Attempting to get lean... Anyone care to critique what I'm doing?

[derzwerg]

Good morning ProM. I am a newer member here although I've lurked for years before creating an account. I'm currently cutting and would like to get down to ~10%. Should be pretty easy, yeah? Eat less, move more lol. But I'd like to run what I've been doing past you guys, most of whom are likely far more knowledgeable than me. This post may be a bit lengthy as I'm going to try and cover everything.

First, a bit about myself. I'm 35, 5'8" and 181 pounds this morning. Bodyfat... 13-15% maybe? In good lighting the abs are showing and I can see some slight striations in my shoulders. Change the lighting and I just look small and fat lmao idk.

I have no intention of competing but I've been living the "lifestyle," to some extent for a few years now.

I started this cut 12 weeks ago at 198 and, apparently, a bit fatter than I thought. I was 181 this morning.

Diet is 1800 cal rest days, 2000 training.
Protein 290g, fats are minimal and carbs are 120 off days and like 100g more on training days.

This 100% adhered to... Monday through Friday. The weekends have been all over the place. This is obviously the first thing I could improve. I really can't handle untracked eating so my current plan is either eat at maintenance Saturday and Sunday or go a bit over one day.
I absolutely could keep it the same as the weekdays but I really enjoy having some relaxed family meals. Also, by the end of the week I'm really going through it with cravings.
A little extra food and rest on the weekends really "resets" me.

Meals are as follows, first actual meal is at 11. I'll have coffee with 90mL half and half in the morning.

250g cooked chicken tenderloin
250g fruit. Usually a frozen blend.

250g chicken
250g fruit.

250g cooked rice. Using pouches here.
225g chicken

250g chicken. Might be fish sometimes.


Similar on training days but I'll have whey and frosted flakes post wo and chicken and rice last meal.

My training split is:
Saturday legs
Sunday chest
Tuesday back
Thursday shoulders.

Cardio isn't very consistent but I try for a minimum of 20 minutes four times a week.

Supplementation:

500 test
500 mast
100 deca
75mcg Tiromel
20mcg clen. Trying to taper back up. I'd dropped it because of some killer headaches.

I'm really not that interested in getting "shredded." I just want to set myself up for a productive bulk.

I think I started my last bulk, first cycle, fatter than I should have. I ran gh for maybe half of it but my fasted glucose was getting way out of hand. Even after dropping it fasted glucose was still like 105-110 at the end of the bulk.
My fasted glucose had been like 85 after cutting a bit but has been trending mid 90s lately. I'm attributing this to the T3, which I've tapered up.
I have 20 kits of gh but I'm not sure I should add it in. It also gave me some gyno last year but I'm thinking maybe that was due to the insulin resistance I developed...

Any questions, ask away. And, in advance, I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read through this and offer feedback.

 

[Reno911]

Why are you taking 75mcg T3? Isn't that kind of overkill?

I don't think 4 meals/day is ideal.

 

[bbxtreme]

Pics?

Your HGH did not give you gyno.

 

[luki7788]

I don't want to write much because it's getting boring when people approach everything wrong in a world where Google has all the necessary information on how to do it right...

Biggest mistakes:
-20 minutes of cardio 4x a week is an effort for a retiree not for a young healthy man
-1800-2000 kcal is a way to destroy your psyche and metabolism which will never allow you to truly achieve a lean state.
-overeating on the weekend ruins everything you did by starving from Monday to Friday

 

[PRorER]

so hypothetically 5 out of 7 days your diet is on point, why not try to go 7/7?

Biggest mistakes:
-20 minutes of cardio 4x a week is an effort for a retiree not for a young healthy man
-1800-2000 kcal is a way to destroy your psyche and metabolism which will never allow you to truly achieve a lean state.
-overeating on the weekend ruins everything you did by starving from Monday to Friday

Literally all of this^

Do you live a sedentary lifestyle or do you have a below average response to gear? 13-15% bf at that size doesn’t sound right especially for how low your calories are. 1.1g of gear for the average person alone should be enough to get them in pretty good shape

 

[Shelby]

Lots of red flags here
Not eating til 11 (what time do you get up?)
Your diet consists of 4 things - chicken, fruit, rice, and sometimes Frosted Flakes?
4 meals a day
Undereating, then overeating
You're 181 and not terribly lean (or muscular?)
You're taking a lot of T3

 

[derzwerg]

Damn you guys are fast lol

Why are you taking 75mcg T3? Isn't that kind of overkill?

I don't think 4 meals/day is ideal.

I never really had any intention of running t3 but I was reading a BigA post from like 20 years ago where he was talking about going up to like 150mcg or something. I'm not taking it there but idk figured I may as well add some in.

You would recommend more smaller meals?

I don't want to write much because it's getting boring when people approach everything wrong in a world where Google has all the necessary information on how to do it right...

