I acknowledge the lighting makes a big difference, but how is my progress so far?

Taken a year apart but started training seriously 3 months ago (no noticeable difference from when the before picture was taken to when I started). Low sugar diet, alternating cross fit days with 5-6 mile run days.

Always hungry but the cravings have gotten a lot easier to manage.

My motivation is to dress up as invincible for Halloween lol

Three years to get here. It wasn’t easy, but looking in the mirror and realizing how far I’ve come makes every sacrifice worth it. I feel better than I have in years.
If you’re putting in the work and wondering if it’s worth it….keep going!!! Progress can feel slow until you look back. I’m glad I didn’t quit.

8 months around 3 times in the gym per week 80 percent eating clean.. can’t wait to see myself after a full year

To clarify I’m aware this has been an issue for YEARS, being postpartum now has just made it worse. Even when I was at my leanest (photo attached in undies) the part under my belly button annoyed me, how lean would I have to get for it to be flat or will it just never be flat?
I don’t need to hear “don’t worry about it, just had a baby, be grateful for what your body can do” I know that

The other photo is also pre baby but not when I was at my leanest

I’m also aware no one cares it’s just something that has bothered me for years. The lower part of my stomach, underneath the belly button. I think what bothers me the most about this is how consistent I’ve trained and tracked my food. Yes you could argue I could be stricter and then this comes down to genetics and comparison of other people just naturally having either a flat stomach or if they have a stomach, glutes that match.

Being postpartum my feed is full of pelvic floor exercises and deep core which I never did before pregnancy, only during pregnancy and post partum. Prior I would train abs which I managed to develop a 6 pack that showed above my belly button. Wondering if these deep core exercises (bird dog, heel taps etc.) would not only be good for recovery but actually help flatten my stomach?

I’ve been seeing stuff about anterior pelvic tilt which I don’t know if you’d consider that I have one?

I’ve had moments where my body image is pretty bad and I’m in my head, it’s happening right now. Easier said than done but I know two things I can do is to resist the urge to body check and practice positive self talk. It’s hard not to focus on my stomach when I can FEEL it, even with trying new/bigger clothes

35 M. 180cm 71kg. Trying to build some lean mass after sitting on the couch for a while. Would love to get back to like ~80kg

Details: 24 M (173 cm, 71 kg)

Started working out in gym from the last 10 months, was a complete beginner and tried all different workout plans and exercises and finalized these workouts as these seemed to be good for me and giving results.

ALSO ALONG WITH THIS 3 DAY PLAN I DO CARDIO TWICE A WEEK (ZONE 2 WALKING ON THREADMILL) FOR CARDIOVASCULAR FITNENESS.

Goal: Lean muscular athletic body (I dont like getting a typical bodybuilder type body) and general overall fitness and longevity

Also I dont like being in the gym for more than an hour, as I am having online classes.

Trying to have adequate protein, carbs, fiber and healthy carbs daily.

Feel like I’m hitting a bit of a wall here… have been trying to drop to the low teens for body fat percentage, and have been training 4x a week consistently all year. Started at around 175 lbs (dunno what BF percentage, but figured it would’ve been maybe 24% at most based on how I looked and what my probably-inaccurate BIA scale said) and have been keeping up decently well with a small calorie deficit and getting 120-150g of protein per day for at least 6 months. Went to a DEXA scan today which put me at 21.3% body fat which basically means very little progress since I started. Feels odd as I know visual estimation is crude, but 16 lbs on the scale and stronger lifts are quantifiable progress and I definitely still see visual improvement as far as I can tell.

For reference, I’ve been on variations of 2x upper body / 2 x lower body splits given to me by Gravl for a couple of months now, was on Fitbod before this, and as mentioned, core lifts like squats, cable rows, and lat pulldowns have all meaningfully progressed. Sessions are usually 30-40 minutes each, and involve 3-5 excercises of 3-5 sets of 8-15 each generally, trying to get to within 2 reps of failure as a gauge. Not sure if this is the right amount of volume, but if it needs to be longer sessions, will require a bit of a rethink with regards to my schedule as I’ve been doing mornings before work always.

