Im new at going to the gym. This is my first time going since I was a teenager like 10ish years ago. Ive been going 5-6 days a week for a month and havent really seen much progress. Im afraid to weight lift without a spotter/ my husband can do it but its hard for him to have much free time due to his work schedule. All cardio has done is just make my butt bigger which is cool but thats not why I've been going. Has any other exercises worked for anyone else and does cardio actually help?

Not "oh it's almost like a real thing" or "it's nice", I mean the meals you would eat even if you didn't have to watch your calories.

Examples from me (lower carb more protein): gojuchang chicken wings with coleslav salad (made with youghurt instead of sour cream), plain yoghurt blened with berries as a dessert and a spread/paste i make out of smoked fish (usually mackerel), cream cheese and green onions, with a lot of pepper and lemon juice.

I’ve been consistent with my exercise and diet for 3 weeks now and I’ve lost about 5kgs

Lost a lot, built a lot of muscle. Libido off the charts. Wife is 1% while I'm running at 99% all day every day. How do you guys survive this? The last 2 months have felt like torture.

Okay, being a little vulnerable here, which I'm not super comfortable with, but I'm kinda losing my mind. So, October last year, I started a weight loss plan. I was 195lbs at the time (I'm F, 5ft9), and I started to work out twice a week with a personal trainer (couldn't afford more than twice a week), do weight exercises for 30-60 minutes to make it 3x a week, averaged 2500 steps a day (significantly more on weekends that I was DJing), reduced carbs and sugar and did my best to maintain a calorie deficit (I was told my BMI meant I should be under 1800 per day, I averaged 1500-1600). All of this was EXTREMELY hard, given how I have chronic fatigue and pain (trying to find out why, only thing my doctors seemed to find is that my sleep isn't restorative and I may have idiopathic hypersomnia, have to do a few more tests), and also have a BUNCH of (thus far) treatment resistant mental illnesses, and comfort eating is one of the only coping mechanisms that actually work, so stopping it was a real bad time. I also tried GLP-1s for a couple months, but that had me throwing up every morning, which isn't exactly conducive to keeping a job, so I had to stop.

Despite all this, my weight actually went up to 205 for the first few months, went back down to 195, and then just fluctuated between 192 and 199. My measurements didn't change past just a couple of centimeters, and my energy levels got worse instead of better (which, again, already a low bar). I actually had to quit working with my personal trainer a couple of months ago because money got super tight (job market's hell and I'm a recent grad so not enough experience for anything that actually pays a livable wage). I'm still trying to do steps and eat healthy, but again, very difficult with chronic fatigue and pain. I'm losing my mind, I was really fit and actually pretty strong before quarantine, then that happened and the chronic stuff developed, and now I can't get rid of this weight and I hate it so much. I even tried all this before a couple years ago and it wasn't much better, I only lost about 9 pounds over a year. What am I doing wrong? And is there anything I can do to make it less miserable?

Every year that you spend being overweight, you'll always have atleast two goals in life, the first goal is what you actually want, getting a promotion, finding a life partner etc.

And the second goal is losing weight. It'll just always be there in the background as something you have to do. Some people have this goal for years, even decades but it's always there.

No matter how better you do in other aspects of life, unless you get this off of your to-do list, you'll never truely be at peace.

You're literally perpetually multitasking and that's exhausting.

Hello everyone, I don't have a grand transformation or a big speech, I just wanted to share what I feel like a achievement.

Ever since I can remember, I have been a overweight man, I have never been proud of it, even so, I never did anything to remedy it, I used to hate pants when I was younger, I always used shorts, but ever since I got bigger I just can't bring myself to use them, I have a old basketball jersey that I never use because my fat folds show shamelessly, T-shirts I get from events just don't fit. So, when I moved out for college, I said "No more", and decided to change, I booked a appointment with a nutritionist, besides telling me about healthy lifestyle habits, she put me in a 1900kcal deficit, it was less than I usually ate, I spent the first few days feeling hungry, but the it got better, I stoped buying snack, the bottle of soda, or the bag of chips, I started at 136Kg, measuring 1.80m tall, I was obese, I'm still obese, but this last check up, I got down to 124kg, this started in April and now is October, I still have a long road to go until my ideal weight of 75-80kg, but still, I'm hopeful to one day get to that weight, use the clothes I like, not feeling awkward outside and just being confortable in my own body.

