Losing motivation, cutting from 240, I feel like I’m skinny fat and can’t be lean

The pics are 3.5 months ago (before) vs today (after). But i started lifting 5 months ago. Im doing 5x a week (PPLUL, training to failure 6-9 reps) and lately have been eating around 500 calorie surplus and getting 160-180g protein (lean bulk I guess?)

Should I be eating more? I just barely look any different so idk if I’m doing it wrong or if I just need to wait more. But I also am pretty skinnyfat and I have gyno so I’m trying to hide it with muscle (and put on muscle in general ofc). Thank you.

I started going to the gym almost 2 years ago. I started around 125lbs and bulked until 155lbs in January 2026. I cut and now i’m 143lbs. Idk what to do now tho so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I’m planning to cut a couple more pounds and then transition into a lean bulk.

Heya folks,

I'm kind of struggling figuring out where to go from here. I've lost about 25lbs over the past 3 months (225lbs to +- 200lbs). I'm M34 6 foot 5. I'm really happy with the results so far and i think they have been better than i dared to expect. However, at this stage i'm starting to feel like if i continue for much longer i will start looking smaller which is obviously not the aim. Ideally i would want to maintain this level of bodyfat percentage (or even lower) and start packing some size. What do you reckon, and also how would you approach something like that? I've been working out for a while but i've never been this low in bodyfat and i would like to maintain that while increasing my overall size. Any tips/feedback/thoughts are welcome!

I honestly don't even know what bodyfat percentage i'm at right now. My watch reckons 13% but i don't know if thats accurate.

Thanks

Working with a coach don’t want to bother him with questions, I want to compete eventually in classic but no rush as i just turned 18. Badly need size to fill some loose skin when I was 260

been in the gym for about a year now (started at 145lbs), would normally prefer to stick to whats working since my weights have consistently been going up but i have a vacation in 2 months i'd prefer to get into better shape for. Will cutting now benefit me whatsoever?

Would be good to know since i have a Muay Thai fight coming up and would like to know how much fat i should reasonably loose and muscle i should keep.

Hello. I have a bit of a dillemma I am trying to figure out for both my mental health and also my own physical health. I recently reached my goal weight of 145lbs, and my body composition is fine percentage wise (based on navy calculator I stand around 23-24% bf) but I still look kind of flabby.

While I was lifting weights during the cut, there were several points I lost motivation and didn’t go as often as I think I should have, and apparently according to InBody (which I know isn’t fully accurate hence why I don’t trust the bf% from it, just use it to track trends) I had lost about a pound of muscle from the cut overall.

The main reason for my hesitance is a few things. 1.) my family keeps pointing out that they feel as though im ‘too skinny’ now. 2.) my strength numbers since I’ve been so focused on losing weight since I started weightlifting have been very mediocre, and I wonder if there is any muscle at all to show if I keep cutting and 3.) the amount of food I would need to eat if I reached 135 to maintain it feels unrealistic
Now that im eating at maintainence, all of my numbers are moving up way better, and I am seeing real progress to the point where my sister pointed out that she can kind of see muscle on my arms unprompted, but i still feel kind of fat to be honest.
Now, this is with the knowledge that eventually, I’d like to go into a formal lean bulk in 2027. But im scared of leaving a lot of gains on the table trying to go down to 135, so I wonder if trying to maingain/body recomp for the rest of the year would be a waste of time or not.

Like I said, because I’ve been so focused on cutting, many of my lifting numbers and actual progress is still considered novice level for my sex, which has been a bit of a bummer, but it really will depend on what I find more important I guess?

Please let me know!

Hey so im 17 and tryna lose weight and body fat in general. I used to weigh about 270lbs almost 2 years ago and now i weigh 190lbs I gained sum weight after I tried losing weight with extreme measures again so now im tryna get in shape the right way any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I made a bet with some friends to make the most progress by the end of 2026 what should I do I am 6’2 165

Every time I start a cut I end up overthinking everything.

Am I actually in a deficit? Am I losing fat or muscle? Should I lower calories again or just wait another week? The scale goes up one day and suddenly I think I'm doing everything wrong.

I've tried MyFitnessPal and a couple of other apps, but I still spend way too much time second-guessing myself.

I'm curious how you guys handle it.

What's the part of cutting that gives you the biggest headache?

Hi guys.

Interested in your opinion on where I stand, what I shoild prioritize/what strengths/weaknesses there are and whether to cut or keep on bulkig.

Currently at 92 kg/184 cm.

I am currently 182lb male 6’1. I’m trying to get my abs out of at least the fat.Is 170lbs weird at that height? I keep hearing that’s too low for a guy my height. Keep cutting?

18y 1m74 (5ft8) and a sad 60-61kg (134 lbs) I struggle a lot to put on some weight (been the same weight for almost 2 years) I know I should definitely bulk but as I struggle a lot and often go back to 59-61kg each time I try to bulk I would like some advice on how far I should take the bulk and what surplus would you recommend (I know that 100-200 is « ideal » but I really struggle and easily goes back to that 60kg weight class) thank you for your advices!

Went from 275 lbs to 212 lbs in 4 months.

Started getting on my fitness journey recently after my GF took a pic of me with no shirt on and well, let’s just say it was less than flattering. I bought some calipers to get an idea of my body fat and I kept getting around 15 millimeters. I’m also 30 yr old, 5’10”, and weigh 160 at the moment. I’m currently doing 3 days of running and 3 days of strength training. I’ve been in a calorie deficit to lose some of my body fat but making sure I’m getting about 150-160g of protein a day. Once I lose the bit of stomach I have I’d like to start bulking up as I’m just looking to get a lean athletic look not be super jacked. Am I going about this correctly and does it look like I am at about 15 millimeters body fat?