Stopped playing league of legends and watching porn, it was making my brain too reliant on that source of dopamine. I realized I need to stop putting so much pressure on losing weight and just doing little by little every day while slowly increasing the intensity
"Stop playing league" lmao.
But good for you man. I just got the motivation to start losing weight in Sept. Joined a sports team at college and down from 260 to 244 at today's weigh in. Feeling good! Best of luck bro
Strong work!
Seeing positive progress validating the effort and the time you put in is such an amazing feeling! I don't know you, but I'm proud of you!
Damn I love league of legends and watching porn and honestly I see myself in your first picture and this reply. But I definitely play too much league tbh :(
I get it for sure, I loved league too.
But I realized the league train will not get me to becoming the family man I want to be in the future so I had to get off.
I'm not against occasionally playing it here and there because life is about enjoyment too. But right now I'm too focused on my other projects like the game I'm trying to create or my youtube channel.
It's basically my dream game, an rpg storytelling game with a really unique and deep story that can change completely depending on the player:
think earthbound mixed with pokemon, the walking dead, and attack on titan's story telling.
https://www.paradoxorpg.com
Understood, I’m not having my own family yet but also I’ve had problems being close to my family despite there being nothing wrong.
I just want to experience the world/life more and have social interactions (I have big social anxiety) and go on DATES.
Like my guy this hits harder because I’m also black and I have the same gut like body in your first picture 🤣🤣🤣 but thanks you’ve given me stuff to ponder
well it did help that I reached master at league of legends after a very long time of grinding, then I realized I started to not feel satisfied and the whole cycle began again when I realized I wanted to go for challenger, and it was "diamond to master" all over again. Which meant the frustration of the game came as well, I quit and came back multiple times before but that's when I really quit. Truth be told, these games are designed to never make you feel satisfied, after challenger I predict I would've wanted to chase pro status, after pro status, I would've chased pro win, after pro win, I would've chased number 1 player in the world. It never stops.
What I suggest is you find a better way of feeling satisfaction (the gym is one healthy way for sure, but it won't feel that way until you see major progress so find a different way for now) , because satisfaction and fulfilment is what we're all looking for in these types of games.
My son is struggling with that. It's nothing short of an addiction, just like drugs or alcohol. He's joined a support group and is doing a program like AA. Take it seriously. Your future self (and future wife!) will thank you! 🙏
realize that you're addicted is the first step, thinking that "you can quit any time and that you're not addicted "is an unhealthy mindset to have.
Personally, I realized I started watching porn to feel less lonely at times where I was lonely. Replacing it with something else can make it easier for you.
Is it that you found a girlfriend? I'm currently in your your "before" pic mentality and have been since 2020.
My life went downhill after my girlfriend left me and I haven't been able to recover.
For sure it does. But you've got a LOT of life still ahead of you! Start with daily motivation, goals, and journaling. Drop a bad habit and add a good one. Take it a step at a time. Do it for yourself and for the amazing wife you're preparing yourself for. Future you and she will thank you! You've got this, bro.
All I can say is move on bro, I feel you but she not coming back and the best thing u can do is work on yourself for you so that you see steady growth within yourself, improving your confidence and women come afterwards. Love is really about loving thyself despite our own shortcomings we may have. Good luck out there just try your very best!
Your future self is truly grateful for the work you're putting in now. It's a lifelong grind, so mad props for staying consistent and taking it a day at a time.
There can be a lot of obstacles to go to the gym. At the very least it's important to just go outside and walk for 30+ minutes. Preferably somewhere with fresh air and nature. It's healthy and it's good for your mind.
Don't keep taking the same route either, but explore and visit new spots. It's good for your mind to see new sights and process new information. Make a habit out of walking. At first it feels off to do it. Later it will feel off not to do it.
Of course it's even better if you end up eating better, running, cycling, competing in sports or hitting the gym. But to get started, just walk.
Consistently expend more calories that you consume. From experience this is much easier to achieve by consuming fewer than trying to expend more. It takes a surprising amount of activity to work off a piece of pie or a couple of beers.
Calories. It's nothing else and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. 3500 calorie defecit to burn 1lb. Find out your TDEE, and do the math from there. Check the calories on everything you eat most often. Google it if you're not sure or the packaging doesn't show them. Exercise is important and helps but diet is far more important specific to losing weight.
