Hi everyone, I’m 31 years old, 166 cm tall, and currently weigh about 62 kg. I started working out in June 2025; I had a very high body fat percentage and, of course, began an actual cutting phase in November 2025, when I weighed 68 kg. From that point on—as you can see from the graph—I’ve alternated between various phases of maintenance, mini-cuts, and lean bulking, and in the meantime, I’ve also had two BIA tests; the most recent one showed 18% body fat. I think summer threw me off track a bit with going out and eating larger meals than usual, but I didn’t completely derail: as you can see from the chart, my goal in June 2026 was to enter a lean bulk phase with the aim of going from roughly 60 kg to 62 kg—but very gradually; I wanted to do this from June through October.

August, however, was terrible—I quickly hit 62 kg and had to take corrective action by first switching to maintenance mode for almost a month, and now I’m trying to do a mini-cut to get back down to 60 kg and lose that little bit of fat I’ve accumulated.

I’m confused, though, about the path I should take. Compared to a year ago, I’m much more toned—my progress at the gym has been fantastic—but my belly won’t go away, and I think my body fat percentage is still around 18%, according to my last BIA test.

It's clear that to get rid of my belly for good, I'd still need to lose more weight, but I'm worried about losing too much: isn't aiming for 57–58 kg a bit too risky for my lean body mass? What do you recommend I do? Thank you so much.

It was a typical night scrolling through TikTok, where my algorithm now seems to swing back and forth only between perfumes and memes. Suddenly, I saw a quick review of this little bottle that immediately caught my attention: it looks like a scroll, and I’m already sold. Then the influencer on duty described it as a mix between Megamare and Arabians Tonka: I’ve never tried either, but hey, they’re two fragrances that are literally worlds apart... How could a mix of the two actually be any good? It’s crazy, I thought. But right after that crazy thought, my thumb was already on the “Add to Cart” button, and I bought it for €30 (about $34): at that price, it was impossible not to give it a try.

It finally arrived and from the very first spritz, I was literally enchanted by this fragrance. In the last year alone, I’ve collected about 13 different perfumes (I know, I’m still a beginner!), but only Marwa had captivated me so much from the very first spritz.

Just to be clear: I’m not a very experienced nose, so take my descriptions as just the basics. The nose (the professional one) is by Jordi Fernandez (for those who don't know, he created Montblanc Explorer and some Nishane fragrances). There’s one thing, though, where I lied: the first spray was exceptional, but not the first ten seconds. In theory, the opening notes are saffron and lemon, but what I smell most is saffron—I honestly don’t smell the lemon at all. It reminded me of the scent of a cleaner I use to wipe down furniture and catch dust, and I have to admit, I was a little worried. After those 20–30 seconds when you’re taken aback, though, the scent really unfolds into a blend that I’d describe as relaxing if I absolutely had to label it. I read a review on Fragrantica that was raving about how this fragrance smells like a pirate who’s just taken a shower. Believe me, it sounded crazy to me at first, but… now I couldn’t describe it any better.

I can smell the marine notes, but they aren’t that overpowering; the note I notice most is vanilla, but it’s not overly sweet or cloying—it feels just right. And perhaps this balance comes precisely from these marine notes: it’s as if every now and then my nose picks up the scent of seaweed, but the vanilla immediately steps in to soften the whole thing. These are the two notes I sense “battling” each other, but in an almost harmonious, pleasant way, without one overpowering the other. In fact, I’d say it’s 60% vanilla and 40% marine notes.

Fragrantica describes it as a four-season fragrance: that’s probably true, but honestly, for me it’s summer right now, and I’d definitely have a hard time wearing it during the day. Not because it’s cloying, as I mentioned, but because I see it more as a fragrance that can only draw attention if used sparingly in the right contexts; otherwise, it might come across as overwhelming (especially since it’s a perfume extract and the sillage is really powerful). For now, I’ll definitely wear it for evening dates and nights out. It’s certainly not a fragrance for everyday use because it needs to be appreciated by both you and others.

Anyway, writing all this made me realize that I paid a ridiculous amount for the quality I got... Now I really feel like a pirate—both because of the perfume and because of the theft I committed at French Avenue.

Ciao a tutti,

mi piacerebbe ricevere qualche consiglio e parere dalla community su come procedere da qui in avanti.

Il mio percorso:

Sono stato in deficit calorico costante da novembre fino a poco tempo fa, concentrandomi sulla perdita di massa grassa. Dopo un cut di ben 6 mesi, all'inizio di maggio sono finalmente passato a una fase di mantenimento (normocalorica) per far stabilizzare il corpo. Dal 1° giugno sono ufficialmente passato in un leggero surplus calorico. Il mio obiettivo attuale è far salire lentamente il peso verso i 62 kg per costruire muscolo di qualità senza accumulare grasso in eccesso.

Cosa cerco:

Ho fatto una bioimpedenziometria (InBody) subito prima di iniziare il surplus per avere un punto di partenza. Considerando la mia storia di cut prolungato e il mio nuovo obiettivo di lean bulk, questi numeri vi sembrano un buon punto di partenza? Ha senso questo percorso? Ho ancora una percentuale di grasso alta ma è tutta concentrata sull'addome, come potete vedere. Ero però arrivato al punto dove non potevo più scendere di Kcal (ero arrivato a 1500 Kcal) perché non avevo più progressi né sul peso né sull'allenamento.

Ecco i dati del mio test iniziale:

Statistiche Generali

• Età / Sesso: 30 / Maschio
• Altezza: 166 cm
• Peso: 60,2 kg
• IMC (BMI): 21,8 kg/m²
• Tasso Metabolico Basale (BMR): 1416 kcal

Composizione Corporea

• Massa Muscolare Scheletrica (SMM): 27,0 kg
• Massa Grassa: 11,8 kg
• Percentuale di Grasso Corporeo (PBF): 19,5%
• Indice di Massa Muscolare Scheletrica (SMI): 7,2 kg/m²
• Area Grasso Viscerale: 51,1 cm²

Analisi Segmentale della Massa Magra (Muscolo)

• Braccio Destro: 2,79 kg — 97,4% dell'ideale
• Braccio Sinistro: 2,70 kg — 94,1% dell'ideale
• Tronco: 22,7 kg — 99,3% dell'ideale
• Gamba Destra: 7,15 kg — 89,7% dell'ideale
• Gamba Sinistra: 7,12 kg — 89,5% dell'ideale

Analisi Segmentale della Massa Grassa

• Braccio Destro: 0,5 kg — 98,0%
• Braccio Sinistro: 0,6 kg — 109,1%
• Tronco: 6,0 kg — 155,5%
• Gamba Destra: 1,8 kg — 112,5%
• Gamba Sinistra: 1,8 kg — 112,0%