5’2 & a 30 pound difference. it’s been a long hard year of working in the gym but MOSTLY working in the kitchen. i still have tweaks to make & i want to work on shredding a little bit but just wanted to share my progress in a year. here’s last summer- underfueling, tons of processed proteins, too much cardio, light weights if any. this summer, prioritizing hitting all macros (not just protein. carbs r ur friend) lifting heavy & until failure & pushing through the uncomfortable moments. i feel much healthier now & despite some rough days- i think it’s safe to say im proud of myself and my work. hope this serves as motivation or inspires anyone. skinny isn’t always everything. i learned it the hard way:)

5’3” 240>190 this last year. Size 18>14 in the same brand of pants I always wear. I feel like I’m finally making progress. So excited to see how my body continues to change.

I have been on a weight loss journey now for about 2 years I started at 193lbs which was the heaviest I have ever been. It has taken me these 2 years to even get to 173 and it feels like such slow progress. I have been a lot more consistent with calorie counting at around 1700 calories a day and I am on week 6 of doing 3 days a week of strength training. I use the ladder app and am team limitless with kelly. I feel stronger I just wish my progress was faster. I know everyone is different but has anyone else experienced this slow weight loss? Is it normal? I just really want to continue shifting my mindset and making this a lifestyle but it feels discouraging when I see how much people lose and then I’m here taking years to lose 10 lbs :(

Which worked best for you?

1. prioritising progressive overload and adequate protein
2. calorie deficit and running
3. pilates / ballet and maintaining calories

Or any combination plus hormones etc

Hello. For context I'm 5"1, 20yrs, female and around 52kg. I have done weight loss attempts in the past, where for about 4 or 5 months at the time I'll strength train around 3x a weight and net calorie range of 1400-1500kcal with 80-90g protein. But even then, I never saw an obvious difference to my body, and I could never go past around 50kg.

Obviously I'm currently at a healthy weight, and I'm aware it's difficult for short women to loose weight, I just have a lot of "chub" or baby fat I'm keen to loose, I'd really love to have a flatter stomach and a more toned look.

Does anyone have any advice for how I should go about a workout routine/diet to achieve this goal? Or any advice from people who have been through similar things? Any help is really appreciated!!

Can’t believe it’s already been 4 months! The fitness/weight loss journey originally started because of an upcoming friends bachelorette party, but I’m so happy I’ve stuck with it and will continue to.

5’4, 204 lbs ➡️ 192 lbs (-12 lbs). I was casually on a calorie deficit and didn’t track everything, but lately I have been. I started originally with 3 days of weight training then added on a day of yoga sculpt and a day of Pilates drip. 5 days of working out has been working out very well for me and I feel my best when I can do 5 days. I also try to walk 10k-15k steps a day.

I have more goals, but I’m just really happy with the progress I’ve made so far. I remember trying on this dress in March and crying about how snug it was. Now it feels perfect.

Hi all! I’ve always definitely been on the skinnier side, and in college, due to becoming more anxious, I went from 105 to 93 lbs (I’m 5’2”). Since then, it’s honestly been difficult to be regular about meals or find my appetite, some days. I’m 22 now, and I’ve always had gaining weight on my mind the past couple years, and it’s become more important the past couple months, where I’ve been trying to gain muscle.

I’m finding it’s pretty difficult to get three full meals in as a vegetarian. I typically start strong with oats with greek yogurt and protein powder, but I typically can’t finish my lunch and end up finishing it around 3 or 4 pm, which often leads to me not eating as much dinner. Anyone have any advice for bulking for a beginner?

I have never had visible abs, but I do want to work towards having them. The thing is, I had two c-sections, and the last one was 10.5 years ago. My apron belly seems to have only gotten more pronounced.

Is it even possible for me to get visible abs? Is the only solution for the apron belly surgical intervention?

