6 Month Cut. Are these "good" results for the time frame? Stage 1 of 3 (Lose 65lb)

[Emdamnify]

STAGE #1 (Shed 65 lbs)

A little story to fill in the voids.

I started this journey on New Years day 2012. I weighed a whopping 220 lb at a height of 5 feet 8 inches, age 37. I already knew about the majority of body mechanics and the way things worked(studied nutrition in college for some time) but never applied it because I was very lazy. After a Christmas binge I said, "Enough is enough!!" I am going to apply everything I learned and incorporate it in diet, cardio, working out, and even more diet. I set out for my goals like nobody's business. I went in with guns blazing and never let up.

Food Management(Convinced Diet is 95% of the equation)

I had my macros planned perfectly(and I mean perfect). 500 cal below maintenance, borrowed a body bug to see my cal burn during the day which was a crazy 1000 cal. This was done for my job, cardio, working out and based on an average for the week. So I had to eat around 3875 cal a day just to be 500 below maintenance. Every pound I lost I reduced my food 15 cal. Ex(225lb I ate 3875cal, 175lb i ate 3125cal, 155lb I ate 2825cal etc.) I ate the same exact thing every single day. Almonds, chicken, wheat pasta, salads, veggies, oats, protein power, and eggs(varied amounts depending on my weight). This averaged out a 3lb loss every week. Some days I just couldn't eat 3875cal in "good" food so I lost pretty fast in the beggining. Water weight was a huge factor the first few weeks also. Scimming 17lb right off the top after 14 days. Then it leveled out to about 2lb a week. I took zero supplements besides 2 scoops of protein power(can only eat so much chicken in a day). My Protein was 230g, Fat around 80g, and the rest carbs(which varied).

Workout Routine

I had my workouts in order, I had my cardio routine set and I banged the hell out of it. Working cardio 7 days a week(biking 14 miles a day which took me around 40min), working out 4 days a week(Chest, back, legs, abs, arms, and shoulders), and eating perfectly. Finding this forum about 5 months into my "cut" also helped with inspiration and dedication. Wish I found it sooner then one month remaining. After all the blood sweat and tears subsided and 6 months passed from Jan 1 to (June 1 after picure). I was now 155 lb, and more feel amazing.

While I have no idea on how much body fat I shed off my frame. I am willing to guess the before picture was somewhere in the high 30% range. Feel free to tell me the before and after body percentages. I really don't care as much as some on this site but for ***** and giggles, humor me. My guess would be 15% but the loose skin conceals my abs so I could be wrong. I feel them underneth but really am not sure if they ever will show. I figure with a bulk I may just be able to add some crazy mass to make the muscle fill in the skin. My fingers are crossed.

I am now in the process of finishing up my so called cut. Hoping to get to 150 or so. I will start my clean bulk in November, then put on about 25 lb and start my next cut in March. If I can cut, I sure as hell can bulk. I will cut out my cardio(Biked 550cal in those 14 miles), and up my cal 450 more to reverse the process. Which will put the scale on the surplus of 500cal for a slow "clean" bulk. Also adding 15cal for each pound gained. Should boil down to a 1/1.5 lbs every week or two.

Hard work and determination will get you everything in life. No excuses, push hard and get moving. It also is pretty fun once you start seeing results..and addicting as well. If you are not hurting, you are not working!!!

I just hope these results are great for the time frame. I really can not do anything else to modify/tweak it.

Thanks for reading.

[Joelferg02]

wow nice work OP

[CakeIsYummy]

Great progress dude! As far as losing weight too slowly, I think you did it right. Dieting slowly will allow to retain as much muscle mass as possible - and that's something you should strive for.

You had a high BF%, meaning, losing at a rate of about 2-3 pounds per week was fine. Now that you're leaner, try losing around 1-1.5 pounds per week.

Good luck!