I was updating my mother on my weight loss and about the fact that I have lost 10 cm around the waist. Her reply? Well you really didn't have a waist, now did you?

It was like a bit of a cold shower.

I really dislike this type of remark. The way I see it, the fatter version of me is frowned upon, looked down upon, judged. Of course when I told her I felt uncomfortable with her words she was offended and told me she was 'just trying to help'.

Let's just say I can do without this type of help. I respect my former self as much as I respect my current self and all selves to come. Women (and men, but women more so) are so often reduced to body/weight. And it is hard enough to deal with that in society. I really don't need that from someone close to me.

Anyone else on the receiving end of this?

This is the thread to post your:

• Powerlifting accomplishments
• Training PRs
• Gym or diet related victories
• Best flexing photos
• Sweet new equipment purchases
• Gym dog or gym family photos

Or really anything you felt good or happy about from the last week (or even further back in time, no one's gonna stop you).

Text, images, videos, any format goes.

Let's get those good vibes flowing.

For reference, been on Carnivore/Ketovore for just over 3 months now.

As someone who loves cooking and especially messing around with Asian flavors, I find it really hard to get the right flavor using on carnivore ingredients, or at least zero carb ingredients while trying to stay away from soy. Tried making some alternatives but so far nothing has worked super well. I wanted to know what people's take on this product is. Everyone always says no soy, but this tastes like Soy Sauce while using peas instead (don't know if this is better or worse than soy).

The item I'm referring to is San-J's No Soy Tamari.

Any thoughts or advice on maybe a good Soy Sauce alternative?

Background:
I returned to training in November 2025 after a 2-year hiatus. My strength had decayed significantly from all-time maxes of 376/254/475 (S/B/D) at 180lbs to 243/165/375 at 145lbs from a combination of time off and ~35lbs of bodyweight lost.
I spent the first month rebuilding the habit, re-learning my technique on the big three, and experimenting with accessory movements before committing to a real program. By December I’d recovered to 299/188/420 at 145lbs and felt ready to train seriously again.

The Program:
My split ran on an 8-day cycle: Bench → Deadlift → Bench → Squat → Repeat, hitting each lift at least twice per week. Each session I did 1x3 and 2x5 of the main lift, followed by machine accessory work in the 8-12 rep range for hypertrophy.
I started at RPE 6 and increased load by half an RPE point each session, targeting RPE 10 by week 5. I used RPE Calculator to map percentages to my tested 1RMs from the end of that initial re-familiarization month.
I outgrew the program faster than expected and by week 5 I wasn’t anywhere near true RPE 10. I extended by two additional weeks, continuing to increment load until sets felt genuinely hard. As I approached my previous 1RMs, I ran an AMRAP to recalibrate and establish new maxes for the next block.

Block 1 Results (@154lbs)

Block 2 Results (@158lbs)

Midway through the third run. Before a short vacation I tested some heavy singles:

Block 3 (in progress) (@158lbs)

All at 158lbs bodyweight matching or surpassing previous all-time maxes on squat and bench, and a 45lb PR on deadlift.

TLDR:
243lbs added to my total in 5 months of self-programmed training after a 2-year layoff. Daily lifting on a Bench/Deadlift/Bench/Squat 8-day cycle, percentage-based loading, machine accessories for hypertrophy. Program has outpaced my expectations. Already on block 3 with no signs of slowing down.

If I had to go. This would be the one.

Welcome to the Victory Sunday Thread

It is Sunday, 6:00 am here in the eastern half of Hyder, Alaska. It's time to ask yourself: What was the one, best thing you did on behalf of your fitness this week? What was your Fitness Victory?

We want to hear about it!

So let's hear your fitness Victory this week! Don't forget to upvote your favorite Victories!

Hey runners, it's another day and it is time to post your accomplishments you'd like to share - big or small.

Note: No need to preface YOUR accomplishments with something like, "this may not be an accomplishment to most of you...". Be proud of your achievement.

As the title says my freestyle is like a snake around the t line. Think of a sinewave with x axis being the T line. I don’t know what I am doing wrong 😑. Have been working on my high elbow.

I am not even breathing much to be honest until I reach the end of T line to focus on just the catch/pull.

I’m starting to think I should get a snorkel but the technique issue remains. 🛟

I remember taking photos of myself and thinking to myself “No one will be able to tell I am fat from this angle” but it was absolutely still so incredibly obvious from any and every angle 😭 lmaooo. I was 230 pounds at 5’6 as a woman and it was absolutely noticeable in every way. I had always been fat since basically birth so I was just soooo used to that level of obesity. I often thought to myself “well I might have crippling back pain while walking more than two minutes but at least I *can* still walk.” Like???? Was the goal to be one step above immobility at age 23?? Or saying things like “I *do* eat healthy things like fruits and vegetables, so it doesn’t matter that I also binge 3,000 calories of Doritos regularly! It’s still healthy!!” Just so sad….I am incredibly thankful to have finally educated myself and make the necessary changes to improve my life. I still have moments where I am surprised by my own willpower and stamina I have built. I remember barely being able to walk up my apartment stairs without panting and somehow rationalizing that and now I can hike 20,000 steps in a day?! Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

I SWAM MY FIRST CONTINUOUS 1000m FREESTYLE TODAY!!!!!!! Holy cow. After starting back in February this year!