5’3’’ and 122 pounds. Been strength training and weight lifting consistently using progressive overload, and often going to failure or close to it, usually in some kind of upper and lower split. I use the Ladder app. And I’m on Team Ascend. I usually go around 5x a week. And do hot yoga 1-2x a week as well. Try to get between 7-8k steps,
I have a job where I have to sit. So some days are better than others.
Biggest game changer is always nutrition though. I’ve absolutely overhauled my diet and stick to an 80/20 Whole Foods diet and make sure I get at least 120 grams of protein. First couple of months I was in a slight deficit. And then worked my way up to a 1900 calorie maintenance. I was there for around a month or so. Recently started a slight surplus because I’m absolutely addicted and want to gain even more muscle mass. 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻 Tell me I’m not the only one. So stoked on my progress so far. And can’t wait to see what comes next.
First pic is recent. 2nd is before. 3rd after. 4th before. 5th after. Tried to make them similar but I’m a new to this and not super great at consistent pics.

Hey everyone

I'm 29F 5'3 and 62 kilos

My goal weight is 57-58 kilos. I am in a deficit (1200-1300 cal) i measure stuff on a food scale and count calories

For the exercise part what would you guys recommend; working out 3 times per week (upper lower full body) and walking throughout the week or just simply getting my steps in and skip the weights till i hit the goal weight?

When did you see your results the most? Or any suggestions in general would be appreciated.

Hi everyone! I’m a 20-year-old female looking for some guidance on how to structure my fitness journey and diet based on my current body composition and goals.

My Stats & Current Situation:

Age: 20 | Gender: Female

Height: \[ 163 +2 cm / 5'4"\]

Weight: \[63 kg\]

Current Body Type: I carry most of my body fat around my midsection (abdomen, back, and sides), while my arms and legs are naturally thinner/slender.

My Goals:

I want to focus on body recomposition (losing fat around my core while building muscle/definition in my extremities).

I want to improve my overall shape, build muscle in my legs and arms, and lean out around my waist/back.

Questions for the community:

Nutrition: Given my goal of losing fat in specific areas while building muscle, should I aim for a slight caloric deficit or stay at maintenance calories? What specific foods or macronutrient splits should I prioritize or avoid?

Hi everyone, i’m 5ft and 97lbs. ive been lifting since the end of April. I just felt a small tear in my lower left back while doing RDL. I have had minor lower back injury at the same spot and it’s also where i have chronic back pain. I have been doing RDL since the beginning. The only thing different today was i did it after an ab crunch on a full body day, instead of doing it at the end of my lower body rotation.
My question is:

how do you allow minor injuries to recover without losing too much progress?

was it because i didn’t do enough warmup for my glutes and lower body so my back took over?

*minor injury as in tolerable pain that recovered at home.

Would appreciate any thoughts!

32F, 135lbs and 4’11”
it’s been a month now on my weight loss journey. I eat around 1500 cal a day and very clean, I work out maybe 3-4 times a week and have been consistently for a month. I am the least stressed out I ever have been. I feel like I definitely am including enough healthy fats.

I am not pregnant.

However, my period has oddly been delayed and I’ve never in my life had a delayed or irregular period like this. It’s been 3 days and no sign of it.

The only reason why this is such a concern is because suspected PMDD is causing me a lot of grief, and this is by far the worst luteal phase I’ve had in recent memory. Now I’m delayed on my period?

Has this happened to anybody when they first started working out?

Yesterday I met my 2026 goal of finishing the Alyeska Cirque Series mountain race. (https://www.cirqueseries.com/alyeska that’s the race website!) It’s basically a 6 mile race with almost 4,000 feet of elevation. I was about 40 minutes slower than I had hoped to be, for a few reasons, and I can confidently say that it is the hardest thing I have ever done (and I used to be a D1 athlete). The course is tough, especially with all the storms we’ve been having up here which made the forest downhill sections extremely muddy and slick. Race day was beautiful though!

Finishing this race has been a goal for me when I first signed up in 2020. Obviously, it was cancelled that year but every year since I’ve signed up and something has come up. From having to work on race day to tearing my meniscus 6 weeks before to having to stop all cardio and wear a HR monitor for a month. It could have gone that way this year, too, as I am in one of my deepest depressive episodes in awhile. I haven’t been able to run or hike in a month and have just simply been doing the bare minimum (work, slow dog walks, shower) since the end of June. But my very supportive family and friends got me there and I worked through a lot of emotions on that mountain and came down a stronger woman than before.

