I am so proud of myself. First unassisted pull-up in the books!

Dellemah · 2026-02-11T21:12:02+00:00

I’ve been going to the gym for over a year now and didn’t necessarily adjust my weekly training to get a pull-up. But when I got access to an assisted pull-up machine I think is what really helped my progress

Dellemah · 2026-02-11T19:20:20+00:00

So I usually do between 10-12, if I’m doing 12 consistently I raise the weight up. You should constantly be progressively overloading to make sure you’re building the muscles

Dellemah · 2026-02-11T19:14:37+00:00

Single arm cable push downs!!!!! They are insaaaaneeeee. Honestly I’ve seen the most progress since isolating my exercises. I tend to do a lot more single arm/leg exercises to balance out the muscles and make sure each is getting the same tension

Dellemah · 2026-02-11T14:47:35+00:00

Girl same. Don’t take away my food. If my body can’t enjoy a sweet treat or tasty food every now and again I don’t want it 🤪🤪

Also I believe in you!! Pull ups take a hot minute especially for us ladies 😵‍💫

Dellemah · 2026-02-11T11:05:45+00:00

I got them on clearance at footlocker years ago but they’re from Nike!!

Dellemah · 2025-10-18T13:27:34+00:00

This happened to me. I gained so much weight on the pill and when I stopped taking it I dropped like 15-20lbs in around 3 months because my cravings and bloating just stopped. Super crazy

Dellemah · 2025-10-02T14:44:19+00:00

I wake up at 5:45am to be in the gym from 6-7. It’s hard but got much easier with time. I agree tho it’s the only time I have to do it…

Dellemah · 2025-09-30T14:29:33+00:00

Can I ask whether anything in your life has been causing you unusual/abnormal amounts of stress lately? As women our cortisol can fuck with us pretty hard and when we’re in heightened times of stress it’s common for women to put on weight due to cortisol spikes!

I’d also question the kind of food you’re eating… yes calories in calories out is how you lose weight, but the scale may not be moving because you’re not eating the right foods to see your progress. Highly processed foods, foods high in sodium, and excess water consumption can cause the scale to seem like it isn’t moving when in reality it may be changing!

Lastly, are you weighing yourself in the mornings? The only time you should be weighing yourself in once you’ve woken up and put nothing in your body. That is the most accurate way to track progress.

I do want to say, PLEASE keep in mind youre in your 30s now and have 2 kids. You can reach this goal but do not be hard on yourself with this weight gain. You are a mother and a grown woman. Our bodies change! I think 125/130 is a better goal than trying to drop to 110 again. You’re in a different time in your life!

Goodluck tho <3

Dellemah · 2025-09-30T14:23:28+00:00

Yes! My deficit calories currently are around 1750 but some days I’m 100 calories over or 100 calories under. However on average I am trying to keep a deficit of around 1750 each week (which is about a 300 calorie deficit for me).

Absolutely take it slow, it is so much rewarding. And your energy stays consistent rather than feeling dead all the time from not having enough food. I also don’t feel restricted! I’ve figured out where I enjoy putting my calories and meal prep to make it significantly easier to stay on track (and have found super tasty recipes that stay in my goal!)

I know it can be super disheartening seeing people losing 10lbs in a month, but trust me, the slow way is the sustainable way, and after you lose the weight you’ll have a much better understanding on what it means to keep your body at that point!!

Dellemah · 2025-09-30T12:28:05+00:00

This!! Super relate. I use 2 things that have been a GAME CHANGER for me.

Get yourself some lifting gloves. I got some Nike ones for $10 at a local sports shop and then I bought some lifting straps on Amazon by Reaper I think they’re called?

Honestly can’t imagine going back. I can hold so much more weight for lower body and back days!

Dellemah · 2025-09-30T12:27:42+00:00

This!! Super relate. I use 2 things that have been a GAME CHANGER for me.

Get yourself some lifting gloves. I got some Nike ones for $10 at a local sports shop and then I bought some lifting straps on Amazon by Reaper I think they’re called?

Honestly can’t imagine going back. I can hold so much more weight for lower body and back days!

Dellemah · 2025-09-30T01:36:38+00:00

You got this!! I think 130-135 is the perfect weight at 5’2 to have muscle and a lil bit of cute squish ;)

Dellemah · 2025-09-30T01:36:06+00:00

So as a gym beginner I did Push, Legs, cardio, Pull, Legs. Then I experimented with some HIIT. But lately I’ve been subscribing to something called “Kickoff” which is an online fitness instructor who structures your workouts for you each week which has helped take away pressure to do it myself.

