3 weeks into cutting & same weight as before. Advice please!

[wickedsushi]

Hi there. Would really appreciate some advice. I'll jump straight in:

After a very long hiatus from the gym, I joined back up and have been going consistently for 3 weeks. I am 37, 6'5" and weigh 110kg. Now in the past - twice in fact - I have had a similar amount of extra weight and managed to cut down to around 95kg with ample amounts of cardio (elliptical always being my go-to machine) and was able to consistently lose near 1kg a week.

In the past I exclusively did cardio BEFORE I started doing weights. I know better now. I am not new to weights. 5 years ago after I had cut to 95kg I really got into it and read/researched everything I could. The best shape I've ever been in was when I did PHAT training for 2 months after I'd leaned out.

So this time around, I thought rather than jump in the deep end with weight training, I'd do an abbreviated full body routine 3x a week, and cardio 5 days a week (fasted). Weights session normally takes around 30 minutes, followed by about an hour on the elliptical with moderate intensity. Days with no weights, also 1 hour cardio; on those days I throw some intervals in there as well at the beginning, to create a bit of extra intensity. My logic was, focus on cutting down to around 98kg, then switch focus to resistance training and pull back on the cardio.

I have 3 meals a day - normally post-workout have breakfast: (bowl of muesli w/ protein shake), lunch: two sandwiches (normally chicken with salad or veg fillg), dinner: a healthy stir fry or baked chicken and veg w/ greens. The last couple of weeks I've been very conscious of portion size.

So, weekly weigh in today and am at 110.3kg. I always weigh in the same conditions first thing in the morning. I am dismayed that after three weeks of dedicated effort the scales haven't moved. I'm sure in the past something would have shifted by now.

So, I don't want to keep spinning my wheels if I'm going about this the wrong way. Some possibilities:

1) I'm being impatient and not giving myself enough time to let my body adapt. For all I know, it might start melting off within the next couple of weeks.

2) The hour of steady-state cardio 5 days a week is doing more harm than good. In the past I never did sessions for quite as long as this (might have done 15 minutes on the bike and 1/2 hour on the elliptical on cardio only days, with 1/2 hour elliptical post-resistance training).

So that's it. My instinct is to ramp up the weight training and pull back on the cardio. But, I'm all ears to any advice you might have. Thanks in advance!

[TryingBB]

Hi there. Would really appreciate some advice. I'll jump straight in:

After a very long hiatus from the gym, I joined back up and have been going consistently for 3 weeks. I am 37, 6'5" and weigh 110kg. Now in the past - twice in fact - I have had a similar amount of extra weight and managed to cut down to around 95kg with ample amounts of cardio (elliptical always being my go-to machine) and was able to consistently lose near 1kg a week.

Didn’t read past the first sentence. Sounds like you didn’t try googling or searching B.B.com Been asked a million and one times. Here you go... you’re welcome

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...7334141&page=1

[wickedsushi]

Didn’t read past the first sentence. Sounds like you didn’t try googling or searching B.B.com Been asked a million and one times. Here you go... you’re welcome

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...7334141&page=1

Well I have and as with anything related to weight loss and muscle gain there is a plethora of differing opinions. I'll read the link you have suggested, tho. Thank you.

[TryingBB]

Hi there. Would really appreciate some advice. I'll jump straight in:

After a very long hiatus from the gym, I joined back up and have been going consistently for 3 weeks. I am 37, 6'5" and weigh 110kg. Now in the past - twice in fact - I have had a similar amount of extra weight and managed to cut down to around 95kg with ample amounts of cardio (elliptical always being my go-to machine) and was able to consistently lose near 1kg a week.

In the past I exclusively did cardio BEFORE I started doing weights. I know better now. I am not new to weights. 5 years ago after I had cut to 95kg I really got into it and read/researched everything I could. The best shape I've ever been in was when I did PHAT training for 2 months after I'd leaned out.

