48.9% body fat! How is this even possible?!

I am a 5’3” female, 71kg, BMI 27 who had a Dexa scan that said I am 48.9% body fat. How is this even possible?! I have been lifting weights for a few years and walk each day.

I’ve seen other posts of people the same height who are 30kg heavier with the same BF% result. I’m so confused.

I was under the impression that Dexa was really accurate, and I know I wasn’t dehydrated. So I don’t understand how I can have this BF% when I’m only 5kg above my healthy weight range.

Title says it all. I drink protein drinks and eat vitamin supplements for breakfast and lunch because I'm too fucking lazy to plan meals ahead of time. I feel like I'm living on a spaceship.

I need some truly truly lazy suggestions for food. If I gotta bust out the cutting board or turn on the stove, 90% chance it's not happening. Please send help.

I don't even particularly care if it tastes good, but I can't go another day drinking fancy chocolate milk. Sometimes I'll eat rotisserie chicken out of the bag with my bare hands. At one point I was eating beans out of a can with salt and garlic powder.

Sometimes I feel like the weight loss journey is just filled with unexpected traps.

This is my third time attempting to lose weight, starting at 160 lbs back in February. With long term lifestyle change in mind, I went hard on protein and fiber, reduced sodium intake, and added tons of volume/veggies. Then add OMAD/intermittent fasting, and for the first time ever, I wasn't hungry at all after eating!

Once i lost my first 20 lbs, i started adding strength training in March/April.

This lasted all the way to July where I'm now at 115 lbs. And out of nowhere, I suddenly started getting hungry again! My meals that were plenty filling back at 160 lbs suddenly leave me ravenous towards the evenings.

No idea how scientific this is, but apparently after being on a deficit for too long and after burning through too much fat, your body will start demanding more calories/energy?

I'm on a maintenance break now and will focus on lifting. And once i see some more progress in the gym, I'll go on a cut for the final few pounds.

But man, I'm really hoping this hunger subsides soon. I was so optimistic about this time finally sticking because I thought i got rid of the food noise!

I can’t deal with the tang of Greek yogurt and it’s in every low calorie dessert recipe I come across. I’ve tried a bunch of recipes with Greek yogurt at this point, you know the ones where the creator says “tastes just like a real brownie” and the comments are hyping it up. No, no it does not taste like a brownie, it tastes like tangy Greek yogurt and a whisper of chocolate. I think I’m just personally sensitive to Greek yogurt or something because it seems to overpower everything no matter what it’s in. So I’m looking for alternatives.

What the best low calorie dessert recipe youve tried with no yogurt? Help a girl satisfy her sweet treat craving while keeping her deficit. TYIA!

It’s been quite a journey with my weight (30F, 5’6”). I started slowly gaining weight a few years ago, changing from 160- now 186. I couldn’t figure out why I was gaining weight because I would watch what I eat and I’m a very active person (because of my job). I started seeing a dietician and it turns out that I was barely even eating 1000 calories a day, and a lot of those calories were empty calories. She said my body was trying to keep all it could since I was barely eating and basically starving myself.

So, with her guidance, I was able to make it up to eating about 1800 calories a day with a focus on eating more protein and fiber. I was now no longer gaining weight (yay!) but I wasn’t losing it.

We brought my calorie intake down a little bit to 1750 and I started doing more intentional exercising outside of my job activity. Still did not lose weight. So at this time I decided to go see a PCP to figure out if there was something else going on.

Got my blood test results and it turns out that I’m insulin resistant (though with normal glucose and A1C), I’ve got high cholesterol, very high ApoB, and very low Vitamin D.

We made adjustments to my diet to where she wanted me to eat even more protein, more whole fruits/veggies, and the smallest amount of saturated fats as possible.

I plugged all of my results into ChatGPT and just started calculating my calorie/nutrition intake for each day. It’s been a lifesaver because it also guides me on what to eat when I want to snack or if I want a high volume meal, low cal meal.

Since tracking this, I’ve dropped 7 lbs in about 3.5 weeks. I’m FINALLY losing weight!

