URGENTLY NEED HELP - from experts!

[Nate2021]

Currently I am sitting here hopeless and after going to gym for 7 months I am so close to falling off the wagon or just giving up. I am begging anyone reading this to take the time to answer and genuinely help me please? Please dont let me fall off the wagon.
I have tried research and I have not found what I was looking for.

Those who are experts in nutrition and bodybuilding and cutting please answer this. Only with facts and experience.

My name is Nate. I am 31 years old. I am a Male. My ethnicity is Indian. My height is 5'6 and 7 months ago I used to be 153 pounds (lbs) and now after 7 months of going to gym I am at 135 pounds.

There are 2 shapes a bulky strong man and a thin lean defined person.
Currently I want to be a lean well defined (6 pack showing low body fat%) guy.

Back story: I was chubby at 155 pounds, I was embarrassed to take my clothes off in locker room. Most of my fat were in stomach area. And I had a man boob thus I was never wearing small T shirts even though I love to wear it.

Therefore my goal started out as this. 1) Cut fat from stomach area and man boobs.

I went to gym for 7 months doing lots of cardio --> 15 min running to lose about 200 calories (according to treadmill machine)
Then I go and do body workout (whether its lower body workout or upper body workout) This workout program was made for me by a trainer who is free and comes with gym membership with planet fitness.


After 7 months I have reduced about 50% of man boobs, I have reduced about 70% stomach fat and now i am currently sitting at 135 pounds.

Many of my coworkers are telling me I look skinny, scrawny. When I look in the mirror I look skinny - I do not know if I like this look. I also have a somewhat of a 4 pack showing.
I know 6 pack or 4 pack depends on body fat %

My bicep circumference is around 13 inch. 7 months ago including fat on arm it was 13.5 inches.


Diet: I am eating 1500 calories per day. Most of them consist of protein around 40 to 50 grams. and very less fat and very less carbs.
Most of the time I feel hungry and tired.
Even with eating proteins I feel hungry.

Then I did research and I feel like my body is using muscles to break it down and use protein as energy.
I think I should start eating more fat and more carbs.

I also watched game changers on youtube and I also want to try lots of beans and lentils in my diet and not a lot of meat.

HOW SHOULD I PROCEED?

I want to look thin but lean but also well defined. Then my goal is bulk up by only 10 or 15 pounds....then do cut....then bulk up 10 or 15 pounds then cut...SLOWLY INCREASE MASS THAT WAY?

or do I do dirty bulk? or do i do clean bulk of 50 pounds then slowly cut down? or stick with only going up by 10 to 15 pounds then cut down?


I also want to know how should I eat now while I am cutting down to get rid of my last remaining stomach fat and flops...so my 6 pack will show. AGAIN....GETTING 6 PACK IS NOT MY GOAL.....but getting a good body fat percentage is my goal...so....IF I GET A 6 PACK THEN I KNOW I HAVE REACHED A GOOD BODY FAT %.....so getting a 6 pack is a INDIRECT goal...and indirectly lets me know i have achieved a good body fat %


How should I eat while I am cutting down to get? and how do i stop this catabolic reaction of muscles into proteins?

Do i continue with 1500 calories? if so, do I EAT A DIET THAT IS...high in carbs....medium in fat....high in protein....BUT LOW IN CALORIE?
is there food such as that? low calorie foods that are high in protein, high in carbs but low in fat?

please tell me how to eat!! please tell me what to do and when to bulk up....

im stressing myself over this and with covid and everything i am struggling and i want this gym to workout....

please anyone...put your heart in replying to this and im so sorry for the long email.

thank you

[W.I.N.]

It seems like you want trustworthy information, those are all in threads stickied both here and in the nutrition section, enjoy!

Also at 5'6 and 135lbs I don't think you should be cutting, you can't define if you have nothing to actually define, build some muscle mass so when you cut again months or an year from now you'll have something to show for it.

Don't try to rush it by dirty bulking, just do a modest surplus(your research into the stickies should help in deciding that) and train hard.

[bradlehman]

Before I got into lifting, I was in a similar situation to what you're describing, except I'm 5'11. I was basically 'skinnyfat' at around 165lbs through high school and the first year of college.

I didn't bother trying to cut from that point since I had no real muscle and wasn't obese. I didn't do much cardio either. I lifted progressively heavier weights (focusing on flat and incline bench, squats, deadlifts, and blasting my shoulders and biceps/triceps separately) and bulked by drinking mass gainer shakes (Russian Bear 5000) in addition to eating more (focusing on getting protein, not just whatever junk was available). It didn't take very long before I found I had put on a good amount of muscle and was pretty well-defined and lean in the mid-180s.

I suggest you make sure you're on a beginner lifting program that will help you increase the weights and build mass, and that you focus on a 'clean bulk' where you aim for a reasonable caloric surplus every day.

'Man boobs' become less of a thing when you build meaty pecs underneath and fill out your skin. Cutting when you're already 135lbs is a waste of your time. Add mass and reassess.

[illpinoise]

Do i continue with 1500 calories? if so, do I EAT A DIET THAT IS...high in carbs....medium in fat....high in protein....BUT LOW IN CALORIE?
is there food such as that? low calorie foods that are high in protein, high in carbs but low in fat?

