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Here are three shots from before I started bulking, just so I have something to look back on for comparison
Right now I’m sitting at about 160-162 lbs at 6'0", and I'm currently grinding through a reverse diet—then once October 1st hits, I'm diving into a slow, steady six-month lean bulk

Hey there 🙂
Every once in a while, someone stumbles upon my old photos and hits my inbox asking about my diet or workout routine, so I figured I’d just answer everyone here at once. I haven't stepped foot in a gym in a year. Not even close. 😵
I stopped training late last summer, thinking I’d just take a little break until winter. Then winter came, and I told myself I'd get back into it after New Year's. Then I went and broke my elbow, which sidelined me for about three months. Spring passed, then summer, and now we're into fall. Still nothing. 😁
When I stopped working out, I was around 119 lbs. Over this past year, my weight has been all over the place. Now I'm sitting at about 120 lbs. I try not to gain too much, but if I go overboard and eat everything in sight for ten days 🤦, I end up gaining about 4 or 5 pounds. Then I'll switch to low carb for ten days and those pounds disappear. 🤦

I'm planning to start training again in about two weeks, so I wanted to post these current photos as a "before" shot. This is what happens after a full year of being totally sedentary. My arms and abs have definitely lost the most muscle. My legs are still pretty strong, though—they just seem to be holding onto whatever mass they have left. My glutes are definitely starting to sag a bit 😢. I've also picked up some extra softness around my butt and thighs, which is why I'm not posting those specific angles 😁.

I’m feeling brave enough to drop a shot of my stomach right after these pics 😛
First one's from today, second one's from a few months back. I know the lighting is totally different, but I'm pretty sure you can see some progress here 😁
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Hey everyone, I figured it was finally time to drop my own before/after—I'm 32 now.

Starting point: 150 lbs at 5'6". Honestly, my relationship with my body was driving me absolutely crazy... just total insecurity.
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I decided to focus on working out rather than strict dieting because, let's be real, I am a huge foodie—but I kept my meals relatively consistent regardless. I managed to drop about 22 lbs, mostly by doing Insanity workouts—just jumping around my living room three times a week—and some cycling. My stomach definitely slimmed down, but it wasn't quite what I was aiming for. This is more or less how it looked:

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Once I realized all that cardio hopping wasn't giving me the results I wanted, I reached out for some advice. I talked to a close friend's sister who used to do bikini fitness, along with her buddy who’s into bodybuilding, and they helped me get started at a local gym. They set up a meal plan for me—at first, I seriously thought I was going to barf because of how much I had to eat! But honestly, after a few months, I can't imagine eating any other way. And man, I actually love hitting the weights... lifting has been such a game-changer for me.🎉🎉🎉

Right now, I'm sitting at around 117-119 lbs. I hit the gym three times a week normally, but lately, I've started going four times, including weekends. During the summer, I do a lot of cycling too. I have to be careful not to overdo the cardio, though, or I start getting too lean and losing weight too fast. My coach actually bumped up my calories recently—I'm supposed to be "bulking" a bit now. I'm hoping to gain maybe 6-10 lbs to build up my upper body and lower body too. I'm pretty happy with my core (if you know what I mean, haha), and I'm hoping to get a bit more definition there, but for now, I'm stoked. I've lost about 8 inches off my waist in total.

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It was definitely rough at the start—especially when you feel totally lost and have no clue where to even begin. But everything feels so much easier now that I have the right guidance, even if the weights are getting heavier every single week! The motivation is definitely there, and this has genuinely become my lifestyle. It’s funny, because I could never have pictured myself being "a gym person," and now, I can't imagine life without it.🙂

Decided to finally weigh in after thinking about it for quite a while... 😁
27 years old, 5'4", 112 lbs

After two months at the gym—hitting weights three times a week plus a weekly run—this is where I'm at. Not bad for a start. I couldn't quite capture my arms properly in the shot; they're actually more toned than they look here, but the mirror in my bathroom is terrible... 😁

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I've always been naturally very thin. My stomach is the only thing that stands out—not because of actual fat, but just how it sits—though I can't tell if that's just my build, my diet, or a bit of both. Honestly, I've never really tracked what, when, or how much I eat since I've spent my whole life struggling to put on weight. By most standards, I was fine, and I never felt the need to change... but over the last few months, I managed to gain about 7 or 8 pounds and finally crossed the 110 mark. 😁

My legs have definitely strengthened and filled out quite a bit—I wouldn't want them to get too bulky, though; it might throw off my proportions. My midsection is still the main concern, along with my lower back, arms, and obviously my glutes. Since I started training and paying closer attention to nutrition, things aren't perfect, but I'm mostly eating healthy now. This is just the beginning, so if anyone has suggestions, tips, or even just a heads-up on what to watch out for—pretty please... 🙂

I know I still have a massive amount of work left to do, but I happened to stumble upon some old photos today and just felt like taking a quick shot at the gym this morning to see how things compare...
It’s been about three and a half months of hitting the gym (usually 4 or 5 times a week), staying pretty disciplined with my diet, and throwing in some running every now and then...
I’ve managed to drop about 18 pounds in that time. Right now, I’m sitting at 190 lbs at 6'0" tall, and I'm 34 years old...

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I'm stoked

Current status (after about six weeks of basically eating whatever was in sight and ignoring my water intake)

Honestly, I think I’m slowly transitioning from the "overweight" category into that much more crowded group known as the "dad bod" phase.



Gonna get back on track for Trump 2016 😁

I'm done with the cutting phase, so here's the breakdown



I’m not stoked with my current body fat. It really should have dropped at least another 2%, but honestly, I refuse to look skinny and small by my standards like I do in the photo on the left. Since I'm pretty tall, looking that thin just looks bad, and my face gets way too gaunt. *excuse for lack of discipline*

On the bright side, I'm happy that my strength on the big lifts only dipped about 3-5%, which is AWESOME. Last year, my strength tanked by 10-15%. Plus, a shirt I haven't worn in months fits even tighter now after losing about 10-12 lbs, which means I held onto my muscle perfectly—maybe even added a tiny bit. That's a massive win, even if the process took two months longer than planned. Overall, I'm satisfied, just not thrilled. Next year, I'll cut lower once I've packed on another 12-15 lbs of muscle.

This cycle netted me 5 kg of muscle, damn straight, and that's killer.

Today was my first real cheat day, and I definitely smashed a solid 6,000 calories without breaking a sweat. Starting tomorrow, it's a week of maintenance, followed by a new program and a clean lean bulk. Let's get it. 😁

Quick little update:


So, I kicked off this new meal plan about two weeks ago, and the goal is to stick with it for three months.
The absolute worst part is my lower belly and thighs—I seriously have no clue how to get rid of that stubborn area! 😠
I know deep down that diet is everything, so I’m trying my hardest to stick to the plan at least 90% of the time.

Here’s my first progress pic! 🎉 This is where I’m at right now after dropping quite a few pounds... still got plenty of work ahead, so I’m treating this photo as my official "starting point." Now, it's time to focus on burning off the rest of this fat and getting lean and toned! :clapping: :clapping:

Found an old photo of myself! It’s a good way to see how far I've come 🙂 this was from about two years ago. I hadn't even started dieting back then. Honestly, I have no clue what my exact weight was... but it was definitely around 175 lbs

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And here's the most recent one—down to 145 lbs now

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Hope I uploaded those correctly 😵

As for sizing—I went from a size 12 down to a 6 or 8 depending on the fit. Tops went from a Medium to a Small. My thighs and legs have always been such a struggle, though... that's where the weight just loves to stick

Hi everyone. I figured I’d jump in here too. At 5'6", I hit about 165 lbs at my heaviest. Over the last five months, I've managed to drop from around 150 down to about 120 lbs through calorie deficits and some home workout routines. I still have quite a bit of work to do regarding muscle definition and body fat percentage. Pretty soon, I plan on joining a local gym to start lifting weights and moving away from pure cardio. I’m thinking of cutting out cardio entirely for a month before maybe adding in one HIIT session per week. Right now, I’m mostly just crunching numbers on my meal plan. My goal isn't really to lose more weight, but rather to tone up and get defined. This will be posted in the Training and Nutrition subforum under Recreation, so if you have any advice, I'm all ears.

Out of this entire album, these two shots are definitely my favorites. 😵
Just so we’re clear—I’m sitting at 225 lbs right now on these photos.
I actually just hit my 19th birthday a few days ago... I've got some massive hurdles ahead of me, and honestly, I'm about to embark on a pretty dangerous journey! 👏👏

Yes, I want to—no, wait, actually, I definitely want to... anyway, here are some photos and a quick status update! I’m hitting my 43rd birthday in just two weeks, and life is busy with my two kiddos (ages 4 and 9). I’ve spent basically the last twenty years glued to an office chair, so let’s just say my glutes are still very much "under construction"... I am working out, of course, but there is always room to get stronger and more toned. Standing at 6'1" and weighing in at roughly 170 lbs.

Current status:



My training is pretty much all over the place. I'm jumping from yoga straight into martial arts.

Alright, time for a little brag session! I actually managed to lose about two inches off my waistline (which has always been my absolute nemesis) .. just a little more progress and I’ll be feeling totally unstoppable 😁
left side is from Sept 4, 2015, right side is today 🙂

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Hey there, it's me again! 🙂

So, I’m officially in my bulking phase—eating big, but I'm still being super disciplined with my clean eating. I’ve been bumping up my calories, and I try to stick to one scheduled cheat meal a week. Though, let's be real, sometimes I just cave and grab a little snack outside of my planned cheat day, haha. Honestly, I don't even crave anything else; it's strictly a sweet tooth thing, especially when that PMS hits 😁 and that's usually when I end up giving in 😵😁

I've actually put on about 5 or 6 pounds, and honestly? I'm pretty happy about it. It doesn't feel like "bad" weight, you know? Everything seems to be settling in exactly where it needs to, which was my biggest fear. As for the gym, I'm hitting it four times a week. One of those days is usually a circuit training session where I hit all the muscle groups, or I'll just spend about 45 minutes crushing it on the StairMaster.

Since I can't really get out for my bike rides anymore now that winter is here, I make sure to do at least two cardio sessions a week after my lifting by hopping on the StairMaster for about 15 minutes. Those stairs are absolute magic—I found some different ways to walk on them on YouTube, and man, they seriously target the glutes perfectly. 🙂

The plan is to keep this momentum going until I gain another 4 or 5 pounds max, then focus on maintaining and building strength, before I eventually switch back to cutting come spring 🙂

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Hey guys. Miss me yet? 😁

Gotta show off the assets a little bit—butt and boobs included. 😁
So, I’ve been doing Taekwondo daily for ten years now—plus lifting weights and hitting the gym machines. I'm 132lbs at 5'4". Been holding this weight steady for about a year. I'm 28.

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A quick little update before my next photoshoot... currently sitting at 236 lbs, 6'5", and 19 years old! Honestly, I’ve never felt more satisfied with my physique or the quality of my conditioning. I am still struggling quite a bit with my traps and calves, though—I’m hitting them three times a week and this is the best I can manage right now 🙄 😢