So this time around, I thought rather than jump in the deep end with weight training, I'd do an abbreviated full body routine 3x a week, and cardio 5 days a week (fasted). Weights session normally takes around 30 minutes, followed by about an hour on the elliptical with moderate intensity. Days with no weights, also 1 hour cardio; on those days I throw some intervals in there as well at the beginning, to create a bit of extra intensity. My logic was, focus on cutting down to around 98kg, then switch focus to resistance training and pull back on the cardio.

I have 3 meals a day - normally post-workout have breakfast: (bowl of muesli w/ protein shake), lunch: two sandwiches (normally chicken with salad or veg fillg), dinner: a healthy stir fry or baked chicken and veg w/ greens. The last couple of weeks I've been very conscious of portion size.

So, weekly weigh in today and am at 110.3kg. I always weigh in the same conditions first thing in the morning. I am dismayed that after three weeks of dedicated effort the scales haven't moved. I'm sure in the past something would have shifted by now.

Also, after you make any change (specially a drastic change, like starting to workout), give it atleast a couple weeks maybe more for things to stabilize.

Your muscles are storing more glycogen. When I started working out and started my cut, I gained a few pounds before I started loosing weight and yes, I freaked out just like you did.

Let it happen. You’ll be allrigh. This is me saying after making tons of mistakes, freaking out many times, switching back and forth.

Now I’m on a slow cut and progressively overloading myself reps or weights each week. I don’t give a chit (I’m lying) if my weight jumps.

It goes from 164 to 168 from day to day. Go figure. lol

[TryingBB]

Well I have and as with anything related to weight loss and muscle gain there is a plethora of differing opinions. I'll read the link you have suggested, tho. Thank you.

I’ve spent countless hours researching and reading chit over and over again. I will continue doing so, but that’s cuz I’m OCD. ****N REALLY!!

But I know in the back of my head (pics prove it), continue doing what you’re doing if body looks better week over week, lifts are progressing and there is a downward trend in you your weight.

All of this has an explanation and I’m too lazy to type it all.

[wickedsushi]

Sorry about my constantly changing initial post. When I started a new thread it wouldn't allow me to post the full post so I had to keep going back in and adding content incrementally.

Also, after you make any change (specially a drastic change, like starting to workout), give it atleast a couple weeks maybe more for things to stabilize.

Your muscles are storing more glycogen. When I started working out and started my cut, I gained a few pounds before I started loosing weight and yes, I freaked out just like you did.

Let it happen. You’ll be allrigh. This is me saying after making tons of mistakes, freaking out many times, switching back and forth.

Now I’m on a slow cut and progressively overloading myself reps or weights each week. I don’t give a chit (I’m lying) if my weight jumps.

It goes from 164 to 168 from day to day. Go figure. lol

Right. So basically, I'm being impatient? (Also slightly OCD here).

Also, re: the link you originally posted - a quote from Lyle McDonald:

"What always works in these types of dieters is chilling the **** out (weed would help too). Raising calories, lowering cardio"

Whilst weed is not an option, it does point to the possibility I'm overdoing the cardio. I do enjoy it tho, don't get me wrong. But having some water retention during this initial phase is something I can live with.

[unatractivewife]

It happened to me too but it does'nt mean a lot(the weight on the scale)
You should take curcumin capsules, it helps losing weight cuz it is against inflamation.
Good luck

[TryingBB]

Sorry about my constantly changing initial post. When I started a new thread it wouldn't allow me to post the full post so I had to keep going back in and adding content incrementally.



Right. So basically, I'm being impatient? (Also slightly OCD here).

Also, re: the link you originally posted - a quote from Lyle McDonald:

"What always works in these types of dieters is chilling the **** out (weed would help too). Raising calories, lowering cardio"

Whilst weed is not an option, it does point to the possibility I'm overdoing the cardio. I do enjoy it tho, don't get me wrong. But having some water retention during this initial phase is something I can live with.

Man, you’re gonna make me type it all and make me think over my mistakes and lost time all over again.

First - believe me, if you stopped your cardio and only made sure you’re eating below your TDEE, you WILL LOOSE WEIGHT!! yes, you will. Sure you will. But make sure your target is fat loss. Not weight loss.

I was riding my bike about 45 minutes a day 3 days a week initially. I enjoyed it. But I did not have the knowledge I have now.

