Gaining weight on calorie deficit?!

[Dj Screw]

So about mid January I started a cut at 192ish lbs. I lost a lot of weight right off the bat (mostly water weight I am guessing since I came off of a 400mg pw test cyp blast back down to my prescribed 200mg pw)

I have been stuck at 172-175 for about 3+weeks now. I have been doing a strict carb cycling diet for about a month to hopefully speed up the process and make the fat loss more efficient but I am very confused with what the scale is telling me!

I also do steady state cardio keeping my heart rate at the top of the "fat burning zone" for 30-35+ minutes 3-4 times a week. I also weight train 2-3 times a week and I have actually experienced small strength gains during this cut (most likely noob gains I guess?)

I know I am eating clean and below maintenance calories and when I have my "high carb day" (every 5th day) my metabolism goes through the roof and I am on the pot 2-4 times that day. (Sorry if that was too much information lol) but I know I am following my diet extremely well and my metabolism seems to be working as planned? I make sure my protein is 180gs+ everyday no matter what and my water intake is optimal.

I have read that water retention plays a huge role in this carb cycle diet after "high carb day" but even 2-3 days after high carb day I still fall between the 172-175 mark and I have actually been slowly gaining weight!!! The lowest I have been was 171 lbs(3+ weeks ago) and today (3 days after high carb day) I weighed 175 exactly. I weigh myself every morning at the same time right after I use the bathroom.

I appear somewhat leaner in the mirror and I am finally seeing a 6 pack start to emerge for the first time in my life but the fact that the scale has been moving in the wrong direction when I am on a strict deficit eating extremely clean I am starting to lose my sanity lol. I still think I should have better results in the mirror considering the hard work/diet I am following but maybe I am being unrealistic

Typical low carb day diet for me:

Meal 1: 2 hard boiled eggs, 2oz turkey breast, 1 25g protein shake
310cals, 45g protein

Meal 2: 6-8 oz. 96% lean ground beef, 1/2 small-medium avocado
340cals, 40-50g protein

Meal 3: 6-8 oz. 96% lean ground beef, 1/2 small-medium avocado
340cals, 40-50g protein

Meal 4: 2 whole eggs, 3-4 egg whites, 3 pieces center cut bacon (healthiest bacon I could find besides turkey bacon)
380cals, 40g protein

Meal 5: 1-2 hard boiled eggs, 25g protein shake
270cals, 37g protein

Totals: 1640 calories 202g protein(maybe a bit higher than 202)

Here are my questions and I hope you guys can steer me in the right direction because you all always do:

Why am i not losing weight?!?! Are calories too low and I am in starvation mode? Should I take more than 1 rest day a week?!

Could it be water retention? I use creatine on training days which I know causes water retention but after 3+ weeks the scale should have eventually moved downwards right?!

(This may be wishful thinking) Could it be noob gains? Gaining muscle in place of the fat and therefore gaining a bit of weight? I have been gaining strength in my lifts and I seem to appear a LITTLE bit leaner but not what I was hoping for with the diet and hard work I have been putting in. My test levels are 1400-1500 in a trough with my prescribed 200mg pw dose which isn't "cycle" level I know but maybe it could be causing a more anabolic effect and gaining muscle weight since I am still in the noob stage?! I know this is most likely unrealistic but I am curious.

Sorry for such a long post. I hope I didn't lose some people due to the novel I just wrote

First Pic: January 22nd 192lbs Second Pic: March 15th 175lbs
I know it isn't a very impressive change but that's why I am asking for help and hopefully an explanation


Thanks to everyone in advance, let me know if I left any information out I will be happy to add it a.s.a.p.

[Althenery]

Drop carbs Do a Dave palumbo keto diet Only protein and fats Protein 1.5x body weight Fat .5x body weight Ex. I'm 200lbs 300 g of protein 100 g of fats Add cardio 20-30 min fasted or after workout Have a cheatmeal on Sunday as your last meal,atleast 300 g of carbs to shock the body This is golden info brother hope you follow!

[Proximal]

Hey bud, thought I'd join in, I know I'm new to this TRT game, but definitely know my way around fitness & weight loss. A few things jumped out at me: how old are you, are you doing TRT (because 200 seems higher than normal), but most importantly, if you're lifting 2-3x per week, why the T in the first place, what are your objectives?

Added after edit: dude, eat some veggies!

