Yep- I've hit the cutting plateu

Hey guys, I know this thread has come up a 1000x, but I need some advice while I cut for summer. I am a new member here, but not new to training (5 years) and I have read the stickies. I'm pretty much stuck right now. Just some basic info
-21 year old
- 5'9.5''
- 187lbs currently
- Been seriously training for about 5 years but just started taking my diet real serious in the past year.

I have always been pretty overweight with a horrible metabolism, I graduated at almost 225lbs. I have lifted heavy the whole time but never really cared about appearance until the past year or so. I have been steadily cutting and have gone from 212lbs last july to 183 in december, I bulked up 10lbs and have been cutting again for summer, and I am sitting at 187lbs. I calculated mt TDEE, which seems to be 2960 cals a day, but when I finally started counting calories, I started gaining weight when I was taking in about 2600. So I have been cutting at about 2200-2300, with macros at 110 fat, ~150 carbs on workout days (~100-110 on weight training days), and 215g protein. I was steadily losing a lb every week or so, but I havent lost any weight in a few weeks and I weighed in a lb heavier the other day. So I've come here for help. My training consists of 2 day on/1 day off weight training with 20mins HIIT cardio on off days. I work as a medical intern for a hospital so I am standing but not really active for 8-10hrs a day. Here are my progress pics below. If they upload right the first two are from last june, then last august when, then the mirror pics are from today. In the mornings I feel like I look less bloated than during the day, but I decided to post them anyway. Thanks

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matt welcome man! :)

first off, good work so far! u have done a very good job :)

id put u around 10-12%bf right now.

187lbs 11%bf
166.43 x 15 = 2496(rough maintenance)

2200cals = decent cutting deficit

id try 50/30/20 pro/carb/fat
275g pro
165g carbs
49g fat

im a little confused above with ur macros and workout days/weight training days. it almost sounds as though u reduce ur carbs on days u lift?? :scratch:

in any event:
215g pro
150g carbs
110g fat

these macros added together = 2450cals NOT 2200-2300??

try this split for a couple weeks and see how u do. u can also drop starchy carbs altogether on non-training days and increase ur fats a touch to maybe 80g or so.

it appears ur also only doing cardio on non-training days? this is fine depending how many u have per week. u could also add in some lower intensity cardio (elliptical) for a couple hours over the week to further ur deficit. id be curious to see ur actual diet.

assuming ur macros are correct above and u were eating 2450cals id first reduce down to the 2200 and hit the 50/30/20 split. :)

Congrats on your progress brotha. Looking good.

Thanks man, and sorry for the confusion, I have a couple typo's I didn't catch. I go to about 100grams carbs on NON weight training days, and about 125-150 carbs on weight training days. I will go to 150 carbs if my fat intake is 10 grams lower by the end of the day and throw some oats in a post dinner shake. Here's my diet I had today, which was leg day. Note, I work8-10hrs, so I can't eat 6 times a day. Note, I include veggies for carbs, which I hear is good from some but not necessary from others, so I just said hell with it and include them.

Your right, I did calculate the calories wrong for the macros with 150 carbs.
Meal 1- 7am
3/4 cup oats
2tbsp natty peanut butter
6 eggs, 3 yolk 3 whites cooked in a little less than a tbsp olive oil

lunch
6oz chicken breast
1.5 cups broccolli
1 cup bell pepper
3/4 cup rice

afternoon snack
1 scoop Muscletech whey (has 9g carbs)
4oz vanilla soy milk

workout (creatine, amino's, pre workout)

Dinner- 4oz of pulled chicken thigh
6oz of chicken breast
3/4 cup baked red skin potatoes
asparagus (honestly do not know how many oz, maybe 14 pieces)

post dinner snack- 2tbsp jiff natural peanut butter (I'm love that stuff)

totals according to myplate.com
2200cals
91g fat
213g protein
158g carbs

I went with some peanut butter for a snack because my fat was a little low when I logged my food. I did feel pretty hungry throughout the day. I had 150g carbs because I had a pretty intense leg workout and felt pretty dizzy and drained afterward

Thanks guys. sorry for the confusion, but I eat around 100 carbs on non weight days. Your right, I did calculate macros for 150 carbs wrong, when I have 125 its 2350 cals. I will go up to 150 carbs on days like yesterday, where I did not get a chance to lift until after a 10hr work shift with a completely empty stomach. It was leg day, and needless to say I was completely drained when I left and threw some extra oats in my post workout shake. as for the 50/20/30 macro split, I have read in many places that you want you fats to be at least 75g, even on a cut. But thats why I am here for more opinions since I have hit a wall with my current routine. The carbs are pretty much all fibrous veggies on non training days except 50g of oats or rice with my lunch to keep me from getting super light headed at work, which has happened before when I cut out carbs completely.

Although you are considerably farther along than I am I also got stuck at ~200 pounds for weeks on end. I did two things at the same time so can't really say which one did the trick but pretty sure it was cutting my calories about 250 more! The other was I had a cheat day with pizza and beer (still only went 575 over so I guess I'm not really good at cheating) but pretty sure that isn't what got the ball rolling again! Anyway the weight started to drop again and have now lost 6 pounds since the 17th of May. Good luck!

Edit: Make that 5 pounds. I really shouldn't do math in public...

just curious where u read keep fats 75g minimum??

im glad to see ur cycling carbs, with the confusion i wasnt sure.

it seems ur current macro split has done u well, since ur cycling carbs already my suggestion would be to reduce cals and/or increase cardio .. :)

So far great job!! Keep it up!