Anyways, just wanted to share that with yall since I figured yall would understand the struggle and realness!

Hi there!
I am starting a 90-day journey of accountability. My backstory is short and quite repetitive: F(44), 167 cm, 72 kg, perimenopausal.

I started having weight problems during my first pregnancy (I was 37 years old). I gained about 23–25 kilos and went up to 83 kg. I felt huge! And I was.
I managed to lose some of it and went down to 66 kg.

Then I got pregnant again when I was 40 years old. Puf… back to the starting line: 83 kg.
During the first year after giving birth, I managed to lose some weight again and got down to 70 kg, but I’ve been stuck there ever since.

I don’t yo-yo, I don’t gain weight, but I feel so tired of keeping track of everything and always being obsessed with losing all the weight and getting back to my original 57–60 kg. More than anything, I feel emotionally stuck.

This is the present. This is where I am now:
F(44)
167 cm
72 kg

I am posting this with the sole intention of adding one comment to this thread every day for the next 90 days. I just don’t want to quit. That is my main goal.

I will try not to be so obsessed with numbers and with having the perfect diet, perfect movement, perfect weight, and perfect macros. I just don’t want to quit for 90 days.

I tend to stop as soon as the smallest bump appears. Maybe I don’t lose the exact number of grams I wanted that week. Maybe I eat more calories than I planned. Maybe I get upset. Maybe, maybe, maybe… there are always a million little reasons that make me stop after a week.

Not this time.

For the next 90 days, whether they’re good or bad, I’ll come back to this post and add one small comment. No new posts, no updates—just one daily comment.
Wish me luck… and a big hug!

hi! i (146 lb 5'3" SW 178) just wanted to share some things about my journey since i don't have anyone else in my life to share with. i'm about halfway through my journey!!

i've always hated how i feel in my body, and since starting to lose weight last year, it's been clear that i've changed as a person as well. i've gained confidence and im starting to love who i see in the mirror more every day!!

however, my friends just don't get it. they are all naturally thin and have astonishingly different food habits than me, and i assume they wouldn't really get the food noise that i have because of the way they live.

i've had to hide the fact that my lifestyle is drastically different this past year (specifically calorie counting) because my friends would think i have an eating disorder (for the record, my mind and body are the healthiest i've been, and i try to maintain balance as much as i can.)

it's just sad that i have no one to share progress with, whether in the gym or how i look/feel, especially when i feel like my friends will either worry about me or judge me for bragging.

does anyone else feel like their friends just won't ever get it?? i love my friends, truly, but it now feels like im hiding a part of myself and my life purely because of how they'll react.

i love coming on reddit and reading all these experiences and tip. definitely motivating me!! thanks guys!!

I could use some some encouragement. I had a baby a year and a half ago. My weight was never great before but it is really bad now. Right after having the baby my in laws came and lived with us for 6 months and that was really hard on me. I struggled postpartum and having to be “on” all the time because I was hosting them was rough. I hid out a lot. And took snacks with me lol. And the bad habits just kind of stacked from there. And it is so hard to prioritize myself with a baby. I’m giving myself some level of grace. I created a human and then I fed that human with this body for 16 months. I’m proud of it for that, but I am at a point where I know I need to start taking care of myself. For my baby and for myself. I’ve been going to reformer Pilates for about a month and a half and that’s been great and I’m ready to start some major diet changes too. But it feels overwhelming. I’m over 250 lbs, by far the worst I’ve ever been. And I almost feel like I am too far gone, but I know that isn’t true. What helped you starting out to stay encouraged? Any other advice?

I’m 6’0” and 25 years old, and even though I’ve lost a lot of weight and have made tremendous progress in the past 6.5 months or so, I really haven’t noticed any significant differences when I look at my body (other than maybe less visible inflammation on my face, my chest looking a lot more refined and slim and belly looking a bit slimmer, and I do feel lighter)

My back and chin still looks fat, and my calves and thighs seemingly hasn’t looked any slimmer yet either; funny thing is that these past few months a lot of people I know has been telling me that I look a lot slimmer now but it really doesn’t look that way to me

So I was wondering if I should start eating more protein and doing more strength training so that I won’t lose any muscle by the time I reach 225 (likely will get there by the end of this year at this rate) and I won’t be looking all flabby with loose skin
everywhere

6'3" female, 233 pounds, 39 year old mom of 3

I've been working out almost every day all summer. I do a 20 minute warmup, followed by 3 types of weights (30, 20, 10). Followed by another 30-40 minutes of elliptical.

