I’m a 19-year-old male, 176cm (5’9"). I’ve been training and dieting seriously for the past 5 months. I managed to drop from 95kg (209lbs) to 75kg (165lbs) while adding a decent amount of muscle mass in the process. My body fat percentage is 13.51% now.
I’ve been maintaining this 75kg weight for about a month now, but I’ve hit a wall.
My goal is body recomposition—burning the last bit of fat (especially to see lower abs) while building/maintaining muscle. However, lately, I’ve started feeling “smaller” and flat. My lifts have plateaued and are barely increasing. Despite the effort, my lower abs are still covered, and I still have that “soft” look in the lower belly area.
Question:
Should I trust the process and keep going with these macros, or do I need to change my strategy (maybe a diet break, refeed, or changing the split)?
First off congrats on your weight loss! Doing a great job.
Couple paths here
1-Very slowly bring cals up. Starting with protien. Do this over the course of a couple months. If your stalled here at 2000cals dropping anything to lose fat would also bring a drop in performance. This will enable you to build more muscle which will raise metabolism which will burn off the fat.
2-Keep cals the same but change up macros a bit. 200P/150C/66F. See if that lights the flame. No change after two weeks then go to 1. Personally I would choose path 1. This would just be short term gratification but it’s not a long term solution.
Are you doing any cardio? You could try adding in a couple LISS sessions and maybve 2 HIIT interval sessions a week.
At the end of the day Bro you are miles from where you started and you are young with plenty of time to achieve your goals. Just keep at it and be consistant. That is the most important thing you can do,
My bodyweight has increased somewhat. Previously, I was finishing my day with 1850 calories (and naturally, strength and My body mass has increased somewhat. Previously, I was finishing my day on 1850 calories (and naturally, my strength and endurance had collapsed). Increasing my calorie intake to 2025 resulted in a very small weight gain, but I saw positive changes in my strength, training fitness, and appearance. I started measuring my body fat today.
Thank you for your advice . I will take your suggestions into consideration and observe the results. I think increasing my current calorie intake by 100 and continuing this increase by 100 calories per week would be the right approach .
From 75 kg to 76, 76.4 I went from 75 kg to numbers like 76, 76.4. Of course, that was at the beginning of the 30-day period. I haven’t weighed myself for about 3 weeks.
Yes, I’ve had some gym experience, but it wasn’t consistent. I’ve only gone to the gym for a maximum of one month continuously in the past. I took many long breaks due to school and exams. Yes, I’ve had some gym experience, but it wasn’t consistent. I’ve only gone to the gym for a maximum of one month continuously in the past. I took many long breaks due to school and exams. I also never paid attention to my diet before. I’ve only started to make consistent progress in everything over the last five months.
More protien is going to be inevitable as you build more lean body mass you will need more protien to support it.
2 scoops of a decent protien powder will get you close.
Dymatize is very good and not that pricey.
. I will take your suggestions into consideration and observe the results. I think increasing my current calorie intake by 100 and continuing this increase by 100 calories per week would be the right approach .