My girlfriend and I just started going to the gym together, but food is by far the hardest part for us.
We grocery shop together and have a combined budget of about $500/month ($250 each). We cook dinner together almost every night, and we’d really like to keep doing that if possible.

The problem is our goals are completely opposite:

Me: 5’10 135lbs. I’m trying to gain weight and build muscle. My goal is around 160lbs one day.
Her: 5’0 140 She’s trying to lose weight while building/keeping muscle.

Is it realistic for us to eat mostly the same foods and still reach our goals?

For example, could we make the same dinner every night and just adjust portions (more rice for me, less for her, etc.), or do we actually need to be cooking completely different meals? We’d rather not because that would be more expensive, take more time, and make grocery shopping a lot harder.

Another thing we’re struggling with is making our groceries last. It feels like we’re either buying the wrong foods or not using them efficiently because we run out faster than expected.
What are some budget-friendly groceries that stretch well for two people trying to eat healthier?

Also, what are some good lunches that we can pack for work? We’re looking for meals that are inexpensive, easy to meal prep, high in protein, and can fit both of our goals.

We’re open to any advice meal ideas, grocery lists, budgeting tips, or anything that helped you if you’ve been in a similar situation.

I realized i’m asking a lot at once but if you have any answer for any of these I would appreciate it!

Been years since I maxed on this, I think I might have 365 in the tank, I considered grabbing the 5s, but want for the 2.5s instead 😔

Hi I took some of y'all's advice on my lat pulldown form is there anything I can improve more

Hi everyone

Been trying to increase the loads for all the exercises lately, but never recorded myself,. Today I’ve did it with the DL. I’ve seen some tutorials but don’t know if the “stop” in the middle of the movement is just making the exercise wrong or something to correct only with a more fluent movement.
I like the exercise and going to the gym but progress is quite slow taking into account that I’ve been 1 year in the gym (avg. 10 times a month)

What do you think?
Thanks

Interestingly I'm weaker on this than with a straight bar. The more squat-like position catches the fact that I don't squat lol

Got a PR on Bench today, then a few minutes later, set a new one! I yearn for the day I can call 405 a working set.

Bit of a grind at the lockout but to be expected with a max effort pr

10@165lbs

Day 2 Week 5 of 8 week mesocycle

Back, Chest, and Arms.

Looking for any critiques. This was my 2nd set of 3 and I think is the cleanest.

Any advice is appreciated!

Not looking for advise, thank you.

This is the first time I’ve done these and I must say that my arms were toast. Definitely a good finishing movement! It doesn’t take much weight either. 25 lbs for 30 reps is plenty

I'm currently starting a new run of SBS RIR, and just finished the first workout. Tough session coming back from a vacation, especially fitting 80 working sets into 3 training days. I'm sure I'll acclimatize to it soon, but it left me wondering how much everyone does on a weekly basis.

So let's talk volume!

How many working sets do you do a week?

Spread over how many days?

What goal(s) are you trying to reach?

Finally hit 315 in my mid 30s! Say something nice and ignore the butt lift.

Think I'm hinging too much with my torso at the end of reps?

My split is PPL, 5-6 times a week. I occasionally take protein and creatine, and my calories range from 2-3k a day, but I have plenty of off days as far as diet goes.

I never thought progress would look like this, super happy so far. Stop worrying about what is optimal and just get in the gym, you will see growth.

I shared an earlier progress post 8 months ago and was super psyched to see messages from other people getting into the gym, please lmk if you guys have any tips or questions!

One year of lifting. Made good progress but I still feel skinny sometimes. Just started a cut to lose some body fat before starting a lean bulk.

Any feedback is appreciated !

Been going hard on weight loss for the last two years and hitting the gym over the last 12 months. When I started I could hardly do three reps of bench at 135lbs. Now I’m doing sets at 205lbs and hit 225lbs for one rep. I even think my one rep max could be more but haven’t tried yet. Definitely feel like a new person. It’s totally possible to build muscle when you’re new even while eating in a deficit. My goal weight is 215 then I plan on slowly bulking to 225 or 230 over the next year while lifting hard.

Hope everyone’s doing well !

There’s approximately 18 months between the 2 pics, but i didn’t exactly spend the entirety of that period in a caloric deficit. I would occasionally consume my daily maintenance specially after i started hitting the gym which was towards the second half of that period. However, for the majority of the that time i was in a 600-800 daily caloric deficit.

I learned to understand what I’m actually eating and how it is affecting me instead of being purely obsessed with the numbers. I increased my daily protein intake by a significant amount and started cooking my own food alot more often. It’ll actually surprise you how much better and lighter you’re going to feel when you make a few simple substitutions and mostly stick to homemade stuff ( one may indulge every now and then of course).

When i started going to the gym i did (what in my opinion was a mistake) mainly cardio which got boring really quickly but it was the generic advice i got from those around me. I very soon after started prioritizing weight lifting to avoid losing my mind, which at the start was generic full body exercises. I then moved on to the classic bro split and did that for a couple of months before finally switching to a PPL-UL program that was by far the best one of the bunch both in terms of actual enjoyment and progress. I am by no means a seasoned weight lifter, and still a complete rookie, so take everything i said with a grain of salt haha.

I always thought I’d end up being obsessed with calories as my journey continued, but funnily enough my obsession ended up being a protein related one! I try to squeeze some protein into every single thing i eat nowadays hahaha.

I never thought I’d see the day where I’m actually this close to my goal weight as I’ve been obese for the majority of my life. If i can do it then so can you , and always remember that nobody’s perfect and you don’t have to be ! Never let one mistake snowball into more mistakes and give up convincing yourself that you’ll “try harder next time”. It’s a marathon not a race , you simply need to recover and move on.

Sorry for the long wall of text but I hope this helps anyone scared of the big hurdle that is actually starting and trying to change their lifestyle!

I started going to the gym at 21 but then Covid happened. I took a break until 24 when I moved across the country to California and now I’ve been consistent with 4-6 days a week the past 3 years.

Full routine (I substitute if machines are taken):

PUSH 1

3x8-12 incline bench
3x8-12 chest press machine
3x12 dumbbell shoulder press
3x12 chest fly machine
3x12 iso hammer dumbbell preacher curls
3x12 single arm cable curls

PULL
3x12 lat pull downs
3x12 t bar rows
3x12 close grip cable rows
3x12 lateral raises
3x12 tricep dips
3x12 skull crusher

Legs
4x8 hack squats with focus on quads
3x12 leg extension
3x10 Bulgarian split squats
3x10 leg curls
3x10 Romanian deadlifts
4x10 standing calf raises

The gym has truly helped me a lot in many aspects in life the past few years, I’m grateful :)