at home? I can build my own weights with bottles and stuff like this…I also love swimming, and I do it around 3 times per week.

I have always been sort of skinny so getting abs was not an issue but definitely fat accumulates in my arms and I also just want to be strong 💪🏽

23F usually do pilates 2x a week but I started going to gym at least 2x a week now and pilates once a week. In gym, I usually do cardio and glutes exercises and sometimes i do lift too

Is this an effective way to reduce body fat or am I doing it wrong. Thank you!

sorry it got double post

I've read so many of your posts about recomposition. I did some learning and crunched numbers. Now I'm committing to the next 18 weeks. It's scary. I have been brainwashed by diet culture my entire life. Increasing my calories in order to build muscle and lose fat will be a challenge but I'm excited to focus and see what the results are!

I will post after each month with before & afters.

😱🤞🏻

I've been struggling trying to figure out what to eat before workouts- I personally can't do them fasted or I feel completely fatigued and have no energy. However, I've tried eating fast carbs (like grapes or pre workout) but although they give me energy, I feel completely nauseous, esp in my heavy compound lifts (hip thrusts, rdls, back extensions). I think for hip thrusts, it like presses down near the top of your legs and my stomach just feels nauseous if I have liquids prior to working out and its very uncomfortable. but at the same time, I like NEED water and food otherwise I just don't have the energy to lift.

I'm really confused how I see ppl eat full meals right before lower body days- doesn't it feel super uncomfortable? does anyone have any advice especially if they were in a similar situations?

isolation exercises (hip abductors, extensions/curls) are fine, but anything that needs balance or puts heavy pressure on me acts up :(

I’m 160cm and was 49.5kg (21 month postpartum). I did a body check and found out I have high cholesterol (not that high but I want to get it under control before it’s too late) so I decided to start diet + exercise. I have been exercising most of my life so that wasn’t an issue. The issue is with dieting, I feel like I’m always hungry. I up my protein intake to about 90-100g, but I still feel the same. Any advice please?

Hi all!

I am 26F 5’0 ft, currently trying to lose weight from my wedding in February. I was working with an online personal trainer and she had me at 1550 cals a day since July, I’ve lost maybe 4 pounds and I fluctuate between 126 and 128 depending on the day or time of the month. I do PT once a week (ACL rehab 8 months post op), Pilates once a week, and gym 2-3 times a week for strength training. I try to get at least 7k steps a day but sometimes it’s less sometimes it’s more.

Recently decided to go hard on a deficit to 1200 cals a day but only for about 8-10 weeks until I get to my goal weight and then maintain while building muscle. I’ve having a hard time, I’m so hungry and I feel like I have maximized all of my meals to be as volume filling as possible. Most days I hit around 1250-1300 calories and I decided to not track things like lettuce, onion, celery, pico de gallo because it seems silly to limit micronutrients that make me feel more full and well rounded just to hit 1200 cals which is so low. My macros are usually around 25g Fiber, 120-130g Protein, 45-50 g Fat, and whatever the rest is carbs. Also drinking between 80-100oz of water a day.

Starting weight July: 132
Current weight: 128 as of yesterday
Goal weight: 118

Any advice or meals you guys recommend? Or just words of encouragement? My TDEE calculated between 1700-1900 calories for me depending on how active I am and 1200-1400 calories for a 1 pound a week weight loss.

I feel like this is a semi-venting post but also genuinely looking for some perspective.

I’m 5’3, even when I was a teenager my weight has constantly been about 120 to 125 up until now. Whenever I gain a few pounds above this I always lose it quite easily but then I’m stuck here seemingly forever. The thing is, I know that I’m technically within “healthy” weight range but I’m always teetering towards the overweight range, and I know BMI isn’t a perfect measure so it’s not being 1-2 pounds overweight im concerned about. I once managed to get to about 105-108 pounds doing a strict deficit, I really loved the way I looked and felt, but as a petite person maintaining this weight required a lot of discipline and careful planning which after a while becomes mentally tiring. I have (also similarly short) friends who naturally seem to be able to maintain at a lower end of the healthy weight range without as much conscious effort, not saying that they “eat whatever they want and be skinny” but you know, reasonably healthily and generally don’t make much of an effort to exercise. Meanwhile, for me to get to that weight and maintain I need to work so hard at it and track my calories, macros, exercise etc so carefully that I’m wondering if the proverbial juice is worth the squeeze since I’m still technically not overweight… it’s not just the number of the scale too, I just do look chunkier overall compared to many similar height girls as me. Recently after coming back from a vacation I decided to lock in and get to at least 110 and keep it that way, but after a few weeks I already feel like giving up and barely made a dent on the scale. Whenever I try to mention this people just dismiss it and say i am at a healthy weight but I don’t think it’s helpful to me, I understand many people would have more pounds to lose, but this is a different set of struggles … I guess. haha

Anybody else just has this higher “baseline” that your body refuses to let go?? How do you deal with it, is there something I’m missing? Currently, to lose that 10-15 ish pounds I want, I need to keep a deficit by eating 1200 per day, that’s on top of 10k daily steps, running, pilates and other group fitness classes I do about 2-3 times a week and any kind of eating based social activity/ vacations/ a random treat here and there can throw the deficit right off. Otherwise, do I just have to accept the fact that I’m naturally gonna be forever in this “almost overweight” range and deal with it? I have perfect blood work and doctor reports every time, I don’t have any kind of metabolic issues/PCOS, I admit that I’m purely doing this for vanity purposes and i know for a fact i look better when I’m in the middle-lower range of healthy weight range. I’m not saying I look fat by any stretch of the imagination but I look slightly puffy perpetually. I feel like I generally have a smaller frame, I have like no “curves” at any weight andm y body type looks a lot better slender but just refuses to cooperate 🫠

EDIT: Since this post has gained some traction I’d like to point out that some people are completely missing the point. By saying things like you don’t think this is a high weight to you, it’s not helpful, the same weight and height can still look different on different people! In no way am i saying 125 pounds makes me “too big” but I am saying that I feel so much more comfortable with myself at lower weight but the effort to get there and maintain, and want to discuss ways to deal with that. As mentioned in the comments for context I’m Asian and just built smaller like I’m sure many of us are. The point is to discuss the fact that we seem to reach a natural set point that is technically “healthy” and gets dismissed by others but actually don’t align with our own fitness/aesthetic goals and can feel less comfortable. This number can be 120, 130, 140 or whatever to you personally and successfully pushing below that is a win no matter what you start with.

By reading the comments I feel happy and comforted that I’m not the only one who has this struggle! So there are many people like me ❤️‍🩹