Embracing the deficit

[Hans]

How the fat loss going @Hans .
Am starting to look like uncle buck over here.

Just clocked in at 99.5kg this morning. I stalled for almost 2 weeks at 100.1kg which I think was due to the MCT oil. Hopefully smooth sailing from here on.

 

[Sam321]

Just clocked in at 99.5kg this morning. I stalled for almost 2 weeks at 100.1kg which I think was due to the MCT oil. Hopefully smooth sailing from here on.

Nice.
Patience i suppose.

Rays got me on the milk diet. Done wonders for my sleep. Am adding food back in. One thing its really helped with is simplifying my macros. I think I understand this weight gain/loss thing now.

Fewer variables is way better i think especially with such a busy life and a poisoned food supply.

 

[Hans]

Nice.
Patience i suppose.

Rays got me on the milk diet. Done wonders for my sleep. Am adding food back in. One thing its really helped with is simplifying my macros. I think I understand this weight gain/loss thing now.

Fewer variables is way better i think especially with such a busy life and a poisoned food supply.

Yes the less variables, the easier it is to do. The simplest diet is to eat specific foods until you're full without counting calories and continue to lose weight. I'm trying something like that atm and only have a specific amount of protein I shoot for daily.

 

[Sam321]

Gotcha.
I'm down to about 2k cals a day and tiddies still there.

Yes the less variables, the easier it is to do. The simplest diet is to eat specific foods until you're full without counting calories and continue to lose weight. I'm trying something like that atm and only have a specific amount of protein I shoot for daily.

 

[Hans]

Gotcha.
I'm down to about 2k cals a day and tiddies still there.

How much muscle mass do you have? When I used to weigh 80kg, I had to eat 2k calories and do a bunch of cardio to lose weight. Now that I'm 100kg I can eat 2500 cal and lose weight with very little cardio.

 

[Sam321]

How much muscle mass do you have? When I used to weigh 80kg, I had to eat 2k calories and do a bunch of cardio to lose weight. Now that I'm 100kg I can eat 2500 cal and lose weight with very little cardio.

One year ago this time I was dead lifting 235lbs and squaring like... 185lbs or something. Did jui jitsu for 2 years before that. Am p muscular. Just got some belly fat and boob fat over the last year as I dealt with extreme insomnia at the start of last year and all thru the summer. I was 185lbs and lean. I'm about 215lbs now.

I think the methane sibo is dragging on my metabolism and what not. Tried all the main anti biotic and it just made it worse. Going back to basics, gonna try thyroid and carrot salad again and just do ***t I enjoy so I sleep better.

Started doing muay thai again, so I should lose fat p quick.

 

[Hans]

One year ago this time I was dead lifting 235lbs and squaring like... 185lbs or something. Did jui jitsu for 2 years before that. Am p muscular. Just got some belly fat and boob fat over the last year as I dealt with extreme insomnia at the start of last year and all thru the summer. I was 185lbs and lean. I'm about 215lbs now.

I think the methane sibo is dragging on my metabolism and what not. Tried all the main anti biotic and it just made it worse. Going back to basics, gonna try thyroid and carrot salad again and just do ***t I enjoy so I sleep better.

Started doing muay thai again, so I should lose fat p quick.

Yeah man, always stick to the basics. Create a solid foundation and then add other things from there. As the saying goes, you can't shoot a cannon from a canoo.

 

[MyUsernameHere]

I've been dealing with weight issues all my life. I went from 90 kg at 17 to 70 kg at 20, then back to 90 kg again and so at least 2-3 times.

I can only actively maintain a "healthy" / semi-lean weight by counting calories or actively restricting myself. If I stop actively controlling what I eat and just eat intuitively...bam. In a few months, back to 90 kg. So basically, I can't really let my body do what it wants, I always have to have the reigns and control everything I eat or I get fat again.

The other problem I have is one you talked about in your OP. Regardless of what I do I seem to lose strength when cutting. And my deficits are nothing that extreme, I don't go above 500 calories deficit, and most days it is less than that.

