Anyone else losing weight/getting fit for cosplay?

Avatar for Slapthefatcat Slapthefatcat

Topic started 1 year ago

What are your goals, action plans, cons, etc.?
What kind of progress have you made?

Avatar for Slapthefatcat Slapthefatcat

1 year ago

Personally, I have been losing weight since early December and my reward for one of my MAJOR goals is to go to cons again. I just didn't like the way I looked in any sort of cosplay I did, so I changed it. I'm down a little over 50 lbs now and when I get to said major goal I'll be down 100 lbs. My ambitious goal was to get down by Otakon at the end of July, but I knew that was likely not going to happen and I kind of wanted an excuse to go to AUSA instead this year.

Avatar for walkerofdarknes walkerofdarknes

1 year ago

I really ought to lose weight, but my lifestyle doesn't really allow for it: far too much fast food to be of any good, but I am working at trimming what I can from my diet. Given I'm in the over-40 bracket, making drastic changes to my body might be out of the realm of reason (a lot of the human growth hormone issues become apparent in this bracket, and really bulking up probably won't happen), I do need to lose at least 20 or so pounds (realistically for my height, more like 40). I know that just looking at my last finished cosplays that I have photos in (from 2019) make me cringe, and I don't have many plans to cosplay this year.

Avatar for Bluehentrooper Bluehentrooper

1 year ago

About three years ago, I lost thirty pounds. My goal ever since has been to maintain that loss, and if I lose a little more, that's great. My situation is complicated by medication I take that's notorious for heavy weight gain, so I've gained back ten of the thirty. Lately I've been doing a little better and the pounds are starting to come off again. Basically I just never want to outgrow another costume, and I think that's as good as it gets for me unless I'm willing to be hungry every waking moment.

Avatar for Scunosi Scunosi

1 year ago

I've never tried to change my weight for a cosplay, and generally prescribe to the idea of "cosplay at whatever size you like, accuracy be damned." But I'll admit it is always extra cool seeing someone who's body fits a character perfectly, be they extra fit or big or old or whatever. I just don't have the dedication or motivation for it so I don't worry about it.

I do have a dream cosplay that's the one character I sort of refuse to do unless I've lost a lot of weight, and that's Dr. Mrs. the Monarch. I feel like I love the character so much I would want to do her as good as possible to honor the character, and me weighing probably at last 100lbs more than what she does would mean I'm not "as good as possible." Now obviously there's a lot of baggage to unpack there compared to how I usually feel about cosplay but at least it's just the one character and not something I usually restrict myself on.

I have been losing some weight (around 20lbs) over the last few months thanks to trying keto but we've realized it's not a sustainable long-term diet and progress has plateaued so not sure where I'm going to go with it from here. I haven't done any costume work since the pandemic though or since the weight loss so I can't say how it will impact that. I don't think I'll be fitting into any old cosplays that got too small any time soon.

Avatar for miyavi honey miyavi honey

1 year ago

i've been trying to shed my pregnancy weight since 2019. But had postpartum depression then covid hits, severe burnouts and everything was just harder. Last year i started intermittent fasting. i was able to shed from 65kg to 59kg. My weight became stagnant there for along time. I'm too busy to exercise cause taking care of toddler and also work. my pre pregnancy weight was 45kg. i still got alot to lose. This year i started doing Ring fit. Manage to lose 1kg after 30 days working out (i took breaks every 3-4 days). Not alot but i noticed my body start to change more than just doing IF. Now that my kid is older and can entertain himself longer. I can do alot of cardio and building my muscles. My goal is 47-50kg, Im pretty short (154cm) so i don't want to look stocky.

Avatar for Watsonogus Watsonogus

1 year ago

I want to lose ~20 pounds at least and get closer to what I was about 10 years ago and then a little more but I'm quite bad at keeping up with change whenever I try losing some weight. Used to walk daily but now there's nowhere to walk. Need to start using the bike machine daily but I lose motivation after a week.