Biggest mistakes:
-20 minutes of cardio 4x a week is an effort for a retiree not for a young healthy man
-1800-2000 kcal is a way to destroy your psyche and metabolism which will never allow you to truly achieve a lean state.
-overeating on the weekend ruins everything you did by starving from Monday to Friday

Luki, thank you for chiming in. These points were my biggest concerns and are somewhat a result of me trying to balance family life with this pursuit.

The low cals during the week in an effort to be able to go out and eat with the family. Cardio, again, trying not to take too much away from family in the evenings. I would like to add it in before work but by Friday I'm absolutely beat and am worried this will just dig my recovery hole deeper. Or perhaps I'm making excuses...

I had started the cut at 2200 cals rest days, 2500 training. Perhaps I should go back to that and see where we're at.

 

[derzwerg]

Pics?

Your HGH did not give you gyno.

This is probably less than ideal but it's the only reasonably recent pic I have. I'm pretty embarrassed with my physique and very rarely take pics.

 

[derzwerg]

so hypothetically 5 out of 7 days your diet is on point, why not try to go 7/7?

Literally all of this^

Do you live a sedentary lifestyle or do you have a below average response to gear? 13-15% bf at that size doesn’t sound right especially for how low your calories are. 1.1g of gear for the average person alone should be enough to get them in pretty good shape

Right? Lol kinda why I'm posting. I feel like I have no clue wtf I'm doing. I definitely need to clean up the weekends. I'm fairly active, professional car fixer so I'm always moving.

Lots of red flags here
Not eating til 11 (what time do you get up?)
Your diet consists of 4 things - chicken, fruit, rice, and sometimes Frosted Flakes?
4 meals a day
Undereating, then overeating
You're 181 and not terribly lean (or muscular?)
You're taking a lot of T3

Shelby, I very much appreciate your time. I wake at 6 and the fruit is actually a new addition lol. I just swapped out some rice for the fruit...
Perhaps I'll drop the T3 a bit... Maybe 50? I was thinking this might be contributing the cravings.
Regarding four meals: I was under the impression that the difference between, say, four or six wasn't that great?

 

[luki7788]

Damn you guys are fast lol


I never really had any intention of running t3 but I was reading a BigA post from like 20 years ago where he was talking about going up to like 150mcg or something. I'm not taking it there but idk figured I may as well add some in.

You would recommend more smaller meals?



Luki, thank you for chiming in. These points were my biggest concerns and are somewhat a result of me trying to balance family life with this pursuit.

The low cals during the week in an effort to be able to go out and eat with the family. Cardio, again, trying not to take too much away from family in the evenings. I would like to add it in before work but by Friday I'm absolutely beat and am worried this will just dig my recovery hole deeper. Or perhaps I'm making excuses...

I had started the cut at 2200 cals rest days, 2500 training. Perhaps I should go back to that and see where we're at.

Right? Lol kinda why I'm posting. I feel like I have no clue wtf I'm doing. I definitely need to clean up the weekends. I'm fairly active, professional car fixer so I'm always moving.



Shelby, I very much appreciate your time. I wake at 6 and the fruit is actually a new addition lol. I just swapped out some rice for the fruit...
Perhaps I'll drop the T3 a bit... Maybe 50? I was thinking this might be contributing the cravings.
Regarding four meals: I was under the impression that the difference between, say, four or six wasn't that great?

Honestly? I've seen hundreds of people trying to act the way you do - some things are forgivable, but they can't be balanced - you can eat a meal with your family, but you don't have to eat the same thing as them - just because they eat pizza doesn't mean you don't have to because it's about time spent together, not eating pizza together lol

I will advise you as I always do - find a coach because you won't be able to do it on your own

 

[Shelby]

I will advise you as I always do - find a coach because you won't be able to do it on your own

This is my suggestion as well

 

[bbxtreme]

This is probably less than ideal but it's the only reasonably recent pic I have. I'm pretty embarrassed with my physique and very rarely take pics.


View attachment 198021

Props for posting up a pic. More than most can say on here.

I asked because like most, you’re not as lean as you thought so have some work ahead.

Truth is 95% of the time the reason for lack of results is diet. It's alsolutely the case here.

I would hire a good lifestyle coach like @IFBBProDomCardone. Not that you'll need a coach forever, but to guide you in setting yourself up for success.

Can you do it on your own through discipline and research on here? Yes.

Simple answer- there are no free meals in cutting. You diet until you need a re-feed. 7 days a week. You have to be willing to suffer a little.

Ramp your cardio to 30-40 min daily on a stepmill and keep your HR at 130bpm the entire time.

Start here and you’ll start to see some progress.

 

[275bills]

I liked lukis post without even reading it

 

[TheOtherOne55]

Get a coach.