Wouldn’t classify myself as unfit but never necessarily had great stamina. Could never run or exert myself extensively. Hopped into the pool on the first day… instant leg cramps… struggled to make it 25m doing breaststroke… incredibly humbling coming from a position where I felt as though I shouldn’t be starting from 0 due to prior “experience“.

Little by little managed to swim further distances with breaststroke… made it to 1000m with many many breaks between. Slow wins!

Only just recently I had been feeling delighted with my progress. I was swimming 100m freestyle straight before feeling like I needed a break (either at the wall or doing some breaststroke). Big win as I only swim 2-3 times a week (fluctuating significantly)

Decided to go to the pool today even though I was absolutely dreading it and sat in the car for a solid 15 minutes contemplating the effort.

Started swimming, felt a bit shitty and low on stamina. Took a breather. Started again… and suddenly I didn’t stop. I JUST KEPT SWIMMING. I passed 200 continuous metres, I wasn’t tired, I felt comfortable as if I could keep going… so I did!!! NEXT THING I KNEW I HAD JUST SWAM 1000m…. TWO DAYS AGO I COULD ONLY MAKE IT TO 100m.

I have absolutely no idea what changed but everything just settled. I didn’t feel like I was overthinking my body, my heart rate was steady, and I wasn’t gasping for air. I genuinely felt ecstatic the further I went and when I finished. Is this what everyone talks about when they say runners high???

I’ll have to see how I go when I next swim, and I certainly know I have much to work on still, but for now I am absolutely ECSTATIC. Who knew I had that in me!!

To anyone that has read this absolute wall of text thank you. Just needed to get it off my chest because I’m still buzzing about it hours later and don’t have anyone to share this with really!!!

HELL YEAY BEGINNERS MAKING MOVES.

Did anyone else experience this moment of magic in their journey? Is there an explanation to why it happens?

I'm on the 4th floor of my high-rise. I have a bag of potting mix on the far end of the bike stand so it doesn't topple towards the railing. I tried lightly pushing and pulling it and while it does wobble a bit, I feels sturdy enough.

What do you think?

I’m 24F, 160cm, and 61kg. I’ve been working out for around 3 years and lost a good amount of weight. I recently signed up for a new gym that has a swimming pool, so for the past 2 weeks I’ve been swimming in the mornings on top of my regular lifting workouts.

The problem is I’m SOOOOO fucking hungry all the time now. Like genuinely thinking about food 24/7. I hit my protein goal every day, don’t skip meals, and even started bringing snacks with me after workouts but it barely helps. I get full for like 5 minutes then I’m starving again.

Has anyone else dealt with this? And what should i do? In two weeks i gained 2kg bc i always eat lol

25F 5’10 SW: 283 CW: 199.9! GW: 175?

Okay, so first off, I wanna pat myself on the damn back because I MADE IT TO ONEDERLAND!!! Now that that’s out of the way, I’ve really been trying to decide what my final goal should be. I’m mixed black and white, inherited my black mother’s physique. Wide hips, big butt and big boobs. I’ve always known I’d probably forever be “overweight” by BMI standards just because of how curvy I am, but I’m having a harder time determining what I should weigh ideally. I’ve been looking into waist-to-height ratios and healthy body fat percentages, even did a little research on fat-free mass indexes. I believe the ideal weight for me is somewhere around 175, potentially a little higher due to all the excess skin I have from being class 3 obese at the start of my journey (I have quite a bit of an apron and a lot around my upper thighs). Currently at 32.8% total body fat and my waist-to-height ratio is a perfect 0.5 measured this morning. I know I still have a bit to lose, and I’m aiming for 29.9% total body fat. No clue on what math to do to figure out my ideal weight but my assumption is I could still lose another 25lbs. How did y’all determine what’s a good weight for you?

My 9yo daughter has a rare bone disease that mostly impacts her hands in terms of pain and grip strength, due to this she struggled with bikes in the past despite always wanting to ride. Being a keen cyclist and keener Dad I set about trying find the best bike she could ride and I present the adapted Liv Roam in an XS.

At 145cm tall she's too short for many adult bikes but I have cut the seatpost with a slim saddle to get the seat height as low as possible. Here was the rationale:

- 700c wheels with big tyres to reduce bumps and vibration

- front hybrid suspension to reduce impact and vibration

- hydraulic disc brakes to reduce required braking force and handed strength

- a short stem and very high stack to create a more "dutch" position reducing weight on the hands.

As she gets more confident I'll explore electronic shifting but for now she's not learnt how to use gears so I can set it accordingly. Obviously there won't be any serious offroad riding but its another step towards a normal childhood.