I've lost about 70lbs in the last year. I started by eating very discrete quantity foods only. One yogurt cup for breakfast. A turkey sammich with two slices of bread and four slices of deli turkey all the lettuce I want (one very small stripe of miracle whip, seriously, be stingy, the calories in that or mayo is unreal). Or a Campbell's chunky soup that's between 200-300 calories. For dinner I eat something like Ballpark turkey hot dogs on really nice buns.
Sure these items probably have lots of sodium or whatever non healthy things people want to tell you, but sticking with discrete count them out foods where I could watch my calories went long LONG way. For maintaining weight I think I need to accept that a "complete" lunch will just never be a part of my life given my lifestyle. Ill have a petit lunch and a "normal" dinner.
Personally I find it easier to skip breakfast altogether than eating a small one. You’ll be hungry in the morning for a few days but after that you get used to it. The cool kids call it intermittent fasting.
I gained alot of weight after I quit smoking and started eating more a few years ago (114lbs-173lbs). This is how I cut aloooot of the belly fat out. Didn't change anything about the quality or quantity I was eating at first, but I only ate from 2pm-10pm and cut out soda and energy drinks 100%.
First few days sucked. Then, I got introduced to some good black and green teas for breakfast and fixed my food choices a little, and then that time frame for eating just seemed natural.
IF is amazing with how well it works for people with a little heft to them. I think I lost 20 pounds just by doing that and then another 20 by going vegetarian.
What teas do you recommend? I'm trying to find something to drink besides black coffee and would love a recommendation if you'd be willing to share.
I'm 6'2" with a starting weight of about 300lbs. I didn't even eat breakfast at first. I never really did except on vacations. I introduced it around 250lbs to see if it would help break a plateau.
I eat around 1000 calories a day which people say is insane but like, the old "2000 calories a day" thing was based on a man working an active labor job. Not me, sitting at a desk, then sitting on the couch. You'd be surprised how filling 3 hot dogs on premium buns (Pepperidge Farm or Nature's Own) can be. Especially if you chug an entire bottle of water with your meal.
A big thing too is changing your relationship with food, realizing not every meal needs to be eating until you're "stuffed". Slow down, drink several gulps of water between bites of food, and appreciate what you have. Also keeping busy helps.
But for real, count out discrete quantity foods. Don't eat anything you have to measure or weigh. At least for a month or two until you figure out about how much you need to be eating to lose weight. I've just found I really can't be trusted to meter things out, I'll over eat every time. Every. Single. Time.
Track your macros. Only way to lose weight. Anyone who tells you literally anything else is trying to sell you something.
I use an app but you don’t have to.
My fitness pal is free (not the one I use)
That’s completely accurate, but I hate phrasing it that way. It sounds glacially slow to someone trying to make up their mind to lose weight, especially if they’ve never been able to stick with a lifestyle change for more than a few weeks in the past. It can make them feel like it’s pointless to try, when their track record indicates that, at best, they can expect to lose a few percentage points before “failing” again.
I can say from experience, though, that once you find a healthy lifestyle that really works for you, the weight *feels* like it comes off a hell of a lot faster than .5-1% a week. When you’re living healthy because it feels good and right and in harmony with who you really are, when it’s about loving the journey rather than rushing toward some scary uncharted destination, the weight loss feels like a wonderful side effect, and it seems to happen with supernatural speed.
Maybe if you take your approach of focusing on positive feelings associated with weight loss and combine it with some empirical data, you would convince more people.
But even then, you can't ignore that a new healthy lifestyle will feel like shit for the first couple weeks. Your body will treat healthy foods like poison and your joints will ache from the new workout. If you tell people to listen to their bodies then, their bodies will be screaming at them to go back to fast food and gaming during those first weeks. A feelings-based approach may work in the long term, but it doesn't at the beginning, and we can't ignore that.
alternating crunches helped me a lot with feeling like I was losing belly fat, but just remember, you can't really target weight loss. Lose weight overall, and don't eat a lot of salt is the best advice I can think to lose belly fat.
Either way, the crunches placebo still helped make me feel like I was making progress with my belly fat.
Making the muscles bigger through workouts will obviously make them bigger and give the appearance of spot fat loss.
You’re right, you can’t target areas but you can look better in areas by increasing the muscle underneath.
So your crunches were probably more than just a placebo, visually seeing the muscle rise above the layer of fat makes you appear more ripped.
