Do you know why?
1 Like
This question is proving more difficult to answer than I anticipated… I’ve started typing out a response a few times now and had to re-start each time. I know some of the reasons why I’m struggling with this, but it’s certainly not 1 thing. Frankly, I’m struggling to see where I’m going wrong (other than the obvious not adhering to the diet issue).
I’m going to frame my answer around the RP video I watched so I can try to be concise:
- Inspiration: I get inspired to train quite regularly, I just don’t follow through with it as needed
- Motivation: I’m hit or miss here - as are most people… I know I can’t rely on motivation alone.
- Intention: I’m usually pretty good here. I set up some pretty well-thought out plans, but intent means little without follow-through.
- Discipline: I’m hit or miss here as well - which inherently means I’m lacking in it. I need practice and accountability for this… it wouldn’t surprise me if I was the person who needed a trainer just for the accountability aspect. Being accountable to myself isn’t working the way it needs to.
- Habit: I have plenty of good habits surrounding training and diet, just not enough to provide the adherence I need for a more strict diet. I could improve here by doing 2 rounds of meal prep as I currently only meal prep once a week, which doesn’t cover the weekends (when my diet tends to be at it’s worst).
- Passion: I’m passionate about training, just not about dieting. Will take a lot of time for this to develop.
Anyways, I hope this answers your question (for both our sakes!) - but I know full well that I don’t have the introspective capacity to see this through myself. I think I will take CT’s Neurotype test and see what I can pull from that.
EDIT:
I took the neurotype test and am Type 3 with Subtype 1A
1 Like
Couple of thoughts,
Maybe it’s time to look at what type of training you’ve done that you really enjoyed and stick with that? Even if it doesn’t align with your goals right now might be worth the switch to get your groove back again.
Could maybe do a really strict, really low cal diet for 2 weeks. Might help start some movement and a short timescale may help with the motivation.
Or maybe just stay at maintenance for a while but get back those healthy habits. I quite often skip breakfast at a weekend if I know I’ll be having a bigger lunch or dinner, buys me some spare calories.
Finally I think you may need to take a step back and admire you physique and what you have achieved. Make sure you feel good in the clothes you wear out so you feel buff, be proud of the work you have put in, stand tall and good luck on getting out of the rut!
1 Like
This is why I audibled Rest-Pause into my program on week 2 lol. Certainly valid input; I have to enjoy the process more.
Yeah, you’re super right about this - but then my Body Dysmorphia steps in and says “you still look like shit tho” lol. I’m well aware that I’ve got a physique many would love to have, I’m just not at the point where I love the physique that I have… I also don’t know if there will ever be a time I do love the way I look…
^Should probably get some therapy for this, but I just don’t trust/like therapists
I also started tanning again because a huge part of all this is actually enjoying the way I look, and I know I look better/feel better tanned.
2 Likes
You’ve done a Solid job of Recomping. You weigh about the same, only you’re more muscular with a bigger deadlift. That’s harder than cutting! You’re succeeding. Keep it up.
2 Likes
Do you believe that there is more progress to be made?
1 Like
Absolutely. It’s not like the plan isn’t working - it’s that I’m struggling to follow the plan.
Almost a year ago, I started cutting and I was steady for almost 20lbs - then it stopped… when I say “it” I really mean my adherence to the plan.
1 Like
Is how you feel about how you look driven entirely by how you look or is it anything else?
Just wondering if there are other parts to it as well. I feel better about myself when I wear clothes that fit, also when I’m seeing the weights in the gym go up and when I’m getting enough volume. Although none of those change how I look they all effect how I feel about how I look if that makes sense.
Hope you get your mojo back dude.
1 Like
Pretty much, all other factors tend to stay quite constant. But you do bring up another good point that wearing the right clothes plays a role in how you look – by extension how you feel as well.
Most of my clothes fit well, shirts always show off the shoulders and arms, shorts show my always amazing calves (despite never working them). An outfit tune-up certainly could help though… my clothes currently are just clothes; new ones are always more fun to wear.
I appreciate you and @throwawayfitness taking the time to help me figure out my rut; introspection has never really been my strong suit.
2 Likes
Too burnt from the fake sun yesterday to train today. Will try to make it up tomorrow, pending school stuff.
Diet (yesterday)
Cal: 2000
P: 215g
C: 170g
F: 46g
I need to:
- define a quantifiable goal
- develop a plan to meet this goal
- provide myself with small rewards as I meet interim goals
This should set me up for a much needed dopamine feedback loop. Above in my log, you’ll find at least one comment from me stating my goal is to get more lean; this is not quantitative.
2 Likes
198lbs and a pro photoshoot?
1 Like
have you ever competed in a powerlifting meet? would you?
2 Likes
Yikes, I’d be lean as fuck at 198… would certainly be an impressive transformation though; it’s worth considering for sure. I guess my goal was always to be lean enough for well(ish) defined abs so i could just use them as a visual gauge for bulk and cut. Bulk until the bottom row isn’t visible – cut until i see a lower ab vein.
I think going sub 200 would be a very reasonable goal and would probably get me to where I need to be for this bulk/cut plan. I need to think on this so I can set my sights on the right goal… i know I’m the person who will stop working towards it if i get “close enough”. Trying to prevent that from happening.