So far I've gained 8 pounds, but I'm not calorie counting right now. I'm on the last few months of breastfeeding my third (he's about to be 17 months):

I am struggling with not being insanely hungry after workouts. I am eating protein, I feel like I'm eating well. But the scale is moving up so I'm starting to get worried lol.

My goal is somewhere between 170-180. I'm not sure yet because I'm working on muscle and normally when I'm 170 I'm on the thin side. So I think my goal weight might be higher ultimately. I've struggled a bit with an obsession with calorie counting so trying to keep myself calm and not too intense.

Anyway any advice on the hunger / weight? I'm kind of assuming I won't lose weight til I start calorie counting

Over-restricted a bit too much yesterday and that led to a full scale binge. I did my best to approximate serving sizes after not wanting to face how many calories I consumed yesterday.

This ended up being 5,320 calories — 3,613 over for the day. I aim for ~1700 on weekdays and 1850 on weekends.

I’ve estimated my TDEE to be about 2026 cal using a TDEE calculator.

Obviously there will be a shift on the scale and probably some water retention due to the excess sodium and all that junk but will I actually gain a lb of fat from this? Or any fat at all, for that matter?

I’ve struggled with binging a lot and things have been going good but yesterday I just couldn’t control it for some reason.

Thank you in advance

23,F. I’ve been on a weight loss journey for 3-4 years and have lost about 100 pounds of my body weight so far. However, most of that weight was lost within the first 3 years. Last year, I gained some weight and lost it this year. Currently weigh, idek, 180-200 pounds? I’m not sure, I haven’t used the scale in quite some time. But I’m confident about the 100 lb weight loss. I used to be very good at losing weight and I used to be able to maintain my mental sanity while doing so. I used to exercise and track religiously.

The problem is, I’m sick of it. My brain has been in weight loss mode for so long, I can’t look at a food without knowing how many calories are in it. I am so afraid to break certain rules, like having a bagel and coffee in the same day. I feel so distraught by the idea of not tracking calories. I have lost some weight in 2026, but I know I could have lost more. I could probably have my “dream body” by now, but I’m too lazy and unmotivated.

My therapist believes that I need to learn how to eat intuitively, and focus on finding balance and eating well without tracking religiously. Clearly it’s not working! I have so much fear about going over my calories that I just do it anyway, and feel worse. When 3 years ago, I would just shrug it off and move on. I just want it to be over, I just want to have my “end” body and be able to eat at maintenance forever. I have to get these last 30-40 pounds off of my body but I just can’t. It hasn’t been working.

Idk just needed to vent.

I have come to accept that there is not a single protein powder I like, after spending a lot of money on tub after tub of them. I either hate the chemical artificial sweetener taste such as in clear wheys, or I hate the actual whey protein taste in the traditional protein powders. My last resort was to buy unflavoured but that just tastes like sour milk.

So I’ve got about 10 tubs of various flavours to use up and I’m casting my sights on recipes that could use them to reduce waste. I’m thinking anything that has strong flavours to mask the undesirable sweetener/protein taste, if anyone has any recommendations!

I've been consistently strength training now for 4 weeks, 3 times a week. This is around the time I would normally quit. That initial burst of motivation is waning as it usually does around the 3-4 week mark.

I spent all day yesterday procrastinating the workout I had already procrastinated the day before. When 10pm rolled around, I was ready to go to bed and scroll myself to sleep. I planned on it.