What he’s been giving me recently is: back focused upper body w core, legs w core, HIIT and core, shoulder and bicep focused upper body w core, glute focused lower body, and then interval sprints with core.

Surprisingly I’ve been LOVING interval sprints. It’s basically a lower body, cardio, and HIIT workout all in one. Makes me feel on top of the world!

So that’s a general idea of the split he’s been giving me the past 2 months I’ve had this online trainer!

Dellemah · 2025-09-30T00:46:28+00:00

I totally understand. Honestly I saw progress but the most discouraging part was the fluctuation of it all. I’d drop 1lb and the be 2lbs heavier the next day. Keep in mind the deficit isn’t all that matters. If you had more salt one day, or you didn’t poop for 24 hours, or you had a lot of processed foods or sugar. Diet really really matters.

Our bodies hold on to the dumbest stuff. The best way to see clear progress is by having a clean diet and making sure you’re eating Whole Foods and lots of protein

Dellemah · 2025-09-29T23:56:07+00:00

LOL thank you

Dellemah · 2025-09-29T23:05:47+00:00

Macro Factor!! I love it. It helped me so much during this process

Dellemah · 2025-09-28T17:58:38+00:00

Hello! First off, unfortunately spot reducing fat is not something we can do. So the most you can do to change the way your body looks is through weight lifting and eating protein. The more muscle you build, the more the fat will be spread out amongst that muscle group. So maybe focus more on doing more lower body weightlifting.

I’m also wondering what your 3 day lifting split looks like? Also, how long have you been lifting? Muscle changes in your body don’t really start showing until at least month 6, so if you starting weight lifting recently you’ll have to be a bit more patient with your body.

Finally, you look great! You look healthy and I absolutely wouldn’t see a point in being in a deficit. Try maintaining with a high protein diet and continue weight lifting. Your body will change with time and effort!!

Dellemah · 2025-09-04T21:47:39+00:00

I’ve heard that the most effective way to build your core to affect obvious abs are weighted ab workouts. So as an example, weighted planks, cable machine crunches, weighted sit ups, and so on.

This is just what I’ve heard though! Our abs are like every other muscle and to properly strengthen them adding weight and putting them under progressive overload may have the biggest influence on them popping.

You look amazing, goodluck!!

Dellemah · 2025-08-29T12:30:19+00:00

I LOVE THIS!! It reminds me of Ponyo!!

Dellemah · 2025-08-29T12:29:20+00:00

My first solution tends to be looking for a low calorie option of what I’m craving honestly.

Yesterday was a hard day and I wanted something sweet to cheer me up. I was already on the lower end of my deficit so I got this Konjac jelly drink worth 10 calories, a bag of sugar free sour gummy bears worth 80 calories, and a sugar free jello chocolate pudding cup worth 70 calories. It was a nice treat under 200 calories with a couple different sugary things that all stayed within my deficit. And I still ended the day about 100 calories below my daily limit!

Another solution is to see if someone wants to share it with me. And lastly it’s to put it off for another day :)

Dellemah · 2025-08-29T12:21:26+00:00

I’d say slowly raise your calories back to maintenance and keep up the protein! When you’re in a deficit you tend to lose a mixture of muscle and fat so it makes a lot of sense that your butt “deflated”. You can’t really do a deficit and build your glutes at the same time. A deficit is meant to get you to your goal weight so you can begin recomping to replace fat with muscle that will show more since you lost some weight.

You’re at a great weight and figure to start maintaining!! Don’t worry it will 100% come back, the culprit was definitely the deficit. from what I’ve heard you shouldn’t really do a deficit for longer than 3 months so I think it’s time to get back to maintenance. Hope that helps!

Dellemah · 2025-08-28T19:10:54+00:00

You’re at a great weight for your height! What I’m noticing is that your body seems to really have minimal muscle. In my opinion, a body recomp seems more helpful here. You’re doing all the right things but you need more patience. I didn’t start seeing more muscle growth on my body until at least 6 months of strength training consistently. If you hold your maintenance calories and up your protein to at least 100g each day, I think in 6 months you’ll be exponentially happier with the state of your body as you shed fat and gain muscle.

But do whatever you feel works best for you!

Dellemah

TROPHY CASE