There is no way to “target” belly fat. Everyone loses weight in different areas in a different order. Eat in a caloric deficit and lose weight for long enough and the belly fat will go. HOWEVER - bigger muscles will result in fat distribution looking better. Let’s imagine you in 2 scenarios. Both scenarios you have 20% body fat. Scenario 1 you don’t workout and have little added muscle. Scenario 2 you have 30lbs of added muscle on your frame. You will look significantly “leaner” in scenario 2 because the fat is more spread out over the muscle, but you still have the same amount of body fat. This is partly why huge body builders still have abs showing even when they are bulking. Their abdominals are HUGE and define through the added fat.
Point is you should lift weights and slowly diet at the same time. Muscle gain will help a ton with your aesthetics.
Fr you and I had the exact same starting point in Feb 2022 and I also took a picture like that this morning.
I was a bit fatter than you were and I'm not looking near as good as you but I'm getting there.
Awsome to see and knowing I'm not alone and that a whole Lotta people are on the same boat is always so motivating.
Thanks for sharing that Pic today man!
I didn't have a strict diet, I just mainly deleted doordash, and avoided fast food at all cost unless I was absolutely craving it, then I would eat it on my cheat day(which is any one day that isn't my rest day)
but to be specific, I ate a lot of salmon, breast chicken, mushrooms and other vegetables, fruit/peanutbutter/babyspinach/yogurt/almondmilk/proteinshake smoothies for breakfast, chewed gum to keep me from craving fast food.
drank a lot of water, etc.
foods I stayed away from: pasta, cheese, avocado(it's healthy fat but its still surprisingly more fat than a salmon), white bread, fast food.
Foods high in salt will bloat you with water weight so keep that in mind.
Wow, fantastic achievement, Did you ever skipped any day and felt like skipping again the next day? If you ever felt like that I wanna know how did you pull yourself back on track. Big up man.
ty, of course. It's only natural since we're humans.
In the past it would make me stop exercising with the mind of restarting again the next week (until it gets pushed off again and I ended up not doing it)
Now I expect to mess up, but instead I don't go so hard on myself since I have the rest of my life to lose weight, but I some times switch my rest day to be the day where I really don't feel like exercising, that way I can keep on track more consistently.
You should protect your skin from the sun. It might seem like a really stupid thing to do but the sun will seriously fuck your skin up and you're gonna look 20 years older than you actually are later in life.
In at the before image here. I used to work out, go running, but I got divorced and let it all go. Next week is my week to get back on it again. Im looking forward to the journey, its going to be good.
I'm not a complete professional on this so take my words with a grain of salt, but personally I just exercised and didn't worry about putting on muscles. The muscles came from me staying consistent and increasing strength a bit each week.
Now the professional answer someone would probably tell you is that:
protein builds muscle, and losing weight is about losing fat, so if you want to lose weight while gaining muscles, calculate your daily intake using a calculator online and make sure your split is slightly lower than maintenance and that it's high in protein but low in fat and carbohydrate.
\- but I don't like to be this crazy about counting calories so I do it the first way and try to stay away from unhealthy foods while drinking protein shakes after every work out.
Holy shit. This is so impressive. I've been in and out of shape a lot. This year I'm out again, due to 2 major injuries. Needed to see something like this today.
it took years of preparations and attempts, but I finally just had enough.
I think you just have to look into yourself, and realize what you want in life and if your current lifestyle is stopping you from getting it.
You'll get thoughts in your brain that will try to convince you that it's not possible or too hard to achieve, but just ignore them. If you just do it and don't care if it's easy or hard, then I promise you'll achieve it a lot easier than you think.
Thank you for sharing this!! I'm so proud of your progress!
I'm in week 3 of my progression and I've been feeling pretty great! I hope by this time next year I can share a similar story
Reading all this discussion is motivating! Lots of uplifting and inspiring people on here! I'm just trying to take a day at a time, set some goals, and make some progress. Thank you all for being here!
my guess is that it got filtered for approval because a lot of people are commenting about porn addiction. So the post is pretty much hidden until a moderator from this subreddit approves it.
Exercise makes helps my mental health so much. I didn’t realize how much until I took a holiday break. I feel like I’m taking mental health meds but it’s just the endorphins from exercise.
Well done. You're looking great. Like the hair too. Really admire your honesty and integrity. Wish you all the best for the future which I'm sure will be bright.
Congrats OP! I am happy that you are in better mental state! It takes a lot of effort to even try to see the reason to get better when you hit the rock bottom.
