Powerlifter decides to cut.

[Episteme]

I've posted on here occasionally.

I mostly lifted for size and strength since 15 years of age. I competed in powerlifting meets, set a state record some years ago in bench press (WNPF) as a lifetime natural. I always wanted to get bigger and stronger, didn't care about 'looking lean'.

I'm now 38 (birthday was yesterday). I decided on June 12th I needed to finally stop being fat. My weight had been as high as 200 lbs, and when I started this cut, I was 183. I'm now 172.

I'm looking to cut another 10 lbs. of fat while maintaining as much muscle and strength as possible. Strength has definitely taken a hit, both from weight loss, but especially age.

I know I'm not a bodybuilder, nor will I ever step on stage. Here is my modest progress on cutting so far. 28 day cut.

[shaneinga]

Welcome. Good luck with the remainder of your diet. You are definitely carrying some good mass.

[Episteme]

Welcome. Good luck with the remainder of your diet. You are definitely carrying some good mass.

Thanks very much. I got as big and strong as I could in my 20s, so I took advantage of my youth to build the ‘base’.

I should add that I’ve been intermittently fasting since February. I do believe it’s helped my metabolism as I get older.

This ‘before and after’ was after about a month of cleaning up the diet.

[smokinal]

Good work man.

Yeah, it's strange how our goals and interests change as we age. Good luck on your cut.

If looking more muscular is the goal, don't worry about the strength and weight loss; you'll look bigger as you get lighter.

[Episteme]

Great progress!

You’re the same height as me, and I felt fat as fuk when I weighed 170...you might be surprised at how much healthier you feel at 160 (or even less), and how much tighter you look. Once you get over the mental trauma of feeling “small” you might really appreciate the leaner build.

Good luck...keep posting pics of your progress.

thanks!

You've spoken to the exact sentiments I've had about losing any weight over the years: feeling small and skinny whenever I lose a few pounds.

[Episteme]

Good work man.

Yeah, it's strange how our goals and interests change as we age. Good luck on your cut.

If looking more muscular is the goal, don't worry about the strength and weight loss; you'll look bigger as you get lighter.

Thanks for the encouragement.

I'm finding that while I 'feel' small, I *look* bigger now that I'm a little leaner. Perhaps that illusion will get even more pronounced as I drop more fat.

Some people who I've shown these pictures to, thought I actually gained weight and had gotten bigger. I had to tell them I lost around 10 lbs.

The strength loss will take some time for me to fully accept. But I'm getting there.

thanks for the encouragement and feedback.

[brit-iron]

Great progress! And totally agree with what Grubman said.

[Episteme]

Great progress! And totally agree with what Grubman said.

Thanks!

[induced_drag]

I spent many years training with strength as the primary motivator.

That said, when I decided to focus on dropping BF, I finally felt like I looked much more like the amount of effort I have put in over the years.

BF is very deceiving and yes, it will mess with your head. But most people underestimate just how much fat they carry. On average most people need to double the amount of fat they think they have to lose. Sounds crazy but I have seen it over and over.

One last thing. If you ever do decide to lean out significantly, it will have a PERMANENT impact on strength. Dropping below 10% range and getting and staying lean for long periods diets out all your intra-muscular fat. This makes you weaker lb/lb. You cant see or measure intra-muscular fat like you can with a skin fold, or waist measurement, but guarantee it is there. It is the reason you will lose inches even in skinfolds dont show that much to lose.


For me, I am OK with not being the strongest I have ever been since I feel a lot better and most would say I look better also. But being very lean is not good for overall strength.

With that in mind, if you just stay in the healthy range of 12-15% it probably wont make a huge impact. Drop to 10 or below, and yes....strength dives off. Even when you resume eating, it does not come back to previous levels if you cut deep enough to really attack fat deep in the muscle tissue.

Good luck!

[xTeTe]

Nice work so far

[bropheus]

I've posted on here occasionally.

I mostly lifted for size and strength since 15 years of age. I competed in powerlifting meets, set a state record some years ago in bench press (WNPF) as a lifetime natural. I always wanted to get bigger and stronger, didn't care about 'looking lean'.

I'm now 38 (birthday was yesterday). I decided on June 12th I needed to finally stop being fat. My weight had been as high as 200 lbs, and when I started this cut, I was 183. I'm now 172.

I'm looking to cut another 10 lbs. of fat while maintaining as much muscle and strength as possible. Strength has definitely taken a hit, both from weight loss, but especially age.

I know I'm not a bodybuilder, nor will I ever step on stage. Here is my modest progress on cutting so far. 28 day cut.

When you get <10% realm there'll be a noticeable cutoff in strength. Strong lifters who decide to cut often find that hard to accept. Because of that many lifters get injured or quit cutting. For optimal results, you have to decide what it is that you want more, being lean or being strong, and accept the downside.

[PhantomMaxx]

I've posted on here occasionally.

I mostly lifted for size and strength since 15 years of age. I competed in powerlifting meets, set a state record some years ago in bench press (WNPF) as a lifetime natural. I always wanted to get bigger and stronger, didn't care about 'looking lean'.

I'm now 38 (birthday was yesterday). I decided on June 12th I needed to finally stop being fat. My weight had been as high as 200 lbs, and when I started this cut, I was 183. I'm now 172.

I'm looking to cut another 10 lbs. of fat while maintaining as much muscle and strength as possible. Strength has definitely taken a hit, both from weight loss, but especially age.

I know I'm not a bodybuilder, nor will I ever step on stage. Here is my modest progress on cutting so far. 28 day cut.

So in the years you competed in Powerlifting didn't you ever cut weight to a lighter weight class? I'm assuming you competed in 82.5kg/181.7lb weight class. You could have dropped down to like 174LB real weight and then water cut to 165LB class. Trying to maintaining as much strength as possible while dropping weight is very challenging but the results will be worth it as percent wise and wilks score is better. Good luck with your quest.