Cutting Log

[GreenMachineX]

Power Clean, suitcase carries, all kinds of shrugs. Those work pretty well for me.

When you say suitcase carry, do you mean actual suitcases? Or farmers walks in general?

 

[KvanH]

When you say suitcase carry, do you mean actual suitcases? Or farmers walks in general?

Oh yeah actually meant farmers walk. Mixed up the terms. Suitcase carry is done with a weight in one hand only (I think), to engage the core more. It's good for traps as well though, of course.

 

[rascal14]

idk

 

[rascal14]

I don’t know what happened with that post I tried to edit the original one lol

 

[rascal14]

226 this morning, so just over 2lbs down.

Solid arm workout today, nothing crazy but it felt good. It’s only been a couple weeks but I don’t necessarily feel like the once a week rotation is hurting me any, I have a little more tingling in my hands so I may need to do actual arm focused movements on other days, I haven’t really been doing that like usual.

I have everything to make my own carnitine now, thinking I’ll up it to 1g a day maybe. Not sure it provides much a benefit over .5g though.

zero sugar sodas have done a great job of keeping cravings down, I’ve never been a big soda drinker but they make the zero sugars taste so good now lol

 

[rascal14]

Sorry lack of updates - been waking up around 228lbs, going to drop to 2800 calories then try more cardio.

work is just getting started and things are hectic so days are long and I’m still dealing with bad night time anxiety so only getting 4-5 hours of sleep.
Thinking I’ll try some pregnenolone and see if that helps give me the anxiety relief some people talk about.

 

[Sparta12]

anxiety and depression are fucked, destroyed my body, I have found listening to some binaural beats around 4hz has helped my sleep tremendously... I am one of those sleepers that likes noise (fan on full blast bare minimum)

 

[GreenMachineX]

I'll be honest I have not. It was such an abrupt change that happened right as I was knowingly getting nervous about starting to take a handful of new things. I stopped and/or didn't start any of it and gave it a few weeks and it got better, but never back to 100%. Only thing I've checked is basic bloodwork, lipids, CBC, test, e2, etc.

I'd like to get a pregnenolone and DHEA test but waiting for my next appointment to ask for them to run it through insurance. Otherwise it'd be easier to just try taking each one for a few days and see what happens. Seems like pregnenolone can get low on TRT and cause insomnia/anxiety. But there is more I could check, I just haven't.

Have you tried lowering your test dose? For real TRT, 100mg per week should be a good place to start.

Edit: that should've been quoting your last post about insomnia and anxiety.

 

[rascal14]

Have you tried lowering your test dose? For real TRT, 100mg per week should be a good place to start.

Edit: that should've been quoting your last post about insomnia and anxiety.

Not yet, that is next step and should have been my first. I just feel so good otherwise at the higher dose, that I was hoping it was something else.

 

[rascal14]

Weight was about 225.5lbs this morning, my belt is noticeably looser and I’m almost to the next notch tighter with it already. Think I finally lost most the excess water weight.

dropped calories to 2800 since I sat stagnant for a few days with no change and some days a slight weight increase. So right around 11-12lbs down since the start of this.

 

[GreenMachineX]

Not yet, that is next step and should have been my first. I just feel so good otherwise at the higher dose, that I was hoping it was something else.

I hear ya.

 

[akboom87]

Weight was about 225.5lbs this morning, my belt is noticeably looser and I’m almost to the next notch tighter with it already. Think I finally lost most the excess water weight.

dropped calories to 2800 since I sat stagnant for a few days with no change and some days a slight weight increase. So right around 11-12lbs down since the start of this.

Nice work! I’m just a little behind you I’m down 10 pounds but last 2 days I have been eating at maintenance. I’ll start cutting down today again. Also think I’m going to do another 24 hr fast this weekend. That seemed to really help kick start shedding fat and just felt pretty good afterwards.

 

[GreenMachineX]

Weight was about 225.5lbs this morning, my belt is noticeably looser and I’m almost to the next notch tighter with it already. Think I finally lost most the excess water weight.

dropped calories to 2800 since I sat stagnant for a few days with no change and some days a slight weight increase. So right around 11-12lbs down since the start of this.

Nice work! I’m just a little behind you I’m down 10 pounds but last 2 days I have been eating at maintenance. I’ll start cutting down today again. Also think I’m going to do another 24 hr fast this weekend. That seemed to really help kick start shedding fat and just felt pretty good afterwards.

I gotta get on board like you guys. I keep wanting to cut, but then...I don't

 

[Dustin07]

I gotta get on board like you guys. I keep wanting to cut, but then...I don't

I ALWAYS want to cut, but then find myself thinking about my next session and not wanting to be depleted lol

 

[GreenMachineX]

I ALWAYS want to cut, but then find myself thinking about my next session and not wanting to be depleted lol

Yup. But i also love food.

