Reply
Results 1 to 2 of 2
  1. #1
    Registered User Fitmancer's Avatar
    Join Date: Aug 2020
    Age: 54
    Posts: 14
    Rep Power: 0
    Fitmancer will become famous soon enough. (+50) Fitmancer will become famous soon enough. (+50) Fitmancer will become famous soon enough. (+50) Fitmancer will become famous soon enough. (+50) Fitmancer will become famous soon enough. (+50) Fitmancer will become famous soon enough. (+50) Fitmancer will become famous soon enough. (+50) Fitmancer will become famous soon enough. (+50) Fitmancer will become famous soon enough. (+50) Fitmancer will become famous soon enough. (+50) Fitmancer will become famous soon enough. (+50)
    Fitmancer is offline

    Come a long way, still a long way to go. Need recomp advice

    Background: When I was young I was naturally really skinny. Started drinking a lot in college and realized I got skinny fat so I started running, I was about ~215. First pic of me is about 5 months of me running, weighed about ~210. I moved across the country and started to take my fitness to the next level and managed to cut down to ~192 by simply cutting calories. About 5 months ago I began lifting 5-6 days a week consistently and noticed substantial improvement in my physique. About one month ago I started getting really serious about my diet and began tracking macros in MyFitnessPal and have been consistently staying at a caloric deficit. Most recent pic was from a week ago, and now I am still at ~192 but at ~17% body fat.

    For the past week I have been really pushing it with my diet and I am a little unsure of what direction I should go in and need advice. I have been running a caloric deficit of about 800-1000 and am noticing I am much weaker in the gym, however I feel that thats more due to a lack of energy than actual muscle loss. Note that I have sharply increased the amount of cardio I do; I have been running 5 miles, hiking for two hours, going on hour long walks, etc. I have also been making damn well sure to be taking in at minimum 170g of protein each day.

    I guess where I am at is that I don't really know if running that much of a deficit is productive. I think that I am going to shift down to a much more moderate 600 calorie deficit and start eating a bit more so I have more energy to lift and run, but this is still a bit lower than a lot of the recommendations I've seen. I am chilling at about 17% body fat right now but I want to cut down to 13-15%: just enough to see my abs. After that, I want to start running a ~300 calorie surplus to start bulking and gain serious muscle. During my initial time slimming down and not really tracking macros I was able to hit two plates on the bench, but I feel like I am starting to get to a point where building muscle is going to require me to eat a bit more. I don't really mind the body fat percentage I'm at right now overall, but I'd much rather get it lower so I can bulk for a longer period of time without getting pudgy.

    If I am running a higher deficit for a few months, mostly due to increased cardio, I shouldn't lose that much muscle, right? As long as I am consistently hitting protein goals? I guess I just feel a bit lost at this point and am trying to figure out what direction I should take my fitness. In the long term, I want to have about 5-10 more pounds of muscle and be a little leaner than I am right now, but I feel like I am two years off from that at best. I also don't want to get too pudgy or set back my muscle gains along the way.
    Attached Images
    Reply With Quote

  2. #2
    Moderator SuffolkPunch's Avatar
    Join Date: Jan 2007
    Location: Suffolk, United Kingdom (Great Britain)
    Posts: 54,513
    Rep Power: 1338184
    SuffolkPunch has the mod powerz SuffolkPunch has the mod powerz SuffolkPunch has the mod powerz SuffolkPunch has the mod powerz SuffolkPunch has the mod powerz SuffolkPunch has the mod powerz SuffolkPunch has the mod powerz SuffolkPunch has the mod powerz SuffolkPunch has the mod powerz SuffolkPunch has the mod powerz SuffolkPunch has the mod powerz
    SuffolkPunch is offline
    This forum is kind of quiet, it might be worth posting this in Workout Programs.

    It probably would pay to use a moderate deficit that allows you to maintain your lifting volume. I think that slower weight loss means you stand a better chance of keeping it off.
    Reply With Quote

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts