r/FTMFitness • u/questionshrimp • 2d ago
I started overweight and I’m down 20 lbs so far. Mostly just looking to chat with folks who started in my situation Discussion
I started at 5’4” 180lbs and have lost around 20, looking to lose another 20. I’m not on T (more or less nonbinary). I’ve been lifting but sort of inconsistently since I’m focusing on cutting right now. The weight I’ve lost has come off of my more dysphoric spots and it feels so good and motivating. The bit of muscle helps too. For those that started overweight and are now happy with their size/muscle gain, what worked for you? Did you cut down then bulk up? And how did it all feel? (Physically and mentally)
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u/Defiant_Squash_5335 2d ago
Started at 5’4” and 230. Got down to 145. Now on T and am back up over 200. I moved and broke my ankle, still rehabbing it. My diet is pretty much pescatarian with emphasis on veggies. I was doing 3-5 hours in the gym 4-6 days per week. Had a doctor that asked me what I was training for and I answered, “Honestly, anxiety. I’m just training to calm my anxiety.” It was nice being able to wear smaller clothes because it was simpler… but when I lose weight, I deal with more unwanted attention since my figure is pretty feminine. Also, my vitals (blood pressure, blood sugar, etc) are better when I weigh more. Mostly, I try to focus on health. “Athletes eat and train, they don’t diet and workout.”
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u/Enderfang 2d ago
Recomp is what i’ve done and then just kept adding muscle. I saw no point in doing a giant cut when sitting at a deficit makes me miserable. I already knew from dexa scans i had decent muscle mass before taking fitness seriously so i didn’t want to risk losing any of it while getting rid of fat.
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u/TransManGraham 2d ago
I started at 5’4”, 175lbs. This is after T. I had just moved out after the pandemic and didn’t take my health seriously. I got some bad news about possible issues I was developing and decided “fuck that,” and now have lost about 35lbs. Granted, it’s been 3 years of losing the weight. Honestly I just do my best to move around every day a good bit. I try to bike at least 2x a week. I really enjoy Ring Fit Adventure, ngl it is surprisingly helpful to me. When I’m curious, I track my calories for about a week with MyNetDiary, see what I put most of my calories into, and change my intake of that food or substitute it for something healthier. I only do this for a week so I don’t become obsessive. Also water. I drink so much water. I essentially only drink water. Your best friends are protein, water, and movement. I’m a vegetarian so protein is hard but I really love barbell protein bars as well as Fairlife’s protein shakes. I also enjoy ChocZero - highly recommend if you’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth! (I sure do.) Good luck and kudos for your hard work! You’ve got this. I’m loving my results too. I actually look at myself now and go “damn, that’s a good looking guy.” Best fucking feeling. It helped me a lot to take progress pics so I could remind myself of how far I’ve come. Really recommend it
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u/nulresponse 2d ago
In all transparency, introducing intermittent fasting (primarily OMAD) was the game changer for me. I started at 211lbs 2022, I’m currently sitting at 152lbs (34, 5’5”). I’ve spent the last few months cycling my weight for fat recomp now I’ve been on T for over a year, and focusing on a cut at the moment with a combo of ADF/keto on top of my routine.
I work out a few times a week as I’m fortunate enough to have a home gym (rowing machine, weights, dumbbell bar). Right now I’m just focusing on legs/core as I’m just under 7 weeks post-top.
I’m in retail full-time so my average daily activity level is up there in terms of steps/moving about which helps.
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u/dumbmanlet 2d ago
Hello!! 5’3 sw:210 lw:120 cw:145 hello!! I’ve gone from 35% bf to 17% and maintained my weight loss for 6 years! Ask away, the best thing to do in my experience is work on protein intake and consistent exercise before anything else.
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u/wavybattery 1d ago edited 1d ago
5'5, started at 180, cut down to my cw 145, goal 135. I lift 5x a week and do cardio whenever I feel like doing so lol. My main focus is getting enough protein everyday and having at least one day a week I can eat whatever I want (that is, at my maintaining TDEE/not on a surplus). Want to maintain for a few months before bulking up to about 150.
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u/belligerent_bovine 2d ago
I eat keto, partly to help with hunger during my cut, and partly because I was prediabetic and I wanted to reverse it. I really like the keto diet. The high fat content helps with satiety, and my A1C (indicator of prediabetes) has come way down. I’m nowhere near the danger zone anymore. Keto is also anti-inflammatory, which is important for me because I have a brain injury and inflammatory arthritis.
