2019 Cut Log for xsquid99 - JAN to MARCH

[xsquid99]

So here I am exactly 2 years into my journey of fixing my body. I started in JAN 2017 when I was about 255 lbs at roughly 26-28% BF, I was wearing a size 38 pants, never worked out a day in my life, I was weak, skinny-fat (but mostly just fat at that point), and miserable.

I just finished my second bulk after 2 successful cuts. It takes a long time to fix skinny-fat but I would like to think I have been successful at it so far, but lets see what this cut can reveal after a 9 month bulk and gain of 26 lbs (my target was 3 lbs per month so I'm happy I was able to get that close).

Age: 44
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 226

The mirror is going to be my guide on this cut, but I'm guessing I'll be down somewhere around 195-200 when I'm done.

This first week is going to be kind of a wash for me since we are leaving on a snowboarding trip today and I don't plan on tracking a single macro until I return on the 6th. But I'm going to do my best to eat intuitively and see if I can make a little progress this week.

[HotDogManB]

Nice, can't wait to see updates

[MoEcho]

In!

[xsquid99]

Starting Weight: 226 lbs
Day 12 Update: 223 lbs

Made some good progress this week after putting on a couple lbs on my vacation the first week of JAN. I'm down 5 lbs this week and 3 lbs overall from my starting weight. I've settled into my cut diet pretty well.

Currently eating 2500-2700 calories per day
Macro targets: 200g Protein, 80-90g of fats, and 200-250g of carbs.

Not being too strict, just trying to hit ballpark figures right now.

[scrossmaggard]

Following along

[xsquid99]

I took yesterday completely off from the gym (I only take one full day off per week), so I hit a push day today with emphasis on shoulders and did some ab work and finished out with 20 minutes cardio on the Stairmaster. Overall strength is feeling good with no noticeable decrease, felt much better on cardio today after struggling through a couple of my sessions last week.

May try a slight reduction of carbs this week just to speed things up a tiny bit, though I've always been an advocate of cutting on as many calories as possible, that way I can always subtract if things begin to stall. I really want to keep this cut consistent at 1-2 lbs per week because in the past I have noticed severe strength losses when trying to cut too quickly.

[xsquid99]

Starting Weight: 226 lbs
Day 21 Update: 220 lbs

Holding steady at 2 lbs per week loss, which is right where I want to be. Eating higher carb on weekends (just due to preference so I can eat out with friends), keeping carbs fairly low (under 175-200g per day) on weekdays.

Increased cardio starting yesterday to 4 days per week at 20 minutes per session and dropped calories starting yesterday to a maximum of 2500 per day to keep up the 2 lbs per week loss. Lifting stamina in the gym is definitely down a bit, as I struggled with some of my final reps yesterday that were never a problem while bulking; overall my daily energy levels are still very good though.

[xsquid99]

Starting Weight: 226 lbs
Day 28 Update: 218 lbs

Dropped another couple pounds this week, no changes to diet or exercise routine. Still 4 days of cardio at 20 minutes (stairclimber) in addition to my lifting, calories are at 2500. Feeling really good and I can see changes in the mirror, definitely the stomach pouch and love handles are pulling in. I'm guessing around another 15-20 lbs to go, but so far I'm feeling good and on the right track.

[xsquid99]

Starting Weight: 226 lbs
Day 35 Update: 217 lbs

Only down 1 lb this week, but I saw a new low on the scale of 216 before it jumped back up today, so I'm confident that the daily "noise" of the scale are just playing with the numbers. I'm going to continue on current path and not change anything this week. If I need to drop cals next week by a couple hundred I may do that just to keep on current glideslope. Definitely things are changing in the mirror, so I'll take some photos this weekend and upload along with my day 1 shot so you can see the difference 5 weeks makes.

My goal weight is going to be 200 lbs just based on what I see in the mirror so far, I think I can get there in 8-10 more weeks so we will see.

[xsquid99]

Starting Weight: 226 lbs
Day 39 Update: 215.4 lbs

Had a great week and a big "whoosh" the other day that results in a couple pound drop seemingly overnight; no need to change diet or macros or workout routine. Still hitting 2400-2500 cals and 4 days of cardio at 20 minutes in addition to my normal lifting schedule.

Got about 15-20 lbs to go still, but on the right track!

[xsquid99]

Realized that I haven't posted an update recently, I've been so focused on the fat loss thread in the main forum that I forgot to update this one.

Starting Weight: 226 lbs
Day 49 Update: 212 lbs

Really happy with the way things are progressing so far. No need to change calories/macros or add more cardio so I'm going to stay on the current path. I'm going to continue until March 31st or whenever I hit 200 lbs, whichever comes first.

[xsquid99]

Starting Weight: 226 lbs
Day 64 Update: 209 lbs

Still progressing though things have definitely slowed down a bit (to be expected) over the last few weeks. I'm still losing about 1.5 lbs a week right now so I'm pretty happy with that and I don't intend to drop cals or increase activity with that rate of loss. Goal is still to hit 200, which should probably put me roughly around 13-14% body fat.