I haven’t, and don’t really have an interest in doing so either… ive always trained strength for it’s utility in my pursuit of hypertrophy. Would I compete? Maybe, but i wouldn’t place top 5 in most competitions
Thinking out loud, if I were to prescribe to the goal of <200lbs lean - I would like to get DEXA scanned so I have a reference to what BF% I’m at. I’m just too analytical to not want that number I guess.
Will do some more thinking on this, thank you for always being there to push me to my best self.
3 Likes
10/21/22 food
Cal: 2974
P: 252g
C: 159g
F: 151g
10/22/22 food
Cal: 1938
P: 137g
C: 97g
F: 110g
10/23/22 food
Cal: 2233
P: 134g
C: 179g
F: 118g
Alright, here’s the short and sweet…
Goal:
Get my bodyweight <200lb for the sake of leaning out. The number is arbitrary, but serves the purpose of getting very lean and provides a quantifiable goal, meaning I can set numerical milestones.
My average bodyweight over the last week was 222.5lb, this means I need to lose 22.6lbs to reach my goal. Note: bodyweight has gone down over the last week, and weeks before that.
Plan:
- 2000cal/day target (will be 1000-1200cals deficit daily | 2-2.4lbs/wk lost).
-
- Macros - Protein: 40% (200g) Fat: 25% (56g) Carb: 35% (175g).
- Minimum 10 mins/day reading/listening to self-help books.
- Ample reward for each 5lbs lost (likely a big steak/seafood dinner or going hard on some low-cal ice-cream).
- DEXA scan with before/after pictures, any cheat meal I want when done. Might even post a “guess by BF%” thread if I make it to sub-200lb, posting results after guesses are in.
Worth noting: I think I’m somewhere around 15-18%BF currently. If I lose 22lbs, that will be 10% bodyfat lost… I doubt I will reach 5%BF, and 8%BF is also a stretch. The end goal may need to adjust, depending practicality of this cut.
Special thanks to @throwawayfitness @rugby_lifting @FlatsFarmer for motivation and support.
4 Likes
Lots of people like this.
I am paying for my GFs online coach from a different country and now she is getting epic results. When i gave the same advice she couldnt stick to it for a week. Now when we are losing a lot of money, she is doing everything right, so the money wouldnt go to waste.
Basically i am paying for a very similar info, i could have given, just so she has a reason to not fuck up. Guess what, 3 months without overeating a single calorie or skipping a single session of cardio or not doing 14k steps a day. She walks around the appartment building on the street at nights, if she hasnt gotten the daily 14k in.
Now if i would have said she needs to do that, not her female bikini competitor trainer, she would have said i am out of my mind for suggesting that.
If sticking to stuff is a problem, maybe hiring an actual coach you like, would be of help.
3 Likes
10/24/22 food
Cal: 2419
P: 197g
C: 161g
F: 111g
Weight: 218.9lb
1 Like
Are there set macros, or you just go by calories? I have noticed that if i eat low fat i can eat more carbs and more calories in total while losing same amounts of fat. On my 3000kcal deficit days my fat was as low as 20. Since you are on TRT you dont need fats for hormone production, no?
1 Like
It’s easy to break my own rules, harder to break rules I pay someone to make for me (even if they are the same rules). If I don’t make this goal, I’ll start searching for a coach to keep me honest.
Beforehand, I used to set everything off the protein macro; if I was over in calories but still had not met my protein goal, I would continue to overeat to meet protein goals (this was to spare muscle loss, but probably unneeded).
Now I am trying to meet the macros, and have a meal plan that can do it - I just didn’t have the food available. To answer your question, I am going by absolute calories now, but still aiming to meet my protein goal. If fats are high one day and carbs are high another - I guess I really don’t care that much… nicer to have some flexibility in an otherwise strict plan.
I believe this to be true for androgenic hormones (test, estrogen, DHEA, etc), but hormones are kinda complicated so I’m aiming for 0.3g/lb fats minimum (per Vertical Diet and Renaissance Diet (if you see the same info in 2 places, it’s probably true)) and letting the rest wash out as carbs or fats. IDK what all effect it has, but I know your cells need lipids (fats) to help carry proteins in and out of cell membranes… I wouldn’t go too low fat for this reason as well.
I also took Coach Thibbs Neurotype test and tested as a Type 3 and Sub-type 1A… Basically I should try to be higher carb to avoid cortisol buildup. I work a stressful job, pursuing a stressful degree, and have all the regular life stress of a father who is the sole provider for my family. I wouldn’t mind reducing the amount of cortisol my body has 
2 Likes
Ashwaganda can reduce cortisol. Look it up, maybe you want to try it
1 Like
Any favourites? I love a self-help book. The problem is filtering through all the ones that say the exact same thing. The last one I finished was The Untethered Soul and it’s up there with the best for me (although I feel it’s a book that needs to come at the right time). “The Like Switch” by an ex-FBI negotiator was recommended by an old article here and I’ve told myself I won’t buy anything new until I finish it. It’s proving a difficult task though as it got really repetitive around the halfway mark. At least it meant I got around to finishing a bunch of the non-self help books I’ve had for ages.
1 Like