I am 26, 5’4, and have been fluctuating between 122 and 127lbs for about 2 years now. My goal is to be 118 (or basically below 120) and shredded. I know a lot of people say the weight is just numbers but I have come to realize that for my height (5’4) an ideal weight is below 120 lbs for a body fat 18-20 % with decent amount of muscle definition. I follow what I believe to be a pretty good diet during the week and have tiny cheats on the weekends. My diet goes as follows: Breakfast: ½ cup fiber cereal + coffee splash of creamer Post workout : apple or eggwhites or protein shake (1/2 protein scoop with almond milk) Lunch: salad with tofu, shredded carrots, peppers, cucumbers, 2 tbsp garbanzo beans Fish with green veggies (broccoli or green beans) Afternoon snack: cucumber with 2 tbsp of tahini or hummus Dinner: protein smoothie or steamed veggies with tofu or salad or lentil soup I don’t usually drink during the week, but I’ll have 2-5 drinks on Friday or Saturday night. It does happen for me to break down and have a major cheat and when it happens, I go pretty hard. Ill have bread, chocolate, or some ice cream, or like 1/3 of a jar of peanut butter, I would say I break pretty hard once every other week. I don’t know if my cheat binge sessions are so big that they make me waste all my progress or if one big cheat won’t make that much of a difference. Any how I have been trying to get ripped/shredded for a while now and even though I put in the effort (5 times a week) at the gym cardio (Stairmaster, treadmill, elliptical, boxing and light lifting I still don’t seem to get the results that I really want.

Any advice? Or comments on what I am doing wrong or could be improving? Do I need to be perfect 100% of the time for a good month before I can even allow myself a cheat?

Greatly appreciate it! Thanks!