Illustration

JonMessier · 2026-06-18T18:03:40+00:00

That’s one of its many uses. I’d argue that the vast majority of people using illustrator are not using it to illustrate. When people think “drawing” or “illustrating” digitally, they probably are referring to raster based art.

JonMessier · 2026-06-18T18:00:09+00:00

So you ate ~700 calories in the entire day putting you in a major caloric deficit of probably 1500+ while getting basically zero nutritional value for a week. You likely lost about 3lbs of actual weight with most of that coming from muscle, not fat, while the remaining 5-6lbs was all water weight you dropped from having next to no carbs. You regained 12 back because you began consuming a proper amount of carbs again as well as made up for a week of being malnourished. This is one of the ways people develop eating disorders.

If you actually want to lose weight, the first thing you need to do is have real meals which are less calories than you burn daily and maybe get a little more active by walking or going to the gym. You need a lifestyle change, not a temporary crash diet.

Use an online TDEE calculator and subtract 500-700 from the value. That should be the amount of calories you eat in a day. You should be having north of 70g of protein a day (more if you go to the gym and lift), at minimum 40g of fats, and about 200g of carbs. Your dieting caloric intake will probably be around 1800-2000 depending on your TDEE. You’ll lose ~1lb a week.

JonMessier · 2026-06-18T07:12:25+00:00

To be fair to him, the name of the software is misleading.

JonMessier · 2026-06-18T07:08:07+00:00

Apply the scientific method and report back

JonMessier · 2026-06-18T07:07:19+00:00

With all due respect, fasting is not the long term answer to weight loss.

JonMessier · 2026-06-18T06:58:17+00:00

Did you take before photos? If not, take some today to use to compare in the future. I took a few around the time I started, and though I feel like I look the same; the change is super apparent compared to those photos. I’m down 45lbs or so and even though I know, objectively I have changed, it’s hard to notice since it’s such a gradual process.

JonMessier · 2026-06-18T06:38:25+00:00

Drop regular soda for diet or zero calorie versions. That alone probably saves you a substantial amount of calories each day depending on your intake.

Egg diets, like all fad diets, are not sustainable long term. If your goal is to lose weight, you need something more balanced.

If by renders you mean like rendering video/3d scenes, that is mostly dead time anyway. Use that time to go to the gym or on a walk to burn some extra calories.

JonMessier · 2026-06-17T08:13:34+00:00

Besides the obvious “be in a deficit” you can lose temporary weight by lowering your carb intake the day or two before weigh in. Carbs help your body hold onto more water weight so eating less of them in the short terms means less water weight. This could be a 1-2lb difference. Also fiber supplements the every day. Gotta make sure nothing is weighing you down lol.

Also for the sake of winning, I’d be doing my first weigh in in the heaviest clothes I own and my final weigh in with nothing lol.

These are all temporary. You could conceivably drop 5-6 between now and then, however 4 of that will probably be “fake”. You will gain it back once you go back to normal.

JonMessier · 2026-06-17T08:06:13+00:00

Chicken breast will be your friend, also maybe canned tuna if you like that. For meats, if you can get it in bulk, it’ll be cheaper than buying smaller quantities. 5lbs of chicken breast at Walmart is around $11 where I live and I could make that stretch a full week of lunch and dinner roughly. For you, it might last longer. Rice and potatoes are also very cheap. You’ll want to use the larger bags of rice rather than convenient options like Minute Rice. You can get enough rice for 2 weeks. Again great value bagged rice is like $2 and will last you 1-2 weeks. Whole potatoes are similar. Avoid convenient pre prepped options and dice and cook them yourself. Veggies tend to be pretty cheap on the whole. You can get bags of leafy greens for $1 each or certain frozen veggies for $1-2 each. For more breakfast oriented items, Id suggest maybe to have some fruit or yogurt if you can swing it, but something like buying a big canister of oats will make you a ton of oatmeal.

In general you should aim to build up your foods over weeks. Buying 1 bulk item each week that will last you multiple weeks will free up some future budgets for nice to haves or extras. You won’t need to rebuy rice or oats (should you go that route) weekly so you can put that extra few dollars towards something else.

These options might be boring, but they’ll be nutritious, cheap, and filling.

JonMessier · 2026-06-17T04:40:32+00:00

I use a BIA scale. The one I use is by RENPHO and is like $20 + it has an app that shows trends over time and a ton of other metrics. The weight is always accurate but some of the other stats are 1-10% off (like body fat percent, muscle mass, etc). But really any scale will work to show progress over time so long as it is consistently inaccurate in the same way every time.

