This is the end..

[mbieker1]

End. of. my. cut, my friend. That's right, after 6 months and 6 days, I've decided that today will by my final day of cutting. My initial goal was 175 pounds (fully clothed), and I came in at 180.6 today (again, fully clothed). I've decided to stop the cut a bit short because

1) I'm just plain sick of it
2) I've gone from stalled lifting gains to actual losses
3) my body just doesn't seem to recover anymore, and I'm constantly sore and tired

So, anyways, I'm looking pretty damn good. I'm proud of myself; I'm thin enough that even if I gain a few elbows in my upcoming bulk, I should still have pretty good definition. This concludes my pat-myself-on-the-back portion of this post.


That said, my plan is to go from 1800 calories to 3000 calories per day. I believe I'm burning in the neighborhood of 2500 calories per day. Does that sound about right? Also, does ~200-225g protein per day sound good? Thanks to everyone for all the help along the way. This forum has proved very useful indeed in this, the first phase of my body transformation journey.

[ChickenTikka]

Im pretty much right where you are. Two weeks ago I decided to do maintenance basically by eating health four days out of 7. Got nice and bloated, drank beer, ate food etc. Did a lot for my mental well being.

Now I'm right back at it. Posted a new low weight today of 179. Take a break, but keep going!

[mbieker1]

Now I'm right back at it. Posted a new low weight today of 179. Take a break, but keep going!

Nah, I'm not up for another month of these lifts. I'm on a 5-week lift cycle, and today's my final day of my current cycle, so it just makes sense to stop now. Next week, I start a cycle where I actually hope to end stronger than I began.

[kymira]

How many lbs & bf% have you lost in 6 months ?

[mbieker1]

How many lbs & bf% have you lost in 6 months ?

For the sake of argument, I'll put my lean mass at ~160, so I've lost 55 pounds, and gone from 32% bf to 12.5% bf.

[kymira]

For the sake of argument, I'll put my lean mass at ~160, so I've lost 55 pounds, and gone from 32% bf to 12.5% bf.

Awesome results! I guess it all depends on how you feel. One can only stay on a deficient for so long, everybody has their own limits. I plan to stop my cut after aug, if things go as planned I will be down to 165 from 200 in 5 months.

Good work bro

[shersman]

for the sake of arguement? do you have any grounding for that? --> not trying to be harsh or anything, but it seems like an odd thing to say. get a caliper measurement and see where you actually are. Are you seeing abs come in?

anyway, whats important is that you've gotten to the point where you're happy with yourself. Congrats on that! I'm in a similar boat, was 245 at 33% and now Im cutting down. Currently at 197 at about 19% and targeting 180 as my final weight, so right about where you are. I've got about 2 months to go and Im pretty excited about the final stretch.

[mbieker1]

for the sake of arguement? do you have any grounding for that? --> not trying to be harsh or anything, but it seems like an odd thing to say. get a caliper measurement and see where you actually are.

I don't think calipers will give me a significantly better measurement than my estimate. The degree of certainty just isn't there.

Are you seeing abs come in?

If I flex, my upper abs are visible, but there's still a layer of fat on my lower abs. I'm definitely somewhere between 10-15%; short of a bod pod, it'd be difficult to know for sure, IMO.

anyway, whats important is that you've gotten to the point where you're happy with yourself. Congrats on that! I'm in a similar boat, was 245 at 33% and now Im cutting down. Currently at 197 at about 19% and targeting 180 as my final weight, so right about where you are. I've got about 2 months to go and Im pretty excited about the final stretch.

Yeah, thanks. I'm actually really excited about the bulk; I've always wanted to do bodybuilding, but every time I've done it, it's been on a cut. So I'm pretty weak right now, really, but I'm hoping that eating 3000cal/day will allow that to change quickly.

[csb5731]

Wow, that's some solid results - good job! Good luck with the bulk, it's awesome to start seeing improvements in lifts on a consistant basis after a longish cut.

As a person who has in the past couple years let his bulks gradually get a little out of hand, I'd suggest making sure you transition the calories gradually (like spend a week around maintenance before further bumping), and keep close tab on the waist measurement as much as the scale and make adjustments as necessary. 2500 kcals seems perfectly reasonable as an estimate of your maintenance at ~180 lbs, though. It's just amazing how fast you can add fat when you get a little sloppy with the monitoring. In my case, I also tend to get a little sketchy on the calorie-counting when bulking, especially as I add more and more calorie dense foods to the "acceptable" category (mainly: occasional beer => several tall boys rather quickly). Likely not the case with you.

