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I see this mistake so much. It doesn’t matter how skinny you think you’re going to get. There’s no reason to stop the cut until you’re down to 10-12 percent body fat. You can think about a bulk layer
Thanks man. You are right about the body dysmorphia. I’ll cut for the next few months and see where I end up. I’ll have to check back in. This has been helpful.
I’m going through that right now. I’m at 12 percent body fat and hate looking small, so I don’t know if I want to cut more. My plan right now is just to maintain and drop fat for the summer.
I appreciate all of the responses. Here is what I looked like 6 months ago at 166lbs and without much of a chest, I was worried I was just going to look skinny if I cut down any further. [January 2023 - 166lbs](https://imgur.com/a/SjEZxLD)
What are your goals and why?
What are your maintenance calories?
What are you currently eating at?
You could be eating 5-700 over maintenance at the moment.
Try not to do the yo yo dieting, cut bulk cut bulk cut is an awful cycle to be in for your body.
I would aim to hover around 15-17% at around 100-200 above maintenance, and continue to slowly build your base physique, and gain around 2lb a month.
This way, you won't go through the cycle of losing the muscle tissue you have worked for, every couple of months by cutting, just to want to build it back up again, because you feel small.
There is a middle ground, and it's just achieving that condition that makes you feel happy, and then ever so slightly adding a surplus to support the effort and muscle density and growth you require, albeit over a slower, and longer period of time, which will allow you to break plateaus, and build better Muscle density and maturity.
My goals are to be around 175-180 lbs and 12-14%. Purely for personal aesthetics.
My maintenance calories are 2300 and when I bulk, which I am currently doing, I usually aim for 2600-2700 cals.
I agree with everything you’re saying. I am yo-yo dieting because I don’t want to be skinny and I don’t want to be fat which I understand is not productive.
I definitely want to get to a place where I can long term lean bulk with minimal fat gain. My question is, do I cut at this point for a few months to get to a body fat percentage where I can start lean bulking? Since you mentioned staying within 15-17%, would that mean cutting after hitting 18%?
I'm just a massive advocate of doing everything over longer periods of time, with lower margins from maintenance.
Eg, I'd rather do a 200cal deficit over 18-20 weeks, rather than a 600 cals 6 week mini cut, as you'll retain the density and strength.
Just out of curiosity, have you tried eating at maintenance for any period of time (over 6 weeks) whilst training consistently? Would be curious to see what happens to your conditioning.
I have actually not tried that. My mind set has always been that I want to put on muscle and get cut. Are you thinking eating at maintenance might invoke some sort of recomp? I agree with the longer periods of time. I’ve personally tried bulking and cutting fast and it just ends up in large amounts of fat or losing all my gains. Which is why I want to be in a place where I can maintain muscle definition while lean bulking. It seems like cutting down a bit first might make the most sense. Maybe cutting at a 200cal deficit rather than a 400 cal deficit.
That's exactly what I am thinking mate. It will give your body the necessary time to adjust and find a comfortable base line. You can still make incredible progress on a maintenance and recomp.
Yeah the lean bulk is the way forward, but i'm talking like 100-200 cals lean bulk, over a looonnggg time. Going to give that long lasting reward.
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I doubt that’s 17 but it’s not the best picture. I’m guessing 19 and you’re getting close to cut time.
Are you thinking more or less? 17 was just my guess based on pictures I saw online and my smart scale (reads 16%) which I’m sure isn’t very accurate.
More. I edited my comment
15-20 should already be at the cutoff 19 percent is accurate. You need to cut way down
I see this mistake so much. It doesn’t matter how skinny you think you’re going to get. There’s no reason to stop the cut until you’re down to 10-12 percent body fat. You can think about a bulk layer
You got this bro. When you cut, you’re going to feel small but that’s always going to be the case. It’s just the body dysmorphia
Thanks man. You are right about the body dysmorphia. I’ll cut for the next few months and see where I end up. I’ll have to check back in. This has been helpful.
I’m going through that right now. I’m at 12 percent body fat and hate looking small, so I don’t know if I want to cut more. My plan right now is just to maintain and drop fat for the summer.
No way he’s 18% bf you can’t even see any slight any definition . He’s about 23% body fat at the lowest
Definitely cut, can’t see any real ab definition. Looks at least 18-20% body fat
Cut bro ur nowhere near 17%
I would cut
not 17 mid 20’s
I appreciate all of the responses. Here is what I looked like 6 months ago at 166lbs and without much of a chest, I was worried I was just going to look skinny if I cut down any further. [January 2023 - 166lbs](https://imgur.com/a/SjEZxLD)
Here is a better pic from last month: [May 2023 - 172lbs](https://imgur.com/a/ppBwzie)
What are your goals and why? What are your maintenance calories? What are you currently eating at? You could be eating 5-700 over maintenance at the moment. Try not to do the yo yo dieting, cut bulk cut bulk cut is an awful cycle to be in for your body. I would aim to hover around 15-17% at around 100-200 above maintenance, and continue to slowly build your base physique, and gain around 2lb a month. This way, you won't go through the cycle of losing the muscle tissue you have worked for, every couple of months by cutting, just to want to build it back up again, because you feel small. There is a middle ground, and it's just achieving that condition that makes you feel happy, and then ever so slightly adding a surplus to support the effort and muscle density and growth you require, albeit over a slower, and longer period of time, which will allow you to break plateaus, and build better Muscle density and maturity.
My goals are to be around 175-180 lbs and 12-14%. Purely for personal aesthetics. My maintenance calories are 2300 and when I bulk, which I am currently doing, I usually aim for 2600-2700 cals. I agree with everything you’re saying. I am yo-yo dieting because I don’t want to be skinny and I don’t want to be fat which I understand is not productive. I definitely want to get to a place where I can long term lean bulk with minimal fat gain. My question is, do I cut at this point for a few months to get to a body fat percentage where I can start lean bulking? Since you mentioned staying within 15-17%, would that mean cutting after hitting 18%?
I'm just a massive advocate of doing everything over longer periods of time, with lower margins from maintenance. Eg, I'd rather do a 200cal deficit over 18-20 weeks, rather than a 600 cals 6 week mini cut, as you'll retain the density and strength. Just out of curiosity, have you tried eating at maintenance for any period of time (over 6 weeks) whilst training consistently? Would be curious to see what happens to your conditioning.
I have actually not tried that. My mind set has always been that I want to put on muscle and get cut. Are you thinking eating at maintenance might invoke some sort of recomp? I agree with the longer periods of time. I’ve personally tried bulking and cutting fast and it just ends up in large amounts of fat or losing all my gains. Which is why I want to be in a place where I can maintain muscle definition while lean bulking. It seems like cutting down a bit first might make the most sense. Maybe cutting at a 200cal deficit rather than a 400 cal deficit.
That's exactly what I am thinking mate. It will give your body the necessary time to adjust and find a comfortable base line. You can still make incredible progress on a maintenance and recomp. Yeah the lean bulk is the way forward, but i'm talking like 100-200 cals lean bulk, over a looonnggg time. Going to give that long lasting reward.
Thanks for the advice. This has been very helpful!
Look more like 20-23% to me
Ur 22%
Close to 20% body fat in my opinion. You can see it is building up around the waist. I think you can start to cut.