Bodyfat reduction stalling....

[FitByBit]

Hey ive been cutting now for 8weeks and made solid progress for the first 4-5 weeks, but now i seem to of stalled a little with my bodyfat reduction.

My goal was to get down to around 7% for summer ( about 1.5 months away here in australia).

Im not sure what my bodyfat is at the moment, i welcome a few estimates. Just wondering if anyone has any advice to get that last bit off and get into the single digits.



Im thinking of dropping 30-50 grams of carbs from my day.

With regards to my body, i suffered from a fairly severe eating dissorder just over a year ago, and im sure my body is still suffereing from some of the side-effects from it.

During my bulk this year, i was eating 2000 calories a day, and gained 2.1lbs per week for 15 weeks, i also put on 4 inches round my waist, so im very very calorie sensitive. I find that my maintainance is usually around 1500 calories a day.

Im a "small" guy, i always will be.

I dont want to become a body-builder per-say, i just want to be fit and healthy with a nice athletic build, nothing huge, but well defined, hence my goal of around 7% bodyfat.

Ive now been lifting for a year, and eat 6-7 times a day and very clean with a high amount of protein % for my calories. Lots of water aswell.

Just interested in how guys get over any humps they come across towards the end of a cut.

Ive been trying to cycle my carbs now, zero one day, two days of moderate, then a day of high.

Just thinking wether i should take a week off and eat maintainance to reset my metabolism?

Please go easy on me guys, still not overley body confident.

Not much support or info out there on guys that suffer from eating dissorders, not as common for blokes.

Cheers.

[ehayes]

I don't really understand? Are you seriously cutting right now? Because you need a serious bulk, whether your looking to be a body builder or not.

[PeteCraig]

Originally Posted by ehayes

I don't really understand? Are you seriously cutting right now? Because you need a serious bulk, whether your looking to be a body builder or not.

x2

[FitByBit]

Yes i am currently cuttng,

My plan was to cut down to 7-8% bodyfat for summer, then slowly clean bulk....

I am planning on adding more size, but for the next month or so i would like to lower my bodyfat percentage into single digits.

Thanks.

[ehayes]

Originally Posted by FitByBit

Yes i am currently cuttng,

My plan was to cut down to 7-8% bodyfat for summer, then slowly clean bulk....

I am planning on adding more size, but for the next month or so i would like to lower my bodyfat percentage into single digits.

Thanks.

Bro you are there, honestly you look like you're getting to an unhealthy weight. Theres not much mass on you, I don't see how you can say your cutting, especially saying you had an eating disorder.

Eat and eat a lot bro.

[SmashItUp]

Originally Posted by ehayes

Bro you are there, honestly you look like you're getting to an unhealthy weight. Theres not much mass on you, I don't see how you can say your cutting, especially saying you had an eating disorder.

Eat and eat a lot bro.

X2

[ehayes]

Btw how much do you weigh. I'm guessing... 130-140?.

[FitByBit]

Yeah good guess, i was 140lbs this morning.

Perhaps i can start a zig zag eating plan?

3 weeks bulking 1 week cutting each month?

Everytime i bulk i add muscle but also a lot of fat, im just sick of yo-yoing up and down. I also dont like "bulking", i usally suffer from the extra intake of food and spend most of the day feeling bloated.

What BF % do you think im at?

I know im light for my height, i always have been lighter than most.

This is by no means my goal weight, i can assure you. I WILL gain 20-30lbs, but i never wanted to go above 10% BF while bulking, so i wanted to get under 10% before i start another bulk.

Cheers

[Haterade~]

Ok I'd ignore the "unhealthy weight" comments. Sure you are very lean, but that is a big exaggeration. My GUESS is that you are already under 10%, so I personally would be fully satisfied if I were you in terms of BF. But I do also suggest that it is time to clean bulk and add some muscle mass, that won't make you huge, but you will definitely achieve the athletic look you are seeking. Good luck!

[greenamphibious]

I'd say you have reached 7- 8% clean bulk now

[joeski5651]

just to put my 2 cents in -- if you change your focus from loosing fat to put on muscle, and pay attention to your food intack accordingly, most likely you will loose the fat you want to. I never have done the up/down carbs thing, but if you keep your metabolism "guessing" and working hard, you're at a point that you'll really benefit.

[shavenwookiee]

Originally Posted by FitByBit

Im a "small" guy, i always will be.

Quite a defeatist attitude, there isnt anything standing in the way of you becoming as big as you want to, nothing but time and effort (and, well, if you wanted to become a monster, steriods, but you've already said you dont want that)

[beerbaron105]

Originally Posted by shavenwookiee

Quite a defeatist attitude, there isnt anything standing in the way of you becoming as big as you want to, nothing but time and effort (and, well, if you wanted to become a monster, steriods, but you've already said you dont want that)

true, thats like when i used to say ill always be fat, so i might as well accept it, hahah bull fuking ****!

