Please help me understand...I've been running in circles for years

[BBJT200]

So i've been of the mentality, "My diet is fine," for a long time. It clearly hasn't been.
I've been able to get bigger and stronger with ease my entire life, but dropping bodyfat has always been nearly impossible.

I'm trying to do sort of a recomp at the moment. I need to add size to my chest and biceps, while dropping a few % bodyfat over the next six weeks.
I'm extremely imbalanced right now and it's sort of embarrassing for me; I practically have no chest but have a big back, legs, torso, etc.

Stats:
190
5'9"
11-12% body fat
Lifting exp. 3.5 years
Cycle experience:
1) 16wk 600mg/wk test E, boosted to 750mg last 6 wks. First 8 wks Var @ 80mg ED (ran this cycle prior to getting on TRT due to physical damage to testicles)
----4 wks 150mg/wk trt dose test E----
2) 4wk 100mg/day var +[150mg/wk trt test E]
----4 wks 150mg/wk trt dose test e----
Current cycle: 3.5 weeks into: 525mg/wk tren ace[150mg EOD], 100mg/wk test E [trt] + 200mcg T3/day
.5mg caber 2x/week, have AI on hand but don't seem to be needing on such a low dose of test.

Tren sides just hit hard, and i'm going to lower dose to 350mg/wk and pin 50mg ED - No insomnia, and only mild night sweats, but I feel like someone is standing on my chest 24/7. BP is pretty high, taking cialis and arginine at the moment.
I may end up going to the doc for BP meds. I actually sleep better on tren than normal. ???

Now, my estimated maintenance calories are 2508.
190*.88*15=2508

If I burn 500 cals AM fasted cardio, as well as lifting for an hour, followed by 500 cals of LISS
My estimated 'maintenance' calories would then be around 3700, correct? So if I were to want to drop about 2lbs a week, I should be able to eat 2700 cals/day.
Is this right?

Also, my understanding of tren's mechanisms is that carb intake is literally limitless as long as you have extremely low dietary fat and estrogen levels are low.
Excess carbs will just be burned off as bodyheat. Traditionally, the best way i've found to lose bodyfat is a carb cycling or low carb approach, but with tren it seems like that would be counter-productive.

[BBJT200]

Anybody?

[gbrice75]

If you feel your biggest issue is with being unable to properly drop bodyfat, why recomp? Why not just focus on cutting for a bit, then switch gears to slowly adding mass while focusing on your weaker areas?

[BBJT200]

I guess I could. Maybe it would make more sense to do that.

Is my tdee calculation correct?

[gbrice75]

I guess I could. Maybe it would make more sense to do that.

Is my tdee calculation correct?

It's right where I'd start you at, so I'll say yes, lol. You already know you'll need to monitor and adjust as needed.

Have you read my sticky? If not, it might help you get started: http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...g#.UTUTTB2G2So

[Kagenical]

Your goal is cutting fat, while trying to gain muscle. Tren is fantastic for this purpose.

However I question your exercise regime. Burning 500kcal twice a day through cardio (one fasted, one LISS) requires that you're running/jogging around 10 miles a day. Every day.

Sure, you can eat 3500kcal on workout days... But I highly doubt you can maintain this exercise routine 7 days a week, for the entirety of your cycle. Correct me if I'm wrong (and hats off to you if I am).
Make sure you're adjusting your intake on rest days, to account for the decrease in exercise.

Also, IMHO, 2500kcal a day for BMR MAY be a bit high for someone that's 190lbs. Though I've never been as lean as you at 190lbs, I found my BMR to be around 1800 when I was 190lbs at 28% BF after a pretty serious bulk. Sure, you had 18 lean pounds on me, but I don't think that accounts for, say, 700kcal of BMR.

At your dose of tren, I feel that cutting out a few hundred calories (say, 250) a day until you're successfully hitting your -2lb/wk target will likely be needed. IMHO, I feel that a clean daily intake of around 2500kcal a day will likely get you some great recomp, but not a 2lb loss of fat per week.

[cj111]

Also, IMHO, 2500kcal a day for BMR MAY be a bit high for someone that's 190lbs.

2500 is correct, im the same stats
Also, like ^^ said, tren is awesome, don't get to fussy with your numbers just don't go over board on the eating and you will still make gains.

[BBJT200]

Gotcha. Well, in the steroid forum we concluded that my physique has been royally f****** up over the last week by a super high dose of t3 and a crap diet.
It would appear as though I catabolized around 10 lbs of muscle and actually gained bodyfat over the last 7 days.

My previous batch of t3 was underdosed, so when I swapped to my new bottle I was taking probably 4-6x the dose I had been on previously.
I guess I'm just going to have to recomp and fix the damage I caused.

I think I'll just stick to 2500-3000kcal with the 2x/day cardio sessions to get the best possible recomp possible. I've got the time and motivation to do it.
Hell, I NEED to do it to keep my job.