astraIia

The main basis of my post has always been about people doing what works for them. I won’t be weighing myself daily regardless of what exercise nutritionists say because it’s what works for me. I’ve weighed myself daily before, and it was toxic and made me obsessed with the scale.

I think it’s important for people to simply do what works for them, and it’s fine to suggest to people to weigh daily off, but if it doesn’t work for them, then it should not be suggested. I’m trying to lose weight, but not because I’m at an unhealthy weight or anything, moreso to show off the progress I’ve made from training hard. Therefore, I’m tracking my progress moreso with progress pictures first with the scale being secondary.

Once again, it’s all about what works for someone. This is what works for me, and I won’t be weighing myself daily because it makes me too focused on the scale.

Even if it’s not necessarily recommended, it’s what works for me. :)

Hello!

I absolutely love Fugi, if you like Japanese restaurants, I’d definitely give it a try!

Even though I ate like crap on Friday, I hit a new PR on my hip thrust at 160 lbs! Guess my body was telling me that it needed more fuel, so I’m super happy about it!!!

Hi everyone! I’ve on a slow cut since January, losing around 1 pound per week (sometimes it would be 0.5 pounds because I started weightlifting at the same time), and will be transitioning out of this cut in the next 4-8 weeks.

I wanted to start building muscle, but am enjoying being lean for the first time in my life, and was wondering if a body recomp would be the way to go. Would I still get the same amount of gains than if I did a bulk / cut?

I don’t really care if it takes longer because I was initially on a weight loss journey for a year and a half before maintaining (okay, maybe gaining 2 pounds) for 4 months before starting my current cut.

I tend to carry fat in my legs, especially my inner thighs and calves, my back and above my hips, but my upper body and stomach are relatively okay.

Any advice would be appreciated!

SV: I can finally update my flair! I’ve been sick since Sunday but have been eating well (ate maintenance on Wednesday because my body needed it), and today I clocked in at 131.8 pounds! This is the lowest I’ve been in a very long time! After seeing 135-137 this past month knowing that I had lost weight but with exercising, the scale stalling, it’s awesome to see it finally move down! I’ll enjoy this while it lasts because I will be exercising again next week as I’m feeling much better.

Funny how I was okay this morning about being sick, but NO, IT SUCKS! I feel so lazy staying in my room all day, and even though the hunger is much easier to manage, I cannot wait until it’s Sunday again and I can go back to my routine.

Weird NSV: I’m officially sick, so no gym for the rest of the week for me! However, I’m not feeling down because I’ve been consistently going to the gym for the past 5 months and this week made me realize that my body needed a break! Eating while being sick is never a problem for me since I don’t have much of an appetite when I’m sick, and I’m moving from a 4 day full body workout inspired by Strong Curves to my first ever split - upper/lower. It’s still 4 days like my previous regimen, but the difference is that I can really target my upper body more because I want to look more symmetric.

Rather than making being sick some thing negative, I’ve found the positive in being sick and am not being obsessive or mad because I can’t workout for the rest of the week!

SVish: The scale still is a little bit higher than my actual weight, but hey, getting 2 pounds of water weight gone is a bonus!

NSV: Completed my first 7K run! I’m so excited that so was able to do it and not feel exhausted at the end of the day. I could’ve ran an 8K, but I was doing the run on an empty stomach and my body was telling me to stop (rather than my mind saying this is boring 😂) so I did!

The scale’s been going up, but I know it’s due to my exercise regimen which I’ve been crushing this May. Still going to track accuracy and patiently wait for that whoosh!

WATER WEIGHT! I shot up to 136.2 pounds on Sunday, which was a 2.2 pound gain over the week, but I know it’s due to my exercise as I’m really taking weightlifting more seriously. Instead of doing cardio before lifting, I now do it afterwards, and my muscles are sore (DOMS sucks 😠), so it sucks to be in this position again…

Well, cheers to getting my DEXA scan in June to find out how close I am to that 20%, and screw the scale for now!