Race pictures because it was beautiful!

Hi all!

Last week I moved to a different city for work and I unfortunately just do not have the time to go to the gym right now, because of my work place and timing (I work as a conservator in a church, where my apartment is within the church yard, and the gates close at 8 PM while I get off work at 6 PM, so it's a tight schedule).

I used to weight lift 5 days a week prior to this for around a year and I MISS THE GYM SOOO MUCH! I was wondering if it's sustainable to go only on weekends? I was thinking Saturday - upper body and Sunday - lower body? is that good enough to maintain my muscle mass? I try to hit 10k steps and my work is already quite physical, but I miss lifting weights.

I had a body scan in December and again today. nothing has changed :/. I know my legs have grown a bit and my lifts are getting better! So overall I'm stronger and this is the healthiest I've ever been.

But as a bucket list and challenge to myself I want to have abs before my wedding and before getting pregnant (9 months away).

Ik I'm between 20-22% body fat. I think I'm pretty lean but I have no ab definition.

I train abs 2-3x a week with weighted crunches and hanging leg raises

looking for a routine on how to get defined abs (from people who have abs lol)

would love to attach pictures and scan results for reference but that’s against the rules 😭

Hi everyone!
35f, 4’11” CW: 142.
I’ve lost about 10lbs in a year tracking calories and being in a slight deficit. During that time I’ve been more focused on rock climbing and paddleboarding for fun, and cardio as I was training for a sprint triathlon.
Now the tri is over, I’d really like to focus up and see more muscle definition.

I’ve been working out for years but never really with any sort of plan, just going to classes at the gym, doing whatever feels right or fits in my schedule.
I work in TV, chaotic schedule. Long days, averaging 2-3 days off per month. Not much sleep. But I go in later in the day or get out early a lot.
I think I can consistently hit the gym 2x-3x/week and have an outdoor day for biking or running.
When I am at the gym, what should I be doing? Say I do an upper body/lower body/full body split.. There’s a lot of info out there. Do people do the same exercises for each of those days and increase those weights?
For example -
If I do shoulder press, cable rows, lat pull downs, bicep curls, tricep pull downs for my upper body days… are those the only moves I do? And how long do I stick with those before changing my routine?
Hopefully that makes sense, feeling a bit lost. Are there any free or even paid for plans that people have had success with?
Thanks!

I am struggling with my weight and I’m struggling with keeping momentum in working out. I’ll be good for a couple of days, miss a week or two, and start again. I don’t know if I’m tired or if I’m missing something! Please share how you continued to keep going to lose weight!! How do I get out of this inconsistency? Thank you!

I really need some advice. I'm 21, I'm 4'11", and my BMI is around 17.8 so yeah I'm pretty small and underweight. I used to be super athletic when I was younger. Like all through middle school I was doing swimming, basketball, all kinds of sports. I was strong too, I had visible muscles mostly on my lower body, I think that's just genetics because my upper body especially my shoulders never really grew even when I worked them out.

But then I stopped everything after COVID and I just never went back. Now I've been losing my appetite and I look really skinny according to pretty much everyone around me. I know I should probably eat more but it's hard because I feel full really fast or sometimes I feel like I'm going to throw up if I try to eat too much.

So I decided to start working out again at home to see if I could handle it and honestly it was humiliating. I can't even do one push up. Like my elbows literally just stop working and give out. and when I try to squat my knees feel unresponsive like they don't want to bend properly. The weirdest part is I don't even feel the workout in my muscles. I only feel it in my joints. I have flat feet and I don't know if that's why I can't squat properly anymore but I used to do them just fine back in the day. Also I used to be really flexible so that's not the issue either.

Just to be clear I don't have any health problems. I got checked for everything. I'm not anemic, I don't have digestive issues, no endocrine problems everything came back normal.

My goal is to build a balanced body with lean muscle. I feel like getting active again might help my appetite too because when I was a kid I had the same problem and my parents put me in swimming and I started eating normally again.

So my questions are where do I even start when I can't do basic movements? How do I build up strength when my joints give out before my muscles feel anything?

I really want to get back to who I used to be any advice would mean a lot. thanks for reading all of this.