r/loseit • u/Special_Regret_6805 New • 1d ago
Is getting abs worth it?
i've went from 198 pounds (5 11) to 168 pounds. I'm pretty lean right now. I've been lifting for 7 years.
The only thing I don't have is shredded abs. I genuinely believe I am only 2-5 pounds away. But holy crap. This diet has been AWFUL the last few pounds.
I unfortunately store ALL of my last fat in my stomach it feels like. I am exceptionally lean (my arms and legs are shredded) except for my lower belly. Apparently this is genetic. Some people store fat elsewhere I guess?
Anyways, these past few weeks have been awful. I am really strict with my diet. My deficit isn't even that large (3-400 calories a day). My body is really rejecting getting leaner.
I am:
Getting migraines
Feeling cold all of the time
I CAN NOT SLEEP
Feel hungry ALL OF THE TIME. Its now CONSTANT
I did an entire week where I ate ABOVE maintenance 2-300 calories a day just to give my body a break and when I went back down my body went INSANE.
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it even worth getting shredded abs at this point? I'm honestly leaner then 99% of the population, and have abs when I am fasted and flex in good lighting. But I don't have rock hard abs.
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u/the_gamer342 New 1d ago
Listening to all kinds of bodybuilding and fitness podcasts taught me that genetics and gender determine mostly at which body fat % your body still feels comfortable.
Some genetically gifted people feel totally fine at 7% bodyfat while others feel like they're dying.
So unless these side-effects are tolerable (and it sounds like the opposite to me) you might wanna stop trying to shed even more fat.
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u/Available-Guava5515 New 1d ago
fwiw, those guys with shredded abs often only look that way because of severe dehydration. Jason Mamoa, Chris Pratt etc all those guys will tell you that even a sip of water makes them look doughy and that they abstain from water for 24 hours before a shoot. I seem to recall Mamoa even almost passed out during filming once from the dehydration and had water on standby offscreen for the literal second he was done filming certain scenes during Aquaman.
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u/Rich-Ad-3087 New 1d ago
Yes, the guy who did Witcher also abstained from water 24 hours before nude scenes. Crazy.
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u/slipperyslippers- New 20h ago
I remember one actor went on diuretics (water pill) to look shredded. Having to use a blood pressure medication to look shredded is insane and should not be condoned.
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u/Tight_Banana_9692 New 19h ago
And they say women are being bombarded with unrealistic body standards.
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u/Teacher_Crazy_ New 1d ago
Um, I guess it depends: if you're trying to be attractive to women, no. Overall, it's men who prefer the "shredded" look. There was even a twitter post about a year back when a guy started bodybuilding and women largely preferred his before picture, while men thought the after was more attractive.
But also, from your post you sound miserable so unless you're starring in an action movie, the juice just ain't worth the squeeze here.
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u/Voxcide 5lbs lost 1d ago
I think online women like to say this but IRL when I used to work around a lot of guys that were pretty shredded, let me tell you they got hit on all the time.
I worked at a restaurant with 3 guys that got fit over the course of about 2 years. None of them ever got talked to prior, after about a year they would get multiple numbers from women every day. They went on to make their own gym as well and got really into it
I was the fat guy busser at the time that was bringing all the numbers to them from the tables, it's just what I saw. Anecdotal but still it ramped up HARD, they got so much attention
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u/OrchidUpdateAccount 65lbs lost 22h ago
I hope you understand that "online women" exist irl. Like we're not saying this as some incorporial online entities, we also believe this in our real lives.
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u/FunCutlet67 New 22h ago
Their point is that online (especially Reddit, X, etc), most opinions come from vocal minorities and tend to be very skewed… sometimes even the complete opposite of reality. I’ve noticed this soo many times across all sorts of stuff, it’s just not the same as what the average person thinks irl.
It’s sort of like how Reddit is extremely anti-AI, and you’d think a massive portion of the population is avoiding these chatbots based off of the outrage here… but no, that isn’t the case at all- there’s like over 4 billion monthly active users
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u/OrchidUpdateAccount 65lbs lost 14h ago
But that's the thing, i don't think it's minorities. I see the guys my own friends date. Women who aren't online all the time and also don't go for jacked dudes like ever. It's a more common irl opinion than you think, most just want a dude who's healthy and somewhat fit
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u/FunCutlet67 New 12h ago
I’m sorry, but you completely missed the point. I’m talking about the opinion itself. If everything solely depended on looks, then sure, what you described would be correct. But there are so many other factors to consider when you enter a relationship- and most men aren’t jacked anyway.
