Back to the gym after 4 years!

[godndrugz]

Was wondering if anyone could guide me:-

I hit the gym hard for 4 years and gained quite a lot of mass. Due to buying my first home and priorities changing i havent been to the gym consistently for about 4 years now.

I have put on weight so i sit at approx. 190lbs. @ 5 10" at maybe 25% BF.

I'm getting back into the gym now and have started on a cut, the only problem is i'm not losing weight like i used to on a cut.

Before stopping the gym i did a few bulk/cut cycles and could quite easily cut 1/1.5lbs a week. I'm now losing around 0.5/0,75lbs a week. (been going 4 weeks)

Would it be possible that muscle memory and starting weight lifting again would be the cause. i.e. losing fat but gaining muscle? I know people say you cant gain muscle in a deficit but in this instance is it possible?

Would people do it differently, would you start at maintenance/slight surplus to gain the muscle back and then start cutting?

TIA

[SuffolkPunch]

How long have you been training for at a consistent calorie intake?

If less than 2 or 3 weeks then that's not really long enough to rule out changes in water weight, glycogen uptake into the muscles and inflammation due to unaccustomed training.

Yes recomping does happen but is not usually dramatic (no muscle gain is, it's always a long play).

[godndrugz]

How long have you been training for at a consistent calorie intake?

If less than 2 or 3 weeks then that's not really long enough to rule out changes in water weight, glycogen uptake into the muscles and inflammation due to unaccustomed training.

Yes recomping does happen but is not usually dramatic (no muscle gain is, it's always a long play).

It's been 4 weeks now, the only reason i ask is beacause when i previously went on a cut i would always lose a few lbs of water weight the first week and then a steady 1.5l/bs a week. Obviously its different now as my body composition is different. I have less muscle mass & more body fat then when ive been on a cut before so may need to look a tit from a different way.

[SuffolkPunch]

Are you using the exact same calorie intake as you used before?

Sounds like you would need to decrease your calorie intake from what it is now by about 3-500 calories if you want to lose at that rate.

[A4min]

to add to abovel;

Could also be activity levels compared to 4 years ago and also age to some degree.

[MG5]

Before you had more muscle mass and were lifting more. Your metabolic rate was probably higher, you needed more calories, you could lose weight on more calories. Now that you've stopped lifting, you've probably lost quite a bit of muscle, you haven't been as active, so your metabolic rate is lower.

If you're trying to lose fat on the amount of calories you lost fat years ago, that probably won't work as well. You'll probably need to drop calories lower due to having less muscle and a lower metabolic rate.

EDIT: And no, don't bulk at 25% body fat. Focus on fat loss and if you're lifting is dialed in, you should gain back some of that lost muscle in the process.