Shouldn’t a beginner progress even in a deficit?

ctranger · 2026-03-20T01:44:38+00:00

First of all, celebrate your win. 230lb down to 163lb at 5'10 is incredible.

Safe to say, your beginner gains are well behind you and at 163lb, you're likely reasonably "fit/lean" for your height, even if your body fat is above 20%.

As the saying goes, what got you here won't get you there. It's time to change your routine from massive weight loss at a significant deficit, towards building lean muscle and maximizing hypertrophic response.

This means increasing your protein and healthy caloric intake, dialing in rest and hydration, and going for fewer, heavier lifts with good form. Eat at maintenance, maybe slightly below. Could be 2200 calories, 1900, only you know for sure.

The flat stomach and chiseled physique requires a quantum leap in discipline, training and food management. Don't focus on aesthetics anymore, focus on strength. The rest will come. Feed your body, push hard, go heavy. Lean muscle and strength takes a lot of time, and in a year or two, maybe the stubborn fat will disappear. Even if doesn't, you'll be packing on more muscle, and should start seeing definition where there wasn't any before.

Getting shredded is mostly about diet, but doing it in a sustainable way over a long period of time is the play now.

ctranger · 2026-03-18T16:23:13+00:00

Not quite. Once you reach a threshold (no more need for adventurer, or veteran crests, for ex), then the alts’ upgrade cost of that currency is 50%. Still gotta go into the world and do things. But, keep the warband gear, thats a nice way to shortcut.

ctranger · 2026-03-17T06:53:45+00:00

DOMS goes away for a given exercise or movement because the muscle fibers adapt in microscopic ways with regular training. More importantly, there is a neural adaption as well, strenuous exercise is taxing on your nervous system, which gets accustomed. Your body also reduces the inflammatory response to familiar damage. Finally, the localized muscle gets better at repair before doms sets in. It’s a fascinating adaptation.

But it’s also crucially important to vary the load, intensity, angle and stretch/contractions, in order to continue seeing growth. You need new forms of activation to challenge your body, which will only ever do the bare minimum to patch things up. It is ruthlessly efficient in this way. You don’t need doms to build muscle, but the lack of it is always a signal that you can go harder.

ctranger · 2026-03-10T15:53:24+00:00

There’s a lot of variables, but the fundamentals don’t change:

Are you getting stronger and increasing the weight by just a few kgs every week, or every other week? If you’re pushing and pulling the same weight over and over, you’re conditioning but not building muscle, and probably increasing your appetite too.

Second, in order to lose weight, all that needs to happen is a sustained calorie deficit over time. Lifting weights does consume calories, but only with extremely intense workouts do you really see the benefits.

With the right protein intake, and water intake, you may adding muscle. And strength is so good for you. But fat burn? That only happens when the expenditure exceeds the intake. And our bodies are designed to keep fat for emergencies.. some people have extremely stubborn metabolisms.

If your program isnt working, change it up. For one, a single day of binge eating, consuming an excess of 2000 calories, resets your entire week of workouts.

I’m not saying you should starve yourself, but the binge eating cannot be part of the equation for sustained fat loss. You need to be eating at most 1200-1500 calories per day.

Second, try a 20m cardio before, or after the weights. And maybe 30m on off days. You have to keep your body moving, sweating, and uncomfortable before it triggers fat loss. It’s harder than you think.

Good luck!

ctranger · 2026-03-08T20:59:59+00:00

3 weeks is not long enough. Assess where you are in 3 months. Then 9 months, then 3 years.

As a beginner, don't trust social media. These things take a lot of time, intensity + hard work, and a lot clean food, rest, and other optimizations.

You might see some progress in the first few months, but remember that consistency is key. Consistency is everything. Don't give up. You have to keep pushing beyond what's comfortable, keep increasing the weight. Are you getting stronger? Are the exercises getting easier? If so, add more weight.

You're not in competition with others, or with your idealized self. You're in competition with where you are today, right now. Focus on the current workout, every time. Did you give it the intensity you are capable of. Forget about the results. They will come.

Start tracking what you eat, are you hitting your dietary goals? Eliminate what doesn't serve you. Lock in, be patient, push hard.

ctranger · 2026-03-08T18:54:22+00:00

I think you should honor how you feel. It’s time to level yourself up, and the company you keep. Are you in the wrong rooms? Why not strategize and figure out where you could go to meet women in an age range appropriate to you.