Avatar for Slapthefatcat Slapthefatcat

1 year ago

Walkerofdarknes - Were you in the cosplay fitness group before the site revamp? I remember your username.
Also, yeah, one of the reasons I am trying so hard to finally get down to a "normal" weight and size is because I realized it's just going to get harder and harder to do it, so I should do it while I'm still able to make the changes needed. And cosplay photos were what made me really start. Didn't like any photos in the last two years, no matter how cool the costume itself was.

Bluehentrooper - I definitely am getting tired of always having a low level of hunger. XD But I eat a lot of fruit and veg now to try to stave that off as much as possible. I also track everything I eat to make sure I don't go overboard too often.
Mayavi honey
Scunosi - Yeah, I also don't judge others based on size, shape, color, skill, whatever. But it's different when I compare myself. Also, yeah, I have a list of dream cosplays and almost every one is "when I finally lose weight". So I decided to do it (among many other reasons).
20 kg is a significant amount! Congratulations on the progress! And yeah, I haven't really done more than one build in the last few years. Not really because of the pandemic, but if I don't have a strict deadline, like a con, then I won't work on it. 😅

Miyavi Honey - pregnancy weight is notoriously hard to lose, but glad you've got a little bit of a solution. How is Ring Fit? I have it, but I would need to hook it up in the living room to have room to play and I'm a bit self conscious to do that yet.

Watsonogus - I used to walk every day as well a few years ago, but I tried it this year and I just got so bored I turned around like halfway to my goal. The bike machine is good, especially if you can watch or listen to something during the work.

Avatar for Slapthefatcat Slapthefatcat

1 year ago

P.S. currently at 60 lbs lost. A little past halfway to my goal. YAY!

Avatar for miyavi honey miyavi honey

1 year ago

Slapthefatcat - it's amazing that you lost so much weight. you'll get to your goal in no time. My progress is really slow >.< as i don't calculate what i eat. i just avoid sodas and i ate small portions of carbs in each meals. I don't want my weight to bounce back once i start regular diet. I really like doing Ringfit cause i don't feel like it's exercising, it's an rpg game haha i love games so i got hooked playing it. It really built my stamina first. Then i set goals, i manage to do 1000 squats and 400 planks by 30 in game days. I finally can see my curve back and all the squats does lift my butt! but yeah i didn't loose much weight as it replaced the fats with muscles instead. You really should give it a go since you already have it at hand. i think everyone should do ring fit. It's enjoyable and easy. i feel healthier and my mind clear after i start exercising. Like you said, i wanna do something about my weight and health before i can't later on. I can see the signs of aging being 33 this year. It feels great that my husband is exercising with me too.

Avatar for Slapthefatcat Slapthefatcat

1 year ago

Amazing. I definitely will hook it up then. Thanks for the info. I've been wanting to start to strength train now that I've lost a bit of weight, and stamina is definitely on my list of things to improve. Also the core, which I know is a major focus from the little bit I've played before.

Avatar for bad_luck bad_luck

1 year ago

I'm about 20 lbs overweight currently, and I would love to get to a healthier weight in general, but cosplay definitely is a motivator. If all goes well, I'll be going to my first con in a couple of months, where I will be wearing a skin-tight body suit, and I'd like it if I looked a little less squash-shaped in it than I currently do :P

But I also love food & soda and hate exercise, so it's been difficult to find the self-discipline required for significant weight loss. I'm also a preschool teacher, and by the end of the day I'm usually so exhausted I don't have the energy to cook a healthy meal or work out. But I'm trying to do little things here and there, like substituting tea for soda more often and taking advantage of the swimming pool at my condo complex (the one form of exercise I actually enjoy!) Over the last few months, the weight has stayed stubbornly where it's at, but at least it hasn't gone up, so I guess that's something! Sometimes it's all about the baby steps!

Avatar for bad_luck bad_luck

1 year ago

(ETA) I'll be going to my first con since the pandemic began, not first con ever. But it sure feels like it's been forever!

