10 Weeks Into Cut, Making Adjustments. Tips?

Throw in an extra 1000 calories for one day. Eat a mixture of good and bad food. Throw your metabolism a curve ball to reignite it and then immediately switch back to keto. Should resolve the problem.

I mean yeah that would definitely be enjoyable, but how would that help?

Now that it comes to mind, I’ve also felt very cold this week. Weather is mild here, between 10-22c during the day, but I’m freezing my ass off at home. This sounds off.

What do you currently look like? You are kind of lean but, you do not carry a lot of muscle. I would personally not cut with that physique but, if you want to I would ditch keto and IF. See what you feel like with carbs, you should not be having issues with 10k steps. Have a refeed with carbs.

What would you do in my state? I’m not lean, so I think a bulk is ill advised. I also can’t access the gym, most likely until June, even July. I’d rather ditch the fat once and for all, so I’m at around 12%bf in September or October, hopefully having low T addressed and starting on a clean bulk with access to the gym. Sure, I’ll look like a twig in the meantime, but I can deal with that.

There really hasn’t been much change in the mirror since the day I’ve posted.

I would add carbs and see how I feel. Check to see if the fatigue is from training or lack of carbs. It could be that you are getting to a low in bodyfat/weight that you are not accustomed to. Like I said you are lean with not a lot of muscle to look “ripped” you would have to drop bf but, you are getting to a level where feeling shitty may be the cost.

at 2100 calories, 3 trainings a Week and a few walk your feeling exhausted ?

So, I did a 2700kcal refeed and recarb on May 9th, 11 days ago. I also stopped keto completely, although I don’t eat more than 150g carb per day currently. I’m going easier on the intermittent fasting, I go for 10k steps fasted in the morning, I take breakfast around 11am, and have my pre sleep snack at 9 or 10pm.

I have a lot more energy. Sleep quality has also dramatically improved. I wake up every morning feeling rested.

My current macros are: 2100kcal, 150g carb, 80g fat, 170g prot.

I didn’t gained back much weight from keto, I was a 79.8kg before refeed, and I’ve been at 80.5kg for a few days. I seems to have reached a plateau though, here is the progression for the last month: 20200520-143151 — ImgBB.

Measurements, from May 3rd (keto) to May 10th to May 17th, in cm:

  • chest 98.5 > 99.7 > 100.5
  • right bicep 37.5 > 36.8 > 37.2
  • waist 80.3 > 81.6 > 83.5
  • lower abs 83.7 > 84.7 > 85.8
  • hips 88.3 > 88.6 > 87
  • right thigh 59.7 > 59 > 58.8
  • fat callipers 21 > 20 > 21 (mm)

Maybe I’m just shit a taking measurements? Number of reps for my bodyweight workout is slowly but steadily increasing in every exercice.

I don’t see any difference regarding belly fat, it’s really hard to take accurate measurements with the fat callipers so I’m not sure it’s accurate.

I’m doing at least 10k steps every day no exception with a weekly average of 11k. That would put me at a maintenance of approx 1600kcal, considering weight seem stable and I burn 500kcal by walking (I’m not even counting workouts).

Should I keep doing what I’m doing or should I cut calories even more? I considered going to 1900 but then what? I shouldn’t go lower than 1750 and I’d have to add cardio on top of the walking I’m already doing.

You should try to go too 1900, but its low ! Try it a month and see how it goes, but if you continue to add more work and more work you will just kill yourself! I think at 1900 cal , with the walk you take and your workout you should loose alot of weight … maybe something wrong in you man

Yeah I don’t know, it feels a bit weird. I mean it’s not an enormous amount of effort, but I’m doing a lot more than the average couch potato.

I also started TRT recently and I doubt I’m dialed in yet. I have an appointment with the doc next week, I need to get my blood checked but I don’t think the dosage is enough. Maybe that is also impairing the weight loss.

Yes its more than just your training and diet im pretty sure !

How’s your night of sleep going ?