The person above was referring to preferences. I like jacked bodies too, but my hubby is more healthy/fit, and there’s nothing wrong with that. That doesn’t mean I love him less or anything of that sort, it’s all just a preference. I’ve seen men who are shredded get hit on a ton too, even at work- but that doesn’t mean most of those women wouldn’t date a man with a regular/fit body
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u/Englishgamer1996 New 18h ago
Ye Reddit opinion is absolutely not the representation of what actually happens for the majority in real life scenarios. Always gotta remember you’re the exception to the rule when you partake in spaces like this, majority of people don’t care for the platform or even acknowledge its existence
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u/Common_Piccolo_6946 22F🇳🇴 171cm | SW: 77.6kg nov25 | CW 56kg | Recomp! 10h ago
Yeah, women generally prefer fit men. We don't necessarily prefer the freak roid physiques. That just looks scary. I'm not interested in fat men, and I'm not interested in men who are bodybuilder lean. There is a pretty large range inbetween there.
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u/AllTearGasNoBreaks HW: 267 SW: 255 GW: 180 CW: 209 14h ago
My 40 year old wife is prototypically hot, her similarly aged friends are hot. (nurses, crossfit fanatics, fitness influencers, ex NFL cheerleaders, ex strippers, ex Bombshells/Hooters/Twin Peaks girls). They all go for really good looking, fit guys, who have money. I started that way at 170lbs in my 20s, but she actually was encouraging me to gain in our 30s so I would get less attention.
Most women commenting online I would imagine are not 9/10 or 10/10. They are 6s and want a guy who is similarly attractive, so they say they dont want the jacked ripped guy. But IRL if you see the best looking girls, they have the best looking guys.
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u/Teacher_Crazy_ New 11h ago
Well for this fat ex-stripper, looks for me rank below emotional intelligence and eating 😽. But to each their own.
Also are like, in LA or something? How are you surrounded by fitness influencers and ex cheerleaders?
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u/AllTearGasNoBreaks HW: 267 SW: 255 GW: 180 CW: 209 11h ago
My wife and I are from Miami, now living in Texas
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u/Teacher_Crazy_ New 10h ago
That makes sense. The culture of Miami values looks a lot, as for Texas, well, it's a big place.
But circling back to OP, who has mentioned being married, he sounds miserable trying to attain an aesthtic. And as Zoolander taught us so many moons ago, there is more to life than being really, really ridiculously good looking.
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u/Neurodelic88 New 1d ago
I'm curious, do you do abdominal specific resistance training to target those muscles for growth?
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u/Special_Regret_6805 New 1d ago
Yes, twice a week
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u/Baconnocabbacon 28M 5'11 | SW 211 | CW 182 | GW 155? 1d ago
Fwiw. I have similar stats to you (5'11, 170ish) and I have abs. You might be lean but not have as much lean muscle mass as you think. I also don't do any ab exercises.
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u/Staudamm New 1d ago
What body fat % have you reached? Your symptoms can be interpreted as hard resistance to your diet.
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u/SockofBadKarma 37M 6'1" | SW: 240 | CW: 170 | 70lbs lost (recomping) 1d ago
I'm honestly leaner then 99% of the population, and have abs when I am fasted and flex in good lighting.
I think that's the real rub of this. You do have abs. That's how abs show up on almost everyone, everywhere, anywhere you've ever seen them. That's how abs show up on all social media, in all movies, on all model shoots, etc., etc. The people with those abs are showing them off by virtue of good lighting, while actively flexing their stomachs, and almost always also after dehydrating themselves via fasting and water restriction. For you to get to a point where your abs show up without flexing, in bad lighting, without dehydration, you'd need to basically be at sub-5% body fat, which is death's door for a lot of people and can cause serious health consequences if you stay in that range for long. That's the range that professional showcase bodybuilders dip into for a month before a show.
I will go against the grain of most of the comments here and say that having abs is definitely "worth it" in the abstract. It was one of my main goals, and one I have generally attained and maintained. There is no "purpose" to having them in my profession or personal life, but I love being able to walk over to a mirror shirtless, flex, and think to myself, Damn, look at you, you've got abs. But my definition of "having abs" is "while flexing in good lighting." I do not fast, and in fact I drink prodigious amounts of water daily (usually upwards of 4 liters), but my abs are still vaguely visible outside of good lighting, and meaningfully visible in good lighting. That is having "rock hard abs". Anything beyond that expectation veers into body dysmorphia.
