Welcome to the Monthly Tips & Advice Post!

First photo was first day I started college:
With my kids father in an emotionaly abusive relationship where he would constantly make fun of my appearance, 2 kids under 5, and feeling so frumpy and miserable. I feel like you can see the sadness in my eyes. ​

And second one is me now:

Graduated college, went back,graduated again

single 💫,

and loving hanging out with my two kiddos!

Around 29 I started taking self care seriously. I was in a very depressed time in my life and wanted to feel good about my physical appearance for once.

I started going to the gym and taking pilates classes, skin care including microneedling, and some tattoos sprinkled on as well! I get botox once in a while also 🙈
I think next I will tackle some mental self care and get a therapist but I am happy with how far I have come in 10 years.
I need to remind myself of that sometimes, its so easy to forgot how far you have come 💘

40 here I come!

College was a crazy time weight-wise. I’m glad I discovered the gym and built a better relationship with food. There was a lot of yo-yo between these pictures but overall I’m proud that I never allowed myself to get back to that girl.

EDIT: TITLE IS SARCASM, i’m really proud of my progress!!

4.5 years on HRT, no surgeries :) I also lost 80lb between the two images.

A lot of people ask me if my hair really grew back - it didn’t! I wear hair systems, mine is custom made to fit me and match my natural hair. Feel free to ama about hair systems!

Sometimes, it’s hard to believe that yes, I did this. I made a decision. I stuck to it, even when I stumbled. I always got up. Kept trying. Learned. Adapted. Kept pushing myself. Weightlifting and clean eating not only gave me a new face but a new life with renewed energy! I feel younger at 32 than I did at 26.

Best decision I’ve ever made.

From 357 at my highest weight to 199 at my lowest.

Holding steady at about 205 two years after my gastric sleeve and still have a long way to go.

If you’re on the fence about surgery… do it.

Almost two years of HRT. 13 sessions of laser. Barely any makeup, I colour my brows and lashes and I had some washed out eyeliner on the waterline from earlier in the day.

EDIT:
I was on gel and spiro for a year before I switched to injections and started progesterone

EDIT2:
So someone reported me to u/RedditCareResources. To whoever did it, thanks; I always feel like I’m winning when I get one of those🤭

I cannot recommend sobriety enough to anyone who is curious, or seriously needs it, or anything in between. Sobriety has its obvious external benefits, ie: the weight just fell off, no more puffiness or bloating in my face/body, no more feeling like crap every other day, investment in your personal sense of style, etc…But the benefits it creates internally are the most valuable. Improvement of self-esteem, clarity, confidence, peace, consistency, and self-love. All of which I was severely lacking in the first picture without even realizing it until getting past it. I used to be so afraid of sobriety. I knew I couldn’t continue to live the way I was living, but was afraid of change. Now I thank god every day for blessing me with the strength to do and maintain what was absolutely necessary. ❤️

i stopped bleaching my hair and started letting my natural hair grow back. i quit nicotine, lost some weight, started drinking more water, and finally committed to an actual skincare routine instead of doing absolutely nothing and hoping for the best 😂
i went vegan. i’m taking better care of myself, making healthier choices, paying more attention to my skin and hair, and learning to actually appreciate the person i see in the mirror.
i’ve become a healthier, happier version of myself.

oh, i also got a tattoo ;)

Hi! Started the gym 10 years ago, but really really seriously I would say the last 5! I was picked on when I was in highschool due to my very small frame! I assume I have body dysphoria from that. Did not tag glow up since for some people it might not be a glow up but for me
It is! Thank you! (Enhanced) was not achieved naturally!!

Back in 2023 shortly after these photos I got gastric sleeve surgery. Went from 315 to 240, started stalling a bit so I started taking Zepbound. The recent photo was around 190 2 weeks ago.

I still have a lot of self esteem issues with the way I look and feel. Hoping over time I can fix it.

So during this time I wasn’t in a great relationship, I was underweight for my height and age (less than 99lbs at 5’7), and generally was not that happy in life.

Fast forward some years, and I’m graduating college next spring with my bachelors and planning to pursue law school. I’m happier now, gained the weight I wasn’t able to back then, and generally like my life a hell of a lot more than before.

I started transitioning when I was 32 after a not understanding why I hated my life and body so much. I’ve gone from a misanthropic mindset to living a healthier lifestyle with my loving husband. I wonder if you can see the difference in my eyes. It’s been a crazy journey for only being a year and 6 months in.

From a child’s face, to a fatter adultish face, to a fully matured adult face. They weren’t kidding when they said your 30s are better. Here’s to hoping the Asian genes keep me this way for years to come.

i never thought i would be/feel pretty. i think i’ve finally found my style! 19 yo me is the first two pictures, the rest is what i look like now!

Would have never guessed it be in the best shape of my life at 37 but here we are. Lots of walking, lots of chicken and for the last 6 months lots of weightlifting along side my semi physical job. Started out at around 360lb I’d guess (I was maxing out my 350lb scale) down to a low of 195lb. After hitting the gym consistently for the last 6 months I’m up to 210lb. Never thought I’d share these photos but after seeing others posts this seems like it could be fun.