I get enough sleep, I get enough protein, I get enough carbs, yet still, invariably, over time, I find myself struggling to meet the same reps (forget about gaining strength). The same exercise starts getting much harder, I have to reduce my volume, I feel more fatigued, need more rest between sets, and just can't make it. This then leads to de-motivation which invariably makes me lose even more strength as I'm now reluctant to work out knowing I'll do worse than last time.

Maybe it's my thyroid, maybe I need more testosterone, who knows, but cutting has always been hell for me, which is why I could never do bulking & cutting cycles, at least not to the extent bodybuilders do. I plan get down to 12-13% b.f. once and for all and call it a day.

I realise you've been able to overcome this as a mental hurdle @Hans, but what about if you actually physically are becoming weaker and more fatigued simply from dieting?

 

[Hans]

I've been dealing with weight issues all my life. I went from 90 kg at 17 to 70 kg at 20, then back to 90 kg again and so at least 2-3 times.

I can only actively maintain a "healthy" / semi-lean weight by counting calories or actively restricting myself. If I stop actively controlling what I eat and just eat intuitively...bam. In a few months, back to 90 kg. So basically, I can't really let my body do what it wants, I always have to have the reigns and control everything I eat or I get fat again.

The other problem I have is one you talked about in your OP. Regardless of what I do I seem to lose strength when cutting. And my deficits are nothing that extreme, I don't go above 500 calories deficit, and most days it is less than that.

I get enough sleep, I get enough protein, I get enough carbs, yet still, invariably, over time, I find myself struggling to meet the same reps (forget about gaining strength). The same exercise starts getting much harder, I have to reduce my volume, I feel more fatigued, need more rest between sets, and just can't make it. This then leads to de-motivation which invariably makes me lose even more strength as I'm now reluctant to work out knowing I'll do worse than last time.

Maybe it's my thyroid, maybe I need more testosterone, who knows, but cutting has always been hell for me, which is why I could never do bulking & cutting cycles, at least not to the extent bodybuilders do. I plan get down to 12-13% b.f. once and for all and call it a day.

I realise you've been able to overcome this as a mental hurdle @Hans, but what about if you actually physically are becoming weaker and more fatigued simply from dieting?

I feel the same way. I can't eat ad libitum or I gain too much fat. In school and college, I was lean and I thought maybe I'm an ectomorph. But reflecting on it I realized that I was just too poor and busy with other stuff, not to overeat. If I had money and more food, I would most likely have been fatter. But back then I wasn't even thinking of a diet or of food. But now, the foods that I would eat, would be useless calories, like sugar and cream in my coffee, full fat milk, lots of fat in my food, etc. Unnecessary calories. I'm now in a small deficit and it doesn't feel like I'm restricting myself. I'm not suffering. However, I'm withholding myself from delicious coffee haha. My others meals to taste good so I'm not complaining there.
I think I'm even still making strength gains at this point. If you have a lot of fat (as I did), you have more opportunity to build muscle and strength even in a deficit. The leaner you get, the harder it becomes. In the past, I mentally accepted that I would feel hungry, sleep poorly, have low energy, etc., etc., and then I did feel that way because that's what I believed. It's like you know fasting sucks. And right before the fast you feel all those symptoms as if you've been fasting all day already! A lot of it is all in the mind.

What might be able to help you is topical DHEA. A deficit and any kind of stress can lower DHEA, which reduces your strength and ability to retain muscle.
If I were losing strength, I would switch to a protocol or an exercise where I could win. I would for example do 3x6-8 on an exercise, but it would be a 7-8 RPE. Then in 3 weeks I'd make the weight heavier. And keep on doing this until I'm doing 3x6 at a 10RPE. This would take a couple of months to get to that point. Or start doing a new movement. Because it's a new movement, you'll get stronger with that exercise, so it's a win. And then when you stall, switch to another exercise.
Also, don't push yourself to a 10RPE or to failure every workout. I never go to failure in a deficit.