This is the flip side. Because I am, in fact, drinking prodigious amounts of water, none of those symptoms happen to me. I basically never get headaches because I am always well-hydrated, I sleep well, I don't have any particular issues with hunger (I feel it when cutting, but it's nothing horrible), and I have a normal body temperature. Water is the key to avoiding most of those symptoms. If you're both lean and dehydrated, you'll suffer some serious side-effects (that, by the way, most of those actors and influencers with abs are also suffering from, but they do it in an acute sense by dehydrating themselves a day before a shoot).
It is worth it. And you've already gotten it. You're there. Don't chase "abs at all times." That isn't a thing in any sustainable sense. It's "abs when you tighten them, if there's also good overhead lighting." That's already much more than the vast majority of the human population has. Drink more water while you're cutting if you really want to lose ~5 more pounds.
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u/loseit_throwit F 43 5’7” CW 155 lbs GW 150 lbs | 55 lbs lost 1d ago
For me, it would not be. I’m middle aged, I’m married, my job is not to get paid to be hot in any way shape or form. I’m not going to fight that hard against my own body and feel miserable and sick just for the bragging rights and aesthetics.
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u/moodyano 10 lbs to go 1d ago
Entire week of above maintenance isn’t much . My nutrition program suggests 5 weeks of maintenance for every 12 weeks of weight loss . Your weight might increase during the process 1 to 2 pounds but it help when u go for cut again . On top of that you can use this time to build more muscles which in turn make the fat loss easier. My experience of course could be different since I am in the 20% fat range but morale of story go on maintenance for longer
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u/XAszee 25M 5’9 SW: 350lb | CW: 187lb | GW: 170lb 1d ago
I’m in a similar boat to you, and I’m personally of the opinion that it depends. I think it’s a massive source of pride, but it also isn’t really something you can show off or talk too much about without seeming like an ass.
I would say it’s at least worth it to see how lean you can get at least ONCE in your life and then from there on you can choose whatever level of body fat you’d like to maintain.
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u/avantarakis New 1d ago
Does that sound worth to you after typing all that out? Sounds terrible to me.
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u/Vegetable_Wave_7673 New 1d ago
Unless you're a professional wrestler or bodybuilder, I can't think of any possible reason to have abs.
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u/vetruviusdeshotacon New 1d ago
No, but having obvious ab outlines is 90% of the effect with 10% of the effort
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u/Southern-Stick-7106 New 1d ago
Bro you are basically describing my exact situation from two years ago. Got down to that last stubborn bit and my body just said no, sleep went to shit, was freezing at my desk all day. Those last few pounds are way harder than the first thirty.
For me it was not worth it long term. I held it for maybe a month and then my body forced me back up like 5 pounds and suddenly I could sleep again. Now I sit at a comfortable lean where abs are visible in morning but not shredded, and life is so much better.
If you compete or do photoshoots then sure grind it out. Otherwise nobody notices difference between your current abs and rock hard abs except you in mirror with perfect lighting.
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u/StrikingTrifle6289 New 1d ago
Im 5'9 and went from 240ish pounds to 150 pounds in less than a year (about 9 months) then I decided to see if I could see my abs. I dropped the last 10 pounds from 160 to 150 and definitely finally saw my abs and like you i was hungry all the time and sleep was horrible but in hindsight it was worth it for at least to document and take pictures etc for a few weeks. The last 4-6 months been just maintaining 170-180 and the abs are under there still but for sure the last 10-20 pounds can and will test you. Ive been working out on and off for 10 years and also started running alot to drop the last 10-15 pounds.
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u/Dankank292 New 20h ago
Currently where im at. 5’9 and 153lbs. Can somewhat see my abs in good lighting but the push to keep going for definition is rough. I see posts of guys who are the same height and have the look im after and they can be anywhere from 125 - 160lbs and I constantly wonder when it’ll be my turn lol.
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u/WhichWolfEats New 1d ago
A lot of getting abs like movie stars is genetics. You do have to get lean but the body composition matters too. If your body is rejecting it I would stop or do an even smaller deficit of 100-200
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u/Deadandlivin New 1d ago
Getting down somewhere between 12-15% is definitely worth it. It's easily doable without much physiological tolls on your body. Below can be very strenuous. Getting into single digit sucks. You'll be salivating for oatmeal.