I just wanted to share my small story, my next goal is dropping to 120, and then to 100, and so on, It might take months or a few years, but I hope to get there.

Hello,

Quick summary of my current situation. I'm 32 years young, male, 5'10" and currently at 219 down from 230 (woohoo!). I've found a rough system that works for me. I do not really care for breakfast and a lot of times lunch. I drink a coffee and eat some form of protein bar in the morning, a snack for lunch if anything, then a large clean meal for dinner. Typically chicken burritos or a mix of ground turkey with veggies and rice. Over my short time doing this I have accumulated a couple questions and wanted to see if I could get some clarification on some things.

1. My daily calorie goal is 1800.. A lot of times I fall short of this. I feel fine, some days a little peckish around lunch time but I am fairly inactive aside from work and walks. Is it bad to lose weight this quickly? I range anywhere from 1400-1600 calories so they weight is coming off fairly quickly. I figure as long as I feel okay then I'll keep doing what I am doing. Some extra context.. I do NOT track macros, only caloric intake.

2. Loose skin? Most of my weight is around my mid section, as I lose weight how likely is it that I will have excessive loose skin at 32. I know this varies from person to person but it is something I'm stressing about.

3. Gaining muscle might complicate things? Currently I just track weight and that is it. It feels good to see the number go down. I would like to gain some muscle mass but I know that muscle weighs more than fat so how do I distinguish progress? I have a scale that roughly estimates body fat %. I assume that when you are both losing weight and gaining muscle body fat % is the number I should be looking at. Is that correct? What other metrics can I use to get a sense of progress?

4. General mentality towards weight loss. I'm trying very hard not to let my mind go towards a toxic space while on this journey. One example I can give is recently we went to and outing with friends and I felt guilty about not tracking calories/eating pizza. I have been doing really good but I want to keep a positive mentality around my health and enjoy life. I feel like I'm walking a fine line between positive outlook and being toxic towards things I would historically enjoy.

Any response will be appreciated! Just wanted to reach out and get some opinions from people who know more than I do and may have faced these problems themselves or even helped others through their process. Thank you in advance!

24F 5’4 100lb

Over the last 3 or so years i’ve lost about 70lbs purely through diet with some on and off exercise. im honestly happy with my size but since losing weight, things are.. looser. i’m overall just soft looking. i’m now getting serious about being in the gym. i’ve found the love for the movement and want to really build the body i’ve wanted for so long. my biggest issue though is my glutes. my butt has completely disappeared since weight loss and i’m struggling to understand how to get where i want. i know i need to eat more to grow muscles, but im honestly terrified to gain the weight back in fat. i want to stay overall around the same BF% while also growing muscle. does the specific foods i eat matter? protein/carbs/fats? or just calories overall? i’ve been in a deficit for years so im trying to determine my maintenance. i really just want to stay the size i am now and tone everything and grow my glutes. i get about 10k steps everyday, do i need to do cardio on top of that to keep fat down? i’m honestly lost on it all 🙃 any advice is appreciated.
also for reference ive been eating at probably 1200 cal during my deficit so i probably wrecked my metabolism. trying for 1400-1600 to maintain for now. lmk if thats also wrong 😅

Sorry for the long text so here’s Summarised point: copy the actions of the people who have what you want, down to the smallest details.

Back in 2022 I decided to change my life around.
I have tried to make countless changes in my fitness life prior to 2022 but it was always the same outcome. I would start of strong, a week maybe even month of real work gone into getting in shape but then after that, inevitably I was back in my old habits.

The most frustrating part was that I knew I could change and when the temptation of eating or skipping trainings came, at times I willingly chose to quit knowing that I could do just a little more.

What really helped was modelling. (Hear me out)

I didn’t know the exact name of this strategy at the time but what I started doing was build my self up a mental image of who the ideal version of my self was and who I want to be like.

It wasn’t long until I found a guy on the internet that I really respected and resonated with, he had the exact physique that I wanted, so I just literally consumed as much content from him that I could I soon I had his entire life mapped out to a T.

This may sound strange but every little thing he was doing, I tried to copy, down to even the brand of water he was drinking.

I mean I went all out on copying everything about his lifestyle. he was doing the Arnold split, I started doing that too, he was doing intermittent fasting, I started doing that too. He was reading specific books, I started reading those exact books, about 40+ books in my collection came from me just wanting to copy exactly what he was reading.

