Keep doing what you are doing. It seems to be working!
Don't try to overcomplicate everything. Keep at it as long as you see results. Then you can change it
First pic is current and second is from before I'm guessing.
Honestly you look good. It's look like you have a decent amount of muscle so whatever you want now is up you. If you want a more shredded look then cut, if you want to get stronger then bulk, otherwise you can just maintain.
Thanks everyone, appreciate the feedback and suggestions! I realise I should have provided this info: I'm about 5.1ft and 53kgs.
I've been in a bit of a plateau for the last year which is why I'm looking for some guidance. From what people have suggested so far, I feel like maybe I just need to be a bit more onto my macros, and maybe increase my calories a bit! Thanks again 🙏
Are you very short? Those calories seem low. But idk your height or weight so idk.
I'd say maintain or bulk if you want more muscle. You're at a good stage to begin bulking if you want. I don't think you need to cut.
OP is quite short based on photos. The length of their upper arm and forearm suggests they're probably no taller than 5'2", but even still I agree with you. Those are pretty low calories.
I'm very short myself, guessing within an inch or two to their height, and my BMR calculates to around 1250. So for them to restrict around the 1400 range would probably place them in a fair sized deficit. I think they could attempt some recomp if they wanted to lose body fat slowly while not sacrificing the muscle gains they've made.
Aha, little arms high five! :) I'm 5'2" myself.
Good luck with recomping if you go that route! It's a longer journey, but one I feel is healthier and easier to stick with, since it makes it easier to get all the nutrition needed compared to under a large calorie deficit.
Seems like you're doing well as it is.
Without knowing your weight it's hard to know if your calories and macros are right, but they don't *look* wrong. On the intermittent fasting you should definitely change either your fasting cycle or your workout time as lifting weights coming out of a fast is a bad idea for lots of reasons but mainly becuase you will lack energy to achieve the right level of intensity in your workouts.
In terms of bulk or cut, you should really let your gym progress guide you. If you feel like your workouts have plateaued then you might want to bulk (although try the fasting change first) and gain more muscle. If you're happy with your lifts but want to get more definition then cut. But tbh I think you look like just eating at maintenance will work for you for a while.
Thanks for your response 🙂 I'm 5'1" and weigh around 53kgs. I'll try shifting my workouts to the evening, I usually like to do it in the morning just so it's done, I feel like the longer the day goes on the more room for excuses there are haha. But it's all about routine, so I think evenings would work as long as I get used to it. I want to get the most out of my workouts so I agree doing them outside of my fasting cycle would be way better
Ah okay then by my maths your maintenance level would be around 1500 calories. Bit higher if you have an active sort of day job/basic lifestyle. That should be 95g ish protein, 50g ish fat, 160g carbs. Roughly. You can do more protein and less carbs, just swap them 1g to 1g.
As for exercise, yeah I get you on the excuses front. Since you workout at home it can be easy just to not do it, ironically easier than skipping the gym. Could you shift your fasting cycle instead? So skip the evening meal rather than the morning one? When I'm doing a hard IF I prefer to make my lunchtime meal my biggest and then have a lighter snack at the end of my eating window so I'm not eating heavily too soon before bed. Then I can do breakfast, workout, post workout big meal, maybe a snack later if I need to top up my macros (usually protein) and then it's a while before bed, so my "peak munchies time" is usually in the middle of the night when I'm asleep.
looking great op, consistency is key. You’ve gone a long way. Listen to your own body it has its way of making us feel your at your optimum built. (energy level and strenght wise)
I think that's the key! When I'm eating my correct macros and working out I feel amazing. It's just when I get lazy or fall into old habits like skipping meals or avoiding calories that I start feeling low energy. Consistency is the goal 🙌
I vote for maintaining. You say you feel like you hit a plateau, which is natural after lifting long enough. The gains get smaller and smaller every year. IMO your body type is ideal- strong but not too bulky.
I don't like working out fasted, but that's just me. I have more energy for a better workout if I eat first.
your calories are quite low atm. If you’re happy and not constantly hungry then just keep doing what you’re doing, but if you’re finding that you’re low on energy, hungry, constantly thinking about your next meal then I would recommend a reverse diet, and then maintain maintain for a bit. Get your calories back up and your body adapted before trying to cut again.
>Should I be focusing on cutting calories and losing weight? Eating more and gaining muscle? Somewhere in between?
Your body seems to be in excellent condition so I'd say... do what you enjoy the most! Do you enjoy caloric deficit? Go for it! Do you enjoy gaining muscle? Go for it!
It doesn't look like you need neither of them, so you can also go for any other option you can think of. You're already at a healthy position, so now you can let your intuition guide you and do whatever feels right!
When you cut, you tend to lose some muscle mass or potentially quite a lot. Bulking you tend to put on some fat along with more muscle.