A protein shake. Medium sized banana, 1 scoop of whey/casein, 32 grams peanut butter, some spinach (85-100 g) - 455 cals (47 g carbs, 17 g fat, 34 g protein)

[Tommy W.]

Unless you post a pic of yourself there is no way anybody can give you actual advice that will be remotely accurate plus having a trainer from planet fitness write you a program is not going to be optimum in most cases

[Luclin999]

Do i continue with 1500 calories? if so, do I EAT A DIET THAT IS...high in carbs....medium in fat....high in protein....BUT LOW IN CALORIE?
is there food such as that? low calorie foods that are high in protein, high in carbs but low in fat?

Even without eating meat, its not that difficult to put together food like that...

Whole Fat Cottage Cheese (1/2 cup) + 1 cup Blueberries.

Cal: 244; carb: 37g; Fat: 6g; Protein: 16g

Beyond Meat Burger + 1 pc 2% Milk Cheese + 1 Nature's Own Sandwich round.

Cal: 395; carb: 27g; Fat: 22g; Protein: 29g

And the reason why you are feeling bad is probably because you are eating too little fat each day.

You really need about 60g as the minimum just for decent metabolic/hormone function.

[xsquid99]

Unless you post a pic of yourself there is no way anybody can give you actual advice that will be remotely accurate

This OP, you need to post a photo otherwise we can't tell you the way to proceed. Self descriptions and measurements tell us nothing.

[Cparnell7]

Currently I am sitting here hopeless and after going to gym for 7 months I am so close to falling off the wagon or just giving up. I am begging anyone reading this to take the time to answer and genuinely help me please? Please dont let me fall off the wagon.
I have tried research and I have not found what I was looking for.

Those who are experts in nutrition and bodybuilding and cutting please answer this. Only with facts and experience.

My name is Nate. I am 31 years old. I am a Male. My ethnicity is Indian. My height is 5'6 and 7 months ago I used to be 153 pounds (lbs) and now after 7 months of going to gym I am at 135 pounds.

There are 2 shapes a bulky strong man and a thin lean defined person.
Currently I want to be a lean well defined (6 pack showing low body fat%) guy.

Back story: I was chubby at 155 pounds, I was embarrassed to take my clothes off in locker room. Most of my fat were in stomach area. And I had a man boob thus I was never wearing small T shirts even though I love to wear it.

Therefore my goal started out as this. 1) Cut fat from stomach area and man boobs.

I went to gym for 7 months doing lots of cardio --> 15 min running to lose about 200 calories (according to treadmill machine)
Then I go and do body workout (whether its lower body workout or upper body workout) This workout program was made for me by a trainer who is free and comes with gym membership with planet fitness.


After 7 months I have reduced about 50% of man boobs, I have reduced about 70% stomach fat and now i am currently sitting at 135 pounds.

Many of my coworkers are telling me I look skinny, scrawny. When I look in the mirror I look skinny - I do not know if I like this look. I also have a somewhat of a 4 pack showing.
I know 6 pack or 4 pack depends on body fat %

My bicep circumference is around 13 inch. 7 months ago including fat on arm it was 13.5 inches.


Diet: I am eating 1500 calories per day. Most of them consist of protein around 40 to 50 grams. and very less fat and very less carbs.
Most of the time I feel hungry and tired.
Even with eating proteins I feel hungry.

Then I did research and I feel like my body is using muscles to break it down and use protein as energy.
I think I should start eating more fat and more carbs.

I also watched game changers on youtube and I also want to try lots of beans and lentils in my diet and not a lot of meat.

HOW SHOULD I PROCEED?

I want to look thin but lean but also well defined. Then my goal is bulk up by only 10 or 15 pounds....then do cut....then bulk up 10 or 15 pounds then cut...SLOWLY INCREASE MASS THAT WAY?

or do I do dirty bulk? or do i do clean bulk of 50 pounds then slowly cut down? or stick with only going up by 10 to 15 pounds then cut down?


I also want to know how should I eat now while I am cutting down to get rid of my last remaining stomach fat and flops...so my 6 pack will show. AGAIN....GETTING 6 PACK IS NOT MY GOAL.....but getting a good body fat percentage is my goal...so....IF I GET A 6 PACK THEN I KNOW I HAVE REACHED A GOOD BODY FAT %.....so getting a 6 pack is a INDIRECT goal...and indirectly lets me know i have achieved a good body fat %


How should I eat while I am cutting down to get? and how do i stop this catabolic reaction of muscles into proteins?

Do i continue with 1500 calories? if so, do I EAT A DIET THAT IS...high in carbs....medium in fat....high in protein....BUT LOW IN CALORIE?
is there food such as that? low calorie foods that are high in protein, high in carbs but low in fat?

please tell me how to eat!! please tell me what to do and when to bulk up....

im stressing myself over this and with covid and everything i am struggling and i want this gym to workout....

please anyone...put your heart in replying to this and im so sorry for the long email.

thank you

I hope I'm not too late. It sounds like you've done a great job the past 7 months dude! you lost weight! that was your goal. It does sound like your caloric intake is fine where its at currently

I'd personally recommend to begin hitting the resistance training floor a bit more often. you should try your best to get at least 30 sets per muscle group weekly for the next 7 months. talk to me then!

@thechrisparnell