 

[Dustin07]

Yup. But i also love food.

date night with my wife dude:

Me: If I get that chicken or salmon salad, the protein will be a little low so I can order an extra serving of the chicken or salmon and keep it pretty clean. I think i'll still be right under maintenance so a small bourbon will be OK.

Me when the waitress arrives: Yes I deadlifted today so I'll have the Philly Cheesteak with fries, please bring ranch dressing and another IPA.

I'm going to switch back to some sort of dry cut in May probably lol

 

[KvanH]

Yup. But i also love food.

I love food way more, than I love myself and possibly anyone or anything else, for that matter.

 

[GreenMachineX]

date night with my wife dude:

Me: If I get that chicken or salmon salad, the protein will be a little low so I can order an extra serving of the chicken or salmon and keep it pretty clean. I think i'll still be right under maintenance so a small bourbon will be OK.

Me when the waitress arrives: Yes I deadlifted today so I'll have the Philly Cheesteak with fries, please bring ranch dressing and another IPA.

I'm going to switch back to some sort of dry cut in May probably lol

Lol
Minus the beer and bourbon, same thing here.

 

[Dustin07]

Yup. But i also love food.

I love food way more, than I love myself and possibly anyone or anything else, for that matter.

you know what's funny is I have this mindset where I turn it on or turn it off...
usually if I'm on a legit cut I'm also $$$ loaded up on supps, and scheduling extra cardio in. I think those things help me tighten the wrenches on nutrition a lot. it's just like "go time"

on the flip side, when I'm less consistent in the gym, schedule issues, not on my supplements... my nutrition tends to fail more. it's like a natural way that I make bad choices worse and good choices seemingly over the top....

what keeps things fairly even keel is that in both situations my wife and I still always do our weekly food prep every sunday so we both save a lot of money that way and stay 80% dialed in during our bad nutritional periods.

 

[GreenMachineX]

you know what's funny is I have this mindset where I turn it on or turn it off...
usually if I'm on a legit cut I'm also $$$ loaded up on supps, and scheduling extra cardio in. I think those things help me tighten the wrenches on nutrition a lot. it's just like "go time"

on the flip side, when I'm less consistent in the gym, schedule issues, not on my supplements... my nutrition tends to fail more. it's like a natural way that I make bad choices worse and good choices seemingly over the top....

what keeps things fairly even keel is that in both situations my wife and I still always do our weekly food prep every sunday so we both save a lot of money that way and stay 80% dialed in during our bad nutritional periods.

Same here on everything. When I'm spending a ton on supps, everything is dialed in and I get results. And also, no matter what we're doing, I mean prep...it's just the couple weekend meals out the ruin everything.

 

[Dustin07]

Same here on everything. When I'm spending a ton on supps, everything is dialed in and I get results. And also, no matter what we're doing, I mean prep...it's just the couple weekend meals out the ruin everything.

haha I always tell my wife that the week is maintenance and progress is made over the weekend!

 

[rascal14]

I certainly do the same - if I spend the money on extra supps it’s just additional motivation to stay on track.
With that said - came back to see family this weekend and ate like crap and no gym. Not necessarily an Exorbitant amount of food, just nowhere near of protein. Probably still over calories though.

started taking pregnenolone 10mg a day so we will see how I feel from that. Seems to be a popular TRT addition that either does great for people or makes anxiety/acne/irritability worse.

after this trial I’ll see how I feel then possibly drop to 150mg/week to test. Should still put me in the 900s for total test.

 

[akboom87]

I certainly do the same - if I spend the money on extra supps it’s just additional motivation to stay on track.
With that said - came back to see family this weekend and ate like crap and no gym. Not necessarily an Exorbitant amount of food, just nowhere near of protein. Probably still over calories though.

started taking pregnenolone 10mg a day so we will see how I feel from that. Seems to be a popular TRT addition that either does great for people or makes anxiety/acne/irritability worse.

after this trial I’ll see how I feel then possibly drop to 150mg/week to test. Should still put me in the 900s for total test.

A weekend home with family is worth it, you will be back on track!

 

[rascal14]

Severely lacking in the updates here I’ll try to make a decent post later tonight. Busy week so gym was short and non-recorded but still making sure I hit each body part. Planning to hit shoulders and arms together here after therapy.

 

[rascal14]

A weekend home with family is worth it, you will be back on track!

Trying to temper expectations - taking it slow knowing I’m gonna have a week of no gym and more food and some booze in may, so planning on getting more serious then but I have been pretty good on my diet still, not so much cardio.

I am trying to think of anything to take with me for my vacation week to try and minimize damage, don’t know if anything is really even worth it for cost:benefit ratio.

 

[rascal14]

Lots of back and forth traveling lately and staying busy during the day so I’m slacking here. Weight has hovered around 223 the last few days. I was as low as 221lbs Saturday morning. Going to probably need to increase cardio which means I’ll have to cut back on weights for the time being because of schedule.

probably will look at 30 minutes of intense weights, still keeping it to 3-4 movements each and just cut back on some sets. This way I can atleast allot 20-30 minutes a day for cardio and not feel rushed for either one if I go over slightly.

