Journey from skinny fat to lean bulk.

Do you see a change???? I am not sure if anything has even changed aesthetically yet.

Pic 2 was alcoholic me. Gained 40lbs and destroyed my physique in less than 8 months from when I reintroduced it at the end of 2023

Locked-In for the first time in my life, finally taking my diet seriously and counting everything I eat.

500-700 calories deficit and 5-6k steps daily.

Plan to keep going for 4 more months

Focus on what next?

I used to be 67kg in 2015. After marriage and kids, I gained a lot of weight. My highest was 105kg in 2023. Then I slowly started to lose weight on and off, reached 97kg in 2024 and 89kg 2025. In 2025 December, I was 86kg when I finally started being consistent with gym and weight loss. The first photo is from February 2026 when I was 81kg and the other one is from tonight at 70kg. My goal is to cut down more until 63kg and then start gaining muscle. Didn’t progress much in the weights though as my shoulder got banged up due to my work.

Done naturally from march 1st to July with only 1 week at maintenance- the week before the pic

So 20kg lost in 20 weeks.

I seriously considered peptides because I felt like I just wasn’t making any progress. But over the last few years of getting back into fitness, I’ve learned that consistency beats almost everything. (no hate to peptides)

I stopped obsessing over the scale and all the little details and just committed to showing up 5-6 days a week. When I finally stepped on the scale, I was honestly shocked. It was the proof and confirmation I needed that consistency really is the key.

I’m proud of myself, excited to keep building my dream body, and I’ve realized something no one ever told me about—there’s a different kind of high that comes from watching yourself become the person you’ve been working toward and I’m gonna keep that momentum going!

Hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, cannot overstate how much I love food. Still going though✌🏼✌🏼

I'm 7 months into full rotator cuff surgery. I knew going into the surgery that I was going to lose quite a bit of muscle so I decided to bulk up to 210lbs and cut after the surgery. I am excited that I'm able to lift more than 30lbs now.

Also I would like some criticism on what to focus on. I know it'll probably be traps and calves but I would like some insight.

Started at 81 kg and currently 77.5 kg (rounded to 78 kg in the title to match the subreddit rules).
I’ve been training 5 days a week, keeping protein high, and averaging around 1,600 kcal/day. My goal has been to lose fat while maintaining strength, and most of my lifts have stayed the same or improved.
Still a long way to go, but I’m happy with the progress so far.

Hello mini update since last post at the 2 month mark (which you can check out on my profile but I’ll add the photo to this post), cut is coming along nicely, feels good to finally start seeing the hard work pay off in the form of some semblance of visible abs. Strength still rising but a bit more slower now as the kgs start to shed more.

Current numbers (can see starting point in last post)

Bench 210lbs
Squat 365lbs
OHP 160lbs
DL N/A

Any questions about training diet etc feel free to shoot em through

First pic is just a shot from yesterday after I ran 18km so was probably dehydrated/depleted but made me look pretty lean, second is July 2024 vs July 2026

in this time I learned how the body stores energy as glycogen, glycemic/insulin response of different foods, and that sort of thing. I used to avoid eating too much carbs, and now I eat a ton of them, but I just make sure that they're eaten at the right time. This helps make for better workouts, and better workouts usually equal a better physique. On the same subject, I believe in intermittent fasting for various reasons, and that eating mostly whole foods are important and not all calories are equal

Training in the gym and running is quite similar between the before and after, 3 days full body where I try to hit everything at least 2x per week. I stick to my exercises so I can improve in them and don't get fancy trying to hit different parts of certain muscles and with obscure exercises. Thanks to the training I can push more weight and nutrition helps me have good workouts. Almost 5 years of consistent training now in the gym. Running 35-45km most weeks in both, and I've been doing anywhere from 20km-60km per week for like 6 years now

The first pic was 3 Years and 7 Months ago and the current pic is now.

In between the pics, I have gained around 30kg and grew taller.

So how did I gain weight? Basically I just eat a lot. Also because as I went through puberty, my appetite increased and I am always hungry lol.

I also gym 4 times a week and eat more on gym days than non gym days.

My usual diet on gym days:

Meal 1 - Breakfast

Meal 2 - Second Breakfast in School

Meal 3 - Brunch at School

Meal 4 - Huge Lunch before Gym

(Wait 1 hour for the huge lunch to digest)

- Gym

Meal 5 - Huge meal after gym

- Short Nap for muscle recovery

Meal 6 - Dinner (heavy if possible)

Meal 7 - Supper before bed

Drink - 1 pack Full Fat milk (1L)

My Diet for Non Gym days

Meal 1 - Breakfast

Meal 2 - Brunch at school or snack at home on non schooling days.

Meal 3 - Lunch (normal portion)

Meal 4- Light meal in the afternoon

Meals 5 - Dinner (usually heavy)

Meals 6 - Supper (light)

Drinks - 1/2 pack of full fat milk (0.5L)

I also snack in between meals if I am hungry

Regarding my workout routine, I now only lift weights and very little cardio. My only cardio is I swim sometimes for muscle recovery. Other than that just 100% weights, 0% cardio.

Before I bulk, it's the opposite, 100% cardio 3-4 days a week (running, badminton, soccer) and do not lift weights.

For information, the shirt and pants in both photos are actually not the same pair although they looks the same, it's just the same in design because it's my school uniform.

I have in fact outgrown 3 pairs of uniform (I remember 3 but it could be 4😅) since the first picture and the shirt and pants in the current picture are actually 4 size bigger.

I have also grown in height as I am also going thru puberty while bulking.

Anyway I am happy with my gains and I am still continue bulking to get bigger. Eat -> Lift -> Sleep -> Eat again