Actually it’s been going great. During the keto, I slept like shit. But it’s been more than a week of deep restoring sleep. I go to bed between 10 and 11pm, usually wake up around 6 or 7, sometimes less, without an alarm and fully rested.

@flappinit hello mate, I saw some of your answers on another thread about a person not losing weight. If you have a moment in the coming days, would you kindly take a look at my situation? I’m in dire need of advices. Thank you.

80.8kg this morning…

I’m also drinking about 3.6L of water daily (keto habits), and adding iodized salt in each glass. Two pinch per glass. Apparently that might infouence weight loss?

Or maybe I’m just not eating enough? I’m quite hungry even after a 800kcal lunch or dinner.

I see you requested some advice - I’ll just say that you’re already receiving (some) sound advice. I’m not an expert on this issue, so I’ll just say what I always do - cut with the highest amount of calories that you can, and slowly reduce.

The only thing I will say is that doing a certain amount of steps every day is something your body will adapt to, and isn’t an amazing tool for fat loss, IMO. Plus, drink salt water if you want, but it won’t be the tool that gets you to 10%.

1 Like

I have had far more success in a calorie deficit when I also restricted my daily eating window to 8 hours or less. It actually results in less hunger, less diet fails, and more energy. There is pretty good evidence that a shorter eating window improves insulin sensitivity and that training in a fasted state raises growth hormone. I also slept better, but my eating window is usually noon to 8 PM and I train around 8-10 am.

In a fasted state, after a few workouts, the body gets very good at running on fatty acids for energy, and the release of growth hormone raises blood sugar to do the work. Early in a fasted period, or in the first few days of training fasted, your body tends to release cortisol to get energy for working out, which can burn up muscle as well as fat, but there are two differences that happen over time. One is that you start to make growth hormone instead of all the cortisol, and that spares muscle but has virtually the same effect of providing energy. Second, your body makes more IGF-1 instead of insulin to move fuel into the muscle, so intermittent fasting, if you stick with it starts to reduce cortisol and insulin levels by replacing them with GH and IGF-1 which ends up raising “calories out” because you feel much better, more active and get better workouts and don’t lose muscle. Even though I only used about a 500 calorie deficit with an 8 hour eating window, I consistently lose more than a pound a week, while if I eat in a 12-16 hour window I lose less, and the loss tapers off fast. It seems to ME that in a 500 calorie calculated deficit, my metabolism is much higher when I get those calories in an 8 hour period versus spread out over a 12-16 hour period.

Keto is going to result in water weight loss in the first 2-4 weeks, after which you may regain lost water, though muscles will tend to load less glycogen and more fatty acids which hold on to less water. I may run 1-2 weeks of very low carbs, but usually I just naturally fluctuate my carbs and fats from day to day. Over the course of a week, I probably get about 35% carb, 35% fat and 30% protein, but I have very low carb days and days where I get more calories from carbs, but I don’t eat anything with added sugar and don’t drink milk (cheese and butter are fine as long as you don’t abuse cheese. Same for nuts IMO).

I also vary my deficit throughout the week but end up each week with a cumputed deficit, so if I am cutting 3500 a week, I might be -700 one day and -300 the next. I also will occasionally have a low protein day, 1-2 times a week. So everything gets cycled as I feel, but by the end of a week I hit about 30-40% carbs, 30-40% fats and 30% protein, and a total weekly deficit of 3500 calories as long as that works. I haven’t had to raise the deficit as long as my meal window is 8 hours or less on most days. I have no problem training fasted and not eating until noon. I might had a Mag-10 at noon, and then eat two decent meals around 1:00 and 6:30.

Lastly, I said that I vary my calories over the course of the week, but I would never eat without a calorie count at this point. I can eat 8000 calories in a day easily and that kind of eating tends to make me regain food cravings as well which I don’t get if I count calories and avoid trigger foods. Regarding refeeds, I am not a fan of having a single high carb day every week. If I am ahead of my weekly calorie reduction by friday, I will eat more so that I hit the 3500 calorie deficit for the week though, and I may end up eating maintenance or even a little above on Friday and Saturday each week if I have hit 3500 calories cut by Friday.