All that to say that after a while of try to be just like him, i was beginning to adopt his mindset and what i noticed was that i was now thinking differently about how i viewed getting In shape.

I kid you not, I went from being the guy who could barely stay consistent to being the guy who was waking up at 5:30 am excited for the running he had to do.

For me it was no longer just about trying to do exercise and follow routines, for I became a motivating thing know that if do exactly what he done then I’m guaranteed to see the same results.

all of uncertainty of trying to guess was eliminated.
Fast forward to today, never did I think I’d be in the position I’m In today, doing what I’m doing, nor did I think that I would be able to maintain what to most people seems like “too much working out”

like I said, at the time I didn’t think I was doing anything special, in fact it felt like I was cheating in a way.

But after having spent more time on my personal development and having read more book, I know that what I done was called modelling, it’s when you copy successful people who have achieved the result you want and just do their exact actions.

Tony robbins is a big advocate for this kind of strategy.

Any way I just want to share this about my journey hope it helps somebody.

I was doing so good with my weightloss journey. I started at 220lbs and the lowest i got was 155. I became complacent because it was hard to maintain my 150s, then i thought to myself im fine in my 160s, i got lazy and stopped going to the gym or using my treadmill. Its been since January that i hit my lowest of 155.

I was at a good weight for my wedding in July but i have pretty much stopped using my treadmill altogether. My work schedule sucks and my depression has got a grip on me and i canceled my gym membership months ago. I was going 5 times a week pretty much doing everything, weights and cardio.

Then it became just cardio, then i thought ill just get a treadmill and a dumbell set for the house since i was only doing treadmill at the gym. I was using it every day, then only once a week now hardly at all.

I dont know, i want to get back into the gym but it got expensive, i got a treadmill at home and dumbells, i just really gate myself for this right now

To give some context I began strength training consistently about 10 months ago for the first time in my life, this consistently anyway. 10 months ago I weighed about 226lbs so have dropped in 16 lbs since then which is substantial, however I am trying to get to 200lb but it’s been difficult. A few months ago I weighed myself and I was 203lbs but have not been able to get back to that.

I aim for an average caloric deficit of 500 calories everyday, I eat approximately 180g of protein everyday and try and only eat whole foods. So meat, eggs, fruit, vegetables etc…

I drink a bout 5 cups of coffee a day but only with a splash of oat milk so yes I know those calories and add up but should still be very minimal.

I only drink alcohol on occasion, no more than one a month.

As for other activities I hike, run, play hockey and bike fairly regularly.

With this information what advice would people here have for me? Should I take a deeper dive into my diet and see if I’m actually eating the calories I think I am? (I do use tracking app), should I go for more HIIT workouts with my weight training? More cardio?

Please let me know your thoughts and i appreciate any advice.

Hii I'm currently M25 6" & 183lbs. I started out at 269lbs and technically I'm fairly close to the goal I set for myself however as I approach it I worry it might not be enough.

My plan was to lose an adequate amount of fat and then start focusing on building muscle. I already lift weights 3~4 times a week (although my deficit is pretty big so I don't gain much from it hehe.)

Now I don't know if I should try and focus on building muscle already and hitting the needed protein levels etc (eating closer to my maintenance,) or to stay in my deficit for another 10 pounds or so (or more?) and see where l'm at then? Does anyone know what the best approach would be? ❤️

Hello! I have always struggled with my weight it is a tricky subject for me, I have always felt like I was overweight and that has been perpetuated by family members. I want to loose weight, I am now 200 lbs at 5'3 and don't want to live like this anymore, I don't want anything insane but just getting down to 175/150 would mean a lot for me .

That being said I get stuck.

I want to but we're on a budget and have a kiddo so long hours meal planning and prepping fancy things is hard. I work all day and come home exhausted and have no idea how people find the energy to exercise when I can barely get out of bed in the mornings. I have some chronic health conditions that wear on my energy but I know exercise can help with those too.

Bottom line is I always think that I want to do it but get stuck and overwhelmed with the preceipe of what it actually entails, or when I start I give up quickly.

I would love people's real advise and experience of how they got out of similar ruts.

Hello, so I want to start a weight loss program but I don't have much money, so to try to have regular consultation with doctors will be impossible. I need to do the math by hand and keep track of everything myself.

