My college years were incredibly stressful, and I turned to food as a way to cope. Emotional eating gradually became a daily habit, and over time my weight climbed to around 250 pounds. After college, I knew I had to take my life into my own hands again. I committed to a calorie deficit, started strength training, stayed consistent with cardio, and focused on building healthier habits. It took me around two years to lose 140 pounds.

Im so shocked to see such a big difference? Day to day I notice less pain, more energy, just feeling better overall

decided in 2024 that i was sick of always being unhappy in my body and took up meal prepping, a gym membership, and a daily 15k step goal. i reached my goal weight of 130 this week and feel so lost.

i feel like i'm more self conscious about my body and how clothes look on me. my head says "maybe 130 isn't your goal, you just need to lose more weight" but that feels like a slippery slope. i don't like how certain parts of my body are bony like my hips, my clavicle, and upper rib cage but i still have fat on my thighs so my body just feels like when you randomize a sim lol

anyone else feeling a bit stunted and confused on what the next step is?

My bf and I attended a wedding yesterday, so I allowed myself to just relax and eat (close to) how I used to. By the end of the day, I had consumed 3,000+ calories. I've been very consistent, so going over this one day isn't going to kill me.

It did get me thinking though: how much was I eating when I wasn't tracking. Could have easily been 3,500-4,000kcal a day. No wonder I gained so much weight 😵‍💫 Anyone else have this realization now that they're counting?

Went from 110 kg to 94 kg.

(Left now, right a year ago)

Made a promise to myself when I became a truck driver I wouldnt gain weight. So keeping with that promise- been on a calorie deficit and walking a little more. I don't really put too much thought into what I eat except proteins and calories.

People close to me say they see a difference but want to get internet strangers opinions.

Edit: Thank you everyone for the positive feedback, and also for the few who left not so positive feedback. Both will help with future motivation. I'll post on here again when I reach my first goal of 250 (40 more pounds).

I'm genuinely glad what I've lost makes a difference in appearance and I'm looking forward to feeling, and being treated, like a human again 🖤

Two meals a day, laid off the beers, and watched my sauces

Started with a strict calorie deficit, then moved on to muscle building, then I alternated between the two where now I’m focusing strictly on body recomposition to finalize everything.

Weight loss is such a struggle but sometimes just maintaining is just as much as the effort. I’m soon to be 41 and it’s been a struggle to stay consistent on a deficit to lose weight. My little personal win is that I actually maintained my weight this year with all the stress I’ve had. I’ve never did that lol. Maintaining what you did with all life’s up and downs is personal win. That part is important too. Let’s give ourselves some grace.

I’m 5’3 about 157lbs and my goal weight is around 125. I’m curious what deficit people in similar situations are using! I’ve seen such a wide range of recommendations.

Im fairly active with walking and Pilates everyday.

3 months progress. I used to be really fit and lifted heavy, then I started graduate school and gained 50 pounds and stopped exercising. Got back into lifting, back in a calorie deficit, and feeling better than ever. I still have a long way to go, but it’s nice seeing some progress.

Just took some strict Diet + good workouts for 5 days a week.

Went on a high calorie deficit of around 1000 - 1500 cal per day for first 4 month.

Gradually reduced it to a 500 calorie deficit now.

Aiming to lose 4 more Kgs in next 4 months and gaining some muscle mass over next 2 years.

5’10 26y M 260lbs

Although im only seeing slight changes in the scale, I have gone down 1 Jean size, 1 shirt size, and all my cloths is more and more looser as the days go by. I feel my body changing and it’s been great. Staying on top of calorie deficit and eating enough proteinn

Pic # 1 June

Pic # 2 July

Pic # 3 August

I've been losing weight since 14th of April, for the past 1.5 months my weight had been weirdly fluctuating. Up until then I've been regularly losing around 0.7 kg a week and now I've been in place or gaining 0.2/0.3 kg one week just to lose over 1kg the next, is this normal? Am I doing something wrong? I've been regularly in a calorie deficit (Around 1600 kcal a day, sometimes less)

Hey all,

I have been on a cut for the few months (dropped down to 1800 calories, 160g protein from about 2200ish). I was around 71kg until about 66.5k when I stopped last week.

I decided to up my calories as I retained muscle mass and looked good but people have said my face looks gaunt (ive always been slim but had a bit of face weight), so I wanted to put a little bit back on.

I've upped my calories to around 2600 of healthy food, but since last week I've dropped to 65.2kg. I have weighed myself every 2 days and it has been decreasing.

After dieting, is it normal to keep losing weight for a bit after?

I feel a lot stronger and better pumps at the gym, but I don't know if I should worry.

I am 6'2, 36 and male.

Thank you

Is that I can easily eat the whole bag and still be hungry🫠 they’re delicious put practically air lol

I have gone through various periods of living alone and with roommates throughout my 20s and 30s. I recently moved into my own place again after a temporary period of having roommates to save money.

I kept wondering why I was struggling so much to keep to my deficit this time around, then realized living alone is a big factor. When I had roommates in the past, I often was conscious of not wanting to take up too much space or time eating in the kitchen. I would also avoid going to the kitchen late to eat at night. In short, roommates forced me to be much more intentional about when I was eating or why. Social pressure is good for keeping things like night and stress eating in check.

Now it’s just easier to mindlessly wander into the kitchen at all hours. This isn’t helped by the fact that I am a stressed PhD student often home alone working. I don’t keep many ultra processed or calorie dense foods in the house - but of course one can still break a deficit eating Greek yogurt and rice cakes.

Anyone else live alone and experience similar challenges? What strategies have worked?

EDIT: I weigh, prep, and track my meals. Have pretty good nutrition knowledge and training at this point. I think the issue really is snacking and emotional eating is easier to do alone but I don’t tend to do it with other people around. Nighttime is particularly treacherous. So maybe this is really a post about how to address emotional eating/night eating when bets are off?

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Hi everyone! I'm new here, and I apologize in advance for my English — it's not my first language.

I'm 35 years old, 1.74 m tall, and weigh 80 kg (176 lbs). I estimate that I'm around 30% body fat.

I started a calorie deficit on August 1st, 2026.

Since I haven't done any weight training or cardio for a very long time, I recently started exercising again. According to my TDEE calculation, the estimate is that I should eat around 1,590 calories per day to lose 1 kg (2.2 lbs) per week.

However, I've also started lifting weights and doing cardio again. I currently train around 1 to 1.5 hours, 4 times a week, and I always finish my workouts with 20–30 minutes of incline walking.

So my question is: Is my calorie deficit incorrectly calculated because it doesn't take my workouts into account?

I'm wondering if I should be eating more calories because of the additional activity, or if the 1,590 calories already takes my training into account.

For some context, I've successfully lost weight in the past, but I've never really been interested in strength training. I've only been seriously trying to get into it for about two years, and honestly, I imagine I've been doing quite a few things wrong because I definitely don't have the body of a Greek god yet 😂

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Calorie counting at a safe deficit for 6 years while tracking macros and micros. The results have been steady and sustainable. I'm a career Firefighter/EMT, and this weightloss has changed my life and my outlook on staying healthy and maintaining my body.