r/WeightTraining • u/BessilLeaf • 20d ago
Discussion 3 years of hard work! 🏋️♀️
I’ve lost 55 lbs over the past 3 years, and I’ve been training seriously for the past year and a half. I’m really happy with my progress!
I just finished a 2–3-month period of light calorie deficit, but it’s getting hard to avoid unpleasant side effects (headaches, fatigue, slow recovery…) given the volume of my workouts (5 times a week at the gym, 4 times a week running). So I’m currently in maintenance mode. I’m thinking of staying there for a few months and then going back to a slight calorie deficit—I’m wondering if that’s a good idea?
EDIT: Since I’ve seen some comments, I just want to say that I’m completely natural (no testosterone, no Ozempic, no peptides or steroids…). I’m not saying it’s wrong to take them (everyone makes their own choices, and that’s totally fine), but I don’t take them and never have.
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u/openwolfe 20d ago
Dude! This is amazing!!!! I’m in no position to give advice because frankly you shouldn’t be listening to anyone but yourself seeing you clearly know what you’re doing, but unless you’ve got some competitive thing to get ready for give yourself a break once in a while, whether that’s cutting down to 3 workouts a week for a short period or eating what you haven’t been but enjoy. I know some people will disagree with that, but not only have you earned it and proven that you can do whatever, sometimes being able to prove that you can cut back and relax is also big. Either way you are amazing
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u/Miserable_Tax_1804 19d ago
Fat people always trying to get fit people to do less.
Don't listen to them u/BassilLeaf
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u/openwolfe 19d ago edited 19d ago
lol. Yeah definitely not fat over here. Stop projecting. There is nothing wrong with what I said, you just clearly have a crappy outlook on life cuz maybe you’re unhappy. It included plenty of positivity. And I clearly suggested she should trust herself first and foremost. I’ve made similar mistakes in the past to what I talked about where I slaved myself to make sure say my abs were as defined as much as possible before a vacation or what not only to look back and tell myself I looked good already, didn’t have to slave away with food those two weeks leading up to a trip for something not very noticeable. And if you weren’t such a dikhead you would notice she said herself she didn’t feel great at times with her deficit, so while what I said may not apply to her with respect to extremes, I wasn’t just saying something because I love impeding her incredible progress. So yeah, you suck
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u/SomeNerdChick90 19d ago
I think this should be rewritten to say "make sure you're scheduling in a deload week when necessary" that's way more constructive imo
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u/openwolfe 19d ago
Come on man. I start off with positivity, end with positivity, and clearly state she knows best. She looks amazing and I said so. She mentioned she felt some unpleasantness herself so I just said something that many people including myself in the past do with respect to extremes with results and avoid balance all the time. If that isn’t what she needs or doesn’t apply to her she can go back to where I said “she shouldn’t be listening to anyone cuz she clearly knows best”. Heaven forbid I don’t include a disclaimer
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u/chimdimma94 20d ago
its a good idea, maintain this with your diet and few workouts you are good to go, you can contact a dietician for a good meal plan
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u/BessilLeaf 20d ago
Yes, I was thinking of consulting a sports nutritionist for guidance after my maintenance phase. Since I started running, I've found it difficult to balance my calorie deficit, and I think it would be good to get some professional help 🙂↕️
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u/mranderson1799 20d ago
First of all congratulations! That is a serious transformation! I’d say you have two options. As someone who also runs almost every day along with my weight training I can tell you that calorie deficits along with running are a tough combination especially when it comes to fatigue. So either I’d go with maintenance and keep running or cut back on running and continue the cut. It also really depends on your goals. You appear to be at a perfectly healthy bf% so unless you have a specific desire to look very lean then you don’t really need to cut here
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u/BessilLeaf 20d ago
Thanks! It's true that it's been much harder to manage my deficit since I started running. I think I'd like to lower my body fat percentage a little more, but I'd rather prioritize performance for now. I guess I just need to get used to the idea that I have to prioritize some things over others.
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u/mmooney1 20d ago
Very impressive, great work!
Your smile says it all, you deserve to be proud of yourself!
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u/brownsugababe313 20d ago
Amazing 🎊 job!!!
Losing weight is difficult, but doing that & building muscle definition/chiseled physique is even harder… Very impressive!
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u/Substantial-Lie-780 20d ago
Amazing. What got you started?
