How much longer to cut!

[Arun2904]

Hello Everyone! I'm new to the forum and have found it to be extremely helpful and the members to be really supportive. Cheers!

I'm 28yo, 176 cms (5 '10.5) Male. Had a screwed up diet and workout routine for years and ended up with skinny fat physique. Decided to make serious changes earlier in June and got consistent with lifting weights 5 times a week with 30 mins cardio 2-3 times a week and saw a steady 1lb decline a week. Macros at 1800-1900 calories (160C 170P 60F).

Start and now pictures are attached for reference.
Starting Weight (June 11) - 177 lbs (80.5 kgs)
Current weight (Oct 21) - 157 lbs (71.7 kgs)

I tried to hold on to as much muscle as i could during the cut but inevitable ended up loosing some. I am starting to look very skinny now since I was skinny fat from the start. Based on my current physique picture, I would appreciate your views on
1. whether I should continue my cut until i reach 9-10% Bf or start bulking earlier?
2. how long do you think i would take from here to reach a 9-10% Bf?
3. what would your guesstimate for my Bf at the moment (since I dont have equipment to get an accurate measurement).

Thank you for your time.

[hardyboysare]

1. No start early at what level is down to you but I personally wouldn't go lower then 68kg that is quite light.

2. No way of really knowing but as for a guess on your current bf% I would say around 17%. Therefore I would say probably around the 65kg or less to get near 10%. Would you have abs like most men want most likely not as defined as you wish but maybe some small amount. A muscle building phase will most likely be required in order to add excess lean body mass weight.

3. See above.

[RapidFail]

Congratulations on the weight loss! Interestingly, your body looks at least 10 years younger with the weight off. I think you're good to bulk now - although if you prefer to get a little leaner first, that's fine too.

[backinthegymbro]

Great progress. You can either lean bulk now or continue cutting. Depends on your personal goals.
Are you training each muscle group twice per week?

[Arun2904]

If this seems to be around 17% Bf then 9-10% would be at 65 kgs and that would be too skinny! Getting to 69kgs was my goal so I think i'll try to sustain the cut for another 4-6 weeks and get to 12-14% bf at 68-69 kgs. Shall keep updating progress! Thank you for helping out!

[Arun2904]

Congratulations on the weight loss! Interestingly, your body looks at least 10 years younger with the weight off. I think you're good to bulk now - although if you prefer to get a little leaner first, that's fine too.

Haha.. thank you so much for the motivation! Really helps. Iam on the cut for about 15 weeks now, I ll try sustaining it for another 4-6 weeks may be and get to 12-14% Bf and start my Bulk from there!

[Arun2904]

Great progress. You can either lean bulk now or continue cutting. Depends on your personal goals.
Are you training each muscle group twice per week?

Thanks man! Means alot. I think ill go ahead with the original plan to get a bit leaner from her to 12-14% bf which would mean 4-6 weeks of cutting further. Hoping to sustain that.

I was on a 5 day workout cycle until now (about 15 weeks). Back & Bi's, Chest & Tris, Shoulders & Abs, Legs and Rest. It worked out well but I wasn't really satisfied with the frequency and was recovering much faster than I was hitting them. I'm only starting out with the All pro workout this week since I really like the compound movements and would hit all parts more frequently. I think this should help with the bulking cycle as well.

[backinthegymbro]

Thanks man! Means alot. I think ill go ahead with the original plan to get a bit leaner from her to 12-14% bf which would mean 4-6 weeks of cutting further. Hoping to sustain that.

I was on a 5 day workout cycle until now (about 15 weeks). Back & Bi's, Chest & Tris, Shoulders & Abs, Legs and Rest. It worked out well but I wasn't really satisfied with the frequency and was recovering much faster than I was hitting them. I'm only starting out with the All pro workout this week since I really like the compound movements and would hit all parts more frequently. I think this should help with the bulking cycle as well.

You don't need an entire day for shoulders. I rather recommend chest and back. then shoulders + bis & tris together supersets, then legs. Repeat.
Or you can do chest and arms, shoulders and back, and legs. This way you'll hit everything twice a week if you worked out 6 days a week. Or you hit all the muscles in your upper body twice a week if you lifted 5x a week. I guarantee you'll see more results this way.
But if you're on a different routine now, then you can try that for a while and see if it gives you the results you want. Good luck!

[Arun2904]

You don't need an entire day for shoulders. I rather recommend chest and back. then shoulders + bis & tris together supersets, then legs. Repeat.
Or you can do chest and arms, shoulders and back, and legs. This way you'll hit everything twice a week if you worked out 6 days a week. Or you hit all the muscles in your upper body twice a week if you lifted 5x a week. I guarantee you'll see more results this way.
But if you're on a different routine now, then you can try that for a while and see if it gives you the results you want. Good luck!

Makes sense to hit all muscle groups twice a week, atleast as a beginner. I aim to do so!
Thanks.

[jinda628]

If this seems to be around 17% Bf then 9-10% would be at 65 kgs and that would be too skinny! Getting to 69kgs was my goal so I think i'll try to sustain the cut for another 4-6 weeks and get to 12-14% bf at 68-69 kgs. Shall keep updating progress! Thank you for helping out!

You might be around 15% when you get to 69kg since you will surely lose some lean mass during the process especially since you are at your lower limit already.
It's still not bad to start bulking but its very easy to gain fats starting bulk at 15% and you have a small allowance to bulk.

At least if you start at 12%, you can bulk up to 18% than bulking from 15-18.

[Arun2904]

You might be around 15% when you get to 69kg since you will surely lose some lean mass during the process especially since you are at your lower limit already.
It's still not bad to start bulking but its very easy to gain fats starting bulk at 15% and you have a small allowance to bulk.

At least if you start at 12%, you can bulk up to 18% than bulking from 15-18.

Yes, makes senses to continue cutting for a few more weeks until 12-14% Bf which I'm guessing would be at 67-68 kgs. I probably would look too skinny at 67kgs 5 '11 but it is what it is.

A question, I have been loosing weight at about 1-1.5 lbs a week for over 4 months. What would be a good rate to bulk at? (considering I'm a beginner). And how gradually (how many weeks) should i transition from a 500 cal deficit to a 300-500 calorie surplus?

thankyou!

[Arun2904]

A question, I have been loosing weight at about 1-1.5 lbs a week for over 4 months. What would be a good rate to bulk at? (considering I'm a beginner). And how gradually (how many weeks) should i transition from a 500 cal deficit to a 300-500 calorie surplus?

thankyou!

Bump

[SuffolkPunch]

Aim for between 0 and 2lbs a month weight gain...

If you think you know your TDEE with reasonable accuracy then jump straight to it. Ignore any overnight weight gain. It's just water and glycogen.

If your sums were correct you should be maintaining your weight. If you can make progress with your lifting like this then do so. If your progress slows, try an increase of 200 calories - then run this for 2 weeks before making any more adjustments.

[Arun2904]

Aim for between 0 and 2lbs a month weight gain...

If you think you know your TDEE with reasonable accuracy then jump straight to it. Ignore any overnight weight gain. It's just water and glycogen.

If your sums were correct you should be maintaining your weight. If you can make progress with your lifting like this then do so. If your progress slows, try an increase of 200 calories - then run this for 2 weeks before making any more adjustments.

Thankyou! shall get onto my first bulking cycle in two weeks time.