[teewoods]

Originally Posted by FitByBit

so i wanted to get under 10% before i start another bulk.

Cheers

Well if thats what you wanted to do then you should be bulking now.

[college125]

Originally Posted by PeteCraig

x2

X3

[FitByBit]

Ok points taken guys.

Ill take the weekend off.

Then ill start a slow clean bulk Monday.

Ill only throw in a one week cut once in a while if i feel im getting a bit sloppy.

Otherwise ill be looking to add some mass.

Cheers.

[Captain Sagara]

You need muscle,you can cut all you want but you will always look soft due to lack of muscle...

[Sculelos]

Wow you have a really low maintenance... but besides that I agree with the others a clean bulk would do you good as if you cut much more you would start looking anorexic.

So a clean bulk will do you good.

[hardwork 24/7]

I definately agree with everyone but for a different reason. I was similar to u as I did develop an eating disorder (not ashamed to say it), I went to psychiatrists, I nearly lost all my m8s because |i was constantly so agressive towards evryone and severly overtrained because I wanted to be as cut as Bruce Lee! Im not just bull****ting but I got down to 4% but lost everything I gained! as my diet probably just consisted of a protein shake with a piece of fruit 4 breakfast and if i was hungry in the evening, a can of tuna with peppers and mayo for example it was awful! Then I ended collapsing in shopping centre when at work and got rushed in to be put on heart monitiors just cos I was pushing myself too hard, that made me change and realised what I was doing to my family! I had studied a national diploma in sports science but they didnt give much about nutrition so didnt have much clue so needed to be in a calorie deficit. I then figured out with good nutrition how the body really works and now that I know if I need to lose it, I can safely! I have gained about 26lbs in a very short space of time, muscles just started appearing? I only gained about 2% bodyfat but the only reason I have is because my nutrition at themo is quite poor, not cos I dnt eat enuf but I work at a cookie store so I take all the cookies home and eat ice cream while im there! I am only at 9-10%(I should update my profile) and gaining muscle quite rapidly and realised I have got a lot more respect from people as Im always happy and not miserable like I used to looking like a skeleton and sticking religiously to diet and girls are always giving me the looks so I have really overcome it and enjoying my life and have also started an advanced personal training course in London now so I can put what I know into practice and help others! Hope this helps as i had similar experience!

[KempsterZero]

You can borrow some of my weight.....

naw you can keep it LOL!!!

Yeah i agree you are looking a little malnourished, just clean bulk and im sure you'll be happier.

[Sinsate17]

I'd ignore the malnourished-based comments. Malnourished people don't have any shape, just a slight sheath of muscle and fat over their bones, no muscular curves whatsoever. You don't fit that profile by any stretch of the imagination.

That being said, if you want to get bigger and have the patience for it, try just increasing your calorie intake just a bit over maintenance. Compensate for your working out/exercising/daily acitivities. So maybe eating an extra 100-200 a day could lead you in the right direction, and if you find it all turning into fat, lower it.

Not sure how familiar with basic nutrition you are, but limit your carbs to only be eaten in your 1st half of the day, pre and post-workout. Unused carbs have been said to be nasty little things in terms of fat gain.

Cliffs notes:
You are definately under 10% bf. Since you gain fat easilly, don't eat way over maintenence for bulking. Don't eat carbs late in day. Eat lots of protein, lots of good fats.

Congratulations on overcoming your eating disorder. Keep lifting and eating right, and you'll end up right where you want to be.

[FitByBit]

Well its been about 3 months since i posted this thread, just wanted to update on my progress.

Ive been bulking nice and clean now since then and have gone from

139lbs



to 154lbs



Im going to keep going and try and add another 15lbs of muscle while keeping fat gains minimal for now, before a short cut.
Cheers.

[shavenwookiee]

wow, Excellent! Keep going :-D

[FitByBit]

Thanks man, means a lot to me.

Cheers

[Shatter]

Dude, seriously, you look a MILLION times better. And that's only 3 months work. I hope you don't go back to your cutting mindset, because you look much bigger and healthier now that you're bulking.

[FitByBit]

Thanks man, yeah i got into a mind-set that was too focused on cutting fat, rather than focusing on building muscle. Although i got my bodyfat low, i didnt have enough muscle to balance me out. Too long a cut and too low calories, mixed with the simple truth that i didnt have enough LBM.

Im just going to keep on aiming for a gradual increase in muscle mass while balanceing gains with 20-30 min of cardio a couple of days a week.

My first target goal is 75kg / 165lbs at single digits bodyfat.

Cheers.

[Go4th]

clean bulk and pick up the intencity of your work outs less break inbetween sets and faster reps that will help build muscle still and it also contributes to low bodyfat