Down From 280, What Next?

Training Bodybuilding
1

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I’m 6’4" 210 lbs and somewhere around 15-18% bf (from a Tanita scale so who knows).

Thats down from 280 lbs which I lost in the past year by cleaning up my diet and exercising (both resistance and cardio).

I followed the abs diet principles initially, gradually tightening things up with regards to macronutrients calorie counting using fitday.

However the fat loss seemed to stall in December and January. My caloric intake at that time was around 2200 kcal daily. Afraid to go too much lower I decided to ramp it up a bit to 2800 which according to most calculators that I’ve seen is still below, but 4 Weeks at this level still hasn’t resulted in any actual weight change however I have noticed some minor body compositional changes.

My overall strength levels are pretty pathetic however.(considering I’ve been lifting for about a year)

From my 4th week of TBT

Squat - 4x8 @ 215
Dead - 4x5 @ 270
Bench - 4x8 @ 145

Here is a sample day of meals/snacks and macros.

9:00 - Omelet containing
- 2 Omega 3 eggs
- 4 Egg Whites
- 1/4 Cup Lowfat Cheddar
- 1 serving chopped canadian bacon
- 1/2 Cup of Oats

12:00 - Peanut Butter cookie (from Gourmet Nutrition)

2:30 - Shake Containing
- 2/3 Cup 2% Cottage Cheese
- 1 tbsp natural Peanut butter
- 1 tbsp flax meal
- 1/2 Scoop On Whey
- 1 tbsp FatFree Sugar Free Butterscotch Pudding mix

5:30 - 18 almonds & 2 low fat Mozzarella string cheese sticks

7:30 - 1/2 Cup Blueberries

8:45 - PWO Shake (1 Scoop On Whey, 24g protein , 48g carbs from dextrose)

9:30 - 6 oz Chicken
- 1 Cup peas
- 2 oz Whole Wheat pasta
- 1 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese

12:00 - Shake Containing
- 1 Cup 2% Cottage Cheese
- 1 tbsp natural peanut butter
- 1 cup Carb Countdown
- 1 tbsp Flax meal
- 1 tbsp FatFree Sugar Free Butterscotch Pudding mix

Macro Breakdown

   	        grams   cals  	%total

Total: 2853
Fat: 107 961 35%
Carbs: 210 726 26%
Protein: 266 1062 39%

Supplement Wise:

6g-10g of fish oil tabs daily,
ZMA at night
5g Creatine PWO 3g in the mornings on offdays

Have 2 bottles each of Resveratrol and Tribulus that a friend gave me but unsure of when to use them.

On non weight training days I keep intake roughly the same but try to keep carbs below 20% and concentrate them in the first few meals

Currently I’m starting the 5th week of TBT (so lifting 3x a week) as well as doing 2 HIIT cardio sessions a week and 1 low intensity cardio workout. Occasionally doing < 8 min of cardio after lifting depending on how I feel (usually just running a quick mile on the track at the gym).

I’m really unsure of weather I should go back to focusing on fat loss, or if I should switch gears and try to bulk a little bit to put on some lean mass to assist in getting the rest of the fat when cutting after. And what would the best way be go to about the appropriate goal.

Ideally I would like to end up with around 200 ish lbs of lbm and bodyfat as low as I can manage realistically, as well as overall strength increase. and of course to look good nekkid.

Here’s a few pictures of my flabby ass and some measurements if they might help you help me.

In Inches all measurements unflexed

Waist - 35
Chest - 42
Forearm - 12
UpperArm - 14
Thigh - 25.5

2

Good job losing all that weight bro. Have you notice any lose skin?

3

a little on the lower abdomin. However I’m not sure if its just stubborn fat or loose skin.

4

Good job with the weight loss, did you lift while losing the weight???

5

NICE damn job

NOw Id suggest IMO lifting hard and heavy and put some quality size back on your pretty damn light for 6’4" you could stand to easily hold a total weight of 240 or so and not be HUGE!! just have some good size on you at that height and respectable BF%.

Keep it up

Phill

6

Damn nice job! now start a slow bulk and enjoy that caloric surplus again.

7

Yeah I lifted throughout the entire duration. However the first 3-4 months I only had access to machines. I’m kinda leary of bulking because of all the information about the higher your bf% the more fat you gain in relation to muscle and my bf% is still too high. I think I’m probabably falling victim to paralysis by analysis though and just need to pick a course of action and do it instead of analyzing the shit out of all the options and finding the perfect one.

8

[quote]smw35 wrote:
Yeah I lifted throughout the entire duration. However the first 3-4 months I only had access to machines. I’m kinda leary of bulking because of all the information about the higher your bf% the more fat you gain in relation to muscle and my bf% is still too high. I think I’m probabably falling victim to paralysis by analysis though and just need to pick a course of action and do it instead of analyzing the shit out of all the options and finding the perfect one.[/quote]

Yes youve been struck by over analysis

Bro your 6’4" and 210 by adding lean mass, muscle yo will change that body comp. no one is ever saying pig the hell out and add a ton of fat but eat surplus to gain muscle

Like you said pick and avenue and get rolling thinking is great but without action is nothing. If what you do is ot working adding to much fat not enough small tweeks but do it.

Phill

9

I’m in almost the exact same boat as you. Looking at your pics, I almost see myself. I am 6’2" and around 200 right now. I used to weight in at about 285 or so. I am a victim of the old paralysis by analysis thing you talked about.

I just keep bouncing around this weight and am not going all out in one direction of the other. I say maybe you and I have a competition…or at least keep track of progress together. Maybe it would keep us both going in one direction.

I am getting married in 3 months so I dont want to just fatten up, but a bulk wouldnt hurt if I did it right. Congrats on losing the weight, I know what you went through and its tough.

10

I’m game, slowly ramping up my calories now till I find a safe surplus level.