>reach 12% body fat according to scale
>still do not look like this at all
What the fuck now? was the fabled holy land of 12%bf just a meme all along?
bros...
>reach 12% body fat according to scale. >still do not look like this at all
>reach 12% body fat according to scale
>still do not look like this at all
What the fuck now? was the fabled holy land of 12%bf just a meme all along?
bros...
go for 0% bf
Post body
I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing here. I want to reach OP's pic status or close to it, but I'm way off and clueless what to do. Do I keep cutting while lifting? do I stop cutting? maintenance while lifting? bulk while lifting? idk
Currently 143lbs. 5'9"
helpppppppppppp
>loose skin
Yes I have loose skin at the bottom of my stomach, I was over 300lbs two years ago so this was inevitable.
You have no muscle.
I do ab workouts 4-5 times a week as well as compound lifts. However I'm also on a -500 deficit cut. Is the cut just preventing me from getting muscle? I shoot for at least 120-140g of protein daily, with varying success
>Is the cut just preventing me from getting muscle?
Of course. If you are not meeting your basic energy requirements why would your body build more mass to maintain?
So cutting is just wasting my time right now?
Do I just stop the -500 TDEE and eat at a +200 surplus instead then? I'm clueless how to progress myself from this point right now so I just default to cutting. I mean, I still have body fat on me. You can visually see body fat and DEXA results clearly show body fat still present. I am not 10%bf and the 12% off a 30$ amazon scale is flimsy at best.
I don't FEEL like I'm 12% bf at all.
My main goal of the cut was to kill off all signs of body fat before switching to eating more again, but maybe I'm just wasting my time cutting?
You are not at 12%. What you do depends on your goal. If you want to look like the pic in op you need to be running a surplus and lift or do whatever to stress your body into producing muscle to deal with the life you are making it lead. If you just want to be skinny with abs keep cutting and provide your body enough stress that it decides it requires muscle more than fat. This is not an easy thing to do however, I doubt your workouts are difficult enough to manage this without an extremely physical job on top of it.
>If you just want to be skinny with abs
This is my goal, yes. This exactly.
>keep cutting and provide your body enough stress that it decides it requires muscle more than fat.
As you said though, right now I am indeed cutting but I am sure to be lacking in the "provide enough stress" Again, I DO lift and DO ab focused routines including an ab wheel 4-5 times a week, but like you also said, I am sure while I am providing some workout I doubt the intensity is stressing it to any meaningful point.
Then what options do I have here? if I continue to cut as I am doing I will lose weight, meaning fat, but ALSO my muscle will not be growing. At best I am barely maintaining some of it. What steps do i take from my current position to achieve "skinny with abs"
Just keep losing weight
That I can do. I know this is hard to categories due to so many factors, but given my current weight listed here
143 @5ft 9in
How low of a weight am I going to have to drop to start seeing the lean result I want? I mean 10% bf will happen if I keep losing weight, but fuck. I honestly never pictured myself dropping below 160 when I started this journey, and here I am at 143 still not satisfied.
Like what number will it take till I finally look in the mirror and say "well fuck, that took forever, but there we go. I am now satisfied with my mid section at last"
The thought of having to become some 125lbs skeleton man is frightening to me
build muscle, I'm 145 @ 5'8" and mog.
When I was 179cm and 60kg I only had abs when flexing. I did lots of muaythai, cardio and weightlifting. Abs in relaxed mode is almost impossible. 500 deficit is too much for building muscle imo. Brotip: Have TDEE, maybe -200, and do a real program.
Image is me now 74kg, from strarting strength to texas method.
You can try just continuing to cut and lift to retain what muscle you have and see if it works out but if that skin does not shrink it will look like shit. I would run a slight surplus and focus on adding lean mass.
>but if that skin does not shrink it will look like shit.
The skin is 100% not my concern, I am fully aware and have come to terms with the fact I will have some drooping skin at the end of all this, it was a result of me getting so fat all those years ago and I will cope with the consequence. The loose skin however will not stop me from obtaining a lean build and visible abs in the upper/mid section of my stomach, so that's really my goal. Skinny with abs, the skin I can deal.
>I would run a slight surplus and focus on adding lean mass.