I DO think that having a maintenance calorie week or two can restart weight loss though, so maybe every 8th week I will set a calorie deficit of zero for one week. Usually my weight rises 2-3 pounds but my skinfolds drop by the end of that week, and I end up with faster weight loss in the next 1-2 weeks.

Being healthy is not about losing weight. Losing weight is not healthy. It raises stress hormone levels. People are more likely to have an adverse medical event during a period of calorie restriction. It can raise inflammation. Intermittent fasting is healthy though since GH tends to prevent inflammation at the source rather than using cortisol to negate it after it is already happening. Also, it IS healthy to live at a healthier bodyweight, so if you lose 5% of your bodyweight in 10 weeks and then spend 20 weeks at a healthier bodyweight than you would have been at, you will be healthier after those 20 weeks of living at a healthier bodyweight than if you had been heavier, so I would say that I do believe that after a loss of 5-10% of bodyweight, it may be best to try to stay at maintenance levels. People who ask about jump starting weight loss don’t get it. Fast weight loss is extremely stressful and the body’s response is to fight it with stress hormones. 20% of bodyweight loss in a year is achievable, but homeostasis will not be achieved unless that level is maintained for as long as or longer than it took to get there, and most of the health benefits occur in the period of maintaining the healthier bodyweight and making it the new norm.

Anyway, I have been in your no loss boat before, and the only thing I can say for sure is that for ME, shorter daily meal windows, zero desert/candy/added sugar type items and occasional maintenance weeks (rather than high carb days), and natually cycling carbs and fats, and also doing some activity in the fasted window make the difference between success and no success. With an 8 hour eating window, I fell right to sleep, and woke up at 5:30 in the morning on my own, ready to do stuff, while with more spread out eating, I felt tired all the time, wanted to nap in the day and sleep late, and didn’t fall asleep well.

I started IF once the gyms here in NYS shut down in March. I figured since I don’t have a home gym and only bands/bodyweight for training, I would lean out for the time being and hopefully “prime” my body for growth. Gyms are anticipated to open up middle of June if everything goes according to plan.

I’ve gone from 215-193 but seem to have stalled. Decrease calories more, increase cardio, both? I feel like I’ve lost some size over the past few months, but I’m sure a lot of people feel that way.

I love the 8 hour eating window I have 12pm-8pm, but I’ve tried training fasted before in the morning and it’s no bueno for me.

How would you recommend switching from IF to a more regular eating protocol to put on mass once gyms reopen?

Yeah I’ve been doing IF for about 3 years, it works very well for me. I eat at 1pm, and then at 8pm. I love having 2 big meals instead of several smaller ones. I have no issue working out fasted, I’ve even been doing CrossFit workouts completely fasted. It has become my new norm. Although someone told me EAA breaks fast and is to be avoided, I’m taking them before my morning workouts. And BCAA during.

I think I’m going to eat at maintenance for a week (2500kcal with 500kcal of waking per day should do it) and see what happens.

Personally, I would start by adding a serving of Plazma during my training and/or adding a standard breakfast an hour before training. Basically, keep your 12-8 the same, but add to your pre and peri-workout in a controlled way. At that point, if mass gain is the goal, you can add in a slow protein source before bed.

I am starting to see some of these benefits after going on a carnivore-type experiment. I’m now into my 3rd week; usually training 7 days a week: 3-4 weights; 2-3 HIIT/LISS; 1-2 LISS. My eating window is tight: 90-120m, so I am fasting around 22 hours a day.

The eye opener has been around both performance and recovery. Despite ingesting around 5-10g CHO a day, I am making inroads in the HIIT sessions, which are obviously glycolytic in nature, and also able to recover enough to do some form of training 7 days a week.

I mostly do low rep strength training, with maybe 25 yard farmer’s carries or 15 kettlebell swings mixed in, but as long as I train for less than an hour, I perform better in a fasted state. If I was going to bike for an hour or do higher rep training I would take some glucose polymers about half way through. Growth hormone works like cortisol, it mobilizes fatty acids, and makes the liver release glucose.