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Guesstimate BF, Help with Cutting

Beginners
#1


Hi, I was 190 about 10 weeks ago and was not feeling well, and thought it had something to do with my blood sugar as it was around ~95-105 mg/dl. I decided to go on a cut, and have been meticulously weighing a lot of my foods with an electronic scale and tracking them on myfitnesspal app.
I am 21, 175 lbs now, and have gotten my fasted glucose to around 80-85 mg/dl (Bench 205x1 squat 225x5 deadlift 315x3…if those give you an idea of my strength foundation).

The diet i have used is not getting me the results i wanted. I train 4 days week ( 2 upper 2 lower/ WS4SB3) and take in:
Fat: 60-70g
Protein: Atleast 1g/bw(175-205g)
Carbs: Less than 125g a day. I aim to take in 100-125 on intense training days, 70-100 on RE/DE days, and 50-70g a day on rest days.

I have been slightly following 100 gram carb cure/ T-Dawg diet 2.0 (they have the same principles) and maybe it doesn’t work for me?
I believe i have only lost 3% bf (maybe started from 17-18 and am at 14-15?)

#2

[quote]Lol312 wrote:
The diet i have used is not getting me the results i wanted. I train 4 days week ( 2 upper 2 lower/ WS4SB3) and take in:
Fat: 60-70g
Protein: Atleast 1g/bw(175-205g)
Carbs: Less than 125g a day. I aim to take in 100-125 on intense training days, 70-100 on RE/DE days, and 50-70g a day on rest days.

I have been slightly following 100 gram carb cure/ T-Dawg diet 2.0 (they have the same principles) and maybe it doesn’t work for me?
I believe i have only lost 3% bf (maybe started from 17-18 and am at 14-15?)[/quote]
When you first started doing ^this^ 10 weeks ago were you new to lifting or had you been away from the gym for awhile?

My point is you may have made more progress than you are giving yourself credit for. Besides bodyfat measurements, which are notoriously inaccurate, are you taking weekly pictures, measuring body circumferences, etc?

#3

dc6db_ORIG-QcREyJn.jpg1484×996 406 KB

I did not get a measurement, just estimating. I have been lifting since i was 18, but have had knee problems and back problems that i have been focusing on fixing. I had taken a break and none of my lifts have gone down while cutting because, starting 14 weeks ago, i got my diet in check and made sure i was getting a sufficient amount of protein. I did take pics when i started, but cant find the unflexed one. here is the flexed one. For the last 12 weeks (1 week of which i stopped cutting because I was on vacation) i have been cutting and making sure my macros are correct, but i am not sure if this whole low carb thing is for me or if I have unrealistic expectations.

Thanks.

#4

Nobody can give you a truly accurate number simply from these two pictues. Personally when I cut, which I only do for like a week when I do and it’s more like a recomp (naturally very lean) my cardio makes more of a difference than anything else. What are you doing for cardio, and how many kcals/day are you eating?

Just a sidenote, usually when you mention your weight in situations like this your height is also relevant.

#5

[quote]Andrewdwatters1 wrote:
Nobody can give you a truly accurate number simply from these two pictues. [/quote]

This is correct. We need you to hold a shoe for comparison.

#6

You aren’t even fat

#7

But try this http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_diet_mass/the_get_shredded_diet I’d like to see the results and read a long over it lol be all of our guinea pigs

#8

Would you be able to post pictures standing a further away from the camera? One back and front (non-flexed).

Height? Current cardio days and duration?

I would say start off with a basic diet with up to 100g carbs on your training days. During my first 2 cuts I ever did I started off at right around that. For someone that weighs 175lbs and based on pics above I would say this would be a ROUGH DRAFT you could follow:

Meals 1 through 5: 45/20/10 (Protein, Carbs, Fats) + (optional, up to 2 cups of green vegetables)
Meal 6: 5 Whole Eggs only

-Also, have some calorie free drinks or condiments if you want as well.

This is real basic, and obviously the food choice you choose for carbohydrates should be oats, rice (brown or white), ezekial bread, gluten free pasta. Try to stay away from bread or pop-tarts, you don’t want that refined sugar.

Before you start, take pictures, complete a week, take more pictures and compare. Keep track weekly by pictures and scale. If you make progress for a few weeks and stall, then you need to make changes. For example:

Week 1: As listed above
Week 2: Let’s say you lost 1.5 lbs, so stick with diet
Week 3: Another 1 lb drop, stick to it
Week 4: No loss, weight loss stalled. <----This is where you make changes. If your current cardio is 4x30, then increase it to 5x35
Week 5: Down 1 lb, keep it going.
Week 6: No weight loss <-----Here, adjust diet.
3 meals: 45/20/10
2 meals: 45/0/10
last meal: 5 whole eggs

Depending on your food choices, diet, cardio, metabolism, hormones, etc you might not need to make many adjustments, or you might have to often. Everyone is different. Try to be consistent, religously take pictures every week, the same day, in the morning and compare. That is the best way to tell. Hope this helps, good luck.

#9

[quote]1 Man Island wrote:

[quote]Andrewdwatters1 wrote:
Nobody can give you a truly accurate number simply from these two pictues. [/quote]

This is correct. We need you to hold a shoe for comparison.
[/quote]

:slight_smile:

#10

[quote]Lol312 wrote:
I did not get a measurement, just estimating. I have been lifting since i was 18, but have had knee problems and back problems that i have been focusing on fixing. I had taken a break and none of my lifts have gone down while cutting because, starting 14 weeks ago, i got my diet in check and made sure i was getting a sufficient amount of protein. I did take pics when i started, but cant find the unflexed one. here is the flexed one. For the last 12 weeks (1 week of which i stopped cutting because I was on vacation) i have been cutting and making sure my macros are correct, but i am not sure if this whole low carb thing is for me or if I have unrealistic expectations.

Thanks.
[/quote]
Wait, that’s the before picture? What were you trying to gain by cutting? You look pretty lean to me.

#11

[quote]Silyak wrote:

[quote]Lol312 wrote:
I did not get a measurement, just estimating. I have been lifting since i was 18, but have had knee problems and back problems that i have been focusing on fixing. I had taken a break and none of my lifts have gone down while cutting because, starting 14 weeks ago, i got my diet in check and made sure i was getting a sufficient amount of protein. I did take pics when i started, but cant find the unflexed one. here is the flexed one. For the last 12 weeks (1 week of which i stopped cutting because I was on vacation) i have been cutting and making sure my macros are correct, but i am not sure if this whole low carb thing is for me or if I have unrealistic expectations.

Thanks.
[/quote]
Wait, that’s the before picture? What were you trying to gain by cutting? You look pretty lean to me.
[/quote]

Thats my before picture but its flexed in the morning, where as my current picture is unflexed and after eating a meal before a workout. I will take some more pictures later to give a better idea of flexed vs unflexed, as well as further away (sorry for the horrible pictures, never have posted any before).
My primary goal was to get my blood work in check(which it is now), and that slowly change to attempting to have a 4 pack unflexed by summer time, and to get as lean as possible so that when i bulk my carb sensitivity won’t be out of whack like it was before i began cutting.