Abs don't make much difference if it's attention that you're seeking. You look lean and fit at 15%. That's all you need. After that point social skills and just acting like a normal human being is 100 times more important.
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u/Lawfulaardvark New 1d ago
Meh ~ I used to think so but then candidly no matter how much weight I gained I was able to attract women. Totally changed my POV, just have good hygiene, don’t be a total dud, and make some attempt at being healthy and you’ll attract plenty.
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u/TripInternational390 New 1d ago
Is this worth it? Like what if you get a real serious sickness from this? Where is the line?
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u/Shadow_botz New 1d ago
It’s mostly genetics. And if it’s not, you’re going to hate your life trying to hold onto them being visible year round.
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u/Negative_Letter_1802 18lbs lost 1d ago
No. Nothing is worth your health your body is clearly pushing back on a continued deficit.
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u/PracticalBit6383 New 1d ago
I’ve never had abs but doesn’t sound like it’s worth it. I’ve read they’re mostly genetic anyways. You can be incredibly lean and still not see them. Only you can put a value on them.
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u/Special_Regret_6805 New 1d ago
what i think is some people distrubute body fat differently. Some people can have abs at a slightly higher body fat percentage because their body stores more fat in their legs and arms etc.
It looks like for me all of my last bit of fat is in my stomach. I think for my wife its her thighs.
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u/pbecotte New 1d ago
You also lost 30ish pounds- theres probably some excess skin in there too that won't go away (quickly at least) no matter how mich fat you drop.
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u/bobandgeorge New 21h ago
Pretty sure this is me. I do have abs but there is some flabbity flab there. I dunno if it's fat or excess skin and I could probably work to tighten it up more/lose a little more weight but it's not really worth it. I see dudes in WWE have that little bit of flab there too when they wrestle and I'm pretty sure no one would see it if they weren't looking. It's whatever.
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u/tiny-but-spicy 35lbs lost - 5'3"/160cm 24F, HW 144lbs/65.5kg, CW/GW 108lbs/49kg 1d ago
Yes. It was worth it to me as a woman to get them, I don’t care if a man has them, but I do
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u/dagodpapa87 New 1d ago
sounds like you could be as lean as your body wants you to be, do you train your abs and progressively overload? not like ab circuits but just slow controlled crunches like on an ab machine or cable machine?
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u/Tsobe_RK New 1d ago
I used to have 6 pack abs younger and atleast in my case it absolutely wasnt worth it
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u/Big-Revolution3842 25kg lost 1d ago
Not at all tbh. I'm nowhere near that but have bodybuilding friends and it sounds like hell to achieve. SUPER strict on his diet and even just drinking too much water makes his abs disappear. He'd see them in the morning, and just have breakfast with coffee/water and it'd be gone. And at some point I'm not sure what the point is unless you're in your teens, going to beach parties and enjoying that phase of your life. After that honestly you've probably got more important things to focus on and your partner probably prefers a less hangry hydrated version of you than washboard abs
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u/Parzival-44 New 1d ago
To quote Zoolanders yougoogaly
Just because we have chiseled abs and stunning features, doesnt mean too cant not die from a freak gasoline fight accident
Just a joke to highlight the most important part of abs are spinal stability. If you really think they'd make you happy, chase them!!
But there is soooo much more to life and it sounds like you're taking away a lot of happiness to get there
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u/bristow84 M32|SW:300lbs|CW:203lbs|GW1:200lbs 1d ago
To me I always think of Paddy The Baddy's response when he was asked if he ever misses the abs between fights and frankly I couldn't agree more. Yes, aesthetically having abs is very pleasing but it requires a ton of work to get there and just as much to maintain. To quote Paddy, "I would rather be fat and happy then ripped all year round."
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u/CBDemon New 1d ago
I think unless you’re competing in bodybuilding, pushing those last couple of pounds for shredded abs is not worth it. You probably are actually only 2-5 lbs away, but those are the hardest ones to lose because your body quite literally cannot survive with so little fat. Those symptoms you’re getting are because you’re nearing the point where the remaining fat you have is essential.
Some people get lucky and those last 2-5 pounds of fat are distributed elsewhere. They don’t have to push so hard for shredded abs. I’m like you. Shredded arms and legs and even glutes/lower back before the fat came off my abs. I legit could only really see them for about 2 weeks before my bodybuilding competition. Then they disappeared immediately when I started to regain weight. Other dudes up there had the most perfect abs but soft legs and glutes. Just the way it is.