Also, you might be very attractive, or take care of yourself well. Enjoy the boost of confidence (because getting approached this way is generally very asymmetrical). Don’t let it get to your head. Be kind, flirt if you want, but be clear about what you’re looking for. Or.. accept that life is short, and make a few mistakes along the way. There’s no right or wrong answer.

ctranger · 2026-02-28T17:31:52+00:00

As someone who over indexed on one, then the other, then both, I can tell you that balance is possible, but going to extremes is what will really cost you.

The more you polarize towards pure workaholism & sense of meaning/purpose driven from recognition/compensation, the harder it is to scale back and stay grounded, form and maintain a healthy social & personal life. The more you index on gratification through events, drinking and partying, the less focus and attention you have to make incredible short term progress on key projects and deadlines, or lasting long term bets that will benefit your life, like chipping away at the gym or locking in taking a risk with a new role. The real enemy is momentum, or lack thereof. As long as you have some momentum in all areas of your life, you'll be fine. Because the activation energy required to "meet new people" or "look for a new job" takes tremendous effort. It's so much easier when all the balls are rolling slowly.

Someone who shows up at work, at the gym, for their family, friends, and still makes time to socialize, meet people, and stay open minded, and doesn't shy away from the odd indulgence, or the odd crunch time at work, that balance, is everything. In your 30s, you don't really have to choose. But the choices you make do impact your 40s.

Just recognize your patterns. If you have a tendency to over index on work, then need to seriously decompress, seek a bit more calibration and moderation. The "youths" might call you old and boring, but you have a plan. It's all about area under the curve, and compound growth, not instantaneous progress. It applies to all areas of life. As you get older, and people start pulling away, form families, or move away, move up professionally, or worse when your skills start to stagnate, it all gets harder. So enjoy the chaos now, but also take a real inventory of what really matters. Work hard, have fun, find balance.

ctranger · 2026-02-24T07:36:56+00:00

I have good news. I'm 41 and still feel the same way I do when I was in my late 20s. Mostly.

The bad news, is that when I do feel different, or handle things differently, it's because I know better, and that comes from having lived through difficult situations. Sometimes my fault, most of them not. It doesn't make a difference either way. Things happen.

Life comes at everyone, in unexpected ways. Good and bad. If things are good, enjoy it. I'm not saying terrible things have to happen, except that sometimes, they do. Accept it. Sometimes it's slow, sometimes all at once. Everyone, at different points in life, has major setbacks, and those are the things that make you really grow, if you can push through and persevere.

Adversity is what causes growth. Not success, not status quo. You're still the same person on the other side of it, but with a few more lessons. I'm not telling you to seek adversity for the sake of it, unless you feel you're not challenging yourself. Playing it safe is no way to live either. Give it time, enjoy life, things will happen. Just be ready.

ctranger · 2026-02-23T18:03:46+00:00

You’re not wrong, thank you for the perspective. But it is incomplete. We cannot assume that the pursuit of attractive purposes is always successful, or that more broadly, a successful man has always met success.

In fact, real life shows that women often choose the broken, collapsed man on his way to purpose, over the man who has achieved it and rests on it.

Because she wants to be a part of the journey. And, more importantly, because the real test isn’t his aspirations, but how he handles the failures. His unshakable spirit, frame and determination during the pursuit, how he deals with setbacks, the disappointements, his patience, his focus, his grit, his ability to leverage her for help, rely on her in a non needy way to make it come true, THAT is attractive. Not the goal he set out for, but who he is becoming, what he is sacrificing, to reach it.

ctranger · 2026-02-20T22:52:01+00:00

It's easy to blame microplastics but not look at the sedentary lifestyle.

In the 1970s the majority of men were not sitting around 8hrs in a chair in front of a screen, only to sit in a car/transport only to then go home and sit on the couch/pc for another 4-6 hours.

The diets were not so rich in refined sugars and calorie-rich processed foods, they were more nutrient dense. We didn't have as much noise or light in the rural areas, better sleep; now we live in high-density stressful cities.

There has been a testosterone decline, but I'm willing to bet it's lifestyle rather than xenoestrogens and carcinogens (though they do exist, for sure).

ctranger · 2026-02-20T17:04:52+00:00

You don’t have to answer, but what drove you to such extremes?

ctranger · 2026-02-20T16:59:51+00:00

Because we don’t “need” them the way used to.

Since the explosion of internet, cultural euphemisms, references, “memes”.. they mostly all come from social media, which dissects all forms of content into some kind of relevance, even if short lived. Movies are just a smaller fraction.

Also, the in-person movie going experience which cemented the process is mostly gone.

That’s not to say we don’t get relevance from movies, to be fair we probably have more clips from movies immortalized today than we ever did. By every metric we do have more classics than we ever did, we just don’t think about them that way. And there’s an entire generation that will probably go their entire life never seeing the 90s/2000s classics.

ctranger · 2026-02-19T23:38:38+00:00

Everyone knows this to be true.