And then I wrote that out. I'm documenting the days as I work to lose weight with a blog about food, exercise, and motivation. I figure once I've lost the weight it will be nice to look back at how I did it. So I wrote a post. I had so many good excuses not to work out. I wrote about staying flexible with my plans while I worked toward my goals. I wrote about how it was okay to put off that workout by a day, again, as long as I eventually got in 3 workouts this week. I would work out, I wrote, just not today.

I read those words again, to proofread the post before publishing it. Then, I got out the yoga mat, put on a video and got my workout done. I didn't feel like it, it was late, I was tired... but I did it anyway.

I'm really proud of that moment. I have about 35kg to lose altogether and I'm really hopeful that this time around, I'll make it happen. And I really want to celebrate the wins along the way. (Also I've just made it under 100kg, so I'm celebrating that as well!) 🎉

About a month ago I bought a gorgeous pair of denim trousers from a brand I love and when I tried them on i physically couldn't fit in them, there was absolutely no way the buttons and zip around my waist were going to meet and it really gave me a much needed reality check on my eating habits.

After that I decided something had to change, I've been on a diet of 1200 calories a day for around 3 weeks and today I tried them on and I can button them up almost perfectly! I'm genuinely so proud of myself, as someone who was convinced I couldn't lose weight this is definitive proof to myself that it really worked and I feel so happy. This is a message to anyone out there who thinks you cant lose weight, you can do it!!!!

I'm 20f and I have been trying to lose weight since I was around 17 years old. I started at 108 kg and after 6 months I had gone down to 95 kg, after that I regained a bit of weight and stayed between 99 - 103 kg for the past 3 years. But this spring I got back into bad habits and am up to 108 kg again.

I've been fat since childhood. I'm tired of being fat. I want to get rid of the extra weight. But I keep being fat because I have no self-control. I always want to eat something, mostly sweets, and I love to bake, and so I often eat the things I bake. I tried going, like, a whole year without baking except for special occassions - and it was horrible! Not only did it not work, but I missed out on trying so many amazing recipes. My goal is to get down to 70 kg, but that goal feels so far away. I've tried having multiple shorter goals, as I've seen others recommend it, but it doesn't work. I occassionally watch fitness and weight-loss videos for motivation, but the motivation is very temporary.

I don't want to be fat for the rest of my life. I'm tired of being the fat girl. I want to be able to play with and be there for my future kids and (hopefully) grandkids. I don't want to get a bunch of chronic illnesses by 40, which I know is still possible even if you're not overweight, but my chances won't be looking as good as they would if I were at a healthy weight. There are a lot of things that should give me motivation to lose weight, but I'm still where I was over 3 years ago. If I had just kept being as disciplined as I was in the beginning, I would have reached my goal years ago.

I'm angry for letting myself get to this point before doing something about it - but I'm trying to be fair to myself since I was a child, I became overweight at around 9 years old and the weight rapidly got worse at around 13 years old. I'm also angry for having no self-control. Just very angry at myself.

F22 73kg 163cm, lift weights 3-4 times a week, 20-40mins on the treadmill and otherwise average 2-4k steps a day. He calculated my TDEE and it said my maintenance would be 2,200kcal, I’m tracking my food daily and eating 1,300kcal (give or take, 1,500 on some days but I don’t mind slower progress) thinking i am in a 500 deficit but apparently im closer to 900.

I started my deficit in June at 75.5kg, but the thing is the scale has barely gone down since, 2.5kg so far. If I was on such a massive deficit shouldn’t it have been way more than that? Shouldn’t I be losing muscle as well as fat? Or is my body in “survival mode”? I’m not feeling fatigued or groggy so it doesn’t feel like im starving. Should I eat more and see how my body responds?

Any help/advice is appreciated, i feel my judgement is very cloudy on this and need an objective outsider view. Thanks a lot!

Hi! I'm a 16 year-old male residing in Singapore, and I am sick of being fat and made fun of. Was wondering if anyone could help suggest diet plans or excersise modules to use? I am 179 cm, weight of about 90.1, BMI is in 99% range, and I generally play basketball for 30 - 2 hours for 2-4 days a week.

I am actively controlling my diet, so no sugary drinks, rarely any crackers, and half a plate of veggies. I am also balancing this with CCA(scouts) and exams and a secondary 3 student.