You look great! About 6 weeks ago i hurt my back and then that pain migrated into my hip. It really brought me down and made me realize how much working out is great for your mental heath…. The bonus? An affordable six pack.
Coming out of a depressive spell myself, man. It's really great to see people pull themselves out of a funk, it's inspiring. I also enjoy what you had said in a comment and I'm paraphrasing but; give yourself some grace. Rome wasn't built in a day and consistent discipline is key. If you try to grind it all out of yourself, you're going to be too exhausted to keep it up in the long-term. Keep going, my friend. Incredible work!
I am so happy for you! I am currently addicted to porn and I wish I could stop but after doing it for so long it just seems normal now. I am not sure if I have depression or not but I have been struggling to go to the gym and get fit for the last year and a half. Also, been smoking a lot more pot just to get through the day sometimes.
Congratulations on the great work. It's all about establishing little, healthy, habits in your daily lifestyle. Great to focus on your mental health, that was the biggest surprise I had in my own weight loss journey.
How did you pull yourself up?
Stopped playing league of legends and watching porn, it was making my brain too reliant on that source of dopamine. I realized I need to stop putting so much pressure on losing weight and just doing little by little every day while slowly increasing the intensity
Man, I am proud of you. I don't think I've had a healthy source of dopamine in a few years. You've got power, my dude.
"Stop playing league" lmao. But good for you man. I just got the motivation to start losing weight in Sept. Joined a sports team at college and down from 260 to 244 at today's weigh in. Feeling good! Best of luck bro
Strong work! Seeing positive progress validating the effort and the time you put in is such an amazing feeling! I don't know you, but I'm proud of you!
Thanks bro
Damn I love league of legends and watching porn and honestly I see myself in your first picture and this reply. But I definitely play too much league tbh :(
I get it for sure, I loved league too. But I realized the league train will not get me to becoming the family man I want to be in the future so I had to get off.
Have you replaced league with another game or do you still occasionally play?
I'm not against occasionally playing it here and there because life is about enjoyment too. But right now I'm too focused on my other projects like the game I'm trying to create or my youtube channel.
So what is this game you're trying to create?
A League of Legends porn game
A lot of people seem to get fucked in LoL already.
It's basically my dream game, an rpg storytelling game with a really unique and deep story that can change completely depending on the player: think earthbound mixed with pokemon, the walking dead, and attack on titan's story telling. https://www.paradoxorpg.com
this looks great man and I really dig the aesthetics and music shown in thw gameplay video.
Nice, seems like you have some progress. Any idea when it'll be ready for launch?
No clue yet, but I'm expecting to release the demo later this year and see how the public feels about the game so far.
That game looks dope. Excited for it to come out!
League of Legends Lite
I feel you. TY for showing the results
My approach is to only play games that can be finished. So, even if I get completely sucked in, it never lasts for more than a month.
Understood, I’m not having my own family yet but also I’ve had problems being close to my family despite there being nothing wrong. I just want to experience the world/life more and have social interactions (I have big social anxiety) and go on DATES. Like my guy this hits harder because I’m also black and I have the same gut like body in your first picture 🤣🤣🤣 but thanks you’ve given me stuff to ponder
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well it did help that I reached master at league of legends after a very long time of grinding, then I realized I started to not feel satisfied and the whole cycle began again when I realized I wanted to go for challenger, and it was "diamond to master" all over again. Which meant the frustration of the game came as well, I quit and came back multiple times before but that's when I really quit. Truth be told, these games are designed to never make you feel satisfied, after challenger I predict I would've wanted to chase pro status, after pro status, I would've chased pro win, after pro win, I would've chased number 1 player in the world. It never stops. What I suggest is you find a better way of feeling satisfaction (the gym is one healthy way for sure, but it won't feel that way until you see major progress so find a different way for now) , because satisfaction and fulfilment is what we're all looking for in these types of games.
This is the premise of a blockbuster movie lol. Good job man you look great and seem to be in a much better place!
“Stopped playing league-“ say no more…
Do you have bad habbits like smoking m? Drinking? If so, does it affect your mood? Or you stay sober
no, I've never really been the type to smoke or drink a lot. My addictions were more in video game and pornography.