The first thing that just sticks out like a sore thumb is your weekend eating.
I'm going to ask you a real question because im generally interested...YOU self-admitantly said you dont track and probably over eat during the weekend. You already know the answer as to why shit isnt going well or stalled or whatever you call this. I just dont understand asking a question or for help when you arent doing EVERYTHING you can. It just doesnt logically make sense to me.

"Hey, im maaaybe doing this at 70%, definitely not 100. Can someone help me?"
This is question where you a searching for someone to make your life easier...except with results. That doesnt exist. You are an average joe with average genetics and because of that you cannot transform the way you look and do it half-assed. Doesnt work like that. There is no secret method to the madness or trick youll hear on here that will suddenly light a fire under your ass.

 

[juiceball44]

If you’re not ready to get a coach the best thing I ever did was buy Justin Harris diet plan (Google it) If you have a food scale and common sense it’s very simple to follow. It adjusts macros for height, weight and body fat %. Stick to the diet EVERY DAY and with the high carb refeed day it takes away the temptation to have to cheat. Daily cardio whenever you can fit it in and lift weights. That’s it

 

[P30LEM]

If you’re not ready to get a coach the best thing I ever did was buy Justin Harris diet plan (Google it) If you have a food scale and common sense it’s very simple to follow. It adjusts macros for height, weight and body fat %. Stick to the diet EVERY DAY and with the high carb refeed day it takes away the temptation to have to cheat. Daily cardio whenever you can fit it in and lift weights. That’s it

I second this. I used it as a guide to structure my diet and it was well worth it.

 

[Flex500]

This is probably less than ideal but it's the only reasonably recent pic I have. I'm pretty embarrassed with my physique and very rarely take pics.


View attachment 198021

Props for posting a pic you look pretty good actually but you do have more fat and less muscle than you probably thought you did. I was (am) in your shoes and the weekend "free for all" doesn't work unless you are penis skin lean with a ton of muscle and on a lot of drugs.

I totally get the family thing though and wanting some "freedom" on the weekend but you are going to have to tighten it up a bit. I do "whatever" on saturdays but keep it tight sunday through friday. You also have to learn how to out and not gorge and enjoy the time. We went to a pancake place for breakfast Sunday and I had 10 egg whites and turkey sausage and we had fun as a family without it being a big deal because "dad can't eat".

To me, your diet leaves a lot to be desired, even from a health standpoint. Outside of protein, chicken is about the least nutrition you can get from a peace of meat and you are basically kind of nibbling on chicken, rice, and fruit. It is completely devoid of actual nutrition. I'd be more concerned about that than body composition. Just back of the napkin messing around you'd far more nutrient value and feel a hell of a lot better on this:


6 Eggs
fruit and/or veggies as fits your diet

93-96% lean ground beef or bison or elk
carb preference (I'd go with potato over rice)

8 ounce Salmon, sardines, shrimp or another beef meal
fruits/veggies as fits your diet

Eggs or Fish or Beef
fruits or veggies as fits your diet

I'm not saying chicken is bad, but think if you are only eating ~2,000 calories a day and training hard you really need to get all you can from food and there is borderline less than no nutrition value to rice and chicken other than protein from the chicken.

 

[Eguz22]

You have good shoulder width and development, but if you've come to ask for help it's because you don't look as lean as you want.

I don't understand why someone would diet 5 days and take a party or rest on the weekend. You can have a cheat meal once a month or every 2 weeks, period.

Your diet looks like a bikini girl's diet.

Make the suggested changes, vary your diet more, eat more fat, increase your cardio time and don't break the diet.

 

[Eguz22]

I was (am) in your shoes and the weekend "free for all" doesn't work unless you are penis skin lean with a ton of muscle and on a lot of drugs.

I was remembering the body opus, di pascuale or those kinds of strategies that allow you to eat more on the weekend, but he doesn't have the look or the right metabolism for it.

 

[derzwerg]

I really appreciate everyone's replies, I honestly didn't expect so many to chime in.
I have been considering a coach for a while but really don't know what to expect cost wise and idk if I can justify it. I will definitely look into the Justin Harris plan mentioned. I have read Comprehensive Performance Nutrition but that was quite a while ago.

Eguz, that's exactly the kind of approach I had in mind. Low carb, low cal during the week with some relief on the weekends. When I'm working M-F I'm so busy that it is very easy to just lock it in. Even though I am going crazy by Friday it's easy enough to power through... But it's starting to feel more like an eating disorder than anything resembling bodybuilding

I was listening to a podcast recently where Beef Stu talked about his first prep and said he called it a cyclical keto diet but in hindsight it was just starving all week and binging on cereal all weekend lol but I hear this and I'm like... But you're saying it worked?
Lmao in all seriousness I will take everyone's comments to heart and rethink what I'm doing.