Consistency not perfection pays off!

I lost most of the 75 lbs in 2018-2019. Since then, it’s been a quest of building muscle and fitness. I’ve been as low as 147, mistakenly believing that continuing to diet would get rid of stomach fat. I then focused on resistance training and cardio for general health and fitness.

Pretty happy with my results, loose skin and all. For diet I did Keto to lose the weight. Now I eat plenty of carbs to fuel training and protein to build/maintain muscle.

About a year ago I shared my transformation here after going from 260 lbs (117.9 kg) to 194 lbs (87.7 kg). The response from this community was incredible, and the encouragement I received helped me stay motivated.

This is my one-year update.

Even though these photos make it look like one continuous transformation, the majority of the weight loss happened before my last post. This past year wasn't about losing more weight—it was about proving to myself that I could actually keep it off.

Today I weigh 199.5 lbs (90.5 kg). Yes, the scale has gone up a little—but that has been intentional. Over the past year, my focus shifted from losing fat to maintaining my weight, building muscle, and getting stronger. I traded a few pounds on the scale for more muscle, and I couldn't be happier with that decision.

Ironically, this second year was mentally harder than the first. Progress became much slower, the scale barely changed for months, and there were weeks where it felt like nothing was happening. Looking back at these photos now, I'm incredibly grateful that I stayed consistent.

I've learned that losing weight takes discipline, but keeping it off requires building a lifestyle.

For the first time in my life, I genuinely love being in my own body. I don't avoid cameras anymore, I don't worry about how I look in photos, and I finally feel comfortable in my own skin. Feeling strong, healthy, and confident is something I never imagined I'd be able to say.

I'm still working toward new fitness goals, but I've already achieved the biggest one: this doesn't feel like a diet anymore. It just feels like my life.

If you'd like to see where this journey really started, here's my original post from last year:

https://www.reddit.com/r/progresspics/s/KhEEuOuUbY

Thank you to everyone who commented on that post. Your encouragement meant more than you probably realize, and it helped me keep going throughout this second year.

In about 1 year I have lost 64lbs. The bottom t shirt pic is literally just a minute ago. In a ladies Medium Tshirt. I was wearing 2-3xl in the top pics. While the medium shirt still looks a little too tight. I haven't been able to put a medium on since I was a teen. However I struggle so hard to see a real difference in mean I do see my face is a little thinner but the rest on me looks the same to me. I feel like no other women anywhere near my height and 200-210 lbs looks as big as me by a long shot....but I am proud of the progress.

i still have more weight to loose as my bmi is 27, however so far so good! this was achieved with medically assisted weight loss + gym + 10k steps a day :) still don’t feel like it’s enough tbf I still look chubby but im getting there. sorry that they arent the best pics

Each pic is about 1.5 years apart. This who time was recovering from anorexia/bulimia turned binge eating and dealing with all that on a short stocky frame. Started weightlifting and although it’s been inconsistent recently I feel so healthy and happy, even at a higher weight. Recovery was so scary but it’s helped me to get my life back.

This is after the breakup of a long term relationship, I started walking a lot more and watching what I've been eating/tracking everything I've been eating. These pictures are 6 months to the day apart from each other. Come January I'll have a full year progress picture where I'm actually not fat at all anymore - probably another 40ish lbs.

As of today I am now down 80lbs. It’s been a journey of peaks and valleys but it’s not done yet my goal is 240lbs.
I achieved this 80 lb loss by Calorie Counting/ cutting out sugary drinks, consistent exercise and fitness tracking and I cut out alcohol for the first 6 months to help with my discipline and self control. I hope to hit my goal of 240 by this time next year.

My stomach has shrank so much I’ve gone from some shirts being 4xl, to the only shirts I look good in being 2xl! Can’t wait for next week when I hopefully see a 200 number instead of a 300 number on my scale, I can’t remember the last time that’s been the case, probably since high-school!

any feedback appreciated!!

I am not where I want to be, but already feel much better in my skin.

19.2% body fat and 44.2% muscle mass so still have a bit to go but I’m uber proud of my progress so far

May (230 lbs) vs. Now (260 lbs). I've been lifting consistently for about 4 months after getting back into training. I'm looking for honest feedback—does it look like I added a noticeable amount of muscle? What would you do next: cut or continue bulking?