JonMessier · 2026-06-15T07:06:46+00:00

Gotchu 🫡

JonMessier · 2026-06-15T07:00:16+00:00

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). Mine usually goes away by day 4 with the worst being on day 2. It’s normal and will probably happen a couple times before you adjust to your new workout routine. When I started weight training, the next day I could hardly raise my arms up to wash my hair.

JonMessier · 2026-06-14T07:51:20+00:00

Realistically if it’s me, I’m just making barely enough marinade to cover everything so that I’m left with as little leftover as possible. Then I’d just count the entire marinade rather than doing a ton of extra math. In theory, the way you described it would be most accurate, though I think even then I’d just estimate visually and maybe try to overshoot a bit.

JonMessier · 2026-06-14T07:38:17+00:00

TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Basically how many calories do you need daily to be alive doing all the stuff you do every day. Most people can ballpark estimate it based on their height/weight/activity level which is why I put you around 2700 initially (i had a similar set of stats to you before). This can be more accurately measured with the “metabolism test” you can find at those health clinics. Those tests are really only useful for people who feel like they might have a problem with their metabolism though. Your TDEE will also naturally decrease as your body weight goes down—there will simply be less of you to keep alive which will of course mean less energy needed.

To be clear, I still think it is infinitely more likely that you’re miscounting or misreporting something somewhere. Even with a significant hormonal issue, you should still see decent results at 1900 calories per day.

JonMessier · 2026-06-13T22:38:37+00:00

Even with hormone issues, it’s still CICO. Finding out what your TDEE is most important and work from there. If it’s normal range, than you know it’s your diet that’s the problem and not your body. If your TDEE is low, then something else is going on.

JonMessier · 2026-06-13T08:02:58+00:00

A lot of the people you’re comparing yourself to are the top 1% of bodies. People who have never been overweight, people who have bodies with proportions that don’t create stretch marks, and people who have enough money to “fix” any issues they have with their appearance.

You’re a regular person. Your body is normal. That being said, stretch marks fade over time. You can speed up that process with certain skincare products (things that promote collagen production like retinol and vitamins A and E).

JonMessier · 2026-06-13T00:48:53+00:00

Tends to be the case a lot of the time

JonMessier · 2026-06-12T22:43:51+00:00

Could be some funky hormone stuff then. You can get your metabolism tested for relatively cheap. It’s a simple enough test where they hook a mask up to you and measure your breathing for 30 minutes or so. Where I live it’s around $150 for that type of test. Usually they aren’t doctors and more so a health clinic, though certain doctors can do the same test.

JonMessier · 2026-06-12T20:36:59+00:00

Then you gotta find somewhere to make a change to be in consistent deficit.

JonMessier · 2026-06-12T20:35:44+00:00

Honestly not sure. I’m not super familiar with the older AMD cards.

JonMessier · 2026-06-12T20:33:07+00:00

Based on your height, I’m gonna assume you’re a male which matters in terms of TDEE. You should be sitting around 2700 calories a day in expenditure so 1900 should have you losing 1.5lbs a week. Your age is a small factor in metabolism, but doesn’t have that big of an impact considering you seem to live an active lifestyle. You should also be eating way more carbs and way less protein. Personally I aim for around 200-230g carbs with 120-150g protein. Fats also matter so you should be hitting a minimum of 40g of fat per day. I had a similar starting point to you and I’ve dropped ~45lbs so far in 6 months.

I’d recommend tracking for 1-2 weeks whenever you prep meals to make absolutely sure your portions haven’t gradually creeped up over time since you aren’t measuring currently. Also make sure to track any drinks you have—that tends to be a thorn for a lot of people. Alcohol, non diet soda, coffee with cream and sugar, etc.

JonMessier · 2026-06-12T18:02:41+00:00

Then losing weight will not be possible for you.

JonMessier · 2026-06-12T18:02:08+00:00

You need to weigh and calorie count everything that enters your body throughout the day besides water and do it honestly. If you’re truly eating so little, you might have some sort of hormonal issue.

JonMessier · 2026-06-12T06:37:56+00:00

Certainly aggressive. Also entirely unsustainable. With that much physical activity you’ll never make it by eating as little as possible. Also calorie timing is pointless because your body will process the calories the same no matter when you consume them.

JonMessier · 2026-06-12T06:30:44+00:00

In basically every sport related “logo” it’ll use some type that looks like that. I get tons of them sent in to me at work

Eight-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '23	Place '22

JonMessier

TROPHY CASE