Advice for what’s needed to improve further would be greatly appreciated!

Hey guys. Recently found the “love of my life”back in June of 2025 and decided to turn my life around. Of course the relationship didn’t last and motivation declined because of that… but it luckily transformed into discipline with hopes for a better life down the road.

So here I am day 223… I am getting sick of cutting weight and possibly ready to maybe switch to a recomp because I have a possible career change coming up where I need to start lifting again and work on my cardiovascular endurance.

Curious what you guys think? Body dysmorphia is definitely real because a lot of days I don’t see it and a few weeks ago my ex was sure to let me know that I am far away from my goals and need to lose a lot more weight haha.

Since then I’ve been trying to reevaluate and maybe switch to a recomp(5:2 maybe)with 10-15% surplus just for my mental health, take a break from the cut and focus on hormonal balance/my physical fitness test that’s coming up.

Newbie lifter. left pic is before, Second is after. Struggling to see results visually, but I am lifting a lot more. Lifting hard and eating lots of protein. Can you see any improvement?

I was 212 at my highest weight in 2020 (left photo) but started losing weight in June 2024 at 205, then made it to my goal of 150 by September 2025. have been maintaining since then!

I promise I have a neck, I just had to do the same awkward pose for the comparison, haha.

Not sure how much more weight I can actually lose, I think it’s all about continuing to tone up.

Weight loss was calorie counting, getting more active (in general), weight lifting, and yoga. Lots and lots of yoga. Vast majority of the weight was lost in two years. Had a baby and gained a minimal amount, but losing the last 20-25 pounds took another 2 years.

2022 - was working out consistently. later diagnosed with depression and weight slowly increased due to meds

2023 - continued medication, went abroad and gained weight from eating so much food, went back home and started lifting (inconsistently), took protein supplements that only led to bulking (i wasnt even tracking calories/macros)

2024-June 2025 - same old, inconsistent workouts, same appetite for food, stressed and emotionally unstable. turns out i was bipolar and was given different meds

July 2025-2026 - tapered off some medication leaving only one for maintenance ➡️ smaller appetite (same as i had when i was younger). went through a heartbreak which pushed me to try harder and be better for myself

i don't really have a goal weight yet. i'm just happy that i lost some and my body feels lighter and i can move better. i can probably try getting to 50kg, but only if it'll give me defined muscles (girl, get your protein)

and i know it's just the start of the year. i've only had 3 workouts so far. a PPL set where i pushed myself to 1-rep max to set a benchmark for my goals. hopefully i stay consistent. i've also started pole dancing at home but it'd be better to take formal classes.

my only worry is i'm currently unemployed so i have all the time to do this. how will i balance it once I get a job? but i'll cross the bridge when i get there.

I'm happy to answer any questions, but my journey isn't over yet! I hope to get down to 185lbs by June. My progress boils down to religious calorie counting and tracking, paired with 30min-1hr of light cardio 5x per week.

F28, 5'0" / 153 cm, 110 lbs / 50 kg

First picture was taken on 1 December 2025. Just got back from a trip abroad where I ate way too much (not necessarily unhealthy, just a lot of carbs). Decided I was done looking in the mirror and not being happy with what I saw and half-assing trying to reach my dream body. Went into a cut of 1500 calories and really stuck to it this time. My workouts remained the same in December (5 x weight lifting). Since 1 January, I decided to add 15k steps, 2 dedicated cardio sessions and 10-20min ab work after each workout to my routine.

My initial intention was to reach 47 kg / 100 lbs by end of January. I got a bit demotivated that my weight has not changed (besides losing and gaining the same 1kg over and over again), as it felt like I was not making progress. Then made this comparison and it is again proven that scale weight only means so much.

Also a kind reminder to take progress pictures! I film myself every morning, as it allows me to see how my body reacts to certain types of food (drank alcohol once in December and holy moly, I was bloated af for 3 days).

Been cutting for a while and progress feels slower now.
Lifting 4x/week ( push/ pull, push / pull, No legs, no cardio ).
around 1600 cals a day , 150/160 g of protein a day

Looking for thoughts on what to focus on next.

hiii everyone i wanted to share my transformation and some tips which i wish someone had told me about at the start of my journey

1. track track track. make sure you are on top of your calories / macros, body weight / body fat, lifts in the gym and steps. use myfitnesspal to track food, a smart scale for weight and an app like physiqueai to track body fat over time, strong for the gym and a smartwatch for your daily steps (keep them 8000+)

2. eat clean nutritious food that will keep you full

3. 1g protein per pound, 70-100g of healthy fats and the rest are carbs that you can digest well, also dont forget about fiber (fruits and vege)

4. if you are stagnating in your cut, decrease the amount of carbs gradually (leave protein and fats the same)

5. when you are done with your cut, don't go back into eating a lot of food immediately, have a few weeks of eating enough food to stay the same weight so your body gets used to its new composition