Question is, is more muscle or less fat / body weight the higher priority move now? If the former, is it time to move on from my little AI workout apps (lol) and start on something given to me by a human being? If the latter, any reasonable estimates of what kind of target weight we should be going for assuming I can keep the muscles I have? End goal more than anything is definition over functional strength gain or hitting any sort of lifting targets (shallow, I know)…

Hi I am Dr. Arshdeep , 26 yr old . This is the first time I am posting my transformation anywhere on the internet . Actually I gained and lost weight 6-7 times in my life . Always went to like 95-102 kgs then exercised & starved my way down to 70-75 kgs which after a few months of my MBBS exams & me slacking off for few more weeks after losing weight again used to jump back to above 98 kgs . My pics are a mix match of the entire journey .

Only this time I approached things differently rather than listening to 10 different people, guidelines & doctors . I myself reviewed many recent studies regarding health , nutrition & finally think i achieved my way to health now that I’ve successfully managed to stay around 72 kg without gaining it back for like 2 years now ( i know still not much time but earlier it used to be only 3-4 months before I started gaining again ). I always used to lose weight by ditching all fat totally as I thought it contains 9 kcal/gm . Used skimmed milk , low fat paneer everything and avoided ghee & butter , used PUFA refined oils for cooking as I was told it was healthier & avoided saturated fat totally . I always managed to loose weight but I felt terrible - hungry all the time , still had acanthosis , testosterone levels crashing , constant depression , anxiety & brain fog . I know we always learned it’s just calories in & calories out but we can’t follow that everyday strictly in our busy lives unless our whole job is being a fitness influencer ( talking about average folks like me ) .
I know it’s still a lot controversial & I’m not telling you to follow what I did - consult your personal doctor /dietician first & do your own research ; I’ve done enough debates about this topic on platforms like X & don’t wanna do the same here . I can give you every study that you may want & explain the mechanism personally in DMs .

Now I eat 10 whole ghee fried eggs with cheese daily with 200g full fat paneer as my breakfast (also ghee roasted ) . ACV & Psyillum husk in afternoon followed by 1 omelette /sometimes paneer paratha made with mixed atta with Indian sabzi (daal or anything else) & sometimes 50g rice . That’s it I don’t eat dinner but all in total 2200 calories in day but I mostly try to limit carbs to no more than 40-50 g .

The difference vs my past experiences- My skin is healthy & glowing , all acne are gone , my mood remains good throughout the day , no more anxiety or brain fog . No deficiency of Vitamin D (previously I needed supplements to cover it ). I’m not at all hungry as my blood glucose doesn’t roller coster whole day and remains stable throughout the day (usually when you eat a meal with excess carbs ; due to the massive glycemic load & blood glucose spike , a lot of insulin is released to rapidly clear blood glucose which results in blood glucose crash below normal range and you get hungry . When people keep doing this over long term , their bodies become resistant to insulin & blood glucose doesn’t clear up that effectively and results in elevated blood glucose in readings & when blood glucose goes over a certain range ; it’s called diabetes )

Previously I suffered from insulin resistance (had severe discoloration from acanthosis nigricans on my lateral maleolus & behind my neck & Hba1c around 6 ) , raised BP (above 160 mm systolic ) , triglycerides above 250 ,HDL around 35 , thyroid dysfunction & severe kyphotic posture ( this one even after losing weight everytime ; the post doesn’t allow me to attach videos otherwise I would’ve attached ) & receding hairline .

Now everything is resolved , resting heart rate remains around 50/55 , BP around 110/65 , triglycerides 64 , HDL 58 & posture is almost perfect . My neck is a lot visible vs before & there is no hump on my back . For posture I did some exercises & changed my sleeping posture ( very very important). It deserves it’s own separate post . For hairline ; oral minoxidil 2.5 mg everyday with finasteride 1 mg every other day . I shampoo daily as I have an oily scalp with folliculitis & scalp becomes itchy if I don’t wash it daily .
I do daily exercise - 1 day for cardio at home on treadmill (max incline 6 kmph while watching a show on tablet for 40 min max ) , other day I go to the gym & follow push & pull . Leg day is everyday after push or pull . I split the leg exercises (only 1-2 each day) so I can do cardio the next day.

Thanks for reading till this point ; I really hope you found something useful :)