Guess what happened? I was not lifting weights. Only biking. Lost fat and muscle both!! However, on th brigh side My resting heart rate went from 80s to freaking low 50s. Enough to worry me And I went and saw a doctor. He said I’m fine and better than ever cardiovascular health wise lol

So the goal was to loose weight and look better. Well after 20lbs Of weight loss I looked like chit. Like a smaller version of myself. And that sucked. So research I did.

Started lifting weights, haven’t ridden my bike for months now as a weight loss idea. (I do to every now and then just cuz I feel like it cuz I love it. I spend my bike time in the gym. )

Another mistake: So I was lifting weights on a cut. 1700 calories a day approx. after a few weeks my progress stalled. One user on this forum suggested I eat more cuz I was not recovering. He suggesting I eat 2100 cuz my TDEE IS 2350.

Well I didn’t listen. I switched from 1700 to 1950 calorie a day. Stalled again just after a few workouts. So finally heard him, went up to 2100. Right after I upped my calories, I lost 3 lbs (swoosh effect prolly) and for the first time in 10 years my scale read 164. Wohoo.

Take home for skinny fat, non-obese individuals?

Eat enough calories. Drink plenty water
Lift heavy weights
Cardio after workout if you do want to do cardio. Easier is to just cut out calories.
Be patient
Weight yourself every day same time of the day
Measure yourself every couple weeks
Take pics weekly (I take one pic daily right after the weight in MyFitnessPal different pose every day - I cycle through a second routine)

Working for me. Looking better every week imo. Pics don’t lie.

When I feel worried and anxious about progress, I just go look at my measurements and pics and there are obvious results. So I calm the fuk down. lol

[Tommy W.]

No loss in 3 weeks=not in a calorie deficit
Remedy=take in fewer calories

[TheUnderdog83]

No loss in 3 weeks=not in a calorie deficit
Remedy=take in fewer calories

^^ This. It doesn’t take weeks 3 weeks to start losing weight. Count all your calories, eat at a level that allows you to lose weight.

[illpinoise]

Find your TDEE and count everything you put in your mouth.

Meet protein and fat minimums, eat under your TDEE.

Weigh yourself everyday, same time, same circumstances, get weekly average.

Make adjustments to your DIET, not your activity level (it's just so much easier that way). Rinse and repeat.

[TryingBB]

No loss in 3 weeks=not in a calorie deficit
Remedy=take in fewer calories

^^ This. It doesn’t take weeks 3 weeks to start losing weight. Count all your calories, eat at a level that allows you to lose weight.

My TDEE is about 2350. I am cutting at 2100. I’m a newbie and want to recover and progress.

When I cut at let’s say 1700 or even 1900 workouts and recovery both become a challenge. Progression stalls and at times I have gone backwards in terms of reps/weight on the bar.

What’s the best approach?

[SuffolkPunch]

My TDEE is about 2350. I am cutting at 2100. I’m a newbie and want to recover and progress.

When I cut at let’s say 1700 or even 1900 workouts and recovery both become a challenge. Progression stalls and at times I have gone backwards in terms of reps/weight on the bar.

What’s the best approach?

2000 + patience.

[TryingBB]

2000 + patience.

Gotcha!! Will try and see how I respond to 2000. At 1950, my legs were not recovering well even after 2 days rest (I do full body beginner routine 3 x a week)

2100 seems to be the sweet spot for me. Maybe my TDEE is a tad bit above 2350. At this point I really don’t care as long I feel recovered workout to workout and am progressing. I’m happy with the visual results and my progression as well in the last couple months.

Thanks to this amazing forum and all the support, advice and research y’all provided! Am here to stay on B.B.com

[Tommy W.]

You can stay at 2000 for a couple of weeks and go from there and lower if your loss isn't fast enough. You never posted your height an this can be a big factor so you need to do that.

[TryingBB]

You can stay at 2000 for a couple of weeks and go from there and lower if your loss isn't fast enough. You never posted your height an this can be a big factor so you need to do that.

I am 5ft 8in tall and I fluctuate between 165 and 168lbs and there is a sligh downward trend in my weight.

