#but ive gained muscle

[littlecutiexox]

I’m so happy with how much I’ve improved my relationship with food

[samarecharm]

tw disordered eating (not in explicit detail)

Whenever i write Yusuke and his relationship w the thieves, i try to emphasize that Yusuke was in a really really Really bad space not only mentally (like the others) but physically; hes bone-stick thin and you can feel his ribs jutting out if you go for a hug. Hes a bit gaunt in the face and hes got next to no muscle mass. He tires easily and hes kind of a shit fighter bc of it. The metaverse fills in the gaps a little bit, but his body is still very frail and unprepared to transition to an active lifestyle after years of surviving off of such a bare bones calorie diet. For my Akira, it is the driving force behind wanting to takedown Madarame; hes a sucker for a pretty face but hes also unable to look away from someone actively wasting away because of the actions of their guardian.

If any of them try to mention Yusukes physical state or diet, he often deflects, angrily, reminding them that he is abnormally tall, and that that obviously contributes to his thin (frail) stature. Its very hard to get him to eat while theyre in saferooms, and he often lags behind while exploring the museum. He cant stay in combat for too long, and at some point, Akira debates if he should even allow Yusuke to stay on the team; if he passed out or Worse under Akiras watch, hed never forgive himself.

BUT. As the thieves gain his trust, Yusukes a bit more willing to indulge them. He learns quickly that they arent pitying him like he initially assumed (he is far too aware of how much he feels like hes neglected his own body; and how others can easily see that neglect). They routinely eat and hang together bc thats just how they bond, and theyre just trying to invite him into their circle properly. Akira has zero experience w this kind of thing, but Ryuji and Ann are athletes and models respectively; theyre both in fields that encourage that kind of self destructive behavior, and they have some kind of insight into how to avoid falling for those same traps, and helping people who Do end up in those scenarios.

(Anns parents, despite their absence, do their best to prepare her for how cutthroat the modeling world is; to keep her from developing the kind of habits and mindsets that let young men and women destroy themselves. ESPECIALLY bc my Ann is a plus sized model. And Ryuji, as a promising track star, would know how bad it can get for professional athletes, the lengths at which theyd go to maintain their positions and ability to compete. Hes a gym rat who loves food and nutrition and knows what he needs to keep himself fit, and thats all he really needs)

They cant feed Yusuke the way they WANT to bc hes already so thin, so they just let him take from their plates to sample things and let him feel included. He starts taking up Ryujis offers to go get meals together, even is Ryuji ends up taking almost an entire extra serving home as takeout. He lets Ann drag him away to the crepe shop and her other little snack havens, even if he only leaves w a small chocolate of sorts to take home. He lets Akira make coffee and curry for them to split when he comes to Leblanc. And maybe he lets Sojiro cook a full plate for him to take back home to eat at his leisure and away from prying eyes. Yusuke goes from bitter to extraordinarily fond rather quick, and he finds himself angry that this is yet another thing Madarame has stolen from him.

By Futabas palace, hes filled out enough that Akira doesnt immediately panic when Yusuke gets tossed onto the floor by some brute of a shadow, worried that hed shattered every goddamn bone in his body on impact. He doesnt have any real muscle by any means but his face has the faintest bit of cheek fat that Ann is able to pinch w her evil little hands, and when he looks in the mirror, the ribs peek out but they dont jut out. His breathing is better, his skin is just Pale and not Ghostly white, hes got a healthy flush when he laughs at Akiras stupid puns, and he finds himself allocating a bit more of his budget towards stocking his fridge. Sometimes, Akira can even convince him to people-watch out in the sun instead of in the subway tunnels.

At some point, Yusuke becomes very vocal about things he wants, but importantly, about Food he wants. He will eagerly allow his friends to treat him if they ask, and he picks whatever sounds nice to his ears or whatever Ann and Ryuji recommend him. Part of it is due to him feeling safe enough to ask for such things; the thieves kinda laugh about his eccentricity and forwardness, but Akira, Ann and Ryuji know how different and comfortable this Yusuke is compared to the one they met. Its silly but its good; he gets to act like this bc the thieves let him be forward- they let him voice his wants and needs without a fight.

By post game, hes got the barest hint of a tummy pouch, and Ann will attack it relentless with a firm poke whenever hes foolish enough to stretch and lift his shirt to expose it. She thinks its cute 😭 Shes really happy to see it, bc she thinks of Yusuke all skin and bones and angry and scared like a feral dog barking mad, lashing out at any help they offered and working himself sick (figuratively and literally) trying to help make things right. It makes her so sad recalling it, so she likes to remind herself that hes okay now, even if hes a little embarrassed by it. She knows Akira and Ryuji do the same, inviting Yusuke to hang and just see him w their Own eyes that hes better, and that they did the right thing by insisting he join their little ragtag group.