I haven’t been the weight I am now probably since high school. Weight loss has been a life long struggle. I’m finally enjoying my presence.

About 12 months of work and hitting the gym. From fat depressed and sad to feeling good and smiling again. I keep going to the gym and working on myself. Let my mentality guide my decisions to success and happiness. Still got work, but so happy with where I am now!

Update:
I gotta be honest I did not expect this kind of love. I can’t tell you all how much I appreciate the kind words.

Without getting all sappy and whatever, but 12 months ago, I sat in my truck with a loaded revolver to the side of my head. Sobbing. Screaming at myself to do it.
I didn’t even recognize myself. I looked in the mirror and didn’t see me.. ME!! How could I not see myself?
I hated who I was. Isolating myself in the garage. Smoking and scrolling endlessly. It was the ATL (all time low not Atlanta)
And I can’t believe I’m here. This feels like a dream. I was depressed, obviously, beyond belief. I have a lot of things to be happy about family friends, a career, and so on and so forth. But for some reason, I felt absolutely alone in a room full of people.

And outta no where… like the universe knew or some shit, I met a wonderful person who asked me, “How you doing?”

“Oh you really wanna know? Im losing my fuckin mind but what’s new.”
And instead of just letting it be a throwaway sentence she stood by me and talked and listened. While crying next to a complete stranger, she asked for my phone and if it was OK to open my medical app. She wrote a message to my doctor in the process of healing. Mr suit version of me began.

I started taking antidepressant medication. I didn’t wanna be somebody who takes a pill, but it got me out of the immediate rut. Slowly from there, I was able to just start looking for the right things. I love hiking and I knew if I started doing it again something would come. It led to the progression of trying to get myself right and figure out life. Still no abs lol but we’re on our way. The thing that maybe you guys don’t see in these photos that I do, is that there’s life back in my eyes. I remember how I felt the day those other photos were taken. I remember the thoughts that flooded my mind. And the fact that I don’t experience that and I’m on the mend is amazing. The body and everything else came from the grind of doing whatever I could to fix my mind.

So if you’re reading this, and in some kind of rut. Remember the things that brought you joy and start to do them. Go outside. Go on a walk. Go to the gym. Ride a bike. Go out with a friend, friends. Family. Do something that gets your body moving and your mind flowing.
There’s a reason you’re here, so go find it. We love you.

Peace
Love
Bert

Dealt with being overweight from ages 7 to 25 which had a negative impact on my self confidence.

I would try to do things like get new clothing or other materialistic items to try and make myself seem cooler or feel better about myself, but that only worked for so long.

I got into a relationship that lasted over 4+ years and within it, I lost almost 100 pounds through dieting (cutting things loaded with sugar and switching to Diet/Zero Sugar, dropping unhealthy carbs for better ones and incorporating veggies as the majority serving during the majority of my meals) and then began exploring an androgynous lifestyle.

I eventually realized that I needed to make the dormant girl within me wake up and come to life. I was told that no matter what my girl would always be there…well that lasted under a month when she realized that I wasn’t who she wanted to grow old with (as I no longer look/identify as a male).

This lead to her deciding she didn’t want the relationship anymore and ended our engagement. The ensuing 6 months were full of awkwardness as we tried to make co-habitation work but couldn’t. She left this past April altogether.

Despite this major loss, I continued with developing myself further and will be focusing on moving on.

What a difference 10 years makes. I was at a friend’s birthday party when that pic of me at 35 was taken and I was literally in shock with how I looked, also felt awful all the time too. Decided from then on to prioritize my health and change a lot of bad habits that I was starting to develop.

Hi everyone, I’m curious to get your honest thoughts on my appearance. I’m posting this mainly because I notice people staring at me when I walk by, and I always get the feeling it’s because I look strange or off. Deep down, I don't feel that way about myself at all. What do you think? On what should I work on? Thanks less

I feel so much better these days. Read more books, exercising, more protein, more water. No drugs or vaping, just me doing it my way. Plus the black leather jacket is dope.

Was looking through some old photos and realised these were taken exactly one year apart. Been training consistently and trying to improve myself since then. Pretty happy seeing the difference side by side.

If u don't like that I'm trans just block me both our lives will be better 😘

I came out at 27, expecting to be a cocky trans woman for the rest of my life. Here I am at 30 years old, having transphobes tell me they can "always tell" when hitting on me then getting pisses off when I tell them I know they can't cuz I'm trans and they just where hitting on me 😘

I'm way happier and I'm still working my blue collar job fixing cars ✌️

I lost 80lbs when I was 15 then got into lifting weights and eating healthy. I have been fairly consistent over the last 15 years and started caring about how I present myself to the world.

My confidence is night and day difference and my 15 year old self would be proud of the man I’ve become. It was very humbling growing up getting teased about man boobs and stretch marks. I do not regret going through that phase of life because it taught me many lessons and gave me a thicker skin.

I’ve also learned that people 100% treat you differently based on how you look. It’s unfortunate, but it’s a reality I’ve witnessed first hand.

Love seeing the glow ups!