Avatar for Slapthefatcat Slapthefatcat

1 year ago

I definitely understand that. I used to work in a kitchen that I always had to go 110% just to keep up with orders. And of course we didn't have much healthy on the menu, so I ate what I could.
I have always looked at characters with the skintight outfits and either said no or made alterations so it wouldn't be. For example, right now I'm building Kafka from Kaiju No 8, and I'm doing a formal suit version of his battle suit both for simplicity sake and because I don't want to wear skin tight clothes.

Avatar for Apoca Apoca

1 year ago

Here in Brazil the events are coming back, the biggest anime event will start in July, since December 2021 I have been preparing my physical shape for my Cosplay, only the difference is that I was very thin, now I'm gaining body, I hope to win a six pack belly soon.

Avatar for princemercury1 princemercury1

1 year ago

Well as I'm getting older my blood pressure is getting higher, so I'm forced to eat less salty and sugary food and more mild foods, like vegetables, teas and low sodium snacks. It's been pretty good so far. I haven't really eaten sandwich bread in years, I don't drink soda at all. Barely any juice, but I still like my cakes, cookies and candy. 🙄 I'm one of the few that LOVES salad. I usually buy a stalk of romaine and red leaf instead of the bagged ones (saves a lot of money). Also I make my own meals instead of fast food. I tried to workout 3 to 4 times at the gym a week with 1.5 hour sections. I have a cheat day once a week, but otherwise I'm trying to snack less and eat more healthy meals. Usually those things help me lose weight and save money.

Avatar for walkerofdarknes walkerofdarknes

1 year ago

@Slapthefatcat: I don't recall if I was in that group. I did post a few things here and there, but I wasn't exactly "active" as some folks on the site. Truthfully, I'm still only marginally "active" on this site.

Avatar for Chibi_Hiei Chibi_Hiei

1 year ago

I only gain weight around my stomach. Due to the stress of working in a nursing home during the pandemic, I started gaining weight on my midsection. I was starting to look pregnant, honestly.

A character I wanted to cosplay as wears a crop top so I decided to get serious about getting back to how I used to be. I completely changed up my diet. I cut out all sugar cold turkey and vastly reduced the amount of bread and pasta I was eating. After about 6-8 months, I lost 7 inches off my gut.

Then I decided I didn't wanna be that character anymore. (I hadn't started working on it anyway)

Avatar for ChaosFoxCostuming ChaosFoxCostuming

1 year ago

I'm loosing weight by walking my dogs almost every day if the weather permits. For me it's if I loose enough weight to start feeling comfortable enough to actually cut the fabric and I really want to start on my costumes. I can always take them in but that's a hassle and sometimes depending on how the item is made it might not look proper.

Avatar for Bobbi Bobbi

1 year ago

I've been plus-sized for pretty much the entire time I've cosplayed (god, 20 years now?). Although I've had some Yo-Yoing going on within the last 5-6 years. I was able to get about 15 lbs of my goal weight, but I had a lot happen in life and I gained it back (and then some).

Recently, I went through a big health scare. So I had to really get this in order. So I'm not really doing this for cosplay purposes. But cosplaying some of those characters I always hoped to do is a bit of a motivator.

For me, it's mostly diet-related. I really have to change my eating habits and what I consume. I can't eat fast food and junk food anymore. I have to eat clean most of the time and avoid sugar as well as grains since it really messes with my system. I've been doing this since February. I was able to wear come cosplays I haven't worn in a few years! I also lost about 4 inches off my measurements. I hope by this time next year, I'll be where I was before I started gaining. It's a slow process, but I'll get there!

In the meantime, if I make any costumes, they will have to be ones that are easier to adjust with size changes.

Avatar for Hanoko Hanoko

1 year ago

My weight is generally stable but some years ago, it increased because of my job and less time to go sport. But it's when I tried to wear an old cosplay and realized it got to small that I really worked on my weight and after a few monthes, I could wear again that cosplay, hurray XD

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