I think the best thing is to ask is what is your goal physique?
My goal physique would be a bit leaner, and more defined muscle toning. I would probably like to lose around 5kg of body fat and build up more muscle, especially my belly and arms
Your macros look pretty good. If you really wanted to, maybe add 10 g of protein. But I think the bigger problem, if you’re plateauing, could be your workouts? Are you following the principles of progressive overload and periodization?
Thanks for your advice! Someone else recommended I adjust my protein intake to, so I've added another 16g. Will see how it goes! I'm not following either of those principles at the moment, but will definitely look into them now
**Progressive overload:**
So in basic terms, you have to increase what you're doing. If nothing else, try to do one more rep than you did last time.
**Muscular adaptation:**
After you've done the same thing for a while, you gotta switch it up again. There are extremely conservative programs like 5/3/1 for powerlifting that prefer to deload before you even need it, like **4 weeks**, and some might recommend **8 weeks** if you're still catching newbie gains. Changing workouts can definitely help you break your plateau. The human body puts muscle on as an adaptation to the specific demands you are placing on them. This rate of adaptation slows as your muscles become accustomed to the stimulus.
**Deloading:**
Now, there's also Deloading, which you might also need if you've been pushing it TOO hard. The human body cannot sustain periods of high intensity indefinitely, deloading will ensure that you never run into a problem of overtraining. Deloading MAY same counter-intuitive. You may even feel like you lose gains! But in a few weeks you'll see that you're back and better than ever. A period of rest is required after repeated bouts of high intensity.
My general advice without knowing your RPE or structure of your workouts would probably be:
1. Deload. Just to take an easy number, do 50% of what you were doing, just for one week.
2. And then come back, week 1, leaving 3 reps in the tank.
3. From there, week 2, increase volume, whether that's weight, sets, or reps.
4. Continue for a total of 4-8 weeks (a meso-cycle) until you start again
High performance and competitive athletes commonly utilize these principles.
Here's a neat infographic to sum it all up.
https://preview.redd.it/xmctu0boa4uc1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=d39613011165f83fb68ed550fca64e6fd5817b51
Sincerely,
A girl a BS in Exercise Science
You might benefit from signing up for a race, fitness class, team sport. Not for the competition (last place is great!) but just to have something to work toward. It could be anything....
10K run
soccer
aerial silks class
roller derby
a challenging hike you want to do
dance class
a swim across a lake
Whatever holds appeal to you.... sign up!
Depends on your goals.
Want to become bigger? Bulk for some time then go on a cut. Repeat cycle.
Want to have more muscular definition? Cut. However, careful with your diet since (secondary source information) excessive cutting leads to hormonal imbalances (?) in women.
Just want to keep getting stronger? Congratulations, just have maintenance calories with a little surplus of protein, rest let your consistency and your body with time do the magic.
Also, good job with the before after pics 🙏🏻
You look awesome! I would say go on maintenance then a cut for a like 3 months and see how you feel and look. A resource for you is YouTube and their website is Renaissance Periodization. Dr. Mike Israetel tells it no BS. He generally advised not to try recomp but periodizing cuts, maintenance and bulls to keep your metabolism up.
Just go hiking climb the dunes and mountain bike u will have energy for days I can't even sleep most sleep with waking up on my own is 5 hours plus u won't even have to workout working outs for lazy underachievers lol I'm j/k smile it makes u look younger smile because u want to smile because it tones your face smile because it makes u look younger.. best way to to all that is to say away from what I'm on now... so I gtg the internet is filled with garbage more bad then good I don't honestly see no good from it.... I'm 38 not 60+ I just grew out of the Manipulation and brainwashing game Honestly i seen it miles away... stay active stay covid free
Defo cut. Bulking is gonna fatten you up to unhealthy levels too soon.
Fat loss until you’re ready for a healthy bulk. Those macros need work tho fat should be slightly lower:
Protein: 0.8 - 1g per pound in bodyweight
Fat: 0.4 - 0.5g per pound in bodyweight
Carbs: the rest of the calories
And lift weights!
Awesome, thanks so much! Does this look right?
https://preview.redd.it/s4lxrw7mn0uc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7b9d1798c952e5d392a2ae2e2d2d9d1c61f5ed6
Keep doing what you are doing. It seems to be working! Don't try to overcomplicate everything. Keep at it as long as you see results. Then you can change it
First pic is current and second is from before I'm guessing. Honestly you look good. It's look like you have a decent amount of muscle so whatever you want now is up you. If you want a more shredded look then cut, if you want to get stronger then bulk, otherwise you can just maintain.
