u/Desperate-Deer9914

This might be a long post, but I’d genuinely appreciate it if you read it and helped me out because I seriously want to change my life now.

I’m a 20M from India, 5’7 and currently around 78kg. My birthday is on 18 May and I know realistically I won’t completely transform before that, but I genuinely want to begin my serious body recomposition and glow up journey now.

A few years ago my life was completely different. For around 6–7 years I was heavily involved in wrestling and martial arts. I have a black belt and was even a national gold medalist. Back then my weight was around 65kg, I was extremely athletic, flexible and active. Even now I’m still more flexible than the average person because of that background.

I used to do things like 100 pushups in one go, half marathons without much difficulty, daily running and cycling, and intense wrestling training sessions. Because of all that, my lower body used to be very strong.

But then studies slowly took over my entire life. For the last 3 years I’ve barely been physically active and I completely stopped taking care of myself.

I gained around 15kg very fast and became kind of skinny fat — I lost a lot of muscle and athleticism while gaining fat around my waist, hips and face.

Now I struggle to do even 10 pushups and sometimes get out of breath climbing one floor.

The worst part honestly isn’t even the weight gain — it’s how disconnected I feel from myself now. I completely stopped focusing on myself physically and mentally. My body is badly tanned, my face looks bloated all the time, my waist has gone up to around 40 inches, and most of my fat gets stored around my hips and waist area. Ironically, the lower body that used to be my strongest feature now looks the worst to me.

I’ve also lost almost all my social confidence. Earlier I used to feel energetic, disciplined and confident everywhere. Now I avoid mirrors, photos and social situations sometimes because I don’t feel like myself anymore.

One positive thing is that I’ve been in a very healthy relationship for the last 2.5 years. My girlfriend genuinely loves and supports me even in this version of myself, and I’m grateful for that. But I also want her to see the best version of me again — not just physically, but mentally too. Mostly though, I want to become proud of myself again.

Another important thing: I genuinely enjoy intense training. I know a lot of people suggest “just start with walking,” and I understand why, but if I only do normal walks for 2–3 months I know myself — I’ll lose motivation badly. My athlete mindset still exists somewhere inside me. I need progression and intensity to stay mentally engaged.

So my plan is to increase workout intensity step by step instead of staying too comfortable for too long.

My goals are: Run half marathons again by the end of this year. Do 100 pushups again. Be able to do strong pullups again. Get athletic and explosive again. Reduce my waist size from around 40 back to somewhere near 30–36. Fix my skinny fat physique and rebuild muscle properly. Rebuild my confidence and discipline.

Now I seriously want to rebuild myself properly. Not through crash diets or unrealistic transformations, but through real body recomposition — rebuilding muscle, losing fat, regaining stamina, discipline and confidence.

The problem is: I’ve never gone to a gym for bodybuilding/muscle building before. I don’t know when I should join the gym. I don’t know what exercises I should start with in the gym . I don’t properly understand calories, maintenance, deficit, protein intake etc. Even during my wrestling days I never tracked food because training itself kept me lean.

I would really appreciate advice from experienced people, especially anyone who had an athletic background and then completely lost fitness due to studies/life.

Would genuinely love advice on: How to safely restart training after years of inactivity. How to increase intensity without injuring myself.

Whether I should first focus on fat loss or build muscle together. Beginner gym routines for body recomposition. How to calculate calories and stay in a deficit properly. How to regain stamina without burning out. How to stay consistent mentally after losing confidence.

I’m genuinely ready to work hard again. I just need proper direction now.

20M Indian Former National Gold Medalist Athlete Lost Fitness & Confidence After 3 Years

This might be a long post, but I’d genuinely appreciate it if you read it and helped me out because I seriously want to change my life now.

I’m a 20M from India, 5’7 and currently around 78kg. My birthday is on 18 May and I know realistically I won’t completely transform before that, but I genuinely want to begin my serious body recomposition and glow up journey now.

A few years ago my life was completely different. For around 6–7 years I was heavily involved in wrestling and martial arts. I have a black belt and was even a national gold medalist. Back then my weight was around 65kg, I was extremely athletic, flexible and active. Even now I’m still more flexible than the average person because of that background.

I used to do things like 100 pushups in one go, half marathons without much difficulty, daily running and cycling, and intense wrestling training sessions. Because of all that, my lower body used to be very strong.

But then studies slowly took over my entire life. For the last 3 years I’ve barely been physically active and I completely stopped taking care of myself.

I gained around 15kg very fast and became kind of skinny fat — I lost a lot of muscle and athleticism while gaining fat around my waist, hips and face.

Now I struggle to do even 10 pushups and sometimes get out of breath climbing one floor.

The worst part honestly isn’t even the weight gain — it’s how disconnected I feel from myself now. I completely stopped focusing on myself physically and mentally. My body is badly tanned, my face looks bloated all the time, my waist has gone up to around 40 inches, and most of my fat gets stored around my hips and waist area. Ironically, the lower body that used to be my strongest feature now looks the worst to me.

I’ve also lost almost all my social confidence. Earlier I used to feel energetic, disciplined and confident everywhere. Now I avoid mirrors, photos and social situations sometimes because I don’t feel like myself anymore.

One positive thing is that I’ve been in a very healthy relationship for the last 2.5 years. My girlfriend genuinely loves and supports me even in this version of myself, and I’m grateful for that. But I also want her to see the best version of me again — not just physically, but mentally too. Mostly though, I want to become proud of myself again.

Another important thing: I genuinely enjoy intense training. I know a lot of people suggest “just start with walking,” and I understand why, but if I only do normal walks for 2–3 months I know myself — I’ll lose motivation badly. My athlete mindset still exists somewhere inside me. I need progression and intensity to stay mentally engaged.

So my plan is to increase workout intensity step by step instead of staying too comfortable for too long.

My goals are: Run half marathons again by the end of this year. Do 100 pushups again. Be able to do strong pullups again. Get athletic and explosive again. Reduce my waist size from around 40 back to somewhere near 30–36. Fix my skinny fat physique and rebuild muscle properly. Rebuild my confidence and discipline.

Now I seriously want to rebuild myself properly. Not through crash diets or unrealistic transformations, but through real body recomposition — rebuilding muscle, losing fat, regaining stamina, discipline and confidence.

The problem is: I’ve never gone to a gym for bodybuilding/muscle building before. I don’t know when I should join the gym. I don’t know what exercises I should start with in the gym . I don’t properly understand calories, maintenance, deficit, protein intake etc. Even during my wrestling days I never tracked food because training itself kept me lean.

I would really appreciate advice from experienced people, especially anyone who had an athletic background and then completely lost fitness due to studies/life.

Would genuinely love advice on: How to safely restart training after years of inactivity. How to increase intensity without injuring myself.

Whether I should first focus on fat loss or build muscle together. Beginner gym routines for body recomposition. How to calculate calories and stay in a deficit properly. How to regain stamina without burning out. How to stay consistent mentally after losing confidence.

I’m genuinely ready to work hard again. I just need proper direction now.