Cheap calipers are also nice, not so much for estimation of BF% (I certainly don't believe mine), but just to monitor skinfold thickness at a few key sites to see how fast the fat is coming on.

[.aeterna]

32 to lower teens in BF is a great result and what id consider a successful cut.

the question now remains, r u going to maintain this new leaner self? or just go straight back into being complacent?

hopefully not the latter

keep up the good work and maintain well! u will add LBM slowly and lose fat slowly !

[mbieker1]

32 to lower teens in BF is a great result and what id consider a successful cut.

the question now remains, r u going to maintain this new leaner self? or just go straight back into being complacent?

The problem wasn't so much complacency, so much as it was being a little, uh, drinky. I absolutely have to make sure I have that behind me.

[GregTR]

Congrats on your successful cut! I went from 237 to 168 in 6.5 months myself, I know the feeling you're going through. I'm not 100% done with my cut although I have switched over to a slow paced fat loss mode now for the last 6-8 lbs that are left to go.

[mbieker1]

Wow, that's some solid results - good job! Good luck with the bulk, it's awesome to start seeing improvements in lifts on a consistant basis after a longish cut.

Thanks.

As a person who has in the past couple years let his bulks gradually get a little out of hand, I'd suggest making sure you transition the calories gradually (like spend a week around maintenance before further bumping), and keep close tab on the waist measurement as much as the scale and make adjustments as necessary. 2500 kcals seems perfectly reasonable as an estimate of your maintenance at ~180 lbs, though. It's just amazing how fast you can add fat when you get a little sloppy with the monitoring.

Good advice. Since I'm essentially starting over my cycle with the same weight, the first couple of weeks ought to be fairly easy anyways. Easing is is probably a good idea.

In my case, I also tend to get a little sketchy on the calorie-counting when bulking, especially as I add more and more calorie dense foods to the "acceptable" category (mainly: occasional beer => several tall boys rather quickly). Likely not the case with you.

No, that's the case with me. I'll definitely have to keep regarding alcohol as I do now, because of my extreme tendency to let that get out of hand. I think I'll have to stick to my existing policy of never buying any.

[mbieker1]

Congrats on your successful cut! I went from 237 to 168 in 6.5 months myself, I know the feeling you're going through. I'm not 100% done with my cut although I have switched over to a slow paced fat loss mode now for the last 6-8 lbs that are left to go.

Yeah, my job involves moving heavy objects fairly frequently, so really, I just can't abide by being this drained all the time. I'll probably cut again after I hit specific goals on my bulk.

[csb5731]

I'll definitely have to keep regarding alcohol as I do now, because of my extreme tendency to let that get out of hand. I think I'll have to stick to my existing policy of never buying any.

I have that policy for beer AND peanut butter! A man's gotta know his limitations....

[ChickenTikka]

Those are great results and you know it! Congratulations..

Beer and Pizza are my love and my enemy too.

I've recreated myself as someone who doesn't drink anymore (well maybe once a week max). I'm a lot more productive and better overall.

I'm finally maturing thanks to bodybuilding. Seems a stupid reason, but at least it's something making me not act like an idiot.

[Dexter3000]

Good job OP.

BUT: if I were you I wouldn't go from 1800 to 3000 cals in one day. You better gradually up the cals week by week, starting at 2000, 2300, 2600 etc. See how your body reacts and don't risk massive fat gains because of instant overfeeding. Would be a waste after such an succesfull cut!

Just my 2 cents.

[beaul]

Good job OP.

BUT: if I were you I wouldn't go from 1800 to 3000 cals in one day. You better gradually up the cals week by week, starting at 2000, 2300, 2600 etc. See how your body reacts and don't risk massive fat gains because of instant overfeeding. Would be a waste after such an succesfull cut!

Just my 2 cents.

x2

But me saying that would be hypocritical. Because after every cut i have done i always get too out of control on my bulks. I am going to try my hardest to ease into it this time. It really is the smart way. Heck you could continue to lean up a little if you just bump it up by 250/week.