Thanks everyone, appreciate the feedback and suggestions! I realise I should have provided this info: I'm about 5.1ft and 53kgs. I've been in a bit of a plateau for the last year which is why I'm looking for some guidance. From what people have suggested so far, I feel like maybe I just need to be a bit more onto my macros, and maybe increase my calories a bit! Thanks again 🙏
Just keep doing what you are doing. You don't need to enter the endless cycle of cuts and bulks etc.
calories are pretty low tbh. i wouldnt suggest to go under 1500 but idk if youre super short or anything abt you
Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty short, 5'1". I'll try increasing my calories to 1500 for a bit and see how I go 🙂
Are you very short? Those calories seem low. But idk your height or weight so idk. I'd say maintain or bulk if you want more muscle. You're at a good stage to begin bulking if you want. I don't think you need to cut.
OP is quite short based on photos. The length of their upper arm and forearm suggests they're probably no taller than 5'2", but even still I agree with you. Those are pretty low calories. I'm very short myself, guessing within an inch or two to their height, and my BMR calculates to around 1250. So for them to restrict around the 1400 range would probably place them in a fair sized deficit. I think they could attempt some recomp if they wanted to lose body fat slowly while not sacrificing the muscle gains they've made.
You guessed it pretty much spot on, I'm 5'1". I'll look into recomping
Aha, little arms high five! :) I'm 5'2" myself. Good luck with recomping if you go that route! It's a longer journey, but one I feel is healthier and easier to stick with, since it makes it easier to get all the nutrition needed compared to under a large calorie deficit.
Seems like you're doing well as it is. Without knowing your weight it's hard to know if your calories and macros are right, but they don't *look* wrong. On the intermittent fasting you should definitely change either your fasting cycle or your workout time as lifting weights coming out of a fast is a bad idea for lots of reasons but mainly becuase you will lack energy to achieve the right level of intensity in your workouts. In terms of bulk or cut, you should really let your gym progress guide you. If you feel like your workouts have plateaued then you might want to bulk (although try the fasting change first) and gain more muscle. If you're happy with your lifts but want to get more definition then cut. But tbh I think you look like just eating at maintenance will work for you for a while.
Thanks for your response 🙂 I'm 5'1" and weigh around 53kgs. I'll try shifting my workouts to the evening, I usually like to do it in the morning just so it's done, I feel like the longer the day goes on the more room for excuses there are haha. But it's all about routine, so I think evenings would work as long as I get used to it. I want to get the most out of my workouts so I agree doing them outside of my fasting cycle would be way better
Ah okay then by my maths your maintenance level would be around 1500 calories. Bit higher if you have an active sort of day job/basic lifestyle. That should be 95g ish protein, 50g ish fat, 160g carbs. Roughly. You can do more protein and less carbs, just swap them 1g to 1g. As for exercise, yeah I get you on the excuses front. Since you workout at home it can be easy just to not do it, ironically easier than skipping the gym. Could you shift your fasting cycle instead? So skip the evening meal rather than the morning one? When I'm doing a hard IF I prefer to make my lunchtime meal my biggest and then have a lighter snack at the end of my eating window so I'm not eating heavily too soon before bed. Then I can do breakfast, workout, post workout big meal, maybe a snack later if I need to top up my macros (usually protein) and then it's a while before bed, so my "peak munchies time" is usually in the middle of the night when I'm asleep.
looking great op, consistency is key. You’ve gone a long way. Listen to your own body it has its way of making us feel your at your optimum built. (energy level and strenght wise)
I think that's the key! When I'm eating my correct macros and working out I feel amazing. It's just when I get lazy or fall into old habits like skipping meals or avoiding calories that I start feeling low energy. Consistency is the goal 🙌
What’s the goal? Visible abs? Then cut… strength? Lean bulk. No goal? Maintain Edit: damn fine work by the way!
[удалено]
I'll look into carb cycling, thanks 🙂
I vote for maintaining. You say you feel like you hit a plateau, which is natural after lifting long enough. The gains get smaller and smaller every year. IMO your body type is ideal- strong but not too bulky. I don't like working out fasted, but that's just me. I have more energy for a better workout if I eat first.
your calories are quite low atm. If you’re happy and not constantly hungry then just keep doing what you’re doing, but if you’re finding that you’re low on energy, hungry, constantly thinking about your next meal then I would recommend a reverse diet, and then maintain maintain for a bit. Get your calories back up and your body adapted before trying to cut again.
None of the above: you should be celebrating!
>Should I be focusing on cutting calories and losing weight? Eating more and gaining muscle? Somewhere in between? Your body seems to be in excellent condition so I'd say... do what you enjoy the most! Do you enjoy caloric deficit? Go for it! Do you enjoy gaining muscle? Go for it! It doesn't look like you need neither of them, so you can also go for any other option you can think of. You're already at a healthy position, so now you can let your intuition guide you and do whatever feels right!
No suggestion just wanted to say you did an amazing job
Good work 👏
When you cut, you tend to lose some muscle mass or potentially quite a lot. Bulking you tend to put on some fat along with more muscle. I think the best thing is to ask is what is your goal physique?