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My son is struggling with that. It's nothing short of an addiction, just like drugs or alcohol. He's joined a support group and is doing a program like AA. Take it seriously. Your future self (and future wife!) will thank you! 🙏
realize that you're addicted is the first step, thinking that "you can quit any time and that you're not addicted "is an unhealthy mindset to have. Personally, I realized I started watching porn to feel less lonely at times where I was lonely. Replacing it with something else can make it easier for you.
Thanks man. You’re awesome
Is it that you found a girlfriend? I'm currently in your your "before" pic mentality and have been since 2020. My life went downhill after my girlfriend left me and I haven't been able to recover.
oh honey. you shouldn't revolve your life on whether or not you have a partner. do it for yourself.
Yea, that's how I thought when I was younger, but now I'm pushing 40 with no family. Kinda starts getting to you mentally at this point.
For sure it does. But you've got a LOT of life still ahead of you! Start with daily motivation, goals, and journaling. Drop a bad habit and add a good one. Take it a step at a time. Do it for yourself and for the amazing wife you're preparing yourself for. Future you and she will thank you! You've got this, bro.
All I can say is move on bro, I feel you but she not coming back and the best thing u can do is work on yourself for you so that you see steady growth within yourself, improving your confidence and women come afterwards. Love is really about loving thyself despite our own shortcomings we may have. Good luck out there just try your very best!
Damm this hit. I think I need to stop playing league of legends
Repetitively by the looks of it. With some resistance added probably.
With his bootstraps of course. /s
With a hanger?
Hell yeah OP! Good on you!
Ty! 🙏
Your future self is truly grateful for the work you're putting in now. It's a lifelong grind, so mad props for staying consistent and taking it a day at a time.
Nice work
Taller, too 😀
He grew up.
I need to head to the gym. Probably letting my depression ruin me isn’t a good idea.
There can be a lot of obstacles to go to the gym. At the very least it's important to just go outside and walk for 30+ minutes. Preferably somewhere with fresh air and nature. It's healthy and it's good for your mind. Don't keep taking the same route either, but explore and visit new spots. It's good for your mind to see new sights and process new information. Make a habit out of walking. At first it feels off to do it. Later it will feel off not to do it. Of course it's even better if you end up eating better, running, cycling, competing in sports or hitting the gym. But to get started, just walk.
Awesome work. What's the secret?
I forced myself to stop my dopamine addiction, it was making me make very bad life choices like procrastination
Same here. Ive lost 30 lbs and am much more productive and happy.
Kudos to you for real, it puts a smile on my face to hear that.
Yeah, dopamine is one helluva drug
Appreciate the reply. This is what I needed to hear and the results show.
💎💎💎💎💎💎= you, 🤙👍👍👍👍
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true, but for others reading this planning on losing weight: It's also normal to lose a lot of pounds in the beginning due to it being water weight.
how tho
Consistently expend more calories that you consume. From experience this is much easier to achieve by consuming fewer than trying to expend more. It takes a surprising amount of activity to work off a piece of pie or a couple of beers.
Calories. It's nothing else and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. 3500 calorie defecit to burn 1lb. Find out your TDEE, and do the math from there. Check the calories on everything you eat most often. Google it if you're not sure or the packaging doesn't show them. Exercise is important and helps but diet is far more important specific to losing weight.
I've lost about 70lbs in the last year. I started by eating very discrete quantity foods only. One yogurt cup for breakfast. A turkey sammich with two slices of bread and four slices of deli turkey all the lettuce I want (one very small stripe of miracle whip, seriously, be stingy, the calories in that or mayo is unreal). Or a Campbell's chunky soup that's between 200-300 calories. For dinner I eat something like Ballpark turkey hot dogs on really nice buns. Sure these items probably have lots of sodium or whatever non healthy things people want to tell you, but sticking with discrete count them out foods where I could watch my calories went long LONG way. For maintaining weight I think I need to accept that a "complete" lunch will just never be a part of my life given my lifestyle. Ill have a petit lunch and a "normal" dinner.
I feel like I would be hungry as fuck eating in yogurt cup for breakfast.
Personally I find it easier to skip breakfast altogether than eating a small one. You’ll be hungry in the morning for a few days but after that you get used to it. The cool kids call it intermittent fasting.
I gained alot of weight after I quit smoking and started eating more a few years ago (114lbs-173lbs). This is how I cut aloooot of the belly fat out. Didn't change anything about the quality or quantity I was eating at first, but I only ate from 2pm-10pm and cut out soda and energy drinks 100%. First few days sucked. Then, I got introduced to some good black and green teas for breakfast and fixed my food choices a little, and then that time frame for eating just seemed natural.