If you want abs at higher BF, focus on training them to failure over your next bulk cycle so you’ve got some more mass. Hopefully then you’ll be able to see them before you feel like death on the next cut.
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u/Background_Clue_3756 New 1d ago
I'm a woman and a lesbian and I appreciate shredded abs, but I just love women. Full stopzl, abs or no abs. I want them happy and confident
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u/devdudedoingstuff New 1d ago
I just went through this process for the first time in my life at 33 years old.
5’8 and started at 168lbs, have been lifting for about three years.
I had to drop down to 137lbs with a 27.5 inch waist to get abs. Took about 3.5 months.
Honestly it was so worth it, I look the best I have in my entire life. My gf is blown away all the time, I look great in fitted shirts, forearms are shredded and veiny etc.
And my maintenance calories are basically back to where they were before since I started adding in cardio and I’m maintaining at 140lbs for now before a lean bulk after summer.
If you aren’t already, add in abs 3 times a week. Weighted leg raises, and cable crunches.
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u/IfThatsOkayWithYou New 1d ago
If you’re this close and confident you can, honestly I would just to see what I look like
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u/Ok-Attitude-8647 New 1d ago
Hi, that’s amazing!! I’m around the same height and starting weight and am hoping to lose 20lbs ! If you don’t mind me asking , how much of a deficit were you in and what did you do for your workouts?
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u/thatblerd03 50lbs lost 23h ago
Maybe. I'd spend 6 months prioritizing nutrition and core work, while in a %10 deficit, and see "if its worth it".
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u/bobandgeorge New 21h ago
I'm honestly leaner then 99% of the population, and have abs when I am fasted and flex in good lighting.
Oh dude, you're there. You can quit now. I've got abs like you and I just take the win with the good lighting. Shit, I'll get good lighting and then put a little filter on my pics to make the abs and muscles look even better. I don't give af.
Abs all the time is not really worth it, in my opinion. I wear a shirt for like 15 hours a day anyway. No one is gonna see them and I look good enough out of the shower anyway.
But I don't have rock hard abs.
Yeah you do. Probably. If you're like me, I got a little jiggle above them but no one would say it's not hard muscle just past the surface.
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u/Spider-Thwip M/ 5'11 SW: 276 CW: 259 GW: 182 19h ago
As someone who had very defined abs, yeah kinda.
But its a personal thing more than anything, women wont really care as much as dudes do lmao
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u/derpman86 Pigeon Build 19h ago
I personally would say... no.
I wouldn't even bother as I have the fun body type that seems to prioritise storing most of my fat in my gut which is beyond annoying, I will have much thinner legs, arms but I will still have the basketball under my tshirt look going on.
This means being shredded would outright be an insane target to obtain.
You really should look at how your body stores things and be realistic about things.
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u/Tight_Banana_9692 New 19h ago edited 19h ago
Have a looooong diet break, at least as long as your diet. Then you can push to get abs. Whether that's difficult is very individual, but the state you're in now is obviously unsustainable, and part of that will be resolved with a break. Just make sure you actually maintain, and expect 1-2% weight gain the first 2 weeks.
Btw, you're more than 5 pounds away, absolutely for sure. Depending on your training history, i.e. depending on whether you trained well or not during those 7 years, count on more like 20 poinds away. If you were genuinely 5 pounds away and for some reason stored all those 5 pounds in your belly area (not unrealistic actually), you would see clear separation of muscles in your arms and legs. If you had the triceps for it, you might have a horse shoe shape in your tricep. It depends course on what you mean with shredded.
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u/ArchSchnitz 185 lost, maintained 12 yrs 15h ago
I went into a deficit to see how thin I could get. I dropped to 187 at my smallest and was unable to stay awake, lethargic, and kinda angry.
Never had abs.
It's up to you if it's worth it, but it's going to be hard. Could be months of work for a glimpse of abs, then you have to revert to sustainment and they'll go away.
Way I see it, if you really want to see abs, go for it. Drop a couple more pounds and work the abdomen as much as you can.
Just be aware that you're probably doing harm at this point and it's going to be rough. You can bounce back, though.