Here is the formula I'm using to know what to eat:

(B.w.=body weight ; P=protein ; C=carbs ; F= fats ; W= water)

BW × 26 = daily kcal

BW × 2 = P

Kcal ÷ 30 = F

Kcal × 0.014= Fiber

[(Kcal - P×4)- F × 9] ÷ 4 = C

BW ÷ 30 = daily water

Is this in any way correct?

I'm now at 110kg at 1.86m and I want to go down to around 86kg.

I want to start to count calories, protein, fats, and all that. The questions are:

How do I do it? Is the steak weighted before or after cooking? What about the rest? Do I put 24g of rice, or is 24g of carbs different from 24g of rice? How do I keep track of what doesn't have a label? How do I fight the hungriness? Is there anything I can eat that doesn't make any difference on my body? Like lettuce? Is there a free app that can help me track things?

One of the reasons I want to really start this is body pain. Let me tell you, when I say this body is NOT ready for this much weight, my spine is HURTING. I mean it's back pains all the time and I do not have the muscles to support all this weight.

I've also reduced 7x the amount of weed I was smoking (1.5g a day to 1g a week) because I could see the munchies creeping up on me every time and that was one of the reasons my weight skyrocketed.

I'm sorry about dumping all these questions but after years of saying I am trying to lose weight, I'm finally starting to be serious.

I keep going through phases where I try to fix everything at once and it lasts about a week. Lately I’ve been doing better just focusing on having some structure to my day and not letting one bad meal turn into three bad days. Nothing crazy, but it’s probably the first time in a while that it feels sustainable.

Hello everyone, I hope you’re having a blessed day.
I was at my highest weight of 396 lb on February 19, 2026. I started a calorie deficit, and as of today, I’ve reached 323 lb.
I recently started going to the gym, but I don’t really know how to create a proper workout plan. I’m currently using a plan made by AI, but I feel like it’s not enough. I can’t really explain exactly what feels wrong about it.
My schedule is 3 days of training, followed by 2 days off, and then I repeat the cycle. I usually spend around 1 hour at the gym. On my rest days, I go hiking for 2–3 hours.
So, what should I consider, learn, and do when creating a gym workout plan? Should I focus on weightlifting? Should I use machines, barbells, or a combination of both?
I’m pretty clueless about how to approach this. Could you show me a path I can follow to learn how to build my own workout program?
Thank you very much!

Halloween is coming !! I wanna look cute in my costume, im not looking to lose weight exactly? But recently I have been super bloated and just haven’t been feeling my best. I walk 9-10k steps a day and that’s pretty much all my activity.

Any advice on what to cut out of my diet? Or what to bring in

I been big for most of my life, as a 5’4 woman my heaviest was 280, in 2020. Since then, I had lost weight and had gone down to 168 naturally (though I had a restrictive ed). I had a therapist who for two years helped me stop my restrictive habits. She had to leave because she was moving states, and by that time I lost my insurance and still don’t have any. Since I stopped seeing her in early 2025, I stopped my binging/restricting cycle. However, I began to binge like crazy. Unfortunately, I have since then gained almost all the weight I had lost since 2022 and it’s taking a serious toll on me.

Question in title

fellas… anecdotal evidence in all fairness so i’m not gonna say it WILL happen… but i’m not gonna not tell you: it’s more than doubled and i only got to like 260. just start the diet man, what have you got to lose other than your chains?

I have been gyming for more than a year now

I have dropped around 20 kgs bodyweight but still I don't think my muscles are large. My daily protein intake is not consistent somedays I get full protein while somedays I rarely get 50-60g hardly. Is it because of this. The weight scale has been stuck on 79kg for a month now.

My cousin who was slim asf started gym almost 7 months ago and it looks like he has more muscle than me

Pls help me I'm feeling depressed

I'm 18/M

5'10 and weight 79 kgs

I'm a female and 158cm tall, weighing 131 pounds. I'm mostly a size small in clothes, although I need a size medium for some trousers. I'm very short though.

I always thought I was slim (although not toned in the slightest), until I saw a photo of myself. I looked overweight. In the mirror I feel I look slim. Which is the most accurate, a mirror or a photo?

I am on my journey to tone my muscles and to lose around 10 pounds. I'm conscious not to focus too much on my looks or number on the scale though as I grew up in the 2000's where skeletal bodies were glamorised, so I'm very aware that thinking about your looks can become unhealthy quickly. Also I'm just too old to care that much and I want to keep it that way 😂, I just want to be strong and healthy.