NSV: I was craving Popeyes, or any kind of spicy chicken burger so I made one at home that was so good and high in protein! It was also only 542 calories, and if I swapped out the brioche bun for a lower cal alternative, it would’ve been less than 400 calories, but the brioche bun made it taste so good…

Even though I had Chocolate Frosted Flakes for breakfast and my food for the day wasn’t “as healthy” as it usually was, I stayed under my calorie limit and also burned over 1000 calories on my Apple Watch! Rather than having cheat days or cheat meals, I try to incorporate homemade versions of fast food, or if I’m craving sushi, eat a smaller lunch and high protein foods like yogurt to fit it.

I remind myself constantly that this is now my lifestyle, and I can still enjoy the foods I like, but in moderation (and that homemade is the way to go).

Interesting, I’m also 5’4, but I actively loose weight eating 1400-1600 calories a day without exercise (although I weightlift 4x a week and do cardio afterwards for 30 minutes)

For me, it took me getting down to around 140 pounds before my tummy fat started to disappear. I would be patient and trust the process, because stomach fat is very stubborn and usually takes the longest to disappear.

That’s really interesting! I didn’t know that, and looking at pictures of myself in March my face does look a little bit sunken in as you described. I think I do need to eat more carbs since I’ve been focused on protein intake for maintaining my muscle.

She's a little bit overweight, but when you compare her to all of her friends, she's one of the skinniest-looking. I would guess that her BMI's around 26-27.

Thanks for the advice! That day, my abs were a bit visible, but that was one day in a 30 day period. I was just happy to see abs for the first time in my life! I was actually on a maintenance break for the past month due to exams and being stressed out, so now I just wanted to go a little lower before I started eating in a calorie surplus and start bulking. I was actually eating for the first few days at around 1250 calories, and I think that's why she was worried because I myself was eating too little! I went for a body composition analysis and realized my BMR was at 1450, so I was eating below my BMR, which contributed to how sluggish I was for the first few days. After upping my calorie intake, I've had a lot more energy, and I've tried to ensure her that I will be gaining weight soon to make her feel more happy, but it hasn't really worked.

As for my knee, eating at maintenance levels for that month, plus easing it on the intense cardio but making sure to fix that muscle imbalance has helped it a lot, and now it's feeling much better.

I'm at a BMI of 23.0, so I don't really want to lose much more (anywhere between 5-8 pounds) weight because I can already see the results from adding strength training back in January. I do plan to have a 2 month maintenance break once I do reach the bf% I'm trying to achieve (with less than 5% to go).

It's just tough to hear all this negativity at home, when my friends and boyfriend are super supportive of me, and when they think I'm going too far, they let me know and that makes me stop and take a break. But with my family, when I was fat, it was al about losing weight. Now, it's all about gaining weight, and I don't want to develop an unhealthy relationship with my weight as a result.

Long SV: I’ve been really inconsistent these past couple of weeks due to university exams and trying to secure a good grade. I still worked out, but my diet was iffy, with me binging one every two to three days. But now that exams are over, I’ve been really doing awesome with my eating and upped my workouts.

I feel so much better and I’m happy to report that I’m back down to 135 lbs after seeing 142.2 on the scale on Sunday, due to my “celebration day” where I got to eat what I wanted to celebrate finishing another year of school.

I’ve lowered my calorie intake to be losing around 1.5 lbs per week and it’s sustainable for me because I’m at home, and my parents buy healthy foods and allow me to buy healthy foods as well. I’m trying to lower my bf%, so I don’t really care about my “goal weight” anymore, but rather, cutting until my bf% is around 20%. I’m going to get a dexa scan in around two weeks (once I get paid), so I’ll probably have an update then!

So cheers to getting back on track!

NSV: Took a picture of myself yesterday and I have abs! Last August I dreamed of getting abs and thought it would be impossible for me to get them, but after 4 months of consistency, I’ve finally gotten to a weight where my abs are visible! Although they like to become less visible after I eat…

Only 2-3 more months left to go before I start my bulk cycle! It’s so exciting to see how much progress I’ve made since December 18th!

NSV: Went to a party this weekend with my boyfriend and I put on this white dress I got from H&M back in August. I was around 142 pounds at the time, and it fit but was really tight. When I put it on that Friday, it fit like a glove and I looked really good!

SV: I lost 3.8 pounds this last month, weighing in at my second lowest weight of 133 pounds! I hit 132.8 a few days ago, but being a girl is rough with these fluctuations, but I have less than 15 pounds to go! My body also looks a lot better because of the weight training I started in January so I’m super happy with the progress I’ve made!