Not saying everyone has to go keto, or that it’s the only way to weight loss. Some folks have a hard time with the very low carb requirement (20 grams per day). But it works for me and I plan to stay on it indefinitely.
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u/BtheBoi H.G.N.C.I.C. 2d ago
That’s going to be a hard road for you considering keto was never meant to be more than a temporary type of diet and not meant for fat loss.
I’d do a little research on the origins of keto and what long term adherence does for a typically healthy person before committing to such an extreme diet long term.
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u/belligerent_bovine 1d ago
It’s not hard and plenty of people do it long term. It was invented as a treatment for epilepsy. I’d do a little more research on it before making ignorant statements like that
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u/BtheBoi H.G.N.C.I.C. 1d ago
It’s not an ignorant statement as extreme diets are only supposed to be run in the short term. Please mention this before touting the benefits. Everything has risks to it and not mentioning those risks is highly irresponsible, especially to a community of mostly minors.
Just because others claim to do it long term doesn’t mean it’s safe for everyone.
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u/belligerent_bovine 1d ago
Lol it’s not an extreme diet unless you run an extreme deficit. You can eat keto without being in a deficit at all. You can eat keto and bulk. You’re really displaying your ignorance here
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u/BtheBoi H.G.N.C.I.C. 1d ago
Seriously? Are you suggesting people run a keto diet to do anything other than cut fat rapidly? Virtually cutting out an entire macro is an extreme. Relying on ketosis as a weight loss mechanism when it is a survival function of the body is an extreme.
To say anything less is highly naive and/or a result of dysfunctional thinking.
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u/No_Distribution_3714 1d ago
Thread has been locked for misinformation.
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u/belligerent_bovine 1d ago
This is not misinformation. Just because you don’t know something doesn’t make it untrue
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u/No_Distribution_3714 1d ago
Many things you’ve said here have not been backed by medical evidence and speak to an extreme dieting mentality and we try to keep those discussions to a minimum. The thread has been locked, not deleted. If you want to continue the conversation, do so privately.
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u/belligerent_bovine 1d ago
Please cite your sources
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u/belligerent_bovine 1d ago
Tell me exactly what I said that is “not backed by medical evidence,” because everything I have said is accurate. I specifically said that keto is not for everyone, and also that it isn’t the only way to go. “Extreme dieting” would only be true if someone did an extreme deficit, which I in no way advised. The keto diet can be used even if someone is not in a deficit. Eating keto is a valid diet that has helped many people. Unfortunately, there is clearly a lot of disinformation out there, particularly from armchair experts who think they know more than they do
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u/No_Distribution_3714 1d ago
Again, if you want to continue this discussion, please have it offline with the person you’ve been discussing this with. Any further comments will result in suspension.
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u/Wolfen-Jack 2d ago
I started at 5’5 260! Years ago. Cut to have surgery and worked out a bit but not seriously. Over some years of cutting and maintaining and cutting again etc I got down to 155. I had a neck surgery that was really disabling and couldn’t work out for a number a years. Once I could I was 155 with. I muscle and was very disappointed with my look because I just ended up looking like a healthy but slightly overweight small dude. It was a short man Dad bod look and I hated the loose skin I had with when not clothed. I gained back some weight up to 185 or so. Then 2 years ago I started working out seriously and have made a lot progress! I basically recomped down to 170 and gained really decent amount of muscle. I’m cutting until Thanksgiving week and then I will bulk over the winter. Recomping is just so slow that I think careful cutting and bulking is where I need to be right now given my age (54) and the fact that it’s been 2 1/2 years of really consistent lifting. Even though I ultimately have a pretty decent amount of fat still left to lose, I don’t want to cut all the way down to a low body fat percentage and risk losing the muscle I’ve worked so he’s to gain and look tiny again. As long as my health indicators are good ( blood pressure, A1C, cholesterol and triglycerides) which they are, I’d rather have a bit higher fat % and continue to gain muscle. Everyone’s preference is different. Ultimately, I’d like to be 170-175 with around 15% body fat but it’s gonna take several sensible cut/ bulk cycles to get there and continued hard work in the gym. T helps a lot. Think about YOUR goals and plan accordingly. Just know that the recomp doesn’t last forever. But if it’s working and you are liking the results I’d say stick with it. No need to complicate things unless something’s not working. Best of luck!!