[stupot]

what they don't tell you about going from no exercise to regular exercise is The Hunger

[feastofsnakes]

that one post is literally right. half of passing is eating

[violentviolette]

since i started talking about calisthenics and the kind of exercise i do as a spoonie with a lot of chronic pain and bone/joint problems ive gotten a couple questions so i thought it might be helpful to make a post kind of outlining some basics that really helped me get started but that i think often get really overlooked when ppl first start thinking of "working out" and the preconceived notions of what abled society tells us that looks like

so for me its all about engaging ur muscles. this is huge because a lot of us, myself included, arent actually very used to actively engaging our muscles during rest. and what i mean by engaging is literally just having the muscle be active without being clenched up. the more u use a muscle, the more active it learns to be, even when sitting, lying down, or resting. it learns to stay engaged and stay doing its job which is holding ur bones together and ur body in the correct position. but if u arent engaging ur muscles consistently, they get used to being overly relaxed and lose strength and form and then struggle when u want to go and use them. this is often combined with poor posture and a huge problem for those of us whose bones and joints dont like to stay where they are and need extra support, as overly relaxed muscles have a more difficult time maintaining proper form and shape. this also makes everything from traditional exercise to just moving around doing daily tasks much more difficult and dangerous, as its way easier for bad form and posture to cause us injury or pain

but engaging ur muscles is actually a very easy and simple thing, it requires no equipment or special moves and can be done sitting, lying down, or standing up. u can do ur whole body all at once or break it up into different parts throughout the day. there's also variations to make it easier in places as u progress

easiest first step i found to get urself used to this is something called progressive muscle relaxation. which is literally just starting at the top of ur body and tensing and then relaxing each muscle group for a few seconds as u work ur way down. it's usually paired with meditation but u dont have to. i usually do it to music cause i find guided meditations boring. a lot of people like to do it either in the morning or right before bed, as it can often help relieve tension and stress and make it easier to fall asleep. there are basic guides like this one

when ur first starting if u want a little extra help identifying what and where ur muscles are so u know ur tensing the right ones in the right ways. once uve done those enough that things are easy, u can break it down even further and isolate more specific muscles and add those in as well. charts like these

where u look up specific muscle groups (in thise case shoulder/upper body muscle groups) can help u visualize exactly where ur muscles are, what directions they go in and what they're connected to, which can help u in understanding how to move and control them

understanding the muscles in ur body and having good control over each area can help so much more than u think when it comes to everyday things. slow, deliberate movement is really the key to that and once u get used to each muscle group and have identified which ones u want to work on, u can isolate those groups and start doing basic calisthenics.

a great resource for that is a channel like hybrid calisthenics which i really like for learning new exercises with lots of options for variations and low impact. his exercises almost always require no equipment, very little impact, and focus on control and stability which are much more beneficial and friendly for spoonies, chronically ill, and disabled people

but even if u dont want to or cant progress farther, simply engaging those muscles for a few minutes a days every day on its own will still help a lot and can make a big difference for some people

[that-jack-kline-bestie]

so fucking upset. i looked up what's considered concerning weight loss and got a statistic. i looked up the same question but specified teens and i got a bunch of articles about how to lose weight. what the fuck

[kavehpilled]

Not even on testosterone yet but somehow my boyfriend being on testosterone and socially transitioning more than ever has made me have the weirdest growing boy desires

[sk1nnysuccubus]

found out i weigh a LOT more than i thought i did. i know im losing weight but just knowing that im so fucking heavy makes me want to die.

[incandescent-ruins]

Going to the gym rules except when i compare my numbers to literally any cis man

[hyvee]

Working out has had such drastic effects on my mental health it’s crazy. Like not only do i not spiral anymore, even when my mood is neutral i still just feel happier. Having more confidence in myself has made the relationships I have with other ppl feel healthier

[cannibaleather]

I need to do edits again sometime soon or i might explode

[tinylittlebab]

ill be skinny. it will happen. ive been trying for so long now. once it was just trying to eat less and be smaller but not much real focus on my physical appearance. now its all about that. 11 years of my ed and 7 years of wanting what i want now. i dont live with my parents anymore. i have more control. i will achieve it.

there was a time where id eat 300-700 consistently. ill get that back. i will.

[siriuslygay1981]

"You look like you lost weight! You look great!"

😭 I just put a tighter shirt on dawg

[wretchie]

,

[summerlix]

if one more person calls me a twink i will literally shit on your feet

this guy right here? he does NOT want to be a twink he wants big beefy muscles and hes trying to get that so everyone SHUT THE FUCK UPP

[theygender]

As an afab nonbinary butch who's trying to gain muscle without losing weight the sexism in the exercise industry makes me fucking see red. Just found an exercise program that boasts being entirely based in science and has the sources to prove it with well-controlled, recent, and relevant clinical studies backing up all of their stuff and as someone who's pretty well-versed in scientific research and fed up with fad-based pseudoscientific bullshit in the health industry I was fucking ecstatic. They had a little quiz you could take to find out which program would suit your needs the best so I filled it out and when it asked me about my goals I selected "I have a low amount of body fat and want to build more muscle" and it took me to a program called Strong. Great! ...Except as I read into it I kept finding references to "burning stubborn fat" and other similar shit. Scrolled down to the FAQ and found a question where it explained that this program was different from their Build program bc Build is "better suited for those who are skinny and at a relatively low body fat" ...even though that's exactly the option I selected in the quiz. Turns out they have three options for males: one for people who want to lose weight without focusing too much on muscle mass, one for people who want to become leaner by focusing on both weight loss and muscle mass, and one for people who want to gain muscle mass without losing weight (Build). But for females, they've only got two options, and neither one of them are designed to help you gain muscle mass without losing weight. I would ask why tf it's ALWAYS assumed that women have to want to lose weight but I know it's fucking sexism