Bodyfat has gone down from 24% to 22% as per pics over one month (there in my gallery if you care to look please). I would like to do a more aggressive cut and be down to 14% or so bodyfat but my workouts and recovery take a huge hit if I reduce calories.

Recommendation please?

[Tommy W.]

I am 5ft 8in tall and I fluctuate between 165 and 168lbs and there is a sligh downward trend in my weight.

Bodyfat has gone down from 24% to 22% as per pics over one month (there in my gallery if you care to look please). I would like to do a more aggressive cut and be down to 14% or so bodyfat but my workouts and recovery take a huge hit if I reduce calories.

Recommendation please?

You may need to take a hit in your training to lean out. This is common. If you don't lower calories enough to lose the fat you'll be spinning your wheels in both directions. Diet fairly aggressively, lower training volume and keep intensity. Any strength loss will come back very fast when you reverse diet after leaning out. Understand strength loss doesn't necessarily equate to muscle loss or at least not in the same ratio as strength loss. Keep protein high or even a bit higher than normal when dieting down.

[TryingBB]

You may need to take a hit in your training to lean out. This is common. If you don't lower calories enough to lose the fat you'll be spinning your wheels in both directions. Diet fairly aggressively, lower training volume and keep intensity. Any strength loss will come back very fast when you reverse diet after leaning out. Understand strength loss doesn't necessarily equate to muscle loss or at least not in the same ratio as strength loss. Keep protein high or even a bit higher than normal when dieting down.

I am pretty sure I’m skinny fat...not a lot of muscle mass to cut down to. My 1 month process pic is in my gallery. I think there is obvious fatloss but please tell me what you think?

After knowing these facts, you’d still recommend I lean out and take a hit on training?

I did some calculations, If everything goes as planned, I loose 1lb a week in fat (500 per day deficit) and I DO NOT loose any LEAN WEIGHT, i’d need to go from 168lbs to 152lbs over 16 weeks and bodyfat will go from 22% to just under 14% with lean mass staying constant at 131lbs (it should go up hopefully cuz I’m a newbie. I’m just assuming a worst case scenario)

I’d probably look like a concentration camp survivor by then and my girl may disown me for being so tiny. LOL

I agree with her, and she constantly says I’m getting too skinny even now during my recomp...confused a fuk!!

[Tommy W.]

I am pretty sure I’m skinny fat...not a lot of muscle mass to cut down to. My 1 month process pic is in my gallery. I think there is obvious fatloss but please tell me what you think?

After knowing these facts, you’d still recommend I lean out and take a hit on training?

I did some calculations, If everything goes as planned, I loose 1lb a week in fat (500 per day deficit) and I DO NOT loose any LEAN WEIGHT, i’d need to go from 168lbs to 152lbs over 16 weeks and bodyfat will go from 22% to just under 14% with lean mass staying constant at 131lbs (it should go up hopefully cuz I’m a newbie. I’m just assuming a worst case scenario)

I’d probably look like a concentration camp survivor by then and my girl may disown me for being so tiny. LOL

I agree with her, and she constantly says I’m getting too skinny even now during my recomp...confused a fuk!!

Then you need to go into a slight surplus and train properly. After building muscle come back to leaning out. Recomp isn't for everyone and most of the time will result in wheel spinning.

[Tricon7]

At this point I would start calorie-counting everything you put in your mouth if it's not water. Three weeks is long enough to show weight loss; your body can't create energy from air, and if you're in a deficit, it should reflect in three weeks time. You may be eating clean, but I'll bet, just like bed bugs, those calories are sneaking in somewhere. I'm dealing with the same issue, brah. I'm now hardcore, scorched-earth counting and being ruthless about it. Gonna squash those calories.

[wickedsushi]

No loss in 3 weeks=not in a calorie deficit
Remedy=take in fewer calories

^^ This. It doesn’t take weeks 3 weeks to start losing weight.

That's exactly what I thought! Hence this thread.