What makes you want to take that route? I'm not trying to sound condescneding, I'm genuinely curious what makes you think that'd be the best route to take here? I still have fat, so adding more weight while it will increase lean mass guaranteed it will also not take away the fat I have, instead it will add (small) amounts of more fat along with muscle.
>What makes you want to take that route?
You will look like a twink if you cut down to visible abs level. Its not my preferred aesthetic and above average strength is useful in my day to day life.
Ah! fair enough
>loose skin
Does that shit ever go away?
Meh, from what I read it varies wildly. Depends on genetics, your age, how long you were fat, how big was the weight drop etc etc, so much factors into it. If the skin has good elasticity it will "pull back" gradually over time, building muscle under also helps a lot. So yes it does, but varies from person to person
>clearly less than 12% bf
>clearly has good lighting
>clearly only has defined chest and abs
>clearly standing in a preferred position
>clearly wet to enhance definition
>clearly has not been eating enough protein to build muscle
Still, considering the loose skin it is safe to say you look better than before especially with a shirt on. You need more protein, bro.
Yeah, I mean going from a 300lb+ lardass to this alone is great, and with a shirt on I am fully confident, but it's not enough, I want to reach my goals. I think OP's pic may be a bit of an exaggeration of what I want. I want to be slim "twink" mode with visible abs, not so much muscle-ripped chest/abs either. It's very hard to decide if to cut or to stop cutting and start eating more (which includes more protein)
Bro you legit have zero muscle. You have to workout. Also you are closer to 24% bodyfat.
You can absolutely gain muscle while losing fat. Run a real program, lift heavy every other day, you will see progress on your lifts, your waistline shrink, and the scale will remain static if not showing a weight increase. You can do this on a caloric deficit granted you get enough protein, like 1g per centimeter of height.
>but how can I gain mass on a calorie deficit!!!
You will gain muscle due to your workout stimulus, muscle holds a ton of water much more than fat. Any extra energy you need for the process of building muscle will come from fat stores. Just get enough protein, lidt heavy, and it will work.
>Run a real program
Such as? keep in mind I'm no body builder
Not him but start with stronglifts/startingstrength in the sticky post and progress to madcow. If you do lift and everything all week, I suspect there is something wrong with your diet. The compound lifts will hit you hard.
I give you a lot of props for having the willpower to get from 300 to this. If you want twink otter, you will need to recomposition your body. Eat 1g / lb of your body weight. Itll be hard at first but at least aim for 100G of protein a day. This combined with compound lifts should force your body to start synthesizing muscle.
Do literally any weight lifting program and eat 170 grams of protein a day. Also eat 8 oz of beef liver once a week for lunch or whatever. You should be lifting ASAP, as in tomorrow. While you search for a program, literally just do these with 3 sets of 5 reps and 1–2 warm-up sets:
>squat
>overhead press
>bench press
>pull-ups
If you don't know how to do them: drive yourself to the gym, grab a rack/cage, and then watch YouTube videos while trying it out yourself at low weights until you feel comfortable.
>like 1g per centimeter
what is this, some kind of sorcery?
why would you calculate protein intake like this
You need more muscle go into a bulk now.
and what about the fat then? I'm not going to lose fat if I bulk
If you gain muscle while only matching the calories you need each day (after accounting for exercise and activity; not maintenance) while getting the proper protein intake, you will lower your bodyfat percentage. You have to eat to grow.
>while getting the proper protein intake, you will lower your bodyfat percentage.
How? If I am eating MORE than I am burning, is this not inevitably putting on fat?
my abs are hidden behind said fat?
I'm telling you to eat what you need and your problem is that you need muscle to fill in your body. The only way to get it is to eat for it. Besides, at this point, you probably have a testosterone deficit from the cut and if you keep going like this it will get worse. Get rid of the deficit at this point and start moving iron. You can create a diet and exercise plan around this so that you have enough nutrition to gain muscle while not going overboard with the calories.
>143 lbs 5'9"
OP other people have already said it but you literally have 0 muscle. 12% BF muscular 5'9" would be like 180 lbs or so. You need to build 40 pounds of muscle.
>12% BF muscular 5'9" would be like 180 lbs or so.
12% 5'9 180 is more muscular than you think, probably because 12% is leaner than you think
Maybe I should really do this. I guess it's odd to stop cutting when I still know I have fat on me but if doing this will actually fix my issue..I'll do it.
