![F/27/5'5" [180lbs > 165 = 15lbs] (7 Months) Recomposition, ~10% BF down.](https://preview.redd.it/53r3qkllg7ug1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=16153c3b2e688c23ffef9a8ab85f1fe45de4b913)
F/27/5'5" [180lbs > 165 = 15lbs] (7 Months) Recomposition, ~10% BF down.
I can honestly say I've never been this confident in my life. At first my focus was losing as much weight as possible, I started lifting in August but ended up cutting down my lifting due to fears of gaining weight. I stuck in a low carb calorie deficit (eating very little) and ended up down to 158lbs from 189. It was miserable and I was too weak to lift. At my highest I was about 240lbs, but that was a few years back. What really drove me to want to build muscle was a desire to fill in loose skin, as it's been a major insecurity of mine.
In January I decided to really focus on building muscle and increasing strength, I conducted a little experiment and decided to bulk. Had major strength gains and minimal fat gains thanks to still being in newbie phase, and ended up putting on about 5lbs in 3 months of bulking (eating roughly 2.4k to 3k calories a day.) I gained about 3 inches on my glutes and 1.5 inches on my waist from my lowest weight. I decided to start cutting again in early March, managed to lose ~2% body fat. I stopped focusing on what the scale had to say, and now I'm at 27% BF (from 36% when I started, and 29% in January.) Waist is back down to 26 and I've retained my glutes! My strength is still steadily climbing, honestly if anyone would've told me I'd maxing out machines and thrusting/squatting over 300lbs I wouldn't have believed them. I spend roughly 8-10 hours either lifting or doing cardio/being active a week and I've never had more energy or felt this strong. I genuinely enjoy going to the gym and I'd rather die than ever cut carbs again. I've come to realize that carbs are friends, and I've had incredible results from carb cycling. I eat 80/20 whole foods and focus on a proper macro split to maintain my strength/recovery.
I've changed my body composition and shape, and I've come to realize that I don't have to let the scale dictate how I feel today. I've been sticking to a 300-500 calorie deficit and my current goal is to get to about 23% body fat while still maintaining muscle mass. I don't have a timeline but I know it'll come in time because I know now that I have the self discipline and motivation to make it happen! I can cut on about 1900 to 2300 calories a day, and love how I don't have to starve myself miserable or go to bed hungry to reach my goals.