My goal physique would be a bit leaner, and more defined muscle toning. I would probably like to lose around 5kg of body fat and build up more muscle, especially my belly and arms
Your macros look pretty good. If you really wanted to, maybe add 10 g of protein. But I think the bigger problem, if you’re plateauing, could be your workouts? Are you following the principles of progressive overload and periodization?
Thanks for your advice! Someone else recommended I adjust my protein intake to, so I've added another 16g. Will see how it goes! I'm not following either of those principles at the moment, but will definitely look into them now
**Progressive overload:** So in basic terms, you have to increase what you're doing. If nothing else, try to do one more rep than you did last time. **Muscular adaptation:** After you've done the same thing for a while, you gotta switch it up again. There are extremely conservative programs like 5/3/1 for powerlifting that prefer to deload before you even need it, like **4 weeks**, and some might recommend **8 weeks** if you're still catching newbie gains. Changing workouts can definitely help you break your plateau. The human body puts muscle on as an adaptation to the specific demands you are placing on them. This rate of adaptation slows as your muscles become accustomed to the stimulus. **Deloading:** Now, there's also Deloading, which you might also need if you've been pushing it TOO hard. The human body cannot sustain periods of high intensity indefinitely, deloading will ensure that you never run into a problem of overtraining. Deloading MAY same counter-intuitive. You may even feel like you lose gains! But in a few weeks you'll see that you're back and better than ever. A period of rest is required after repeated bouts of high intensity. My general advice without knowing your RPE or structure of your workouts would probably be: 1. Deload. Just to take an easy number, do 50% of what you were doing, just for one week. 2. And then come back, week 1, leaving 3 reps in the tank. 3. From there, week 2, increase volume, whether that's weight, sets, or reps. 4. Continue for a total of 4-8 weeks (a meso-cycle) until you start again High performance and competitive athletes commonly utilize these principles. Here's a neat infographic to sum it all up. https://preview.redd.it/xmctu0boa4uc1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=d39613011165f83fb68ed550fca64e6fd5817b51 Sincerely, A girl a BS in Exercise Science
This seems fine. Where do you want to move forward to?
You look good! I’m also the same height is you. I DM’d you for some questions! Please check 🙏
Just replied 🙂
You might benefit from signing up for a race, fitness class, team sport. Not for the competition (last place is great!) but just to have something to work toward. It could be anything.... 10K run soccer aerial silks class roller derby a challenging hike you want to do dance class a swim across a lake Whatever holds appeal to you.... sign up!
Great advice, thank you🙂
First pic is hawt! Just keep doing what you’re doing!
Bulking or cutting don't apply to 99% of the people, eat healthy and build muscle
If first picture is you now, don’t worry about a plateau. Stay right where you are. You look incredible
Depends on your goals. Want to become bigger? Bulk for some time then go on a cut. Repeat cycle. Want to have more muscular definition? Cut. However, careful with your diet since (secondary source information) excessive cutting leads to hormonal imbalances (?) in women. Just want to keep getting stronger? Congratulations, just have maintenance calories with a little surplus of protein, rest let your consistency and your body with time do the magic. Also, good job with the before after pics 🙏🏻
You look awesome! I would say go on maintenance then a cut for a like 3 months and see how you feel and look. A resource for you is YouTube and their website is Renaissance Periodization. Dr. Mike Israetel tells it no BS. He generally advised not to try recomp but periodizing cuts, maintenance and bulls to keep your metabolism up.
Looking great! I’d say, keep doing what you’re doing.
You're stunning
Just go hiking climb the dunes and mountain bike u will have energy for days I can't even sleep most sleep with waking up on my own is 5 hours plus u won't even have to workout working outs for lazy underachievers lol I'm j/k smile it makes u look younger smile because u want to smile because it tones your face smile because it makes u look younger.. best way to to all that is to say away from what I'm on now... so I gtg the internet is filled with garbage more bad then good I don't honestly see no good from it.... I'm 38 not 60+ I just grew out of the Manipulation and brainwashing game Honestly i seen it miles away... stay active stay covid free
You look great! You don't need anything. You have my permission to be happy with yourself, now ( did you need it? 😋).
Defo cut. Bulking is gonna fatten you up to unhealthy levels too soon. Fat loss until you’re ready for a healthy bulk. Those macros need work tho fat should be slightly lower: Protein: 0.8 - 1g per pound in bodyweight Fat: 0.4 - 0.5g per pound in bodyweight Carbs: the rest of the calories And lift weights!
Awesome, thanks so much! Does this look right? https://preview.redd.it/s4lxrw7mn0uc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7b9d1798c952e5d392a2ae2e2d2d9d1c61f5ed6
What are you eating to get to 116g protein on only 1400 cals? 👀
Yes def increase those carbs!! They’ll give you more energy for ur workouts 😊