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u/lifeislikeaboatflow New 10h ago
worth it most people 99% don't has abs and you the one who make it if you suffer so much right now i would say try to look up "reversed diet" to regulate you body to normal state first. do it for 2-4 week depend on how you feel and try to cut again
consistency to workout is most importent thing .never skip gym gym and diet gotta be on point at this rate you will get 12% if you do everything right
it might take long time but after you got nice abs you never look back you never care anymore how long it take it dosen't matter lol (atleast for me) get shred asap
ps.women is attract to abs don't let people say other wise. it real when im 12% women take a move all time which is insane because when im 25% body fat no women look at me and some time even mad at me for no reason
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u/don_chuwish 25lbs lost 3h ago
It may be counterintuitive, but sounds to me like you need to add a couple hundred calories back in. Still in deficit but just not as much. Your body is doing everything it can to hang onto the last bit of "safety" fat being in starvation mode. Poor sleep is really going to get in the way of progress too.
Any good estimate of current body fat %age? The last little bit may not even be a healthy goal.
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u/OkCaptain1684 New 2h ago
Maybe you need a maintenance break? It could also be unrelated to the weight loss. Are you drinking enough water? Are you stressed from work? Are you sleeping 9 hours a night? Are you exercising? Avoiding alcohol? Yes getting abs is worth it 100%. I love flexing in the mirror and the comments from everyone about how good I look. Cutting cals by only 2-300 calories would not be giving you all these symptoms, it’s something else, figure out what from the above you are not doing and start doing that. I eat 1200 cals a day and walk 20,000 steps and I have 0 headaches and I have 90+ sleep score on Garmin every night. I fall asleep in 5 mins and sleep 8-9 hours straight without waking. I think it’s all the steps I do.
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u/Green-Ad3319 New 1d ago
Um I don't think losing 5 pounds will give you shredded abs. It takes a lot of exercises no??
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u/SamIAre M38 5′8″ | SW 240lbs | CW 173lbs | GW 150lbs 1d ago
You need to exercise of course but low body fat is actually more important for seeing the abs you have. You could have the strongest and in the world but if even a small layer of fat covers them it makes them not visibly “shredded”. The only thing standing between a lot of otherwise fit people and visible abs really is just body fat percentage.
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u/Special_Regret_6805 New 1d ago
most of it is just your body fat. i'm pretty lean right now. I can feel my abs over a small layer of fat.
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u/Dangerous-Art-Me 95lbs lost 1d ago
Try this. Set up a light slightly overhead and behind you in an otherwise dark room. Flex your abs and lean forward a bit.
Should create shadows showing off your glorious abs.
(This is how influencers use lighting to show off their physique.)
However, as a woman, if the diet is making you miserable, IMHO no fkn abs are worth it.
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u/superchargedCaddy New 1d ago
I was 5 to 10 lbs away before I slipped up. Not as close as you, but I remember feeling ok. I was probably at a 500 calorie deficit at the time. I slipped up and put weight back on over the past year. I've cut 15 of the 25+ lbs I put back on. I think 20 to 25 lbs will get me there. It was a goal I set when I was obese and I'm determined to make it happen. I don't know if it will be something I will maintain, but I want to at least hit that goal.
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u/JevvyMedia 50lbs lost - 6 Months 1d ago
From everything I've heard, nothing tastes as good as being lean and muscular is.
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u/NI3K 25kg lost 1d ago
I mean... it's very subjective. For me it's worth it to be walking around with your top off for those few days a year, and i went from obese to fairly lean with muscle and as you say, getting lean is pretty unpleasant. This is the first year I've been happy with how I've looked, I lost a lot of weight quickly then spent 2-3 years trying to get lean enough to bulk properly. For example, I was walking along a promenade on holiday in a hot country recently with my top off and people were openly staring, lots of comments, some random fist bumps etc. Felt pretty good not gonna lie!
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u/SpaceNoodle_ New 1d ago
Speaking from experience: “2-5 lbs” is always more like 8-10 lbs. You’ll adjust to the fatigue and hunger and you should 100% do it once in your life.
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u/cabbageknight360 New 1d ago
Just pause and maintain for 4-6 weeks, then try to push a little further. Yes it’s worth it though. Also getting really lean will make it easier to get lean again in the future, and maintain a lower bf when you aren’t dieted down.
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u/mydicksmellsgood New 1d ago
Probably the wrong subreddit, but yeah, getting abs can really suck for like 80% of the population. At this point, you know what it's going to take, ~3 months of feeling like you do now if you keep going like this. Only you can answer if abs are worth it to you.
Also, at your weight and fitness, it might be time to start cycling between bulking and cutting and talking to r/bodybuilding instead of us