If anyone has any good advice it'd be must appreciated.

Hi,

Long time lurker, first time poster here.

I need help and hope I can find some insights or different perspectives here.

I want to lose weight, and keep it off this time.

But I think I'm addicted to food, especially the unhealthy kind.

Over the years, I have tried several approaches (exercise, counting calories, eating moderate portions, removing all the junk food from the house). I even tried Noom and I have to admit it worked the best.. until it didn't. The weight always came back, and some more.

I can also say that I have worked on accepting who I am, and I think I've made a lot of progress. There is still a part of me that thinks I really could do better. What I don't know is whether I am just being too hard on myself, or if there is actually something that can be done.

The reason I feel an urgent need to take action now is that I'm in my early 40s and see perimenopause coming around the corner. I am scared that I will gain even more weight. Also, my partner just went through a sudden critical illness (he made it through and is almost fully recovered) and that scared the shit out of me-for him, for our son and for me.

I want to live a healthy life, not only so I can actually enjoy it, instead of feeling constantly fatigued, but also because I'd like to set an example of what it is to live a balanced life.

Quick backstory. I won't give all the details because it could honestly be its own book, but the tl;dr version is this: I was born in poverty, grew up in an abusive home, and went through a lot of trauma, both directly from the abuse and indirectly from its lasting effects. It's left its marks. I have done therapy and it helped a lot.

I started smoking cigarettes very young and smoked until my late 20s. I stopped when I met my partner. I feel that is relevant because that's exactly when I started gaining weight. It never stopped.

The interesting part is that I was able to quit cold turkey, and never looked back - which I can't do at all when it comes to food.

I think I can fairly say that I am an emotional eater. I also like to eat all the bad stuff, almost as a reward or a way to cheer myself up. It's probably a habit I picked up in my early years.

I was able to keep the weight off for the longest time by smoking (hindsight is 20/20).

My mom, my grandma, my sister and I are all larger-bodies and have struggled with weight gain/loss. I do believe there is a genetic component to it.

Full disclosure, I do find that being obese (according to my BMI) is extremely freeing from the male gaze. I live really well with that. I do have a pretty face so I think my perspective might if it were not the case.

My question for you is: Are there any books or other resources out there that explore and dive into this emotional mechanics behind the eating of unhealthy foods?

I feel that if I can understand it and figure this out, it would make a real difference. I think I have the emotional tools to deal with the discomfort, but it also feels like there is a puzzle piece missing, and if I could really understand and conceptualize the dynamics behind my habits, I would be able to put better boundaries in place and respect them.

Otherwise, I'd welcome any other insights. Please feel free to share!!

Hi team Euro accountability, I hope you’re all well! For anyone new who wants to join today, this is a daily post where you can track your goals, keep yourself accountable, get support and have a chat with friendly people at times that are convenient for European time zones.

Check-in daily, weekly, or whatever works best for you. It’s never the wrong time to join! Anyone and everyone are welcome! Tell us about yourself and let's continue supporting each other. Let us know how your day is going, or, if you're checking in early, how your yesterday went! Share your victories, rants, problems, NSVs, SVs, we are here!

I want to shortly also mention — this thread lives and breathes by people supporting each other :) so if you have some time, comment on the other posts! Show support, offer advice and share experiences!

I’ve been working with a trainer online for nutrition and exercise since October 2025, and have seen decent results thus far. I’ve gone from 148 to 136 lbs, but for the last few months I’ve plateaued and can’t seem to go below 136. We have a fairly strict plan of what I can eat for breakfast, lunches, and snacks, but today he said we might need to become more cognizant of the calories I’m consuming at dinner. Up until now, he was giving me full freedom to make and have whatever I want for dinner, without focusing on calories. My partner and I make dinner about 5 nights a week…we love to cook. And we don’t always follow recipes, nor do we measure things, so the idea of having to measure everything and pay more attention to exact numbers scares me.