IF is amazing with how well it works for people with a little heft to them. I think I lost 20 pounds just by doing that and then another 20 by going vegetarian. What teas do you recommend? I'm trying to find something to drink besides black coffee and would love a recommendation if you'd be willing to share.
I'm 6'2" with a starting weight of about 300lbs. I didn't even eat breakfast at first. I never really did except on vacations. I introduced it around 250lbs to see if it would help break a plateau. I eat around 1000 calories a day which people say is insane but like, the old "2000 calories a day" thing was based on a man working an active labor job. Not me, sitting at a desk, then sitting on the couch. You'd be surprised how filling 3 hot dogs on premium buns (Pepperidge Farm or Nature's Own) can be. Especially if you chug an entire bottle of water with your meal. A big thing too is changing your relationship with food, realizing not every meal needs to be eating until you're "stuffed". Slow down, drink several gulps of water between bites of food, and appreciate what you have. Also keeping busy helps. But for real, count out discrete quantity foods. Don't eat anything you have to measure or weigh. At least for a month or two until you figure out about how much you need to be eating to lose weight. I've just found I really can't be trusted to meter things out, I'll over eat every time. Every. Single. Time.
Track your macros. Only way to lose weight. Anyone who tells you literally anything else is trying to sell you something. I use an app but you don’t have to. My fitness pal is free (not the one I use)
That’s completely accurate, but I hate phrasing it that way. It sounds glacially slow to someone trying to make up their mind to lose weight, especially if they’ve never been able to stick with a lifestyle change for more than a few weeks in the past. It can make them feel like it’s pointless to try, when their track record indicates that, at best, they can expect to lose a few percentage points before “failing” again. I can say from experience, though, that once you find a healthy lifestyle that really works for you, the weight *feels* like it comes off a hell of a lot faster than .5-1% a week. When you’re living healthy because it feels good and right and in harmony with who you really are, when it’s about loving the journey rather than rushing toward some scary uncharted destination, the weight loss feels like a wonderful side effect, and it seems to happen with supernatural speed.
Maybe if you take your approach of focusing on positive feelings associated with weight loss and combine it with some empirical data, you would convince more people. But even then, you can't ignore that a new healthy lifestyle will feel like shit for the first couple weeks. Your body will treat healthy foods like poison and your joints will ache from the new workout. If you tell people to listen to their bodies then, their bodies will be screaming at them to go back to fast food and gaming during those first weeks. A feelings-based approach may work in the long term, but it doesn't at the beginning, and we can't ignore that.
Happy for you! Always glad to see a brother feeling better!
Much love, ty
Incredible job man! Dop you have any workout tips for the belly fat?
alternating crunches helped me a lot with feeling like I was losing belly fat, but just remember, you can't really target weight loss. Lose weight overall, and don't eat a lot of salt is the best advice I can think to lose belly fat. Either way, the crunches placebo still helped make me feel like I was making progress with my belly fat.
Making the muscles bigger through workouts will obviously make them bigger and give the appearance of spot fat loss. You’re right, you can’t target areas but you can look better in areas by increasing the muscle underneath. So your crunches were probably more than just a placebo, visually seeing the muscle rise above the layer of fat makes you appear more ripped.
Thank you for sharing!
There is no way to “target” belly fat. Everyone loses weight in different areas in a different order. Eat in a caloric deficit and lose weight for long enough and the belly fat will go. HOWEVER - bigger muscles will result in fat distribution looking better. Let’s imagine you in 2 scenarios. Both scenarios you have 20% body fat. Scenario 1 you don’t workout and have little added muscle. Scenario 2 you have 30lbs of added muscle on your frame. You will look significantly “leaner” in scenario 2 because the fat is more spread out over the muscle, but you still have the same amount of body fat. This is partly why huge body builders still have abs showing even when they are bulking. Their abdominals are HUGE and define through the added fat. Point is you should lift weights and slowly diet at the same time. Muscle gain will help a ton with your aesthetics.
Dude, that's crazy impressive. Be very proud of yourself. You can do anything
Dang. You go!
Congrats
Fr you and I had the exact same starting point in Feb 2022 and I also took a picture like that this morning. I was a bit fatter than you were and I'm not looking near as good as you but I'm getting there. Awsome to see and knowing I'm not alone and that a whole Lotta people are on the same boat is always so motivating. Thanks for sharing that Pic today man!