In all honesty I've never had to calorie count. I've always resisted it as I find the idea pretty tedious. I just "watched what I ate". This past week I honestly thought I'd cut back enough on portion sizes, but I know from experience my eyes are always bigger than my stomach. It didn't take this long in the past, so I guess I have to concede to what you guys are saying. When I posted this thread I thought the diet aspect was the one variable I had down ... but it's hard to reconcile that with the output of exercise I've been doing and the lack of movement on the scales.

Calorie counting it is, then.

At this point I would start calorie-counting everything you put in your mouth if it's not water. Three weeks is long enough to show weight loss; your body can't create energy from air, and if you're in a deficit, it should reflect in three weeks time. You may be eating clean, but I'll bet, just like bed bugs, those calories are sneaking in somewhere. I'm dealing with the same issue, brah. I'm now hardcore, scorched-earth counting and being ruthless about it. Gonna squash those calories.

I think that's where I need to be at as well. I can be pretty ruthless in other areas of my life, so I'll just have to apply it to my diet. I am a pretty good cook and enjoy eating for pleasure -- albeit eating relatively clean. I think my relationship with food has to change while cutting insofar as treating it solely as a fuel source.

So, I downloaded MyFitnessPal last night. If I want to cut 1kg a week, it recommends 1900 calories a day, based on my statistics. Not too sure yet how to account for the exercise I'm doing but I'll figure that out today. I like the feature of adding in my own meals, which should make the whole endeavor less tedious and time consuming once I have all my regular meals programmed in. As a test I chucked in my normal breakfast (muesli w/ fruit & nuts + vanilla protein shake w/ soy milk) - 569 calories. 30% of my daily recommended intake. That was for one cup of muesli ... and I know my portions are closer to 2 cups! It was an eye opener to be sure seeing all those calories deducted off my daily allowance.

I think the barcode scanner feature will be very handy. I got some nut protein bars which I scanned last night. 200 calories. So, if I felt a bit peckish in the afternoon, there's another quick 200 on top of my nearly 2 cups of muesli... and I haven't even had lunch or dinner! Speaking of dinner, that is definitely my biggest meal of the day. It's the one meal where I've struggled psychologically to cut back on portion-wise.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. It's been an eye opener looking at what my optimal intake should be for cutting and - given the numbers - it does look like I've been a bit far off the mark so far as diet goes. I suppose it will affect my progress with weight training as I have been consistently improving on all my lifts. But I can live with a dip in my performance in the short term. Before I got back into the gym I was toying with the 'lose fat & gain muscle at the same time' thinking. But, seeing as I hadn't been in the gym and hadn't built any appreciable amount of muscle training that I wanted to protect, focusing squarely on fat loss seemed lot more logical. I was really looking forward to cutting off that extra 12-15 kg and switching my focus back to resistance training and building my body back to what it used to be, and then some. So you can imagine why that scale reading yesterday knocked me around a bit. But, I feel a lot better now as I feel with the calorie counting I've got all my bases covered and can account for everything going in.

Just one more quick question and forgive me if it comes across as naive. Is it okay to feel hungry when on a cut? I can live with it and load up on water between meals.

[TryingBB]

That's exactly what I thought! Hence this thread.

In all honesty I've never had to calorie count. I've always resisted it as I find the idea pretty tedious. I just "watched what I ate". This past week I honestly thought I'd cut back enough on portion sizes, but I know from experience my eyes are always bigger than my stomach. It didn't take this long in the past, so I guess I have to concede to what you guys are saying. When I posted this thread I thought the diet aspect was the one variable I had down ... but it's hard to reconcile that with the output of exercise I've been doing and the lack of movement on the scales.

Calorie counting it is, then.



I think that's where I need to be at as well. I can be pretty ruthless in other areas of my life, so I'll just have to apply it to my diet. I am a pretty good cook and enjoy eating for pleasure -- albeit eating relatively clean. I think my relationship with food has to change while cutting insofar as treating it solely as a fuel source.

