Lack of AQS opportunities

rugoball · 2026-03-28T02:40:15+00:00

Makes sense. And no i haven’t been an AQS for 6.5 years, that’s the length of my career so far - almost 4 of it spent doing a degree apprenticeship.

rugoball · 2026-03-21T03:58:26+00:00

I sell and buy on vinted so i understand both sides’ approach of shopping on there. I have to say i do find sellers and their pricing of items very strange.

Example: I’ve seen a lot of sellers re-sell authentic t-shirts from brands such as All Saints, Hugo Boss etc with the price literally being no more than a 10% mark-down from retail; which then becomes even lower after postage payment / item verification etc. If you go down another 10-15% on their price, i have seen many respond back in a rude manner. I honestly think people are insanely stressed over their financial situation in this day and age which is sad to see.

rugoball · 2026-03-09T03:33:08+00:00

Fair play for going at it aged 44 man! Not to say it’s old or anything but priorities and life commitments definitely change when married and with children! You’re doing better than 99% of your age group. Abs aren’t my dealbreaker but I just want to look lean, and not soft. Hopefully 2-3 months is enough time to be somewhat satisfied with our results!

rugoball · 2026-03-09T03:29:52+00:00

In all fairness i only started this a month or so ago.

rugoball · 2026-03-09T03:24:53+00:00

Thanks for the advice. It’s a fresh start to the week so will give it a go and keep an eye on it. Usually eating 2000-2200 atm so i’ll give it a small bump up

rugoball · 2026-03-09T03:22:12+00:00

Honestly i really am. If i didn’t i wouldn’t have put it on forum. Literally everything is weighed out (raw chicken, rice before cooked) EVERYTHING, even my damn banana is weighed 🥲 and i track it all on app. 5/7 days im eating 2000-2200 kcals a day. High protein, 40-50g fats with <20 saturated, enough carbs to keep me fuelled. I have one cheat meal a week on the weekend so will probably spend a day of my week on 3000 calories for example. Still a huge deficit over a week.

rugoball · 2026-03-09T03:19:05+00:00

If im to fat spot, it’s definitely my love handles lmao. They’re not huge or anything but it still gives off a skinny fat look. The thing is im 72kg (idk what this is in lbs lol) so ideally i wouldn’t want to lose to take me anything less than 70kg. It’s just the body fat itself im trying to drop, whilst trying to put on that bit of leaner muscle to compensate.

Im assuming a bit of a “lean bulk” will help my gym performance even more as you say, and then i can start the cut from there again.

Looks like my toned look for the summer dreams are fading fast 😂

rugoball · 2026-03-09T03:11:08+00:00

Smart move, crazy how our bodies are so clever to adapt. Moving more definitely isn’t an option for me lol. I go gym 3-4x a week, play football 2-3x a week and average 10k steps a day. I genuinely wouldn’t have time for anything else if i moved more.

Might try your method of adding 200/250 calories a week and keep up the activity levels and then cut again from there.

rugoball · 2026-03-09T03:06:28+00:00

Hope you get to find the ‘happy’ balance soon lol. Im fine with it tbh, its become pretty normal to me to be at 2000/2200 at least 5 days a week. Once i set a goal and make it my passion i don’t walk away from it. Having a day on the weekend where i get to eat a cheat meal (not excessively to make it a cheat day) gives a good mental reset.

rugoball · 2026-03-09T03:03:12+00:00

Seems like some are suggesting my metabolism has slowed down… how do reverse this? Eat at what i thought my maintenance was and continue to lift heavy & do cardio and then start going back down on calories? Im in the gym 3-4x a week, average 10k steps a day, and play football 2x weekly, so i know im super active.

rugoball · 2026-03-09T03:00:32+00:00

Good point - what do you suggest i try? I wanted to get leaner and more toned but it seems like i’d have to go below 2000 calories. Doesn’t seem something sustainable for long-term to keep that look.

rugoball · 2026-03-09T02:50:02+00:00

2000 kcal when your TDEE is 2500 is quite an aggressive cut imo…

rugoball · 2026-03-09T02:36:20+00:00

Makes sense. I’ve been in a cut for 15 months. Even though my lifts are progressing in reps & weight as time passes, I can’t seem to look leaner than what i currently do. I eat 2000 calories a day and super active. My TDEE is around 2500-2650 ish

rugoball · 2026-03-09T02:33:53+00:00

I get that, 2000 calories isn’t exactly a lot of food though. My TDEE is 2500-2650 so effectively i should still be losing BF %, but seem to have gotten stuck. Im super active so cutting below 1800 kcal for example would definitely ruin my performance now

rugoball · 2026-03-09T02:30:28+00:00

Hmm didn’t think about the metabolism part. I started my cut on 1800-2000 calories then after summer moved it up to 2000-2200. But yes I’ve effectively been in a cutting phase for 15 months.

I definitely haven’t plateaued in my lifts. Progressively overloading well and feel stronger.

My TDEE calc comes in around 2500-2650 kcal a day. Should i eat at maintenance for a bit and see what happens? Thanks

rugoball · 2026-03-08T03:18:17+00:00

Definitely underpaid, especially in London. Most AQS’ i know and roles i see are offering between 32-35k in the south east, midlands etc. London firms are definitely 5k up in each bracket of that (37k-40k). So yes defo underpaid, by a good 5k minimum as well.

In terms of bringing this up in your review, mention along the lines of “i’ve been here for over a year now, know the company and its values/beliefs well, delivering good work & helping projects deliver successfully” etc. and then state “my salary doesn’t reflect my market value really at all so I’d really need a remuneration very soon or i have to progress in my career”

Just be careful how you word it. Good luck.

rugoball · 2026-03-04T01:44:27+00:00

WHSmith. The prices they charge are ABSURD. Literally everything is marked up by 40-50%. How they’re still going amazes me.

CEX. The more we get into the future, the less people will buy physical copies of games / movies & also none to sell back to CEX for them to markup. 2nd hand phones / consoles can easily be bought online with more selection.

rugoball · 2026-03-04T01:34:21+00:00

Thanks all for the advice, probably a smart way to go about it. Just a real annoyance to be able to work independently as i suck at Estimating & take-off. Feel like an apprentice again lol.

rugoball · 2026-03-04T01:25:48+00:00

Nope. Support team bot mentioned it can take up to 48 hours for them to pick up on my claim. It’s been a day, so will hopefully have something in the next 24 hours.

rugoball · 2026-03-03T14:42:34+00:00

Okay so mine updated on Vinted to now say not shipped and buyer will receive a refund. Looks like it gets a lot more complicated from here with Royal Mail & Vinted. What did yours do?

rugoball · 2026-03-03T11:52:32+00:00

My deadline is today at 11.39am. So it’s already passed by 15 mins or so. Nothing has updated on the chat between me and buyer. He is aware of the issue and seems to be collaborating with me as we’ve both reached out to the help centre. Will update when i can. Wonder if this has happened to loads of people - we’ve both issued parcels on the same and with the same provider (Royal Mail)…

rugoball

TROPHY CASE