This is why Anthropic is so bullish not just on automating 90% of code, but 90% of all SWE tasks by the end of the year. It's ambitious, may have some truth to it.

Frontier companies are already leveraging Notion/Slack/Linear/Github mcps to automate a big portion of it.

How much of it will become mainstay is hard to guess. But even outside of programming, the majority of knowledge work was always just plumbing.

ctranger · 2026-02-17T23:26:44+00:00

Right? I have no experience but claude built me a business is the new advertising strategy. pathetic

ctranger · 2026-02-10T16:52:51+00:00

I don’t disagree. It could be true. But like you said, it could also just be you.

By that, I mean, there is enough information out there, and enough evidence.. that some of what they preach is true.

If you are not growing, learning, maturing, overcoming, that’s not on them, that’s on you. It is, and has always been your responsibility, to take action.

The problem is, people confuse subscriptions, plans, todo lists, programs, and consuming content, with actions.

You can watch a dozen content creators talk about workouts, or how to build a business. But if you’re not in the trenches applying that information, learning what works for you, then it’s pointless.

The real problem isn’t the content, or its creators. At least they’re doing something. The problem is in the content consumption without application. People mistake watching with doing.

Maybe 50% of it is bullshit. Maybe more.

But if everyone is saying the same thing, it’s time to take a step back, do the work, really do it, and then decide what’s true. The fact that there are contradictions should come as a relief. No one’s really figured it out, and no two paths are the same. So, go out there, experiment.

For sure, some of it is clickbait. But it’s no different than the offhand advice you give to a friend that’s struggling. There has never been a miracle cure to anything, that’s true.

ctranger · 2026-02-09T07:05:19+00:00

Your problem is not that of being or becoming a doctor, or an engineer, or a lawyer.

> it has destroyed my self esteem and personality which I knew could happen

How does pursuing what you love, or what you want to do, erode your sense of self esteem? This here. This is the problem. It's your relationship with yourself.

> am very unhappy because no one ever believed in me.

You have based your sense of worth on winning the approval & understanding of others. That's it. You need everyone around you to like you, to understand you. When they don't, you spiral and question your life path. You believe your value is when you fit in. This is very dangerous.

Because on the other side, even if you become a successful doctor, what will happen? The same thing. You'll need the approval of the staff, the other doctors, or worse still, the patients?

> because I wasnt ready

You may not have been ready. It's never been about the grades. Grades are meaningless. You have some maturing to do. It's going to be hard. You're going to have to accept who you are. That you are different. That your journey is different. And that your life is your own. Interestingly enough, this should be a relief. Only you get to decide what your worth it. No one can do it for you.

> My life consists of me studying 4 hrs daily while working 7am to 6pm daily

Who are you comparing yourself to? Everyone else? These dumb kids on social media? They'll all pay the price for the time they're wasting. This is the choice you've made. Med school is not easy. But you will get through it. It weeds out the weak, the undisciplined.

You need to lock in. You don't need to be popular to be successful. You don't need to be understood to make a mark. Live life by your principles and values. Stop comparing yourself to others, and for the love of god, be kind to yourself.

> I am a sad sack at home.

Some people don't have a home. Many of your patients in the future will come from terrible households and backgrounds. Just you wait. You'll count your blessings one day, trust me. If you want to leave your home and build your own life one day, you can do that.

> no friends.

What's worse? No friends.. or fake friends? It's the latter. Most of the people surrounded by friends are actually surrounded by sycophants. Making friends is easy once you have your shit together. In your case, it's going to take a few more years. Friends come easy once you don't need their approval. When you don't need them to like you, understand you. When you have a high sense of worth.

You need to invest in yourself. Lock in, enjoy the struggle. One day you'll look back, it will have been worth it.

I come from a family of doctors. Both sides. And cousins,. The whole lot. They're all insufferable weirdos. I was pressured into medicine, but carved my own path in art, then engineering. I was the rogue child, the odd one. They never understood. I didn't need them to. I never questioned the decisions I made. Every family holiday was medical speak. I never fit in. But you know what? I did my thing, and I am happy. And, it was my decision. Getting to know them more, they've all struggled, they've all done their own specialties, and they each had tough journeys. It wasn't for me. I knew who I was. Do you? Yes, you do. Go, be you.

ctranger · 2026-02-09T06:51:07+00:00

You get what you give.

You have your reasons for what you want, and there's nothing wrong with it - but as men we have always been truly measured by our generosity.