So, I downloaded MyFitnessPal last night. If I want to cut 1kg a week, it recommends 1900 calories a day, based on my statistics. Not too sure yet how to account for the exercise I'm doing but I'll figure that out today. I like the feature of adding in my own meals, which should make the whole endeavor less tedious and time consuming once I have all my regular meals programmed in. As a test I chucked in my normal breakfast (muesli w/ fruit & nuts + vanilla protein shake w/ soy milk) - 569 calories. 30% of my daily recommended intake. That was for one cup of muesli ... and I know my portions are closer to 2 cups! It was an eye opener to be sure seeing all those calories deducted off my daily allowance.

I think the barcode scanner feature will be very handy. I got some nut protein bars which I scanned last night. 200 calories. So, if I felt a bit peckish in the afternoon, there's another quick 200 on top of my nearly 2 cups of muesli... and I haven't even had lunch or dinner! Speaking of dinner, that is definitely my biggest meal of the day. It's the one meal where I've struggled psychologically to cut back on portion-wise.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. It's been an eye opener looking at what my optimal intake should be for cutting and - given the numbers - it does look like I've been a bit far off the mark so far as diet goes. I suppose it will affect my progress with weight training as I have been consistently improving on all my lifts. But I can live with a dip in my performance in the short term. Before I got back into the gym I was toying with the 'lose fat & gain muscle at the same time' thinking. But, seeing as I hadn't been in the gym and hadn't built any appreciable amount of muscle training that I wanted to protect, focusing squarely on fat loss seemed lot more logical. I was really looking forward to cutting off that extra 12-15 kg and switching my focus back to resistance training and building my body back to what it used to be, and then some. So you can imagine why that scale reading yesterday knocked me around a bit. But, I feel a lot better now as I feel with the calorie counting I've got all my bases covered and can account for everything going in.

Just one more quick question and forgive me if it comes across as naive. Is it okay to feel hungry when on a cut? I can live with it and load up on water between meals.

Welcome to MyFitnessPal. It is a Godsend and an eye opener. You’ll get used to it and kick yourself for not downloading sooner.

You can use its recommendation as a baseline and go from there. If your not loosing weight after couple weeks, adjust calories to match your goal.

You’ll be amazed one day when you’ll binge at a local restaurant and come home and log your 1800 calorie meal, drinks and dessert. lol

Keeps me on track. I still splurge sometimes and go over like 500 to 800 calories for the day but then I can adjust my breakfast the next day.

[Tommy W.]

Just one more quick question and forgive me if it comes across as naive. Is it okay to feel hungry when on a cut?

You will be as calories get lower however you get used to it. You learn to EMBRACE hunger. Your body is telling you it doesn't want to tap into stored fat and you're telling it to STFU, you WILL use the GD stored fat just as you were designed to.

[wickedsushi]

Welcome to MyFitnessPal. It is a Godsend and an eye opener. You’ll get used to it and kick yourself for not downloading sooner.

You can use its recommendation as a baseline and go from there. If your not loosing weight after couple weeks, adjust calories to match your goal.

You’ll be amazed one day when you’ll binge at a local restaurant and come home and log your 1800 calorie meal, drinks and dessert. lol

Keeps me on track. I still splurge sometimes and go over like 500 to 800 calories for the day but then I can adjust my breakfast the next day.

I'm glad I finally sucked it up and downloaded it. Once I get in the groove with it I'm sure I will kick myself for not have started tracking sooner. My partner has it as well and she said when she used it years ago it was a great help.

You will be as calories get lower however you get used to it. You learn to EMBRACE hunger. Your body is telling you it doesn't want to tap into stored fat and you're telling it to STFU, you WILL use the GD stored fat just as you were designed to.

I can go with that mentality. I know my mother, back in the day when she was a fitness nut, always swore by a big glass of water whenever she was trying to lose weight and was getting peckish between meals...

[wickedsushi]

Hello all.

Just a quick update. Been using MyFitnessPal now for nearly two weeks - and 2kg gone. Down from 110.3kg to 107.9kg!

Thank you so much to everyone who suggested I track my calorie intake. I've never done it in previous weight loss efforts, but what an amazing eye opener! I don't know what I was eating during dinner beforehand, but looking back with what I know now, I must have been smashing 1000 calories plus easily. With my established daily target of 1870, it's little wonder I wasn't seeing any movement on the scales - regardless of how 'healthy' the food was.