[Dj Screw]

Drop carbs Do a Dave palumbo keto diet Only protein and fats Protein 1.5x body weight Fat .5x body weight Ex. I'm 200lbs 300 g of protein 100 g of fats Add cardio 20-30 min fasted or after workout Have a cheatmeal on Sunday as your last meal,atleast 300 g of carbs to shock the body This is golden info brother hope you follow!

I am pretty much doing just that. 5 days straight of almost 0 carbs, then 1 day of 340+ carbs for the "shock the body" part. I do fasted cardio in the mornings. I understand the more fats part is for more energy to replace the energy that carbs would give me, but I am not having a problem with energy or wanting to goto the gym or complete my cardio. I know I am getting enough protein because strength has gone up and I dont have measurements to prove it but I am 99% sure my muscle size has gone up somewhat. (due to noob gains I am sure)

[Dj Screw]

Hey bud, thought I'd join in, I know I'm new to this TRT game, but definitely know my way around fitness & weight loss. A few things jumped out at me: how old are you, are you doing TRT (because 200 seems higher than normal), but most importantly, if you're lifting 2-3x per week, why the T in the first place, what are your objectives?

Added after edit: dude, eat some veggies!

Thanks for jumping in man. I am 29 and I am on TRT for well over a year now. My objective currently is to lean out and preserve/gain whatever muscle I can. I did a bulk starting in November and ending in January and got incredible strength/size gains but I ate too much and put on some gut size as well lol...so now I am trying to take care of the gut problem and go about it in a smarter way from here on out.

In the begining before TRT they couldnt find the reason for what was causing me to have low t. I had a Total T of 160-170 and for 6 months they tested me for everything from diabetes, HIV, thyroid problems etc and nothing came up and my levels stayed low. Eventually they offered me TRT and after the countless tests and 6+ months of confirmed low T, I finally agreed to TRT and felt better in MOST areas...but I just recently found out I never had my Prolactin checked and it is 64 now on a scale of 1-15 which may be the root cause of my Low T. I have another appointment in April to test Prolactin again and if it is high they want to do an MRI to rule out a prolactinoma (benign pituitary tumor that produces prolactin and causes low natural testosterone) It's kind of frustrating I wasn't tested for Prolactin before I started but getting all worked up over it now won't do me any good. So I am just playing the waiting game, the new Doctor I have now is one of the best in the nation and I feel confident he will find/fix the problem the right way.

I do eat veggies! lol I forgot to add that! At least once a day I eat 1-3 servings worth of frozen broccoli. Helps me feel full and doesn't have a lot of calories

[Proximal]

Besides my age, it was the prolactin and the pituitary tumor that really kick-started my TRT journey. After 2 years the cabergholine got my numbers back to normal (btw, need to see what this little blast did to my prolactin levels).

I'm sure Kelkel can help you with those types of questions though, the man never ceases to amaze me.

I was in awe of what the Paleo diet did for me, I was on it for about 10 months prior to starting TRT and lost 10 pounds with no cardio.

I love my under water body fat testing, it really is keeping things more objective, at least for me.

[Proximal]

Oh, one other thing, before I knew my Prolctin was the culprit, I was eating less than 1500 calories per day, with no results.

[Dj Screw]

Oh, one other thing, before I knew my Prolctin was the culprit, I was eating less than 1500 calories per day, with no results.

That could explain a lot for me. I was wondering if it could be some sort of health/hormone problem but most of what I read/researched said unexplained weight gain and difficult weight loss was possibly thyroid related and I just had mine checked a few months ago and it was fine. If it is prolactin related it would make a lot of sense.

If you don't mind me asking, did you have libido/ed issues when you had high prolactin? What other symptoms did high prolactin give you? How long did it take for Cabergoline to start feeling benefits? What was your Prolactin level before you started Caber? Sorry for a lot of questions but most of the stuff on the internet related to high prolactin I have found is about prego women etc. lol. Thanks bud

[Proximal]

No problem at all, happy to help. I was at 487, the m.d. was surprised I wasn't seeping milk from my nipples or losing vision. I don't have my MRI report handy, so I can't tell you the diameter of the tumor, but it was up there.

Regarding libido, it was non-existent and it took me a couple of years on the cabergholine just to get a hint of libido back. The TRT is what brought it back to what I recall I had in my 30's.