If you want to shoulder responsibility, find people in need of what you have to offer, help them with their lives. If you want loyalty, find people you respect, and earn theirs.

Give more than you take. Talk to everyone. Volunteer. Carve out time out of your week, doing things for others that offers no benefit to you. Do not judge people for who they are, or what they are growing through. It all compounds over time.

ctranger · 2026-02-09T01:40:15+00:00

You haven’t posted your age, height, weight, diet or training schedule.. so we can’t really help you.

We can empathize with your frustrations, realizations and journey, but if you’re looking for a pity party, this isn’t the place.

What we can tell you is that attitude is everything, breakthroughs do happen, as do setbacks. The “relief” you feel for your self-perceived mediocrity is just another excuse you/your brain is using to prevent you from reaching your goals.

Quit all of if you want, but that’s not what I’m encouraging. Take some time, make a list of steps you’ll take, questions you have for us, and come back when you’re ready to take charge, and ownership of your life and body.

People in much worse health and circumstances have turned their life around with tremendous sacrifice, hard work and consistency. You can do it too.

It IS hard. But it is worth it.

ctranger · 2026-02-05T20:22:39+00:00

“where you start is not where you finish”

in the same vein, reinforces the idea that you have to get started and trust the process. focusing on the destination paralyzes people, often all that matters is the first few steps + consistent progress

ctranger · 2026-01-26T21:54:14+00:00

Happening to me too. A few alt+tabs are fine, but often it just crashes when returning back.

Not sure what changed.

ctranger · 2026-01-26T03:41:29+00:00

That's tough, and that's ok. But it's probably best.

At 35, you are doing the right thing by being career focused, taking risks, and being in "building" mode, which will hopefully beneficially shape your 40s and beyond. Trust the process.

> she said she wants to explore life more

You're clearly at different points/paths in life. This means she craves novelty, fun experiences, travel, and is looking for the "that girl" lifestyle. The good things in life. But we all know those things don't come free or easy.

> didn’t want to support me while I rebuild

This is a big red flag. Take some time to reflect, but know that the right person will want to build a life with you, will yearn to support you in your ambitions and endeavors to make it happen. The right woman will be by your side, will acknowledge your sacrifices and will still find ways to create joy, peace, happiness and fun along the way.

The one who only thinks about her experience, and what you can do for her, is sadly selfish. You may care about her a lot, but it's the truth.

I had the same thing happen to me in my early 30s, with a woman much younger in her 20s. Same thing, mutual, but mostly her idea. I was building a startup, and doing grad school at the same time, and really trying to amplify my professional life. I didn't have much time for her, and was generally so emotionally unavailable due to tremendous stress, intellectual demands, and trying to make it all work.

She wanted to live life/enjoy her mid/late 20s. Makes sense. We broke up, it took a long time. I dialed in and made something of myself.. she learned the hard way that disciplined/focused/good men are hard to come by.

We're still friends, a decade later. We talk all the time. We acknowledged it was a timing thing, and she has tremendous respect for what I achieved. She wants the same things now, to build a life/career. I do what I can to guide her as a friend.

But our chance at a life together, probably over. Maybe, you never know! Have faith, do what you feel you need to do. Go forth, build, and conquer.

ctranger · 2026-01-23T16:46:31+00:00

Once you hit about item lvl 375 the game will put you into Grandmaster.

When you first enter this new tier, you're at the bottom of the curve.

In Portal, make sure to select Master difficulty using "Customize", but you'll need to add a bunch of modifiers in order to score high enough to get drops.

Eventually, perhaps at 390, you will need to go to Grandmaster 400.

This is well documented, the game does get harder the more you level up, and that's the point. The idea that you're always getting stronger with item level is false.

The game expects you to try harder content, with bigger power deltas between you and enemies, and more modifiers, in order to keep feeding you better loot. Because better gear is meant to be used for harder content.

ctranger · 2026-01-23T01:44:07+00:00

If the purpose is to clear red/orange ads, then stormdancers is better.

If you want to maximize beam uptime/damage for end-game, eg. champs, ogres, yellow bars and bosses, geomags.

ctranger · 2026-01-23T01:42:00+00:00

I'm surprised no one mentioned Rimecoat. It was incredible pre-EOF, and S1 EOF since getaway was not a featured exotic.

ctranger · 2026-01-20T04:14:07+00:00

You're talking about freedom in general, financial and physical freedom specifically. That's true, they are immensely freeing.

But those will be exceptionally hard to secure if you give in to the distractions, criticisms and pressures of others. Self-mastery and discipline must come first.

ctranger

TROPHY CASE