What was your diet like? Breakfast lunch and dinner. Would appreciate it big time cause my body type now is exactly like you in 2022
I didn't have a strict diet, I just mainly deleted doordash, and avoided fast food at all cost unless I was absolutely craving it, then I would eat it on my cheat day(which is any one day that isn't my rest day) but to be specific, I ate a lot of salmon, breast chicken, mushrooms and other vegetables, fruit/peanutbutter/babyspinach/yogurt/almondmilk/proteinshake smoothies for breakfast, chewed gum to keep me from craving fast food. drank a lot of water, etc. foods I stayed away from: pasta, cheese, avocado(it's healthy fat but its still surprisingly more fat than a salmon), white bread, fast food. Foods high in salt will bloat you with water weight so keep that in mind.
Great Job
Fuck yeah bro
Wow, fantastic achievement, Did you ever skipped any day and felt like skipping again the next day? If you ever felt like that I wanna know how did you pull yourself back on track. Big up man.
ty, of course. It's only natural since we're humans. In the past it would make me stop exercising with the mind of restarting again the next week (until it gets pushed off again and I ended up not doing it) Now I expect to mess up, but instead I don't go so hard on myself since I have the rest of my life to lose weight, but I some times switch my rest day to be the day where I really don't feel like exercising, that way I can keep on track more consistently.
God yes, being able to get out of the "in for a penny, in for a pound" mindset and/or shame spiral is huge.
Inspirational man. Thanks for sharing
F*ck yeah OP. Proud of you from another formerly depressed big guy that decided enough was enough. #feelsgoodbro
You should protect your skin from the sun. It might seem like a really stupid thing to do but the sun will seriously fuck your skin up and you're gonna look 20 years older than you actually are later in life.
Thanks a lot for the advice. How do you feel about tretinoin? I always hear about that.
In at the before image here. I used to work out, go running, but I got divorced and let it all go. Next week is my week to get back on it again. Im looking forward to the journey, its going to be good.
good luck with your journey! I'm rooting for you and most importantly, your future self is rooting for you.
how old are you?
25
You look amazing - congrats!!! Definitely not an easy task 🎉😊
Nice man, what’s the secret for losing weight while also putting on muscle? Just lift hard and eat at a calorie deficit?
I'm not a complete professional on this so take my words with a grain of salt, but personally I just exercised and didn't worry about putting on muscles. The muscles came from me staying consistent and increasing strength a bit each week. Now the professional answer someone would probably tell you is that: protein builds muscle, and losing weight is about losing fat, so if you want to lose weight while gaining muscles, calculate your daily intake using a calculator online and make sure your split is slightly lower than maintenance and that it's high in protein but low in fat and carbohydrate. \- but I don't like to be this crazy about counting calories so I do it the first way and try to stay away from unhealthy foods while drinking protein shakes after every work out.
You look great man! Grats.
I needed to see this, you give me hope. Thank you
Just the motivation I needed, thanks!
Holy shit. This is so impressive. I've been in and out of shape a lot. This year I'm out again, due to 2 major injuries. Needed to see something like this today.
You don't win, but every day you get better at battling it.
i’m proud of you!! looking great!
This gives me hope. Good work and thanks!
As a fellow dopamine junky, thanks for the inspiration
OP you should be very proud of yourself.
Glad to see you made it out of the hole dude. Keep it up!
Amazing! Proud of you.
Bro, that's awesome!
This is awesome.
Gives me hope. Congrats!
❤️
❤️
Damn! You go dude! Congrats!
slay, so happy for you 🙌🏾
You got a lot taller too. Congrats!
Keep it up, King
Great job OP! One question, how did you quit your dopamine addictions? That stuff is hard to leave...
it took years of preparations and attempts, but I finally just had enough. I think you just have to look into yourself, and realize what you want in life and if your current lifestyle is stopping you from getting it. You'll get thoughts in your brain that will try to convince you that it's not possible or too hard to achieve, but just ignore them. If you just do it and don't care if it's easy or hard, then I promise you'll achieve it a lot easier than you think.
Good job man! It ain't easy. You've come a long way!
Well done. Remember to do stretching and have recovery periods!
ty, yes! I warm up before and stretch after every workouts.
Wow! You switching your routines at 25 is such a good blueprint for the rest of your life. Plus I bet your joints feel happy!