[mbieker1]

I always kinda wanted to do one of those comparison photos, so here it goes. The first photo is from last June, when I weighed 235. I had intended to get in shape for my cousin's wedding in Puerto Rico in October, but ended up falling off the wagon and ballooning back up to 235 after losing about 15 pounds. I started this most recent successful cut on November 8th of last year, after hitting rock bottom several weeks after my return from Puerto Rico. The second photo I took just now:

[csb5731]

For the sake of argument, I'll put my lean mass at ~160, so I've lost 55 pounds, and gone from 32% bf to 12.5% bf.

Pics seem very consistent with that estimate. You look ~12-13ish in the above after pic. Serratus showing up nicely. Again, good job!

[.aeterna]

now THAT is a transformation!

[GregTR]

I always kinda wanted to do one of those comparison photos, so here it goes.

Very impressive! Here is mine in case you've missed it . 237 to 171.



And here is my weight chart, looks almost identical to yours .

[fni]

I always kinda wanted to do one of those comparison photos, so here it goes. The first photo is from last June, when I weighed 235. I had intended to get in shape for my cousin's wedding in Puerto Rico in October, but ended up falling off the wagon and ballooning back up to 235 after losing about 15 pounds. I started this most recent successful cut on November 8th of last year, after hitting rock bottom several weeks after my return from Puerto Rico. The second photo I took just now:



[img]http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/6451/thene.jpg[img][img]http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/2074/nowqv.jpg[img]

very nice! what was you diet/routine like during your fat loss?

[mbieker1]

very nice! what was you diet/routine like during your fat loss?

As far as diet, I ate 1800 calories per day, and strictly counted everything. I aimed for a 40/40/20 macro split. No regular cheats. I basically followed the wavelength plan of dieting and working out three times a week. I've been using all pro's beginner's routine, but exhausted all noob gains about a cycle or two ago (depending on the movement), so I just keep resetting at the same weight, which sucks.

Over the last couple of months, I also added 20-30 minutes on the elliptical post workout, and over the last month have been doing the elliptical on off-days pretty regularly.

[wave_length]

As far as diet, I ate 1800 calories per day, and strictly counted everything. I aimed for a 40/40/20 macro split. No regular cheats. I basically followed the wavelength plan of dieting and working out three times a week. I've been using all pro's beginner's routine, but exhausted all noob gains about a cycle or two ago (depending on the movement), so I just keep resetting at the same weight, which sucks.

Over the last couple of months, I also added 20-30 minutes on the elliptical post workout, and over the last month have been doing the elliptical on off-days pretty regularly.

Amazing transformation, mad props!

[GregTR]

As far as diet, I ate 1800 calories per day, and strictly counted everything. I aimed for a 40/40/20 macro split. No regular cheats.

This is just eerie. I guess when stuff works it works! Here is my diet 40/40/20 split at 1,800 calories with no cheats for 6 months. Sorry for the hijack, but I'm just finding it fascinating that your progress and mine were so darn close.

[mbieker1]

^That's crazy, Greg. We've damn near been living the same lives over the last 6 months.

[mbieker1]

Amazing transformation, mad props!

By the way, thanks wave_length. When I started out, I had a vague plan that was to involve diet, a ton of cardio, and sporadic lifting. Then I saw your thread, and decided I'd mostly avoid cardio and lift heavy, and keep the entire thing simple. Damn I'm glad I took that route. You can chalk my results up as another in a long line of wave_length-method success stories.

[wave_length]

By the way, thanks wave_length. When I started out, I had a vague plan that was to involve diet, a ton of cardio, and sporadic lifting. Then I saw your thread, and decided I'd mostly avoid cardio and lift heavy, and keep the entire thing simple. Damn I'm glad I took that route. You can chalk my results up as another in a long line of wave_length-method success stories.

Haha, thank nature instead, she is who has invented the 3 rules, I just wrote them down once again.

But thanks man, appreciated.

[coolspin27]

Agreed with everyone else... main this is do not transition from 1800 to 3000 calories to quick. I got off a cut like 2 months ago and went into a hard bulk with too many calories too quick... my metabolism cut up about a month in.... but I gained more fat than I would have liked initially. My metabolism has caught up but I would have like it much more if I would have just slowed my calories in.