I guess the most important question. HOW MUCH more do I eat? I will give exact numbers. My TDEE is somewhere in the 1900-2000 range. I eat normally ~1500kcal daily for a -500 deficit (on average). I've done this for month and lose 4-5 lbs monthly. How much exactly should I up this by? do I eat 2,200 calories daily? I do NOT want to gain fat so a crazy 3,000 calorie bulk is not going to happen.
Protein won't be a problem I can get easily 170g with an increase in my daily intake. The question is what to move my daily intake to from my normal 1,500 calories.
eat 300 surplus until you stop getting stronger, then add another 100 calories, repeat
>until you stop getting stronger
How exactly can you tell such a thing?
Track your lifts with an app or a notebook.
Your TDEE is going to change dramatically when you start lifting. Lifting weights increases your muscle size (increasing basal metabolic rate) and the process is highly anabolic (which will increase your TDEE). So, be prepared for it to change a lot.
Do not bulk/gain excess fat. Honestly, I think you're going to have to figure this one out for yourself. How much your TDEE changes depends entirely on how much you lift, what you lift (compounds are more effective than isolation exercises) and with what intensity.
I would just start with aiming for 170 grams of protein and then seeing what feels reasonable from there. 2200 is probably a good guess but, again, it will depend on a lot of variables.
>2200 is probably a good guess but, again, it will depend on a lot of variables.
How would I know if this is a good spot or not though? I assume if I go one month at 2200 and gain like 1lb total...that means I need to eat more?
You'll feel it bro don't overthink it. Lifting and tracking what you eat will make you more in tune with your body. Trust your body and you'll both take care of each other.
>bro just lift and bulk
>bro just cut more and lose the fat
fucking hell lol why is this so hard? I have a similar body type to
and I want to lose the fat, yet half people say to lose more weight, others say to give up the cut and bulk. Like fuck
Cutting and bulking is retarded nonsense. You should just hit your protein goal and then eat so that you make gains, don't feel terrible every day, but aren't gaining bodyfat. It's not rocket science. People love to overcomplicate very simple things.
>You should just hit your protein goal and then eat so that you make gains
>eat so that you make gains
Aren't you literally just saying "do bulk" ? you are picking a choice without even saying it openly? making gains means you are eating above TDEE to support "getting bigger"?
By eating enough to make yourself stronger your muscles will grow bigger and you will weigh more. This has nothing to do with bulking for 6 months and then cutting for 6 months (a retarded waste of time). Does that answer your question?
>I was over 300lbs two years ago
Congratulations on losing the weight, anon. That's really impressive.
Congratulations on your weight loss. I'm sure it feels a lot better.
If you want to get rid of the loose skin you might need to consider surgery. I don't mean to be depressing but a dermatologist might be better to advise you than IST.
ure fuckign lactating wtf
Must be 10%. Try harder
post body
Scale bf% readings are so shitty you could be 20% for all we know
>you could be 20% for all we know
well here it is, you decide. My last DEXA had me at 16.5% which was a few months ago
>reach 12% body fat according to scale
How the fuck do you figure this out? Is there some sort of mathematical formula or something?
look up bioimpedence scale, but like others have said, take those results lightly because again, it's just a cheap scale, not hydro measuring.
you have no muscle
hit the gym
Unironically just fast, i worked out and bulke for 2 years, no noticeable results
Stop working out and dont focus on eating for like 2 months, loose 8lbs, look like best shape of my life
According to a scale? To caliper test and stop sucking balls you gay
>lose a ton of weight
>still look like shit
I feel very sad for you OP, start lifting to get some muscle mass.
for 4 years i have been fuckign around with the bulk cut bulk cut bulk cut no bulk cut then cut no bulkl then burt ucuh cut fucfk bulk cUCUT CUT BULK ULK SS+GOMAD PPL SPLITS
and yet i remain skinnyfat.
Stop wasting your time doing abs 5x a week you are literally just throwing away your time. If you must absolutely do an “ab workout”, first make sure you are doing all your compound exercises that target abs like front squats and pull-ups and then do 1 (one) HARD ab session a week.
>fasted for a day at least
>lighting
>water
>pose
>pumped
>edited
>wah wah why don't I look like this 24/7
If you looked like that guy 100% you would still look only half as good AT BEST. Stop falling for photoshoot shit.