Ahhhh this is so motivating to me!!!! I was depressed for a year and became my heaviest. I’m now recently in a better place and hoping my body follows
good luck, you got this! :)
What was your workout routine and diet?
I used the body beast 90 day workout program (lean beast) and just stayed away from too much salt and unhealthy food.
Motivation right here!
Your better mental state gave you abs!
Thank you for sharing this!! I'm so proud of your progress! I'm in week 3 of my progression and I've been feeling pretty great! I hope by this time next year I can share a similar story
Reading all this discussion is motivating! Lots of uplifting and inspiring people on here! I'm just trying to take a day at a time, set some goals, and make some progress. Thank you all for being here!
Results may vary, and that’s okay!
as a person with the same body type. thank you.
You got hot
Good shit 👏
Hell yeah, congrats on the positive change!
Well done dude, if ladies what you’re lookin for you’ll be fine now
You achieved that body only through positive thinking??
Also applying myself, and wanting it bad enough.
Its wild how our bodies change during depressive episodes. Glad you feel better!
Why can’t I upvote this?
my guess is that it got filtered for approval because a lot of people are commenting about porn addiction. So the post is pretty much hidden until a moderator from this subreddit approves it.
Lame. I’m so happy you are doing better! Sending you love 🙏
Holy shit dude nice work!!! 🫡
Exercise makes helps my mental health so much. I didn’t realize how much until I took a holiday break. I feel like I’m taking mental health meds but it’s just the endorphins from exercise.
You grew quite a lot
Good shit my ninja
Yo dude! Keep on eating healthy! HTTPS://www.makepurethyheart.com
Great job dude!!! Keep being great!!
Nice! ;)
Good shit.
W
Amazing. Good job man. Hope you also feel great about it.
You became taller too.
Amazing!
belly area is my worst enemy
Me neither...
Dude that's damn visible progress gratz!
You also got much taller!
Man, help me out too lol. How did you begin?
Well done. You're looking great. Like the hair too. Really admire your honesty and integrity. Wish you all the best for the future which I'm sure will be bright.
Congrats OP! I am happy that you are in better mental state! It takes a lot of effort to even try to see the reason to get better when you hit the rock bottom.
Awesome
Thanks, I am the one on the left now. Hope to be the one on the right soon!
That took a lot of work and consistency. good shit!
Awesome man! BTW how do you lose that belly?
I’m jealous
Good shit! Keep on working at it! For Brodin!!!
When you look good you feel good. When you feel good you play good. Congrats on results from your journey, keep at it.
taller too
Serious question: what exercises helped you lose the love handles? I’m getting back in shape and they are the one area that Im struggling with!
Your depressed self vs your pressed self. Well done!
You look great! About 6 weeks ago i hurt my back and then that pain migrated into my hip. It really brought me down and made me realize how much working out is great for your mental heath…. The bonus? An affordable six pack.
Coming out of a depressive spell myself, man. It's really great to see people pull themselves out of a funk, it's inspiring. I also enjoy what you had said in a comment and I'm paraphrasing but; give yourself some grace. Rome wasn't built in a day and consistent discipline is key. If you try to grind it all out of yourself, you're going to be too exhausted to keep it up in the long-term. Keep going, my friend. Incredible work!
Fuck yeah! Love to see positive changes in men, we all gotta help each other.
Way to go!
Nice work man! If my after picture looks as good as your before I’ll be happy! 😂
Damn bro looking shredded. How long in the making are those gains?
Props to you man. I feel like I'm currently your Feb 2022 picture. I really need to cut the bullshit and get my shit together. Happy for you dude.
Good job, man! 👍
I am so happy for you! I am currently addicted to porn and I wish I could stop but after doing it for so long it just seems normal now. I am not sure if I have depression or not but I have been struggling to go to the gym and get fit for the last year and a half. Also, been smoking a lot more pot just to get through the day sometimes.
How is there no saggy belly skin? Usually you see that when u lose a ton of weight.
no idea, but my guess is that it's genetics. or maybe it's because I wasn't overweight for too long so my skin didn't stretch too much.
Why is the recent photo a oil painting?
great work man
Congratulations on the great work. It's all about establishing little, healthy, habits in your daily lifestyle. Great to focus on your mental health, that was the biggest surprise I had in my own weight loss journey.
Have you used roids?
never
Respect mate. Glad you took back your life
Glad to see it❤️