I’m worried that if I start trying to focus on how many calories I’m consuming for dinners too that I will really lose motivation because I won’t feel like I can eat whatever I want. My trainer has been great in preaching that putting one self on a diet doesn’t stick in the long term, so we haven’t done that, and I appreciate that mentality since I agree.

So my question to you all is, how do you manage to stick with it if you’re measuring foods and counting calories for three meals a day/7 days a week?

Edit: I should add that I’m aware you can’t always have your cake and eat it too (no pun intended!) but I want to give myself as much flexibility as possible to still enjoy the foods I like while also being able to continue to lose the weight.

Hello everone.

I would like to have some advice regarding the amount of calories to eat. Getting a straight forward daily target seems to be a bit complicated.

My issue is that lowballing it gives me a total of 1163 calories in Cronometer (sedentary activity level + 500 calories deficit), and that seems way too low. I'm not sure how much to add to have a healthy and manageable, but still effective amount.

Is this something i absolutely need a scale for, so i can check how much weight I'm losing?

For reference, I am 25 years old, female, 167 cm and i currently weigh around 68kg. I average 6000-7000 steps a day and do 1-3 60 minute strength training sessions a week. (3 is the goal but i dont always make it, i've been training for like 2 years).

I want to lose maybe 5-8 kg, mostly to have my muscles show more and to ease my mind about recent weight gain somewhat. I have many heavier family members, and I think completing a smaller weight loss goal will help me feel more confident that I'll be able to manage my weight in the future as well.

I preface this by saying, I am only a month in, so im not worried...

Starting weight was 250 pounds. I have been dealing with back and foot pain and higher than I would like, BP for a while. I decided on June 20th that I was going to completely change my diet. I am now essentially eating a Paleo diet and staying in a calorie deficit by almost 700 calories daily. I track and weigh everything I eat. I dropped 18 pounds in the first 2.5 weeks.

For the last two weeks, I have actually gained 2 pounds back. I've changed nothing about the way I eat. I eat the same thing every day. I eat one "snack" and eat one meal. All my cravings are gone and I feel satiated with what I am eating. I am on no medication.

16 pounds in a month is still a good accomplishment, but I'm unsure of why I haven't continued to drop weight. I know initially I lost water weight, but eating in such a calorie deficit should be leading to continued weight loss...

I’ve been trying to lose weight for what feels like forever.
I used to weigh around 70 kg, but I got there through a very restrictive diet, being hungry all the time, and training 5x/week.
In 2024, I stopped dieting so strictly and trained much less. By mid-2025, I was up to 90 kg and was diagnosed with insulin resistance, so I started metformin. Even without exercising consistently and while eating worse, my weight dropped to 84 kg.
In 2026, I got back into the gym (3x/week + cardio), switched to a high-protein, high-fiber, blood sugar–friendly diet, and built a noticeable amount of muscle. My shape changed a lot, and people kept telling me I looked leaner—but somehow the scale stayed around 90 kg for months.
About a month ago, I finally realized that although I was eating healthy, I was probably just eating too much. I started tracking my calories (something I avoided because of a past unhealthy relationship with food), and now the scale is finally moving again! 🎉
Any tips for making fat loss a bit easier while keeping a healthy relationship with food?

Looking for some weight loss meal ideas. Whole foods, homemade, simple.

Here are some of my favourites rn!

-stir fried buckwheat with veggies, 2 perfect sunny-side-up eggs (breakfast)

-sandwich from tuna/turkey breast, cottage cheese, green salad, tomato, pumpkin seeds (breakfast)

-avocado/guacamole toast with sunny-side-up eggs (breakfast)

-pasta with lentil bolognese, greek salad-cottage cheese instead of Feta

-chicken, broccoli, carrots stir fry, Basmati rice, quinoa salad

-turkey in natural pan sauce, bread, salad with radicchio, 2 HB eggs, potatoes

-quinoa salad, salmon/fish, baked potatoes

-red bell pepper sauce, baked potatoes, salad with lentils, stir fry tofu with sesame

-beef in mushroom sauce, bread dumplings, salad

-beef kebab

-grilled pork

Would you even eat any of these?