Not sure if you can mention other forums on here, but it was another pretty popular site and the majority of the users said fats were necessary and should not be lowered beyond 75grams. The reason I was reluctant to go lower on my current macro split was because I feel extremely hungry throughout the day sometimes, and I didn't want to go catabolic and lose muscle. But if you guys think I can drop my cals lower I will. On non workout days when I drop my carbs should I increase fats/proteins slightly?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by matthepanther

Not sure if you can mention other forums on here, but it was another pretty popular site and the majority of the users said fats were necessary and should not be lowered beyond 75grams. The reason I was reluctant to go lower on my current macro split was because I feel extremely hungry throughout the day sometimes, and I didn't want to go catabolic and lose muscle. But if you guys think I can drop my cals lower I will. On non workout days when I drop my carbs should I increase fats/proteins slightly?

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Hey Matt, great job!

Nope, can't mention other sites on here.

You can drop your fats lower on workout days and up the carbs as 405 suggested. Go look thru some of the threads and you will see that a lot of people go under 75g of fat. Maybe you can go find some studies from those sites that may be posted and post them up. no problem with that as long as you reference it, so i think. Some stay right around the 50g level, but will up them on non workout/ cardio days and lower/ no starchy carbs. And up the cardio some!

These guys will get you where you want to be! Welcome aboard and good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by matthepanther

Not sure if you can mention other forums on here, but it was another pretty popular site and the majority of the users said fats were necessary and should not be lowered beyond 75grams. The reason I was reluctant to go lower on my current macro split was because I feel extremely hungry throughout the day sometimes, and I didn't want to go catabolic and lose muscle. But if you guys think I can drop my cals lower I will. On non workout days when I drop my carbs should I increase fats/proteins slightly?

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if u were not already pretty lean i would say losing muscle was more than likely not an issue but as lean as u already are i believe it is a possibility. none of us can say conclusively what u should do or what WILL work for u. based on ur current progress and diet i would venture to guess u are pretty capable of managing ur own diet.

if ur not running carbs any higher than 150g ever i would recommend implementing a high carb day periodically. maybe every 2 weeks or so just to give ur glycogen stores a top off and to jolt ur metabolism. IMO running carbs as low as u have them (150g on training and 100g - only 50g worth from starch- on non training days) i would not think carbs are what is stalling u, but probably total calories. u need a greater deficit. BUT with a greater deficit at ur body fat level also comes a greater risk of losing some LBM. one way to possibly prevent this (or minimize it) would be to keep cals the same and increase ur cardio.

u say ur doing HIIT, how often and are u doing any other form of cardio??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 00ragincajun00

Hey Matt, great job!

Nope, can't mention other sites on here.

You can drop your fats lower on workout days and up the carbs as 405 suggested. Go look thru some of the threads and you will see that a lot of people go under 75g of fat. Maybe you can go find some studies from those sites that may be posted and post them up. no problem with that as long as you reference it, so i think. Some stay right around the 50g level, but will up them on non workout/ cardio days and lower/ no starchy carbs. And up the cardio some!

These guys will get you where you want to be! Welcome aboard and good luck!

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Thanks a lot, I appreciate the help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by --->>405<<---

if u were not already pretty lean i would say losing muscle was more than likely not an issue but as lean as u already are i believe it is a possibility. none of us can say conclusively what u should do or what WILL work for u. based on ur current progress and diet i would venture to guess u are pretty capable of managing ur own diet.

if ur not running carbs any higher than 150g ever i would recommend implementing a high carb day periodically. maybe every 2 weeks or so just to give ur glycogen stores a top off and to jolt ur metabolism. IMO running carbs as low as u have them (150g on training and 100g - only 50g worth from starch- on non training days) i would not think carbs are what is stalling u, but probably total calories. u need a greater deficit. BUT with a greater deficit at ur body fat level also comes a greater risk of losing some LBM. one way to possibly prevent this (or minimize it) would be to keep cals the same and increase ur cardio.

u say ur doing HIIT, how often and are u doing any other form of cardio??

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Yeah I'm just rying to figure out what has stalled the progress. I'll try switching up the carbs and lowering the fats and see how it goes. HIIT is really the only cardio I do except for some basketball or other sports at family gatherings and with friends, but this is more periodically and does not happen often. I like to play some ball after I have splurged with a couple beers every now and then. So pretty much I only do cardio every third day except for when I lift on the weekends where I will do fasted cardio in the morning then lift in the late afternoon

Throw 400 calories of medium intensity cardio after all of your training sessions... And continue your HIIT with medium intensity until you hit 400 cals....

Do that and see how you respond....

I'd drop those fats down to 50-60g too and add all of those calories to carbs..... That would be an extra 112-135g of carbs a day....

You will feel much better, be able to burn more calories when you train and be able to train more intensely.....

Okay guys I started lowering the fats and upping the carbs as suggested earlier last week and weighed in at 188 this morning, which was 2lbs heavier than last week. I feel like I look a little leaner though so I don't think the scale is telling the truthAttachment 139792Attachment 139793

You definitly look fuller . I would suggest you to stay with your new diet and would only add 20 mins of high intensity cardio post workout three times a week. I would aim for 300-350 calories per session. Dont worry about those two extra pounds. You will lose these two pounds if you allow your body to adjust to that increase in carbs.

Thanks. I'm on creatine now and sometimes don't get enough water in so that might be some bloat going on too. I was thinking of cutting the creatine out while I cut for the summer but I my workouts suffer slightly when I am on off of it.

there is no need to cut the creatine bro. The water retention from creatine is really minimal. It wont make that much of difference in terms of the way you look until you reach a really low body fat. Just keep consistent with your diet and add the cardio.