 

[MyUsernameHere]

I feel the same way. I can't eat ad libitum or I gain too much fat. In school and college, I was lean and I thought maybe I'm an ectomorph. But reflecting on it I realized that I was just too poor and busy with other stuff, not to overeat. If I had money and more food, I would most likely have been fatter. But back then I wasn't even thinking of a diet or of food. But now, the foods that I would eat, would be useless calories, like sugar and cream in my coffee, full fat milk, lots of fat in my food, etc. Unnecessary calories. I'm now in a small deficit and it doesn't feel like I'm restricting myself. I'm not suffering. However, I'm withholding myself from delicious coffee haha. My others meals to taste good so I'm not complaining there.
I think I'm even still making strength gains at this point. If you have a lot of fat (as I did), you have more opportunity to build muscle and strength even in a deficit. The leaner you get, the harder it becomes. In the past, I mentally accepted that I would feel hungry, sleep poorly, have low energy, etc., etc., and then I did feel that way because that's what I believed. It's like you know fasting sucks. And right before the fast you feel all those symptoms as if you've been fasting all day already! A lot of it is all in the mind.

What might be able to help you is topical DHEA. A deficit and any kind of stress can lower DHEA, which reduces your strength and ability to retain muscle.
If I were losing strength, I would switch to a protocol or an exercise where I could win. I would for example do 3x6-8 on an exercise, but it would be a 7-8 RPE. Then in 3 weeks I'd make the weight heavier. And keep on doing this until I'm doing 3x6 at a 10RPE. This would take a couple of months to get to that point. Or start doing a new movement. Because it's a new movement, you'll get stronger with that exercise, so it's a win. And then when you stall, switch to another exercise.
Also, don't push yourself to a 10RPE or to failure every workout. I never go to failure in a deficit.

Thanks Hans, some good advice there.

It seems that keeping thyroid and testosterone high makes holding onto muscle and losing mostly just fat an easier effort. I'll look into the topical DHEA, and I believe I need some thyroid support as well (red light or at least some nigella sativa) - my levels aren't great normally but TSH tends to rise even further when dieting. My hypothyroidism originally started while doing alternate day fasting over 10 years ago.

 

[Hans]

Thanks Hans, some good advice there.

It seems that keeping thyroid and testosterone high makes holding onto muscle and losing mostly just fat an easier effort. I'll look into the topical DHEA, and I believe I need some thyroid support as well (red light or at least some nigella sativa) - my levels aren't great normally but TSH tends to rise even further when dieting. My hypothyroidism originally started while doing alternate day fasting over 10 years ago.

Steroids do make losing fat super easy in a deficit, which is what I hear for users. :)
Thyroid and topical DHEA should be a nice combo for you. Just make sure your vitamin D, calcium and magnesium intake are in check, since they are very important for muscle health.

 

[Matestube]

Nice.
Patience i suppose.

Rays got me on the milk diet. Done wonders for my sleep. Am adding food back in. One thing its really helped with is simplifying my macros. I think I understand this weight gain/loss thing now.

Fewer variables is way better i think especially with such a busy life and a poisoned food supply.

Only milk?
For how long, and with what type of milk?

 

[Judd Crane]

Steroids do make losing fat super easy in a deficit, which is what I hear for users. :)
Thyroid and topical DHEA should be a nice combo for you. Just make sure your vitamin D, calcium and magnesium intake are in check, since they are very important for muscle health.

Hunger at night is my biggest worry on a deficit. Do you have any "hacks" for that?

 

[Hans]

Hunger at night is my biggest worry on a deficit. Do you have any "hacks" for that?

I make sure to have a good meal close to bed. Often have 500ml milk about 30min before bed with aspirin. That also helps.

 

[Sam321]

Only milk?
For how long, and with what type of milk?

Skim. Local farmer.
Yes only milk for about a month and a half.

 

[Sam321]

How the cut going hans

 

[Matestube]

I make sure to have a good meal close to bed. Often have 500ml milk about 30min before bed with aspirin. That also helps.

So is aspirin part of your daily regimen that knows no exceptions, or is it taken randomly?

 

[Hans]

How the cut going hans

Still going good. Maintaining a bit at 96kg for now as I do more activity. So seeing where my calories need to go. Physique update:
View: https://www.instagram.com/p/CZXGpP1ty4a/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

[Hans]

So is aspirin part of your daily regimen that knows no exceptions, or is it taken randomly?

I usually take it before bed, but sometimes in the morning as well.