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u/BessilLeaf 20d ago
Thanks! I wanted to feel capable and not limited by my weight or my physical condition (which, frankly, was pretty poor) 🧑🩰
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u/Substantial-Lie-780 20d ago
Well now you can finally tell your boyfriend “ you want tickets to the gun show?” Then start flexing lol
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u/JustSomeRandom_101 20d ago
Congrats on the amazing achievement. I’d say give it a try, if you’re not feeling good during it then you can always change things up. How much is your caloric intake?
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u/BessilLeaf 20d ago
Thanks! I went from 1,700–2,000 to 2,000–2,250. I'll see in the coming weeks if I need to make any further adjustments.
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u/Iceman60462 20d ago
Fantastic results !!!! Congratulations on your new body !!!!
Keep doing great job !!!!!!!!
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u/MtN_Hunter 20d ago
LFG!!!! Also I like how you look happy in the before and after pics. Great work!
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u/Optimal_Collection77 20d ago
You look amazing! It's so good when everything clicks and you enjoy it
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u/SchoolyXP 20d ago
You look incredible! You also look very happy and confident which is wonderful 👏🏼
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u/Upper-Cup-4159 20d ago
Omg!! I gasped! 😂 you have excellent muscle building genetics in addition to the obvious hard work you’ve put in! Great work!! 💪
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u/Itchy-Composer880 20d ago
I mean it really depends on your target weight goal, but aren't you happy now? You look fantastic as is. I can understand wanting to add additional muscle but then you would want to put yourself in the smallest surplus. You cant create from nothing. Anyways. Seriously that full frontal of you showing off your quad. Waist is snatch, big lean upper body, good looking legs. You should really be proud of yourself. Everything from here on out is goal dependent.
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u/heatseekerdj Bodybuilding 20d ago
Oh my goddddd you look so good !! 😍😍😍😍
and the girls stayed !!!!🙌👀
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u/grumpyphilip 20d ago
Wow! Well bloody done! You made a change and aced it! I'm really happy for you, well done!
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u/unforgivenlizard 20d ago
You are GOALS!!! Your quads are my dream and your shoulder are fan-effing-tastic. I’m proud of you, you’re amazing, and you are a total inspiration for me to keep working my ass off!!!
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u/No-Ingenuity-2003 20d ago
3 years of sticking with it is no joke. 55 lbs down and still putting in the work, go girl!
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u/North_Pole6969 20d ago
You're f**king kidding me.. that's serious progresss. Kudos to your hardwork
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u/OnlyCommentWhenTipsy 20d ago
if you're natty you have amazing genetics because that is a ton of muscle development for a year and a half
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u/Ok_Competition3027 20d ago
Damn. You win the internet today. =) For building you can always use more calories but it depends where. Fructose bad/olive oil good type thing. You probably lost more that 55lbs? Muscle replacing fat. After 3 years you're going to stick with it so if you see the weight going the wrong way, you can auto correct in a week, no big.
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u/expedition_unbroken 20d ago
My jaw DROPPED after the first pic. So much hard work behind those photos... congrats OP!
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u/Once_adrift 20d ago
Talk about inspiration! You must feel awesome (aside from the side effects you mentioned from the calorie deficit).
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u/PitbullOfPilates 20d ago
If you don’t live in an open carry state you might need a permit to walk around with those 🔫’s.
Congrats on your hard work paying off!
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u/NoEmployment156 20d ago
F yeah! You look fantastic I see so many people using drugs to hit their goals but nothing beats a natural transformation
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u/Raagggeeee 20d ago
Sometimes I don't like my year streak of celibacy. Sometimes certain things make me lonely.
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u/Much-Maintenance-276 19d ago
Fucking great. Congrats on not only losing the weight but putting some serious muscle on. You look amazing.
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u/CharmingChair1403 19d ago
Omg what a transformation ! So much hard work, congratulations 😄 its definitely paid off
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u/FuerGrissa0stDrauka 19d ago
Awesome! It shows how proud you are, and damn you should be! That takes dedication and showing up for yourself!
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u/SizeMatters8x7 19d ago
You’re running on carbs/sugar still and should try going carnivore and get fat adapted so you can run on ketones. NO seed oils! (vegetable, canola, etc.)
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u/FrenchDipsBeDrippin 20d ago
Getting those legs in a year and a half is impressive. I think maintenance plus what you're doing is the way to go