It's great to have everything accounted for. I don't attempt to eat back calories from exercise, but still drifted over the 1870. I'm averaging about 900 calories with my cardio efforts, which was leaving me with around 5-600 calorie deficit (exercise accounted for). The scales weren't moving as much as I wanted so - and this is the great thing with the app - I can see exactly where I can trim up the calories further. Instead of 80-90g of muesli, I cut it down to 50gm. And another surprising one - coffee! I always have milk and sweetener, but I saw I could whack off 75 calories a cup by switching to black. Two coffees a day and reduced amount of muesli and I'd already shaved off over 300 calories! Along with a couple of other tweaks, I managed to get my deficit to between 800-1000 calories a day. The increased deficit really started to get the scales counting down.

Weigh myself every morning and track with the Libra app. It's a lot better weighing daily as opposing to banking everything on a reading once a week. I tend to have two days with around the same weigh +/- .1kg, followed by a day with a .4kg drop off.

Thanks again, all.

[backinthegymbro]

If you go on a cut and you go to the gym for the first time, you'll gain a lot of muscle.
The muscle gains will make up for the loss of fat on the scale so the number on the scale stays the same.
But this doesn't mean that your diet isn't working or that you're not losing fat.

Take pictures every 2 weeks of yourself and use a measuring tape to measure your stomach.
Results will come if you're dieting properly. Don't focus too much on the scale.

[zanisbar]

If you go on a cut and you go to the gym for the first time, you'll gain a lot of muscle.
The muscle gains will make up for the loss of fat on the scale so the number on the scale stays the same.
But this doesn't mean that your diet isn't working or that you're not losing fat.

Take pictures every 2 weeks of yourself and use a measuring tape to measure your stomach.
Results will come if you're dieting properly. Don't focus too much on the scale.

i would say this is very incorrect approach though,as you don't know whether or not you are losing fat and building muscle or simply doing nothing.

besides you can loose fat much faster(2x to 5x faster) then you can ever build muscle naturally.

best way would be to go on aggresive cut and then followed by lean bulk to keep that fat gain minimum.

[SuffolkPunch]

i would say this is very incorrect approach though,as you don't know whether or not you are losing fat and building muscle or simply doing nothing.

besides you can loose fat much faster(2x to 5x faster) then you can ever build muscle naturally.

best way would be to go on aggresive cut and then followed by lean bulk to keep that fat gain minimum.

Not necessarily. Granted it will be less certain but if you work hard and make consistent progressive overload whiles staying the same weight, you're doing the business.

If you have a lot of fat to lose then perhaps it would not make sense unless you really can't live with a calorie deficit for prolonged periods - in which case you'll have to live with the fact it's going to take a very long time to reach a lean target.

[TryingBB]

i would say this is very incorrect approach though,as you don't know whether or not you are losing fat and building muscle or simply doing nothing.

besides you can loose fat much faster(2x to 5x faster) then you can ever build muscle naturally.

best way would be to go on aggresive cut and then followed by lean bulk to keep that fat gain minimum.

I beg to differ. Backinthegymbro is 100% right. I am a living proof.

I actually gained a few pounds when I went to the gym 3 months ago because muscles immediately get inflammed and retain more water and glycogen.

For the last three months, I have been eating 200 to 400 below maintenance and seeing progressive overload work and loosing fat at the same time. Pics and workout history speak a lot. I take a pic every day and weight myself everyday. Weigh-ins are between 165 to 168 everyday for the last 3 months. I started this journey with just WEIGHTLOSS at 30%+ bodyfat last November at about 190lbs or so. I went off the track for a couple months and gained some weight back but came back on track...

And 3 months ago I was 24% to 25%. Currently I am about 21% bodyfat.

I don’t do a more agggressive cut because workouts and recovery become a challenge.

Hang in there...with a slight deficit and progressive overload, changes will happen.

I highly recommend JEFIT app to track your workouts. It’s awesome but takes a bit of learning. You can program your own workout in there.

[zanisbar]

To each to its own i guess,when i tried recomp it was just wasting my one month.