 

[GreenMachineX]

Lots of back and forth traveling lately and staying busy during the day so I’m slacking here. Weight has hovered around 223 the last few days. I was as low as 221lbs Saturday morning. Going to probably need to increase cardio which means I’ll have to cut back on weights for the time being because of schedule.

probably will look at 30 minutes of intense weights, still keeping it to 3-4 movements each and just cut back on some sets. This way I can atleast allot 20-30 minutes a day for cardio and not feel rushed for either one if I go over slightly.

I need to get with the program! How much have you lost this cut?

 

[rascal14]

I need to get with the program! How much have you lost this cut?

I’m down probably 15lbs I’d say, obviously some water. I was shooting for 240lbs on my bulk but since I stopped the blast sooner I had just maintained around 237 max.

I’ve gone from being tight in the belt on notch 3, to being easy to hole #4 being easy to get.

 

[GreenMachineX]

I’m down probably 15lbs I’d say, obviously some water. I was shooting for 240lbs on my bulk but since I stopped the blast sooner I had just maintained around 237 max.

I’ve gone from being tight in the belt on notch 3, to being easy to hole #4 being easy to get.

That's awesome. What's the goal?

 

[akboom87]

Lots of back and forth traveling lately and staying busy during the day so I’m slacking here. Weight has hovered around 223 the last few days. I was as low as 221lbs Saturday morning. Going to probably need to increase cardio which means I’ll have to cut back on weights for the time being because of schedule.

probably will look at 30 minutes of intense weights, still keeping it to 3-4 movements each and just cut back on some sets. This way I can atleast allot 20-30 minutes a day for cardio and not feel rushed for either one if I go over slightly.

Sounds like a good plan, you still running the same calories or cut back some?

 

[rascal14]

Sounds like a good plan, you still running the same calories or cut back some?

I’m still at 2800. I really need to force myself to up the cardio to keep calories the same and just heart health. Never been good at it unfortunately. Right now just eating one big meal at around 1pm about 700 calories and then filling the rest around 8-10pm.

 

[akboom87]

I’m still at 2800. I really need to force myself to up the cardio to keep calories the same and just heart health. Never been good at it unfortunately. Right now just eating one big meal at around 1pm about 700 calories and then filling the rest around 8-10pm.

Gotcha, understandable. Same here I have been upping my cardio and doing way more walking. First couple weeks it was sad then it has got better. Best thing I do is I have the Apple health on my phone and it has the steps ring and I set that for 8,000 steps and I make that a goal to close that ring every day.

 

[rascal14]

Gotcha, understandable. Same here I have been upping my cardio and doing way more walking. First couple weeks it was sad then it has got better. Best thing I do is I have the Apple health on my phone and it has the steps ring and I set that for 8,000 steps and I make that a goal to close that ring every day.

My daily steps have fallen off as well, we finally got started up with work on site again so I’m not just sitting on my butt all day at the computer which is nice.

 

[akboom87]

My daily steps have fallen off as well, we finally got started up with work on site again so I’m not just sitting on my butt all day at the computer which is nice.

Same here it’s about to be construction season and busy.

 

[rascal14]

Man I’m missing workouts left and right, not going to be able to get one in tonight. I was able to get back and shoulders done yesterday. I definitely enjoy the single day to focus on one muscle group, though.

I’d like to look into longer resting periods, but that’s been the opposite of my entire training my whole life. I’ve always done between warm ups and real sets 20-30 sets per body part each day so going to only 10-15 would feel so weird.

 

[akboom87]

Man I’m missing workouts left and right, not going to be able to get one in tonight. I was able to get back and shoulders done yesterday. I definitely enjoy the single day to focus on one muscle group, though.

I’d like to look into longer resting periods, but that’s been the opposite of my entire training my whole life. I’ve always done between warm ups and real sets 20-30 sets per body part each day so going to only 10-15 would feel so weird.

It’s hard when you are on a job and sometimes never know the hours.
I’m having to switch my schedule I started this week. With things starting to get busy and still try to spend time with family after work, I started getting up at 4:30 and at the gym at 5 then at work at 7. It’s either that or I won’t be as consistent or get as much training in.

 

[rascal14]

It’s hard when you are on a job and sometimes never know the hours.
I’m having to switch my schedule I started this week. With things starting to get busy and still try to spend time with family after work, I started getting up at 4:30 and at the gym at 5 then at work at 7. It’s either that or I won’t be as consistent or get as much training in.

maybe one day I’ll get to the gym before work lol, I’ve just always been bad about waking up early and I still am on the weekends.

 

[rascal14]

Some good news outside of me being lazy, met with a urologist we know Monday and he was willing to take over TRT for me so I shouldn’t have to do deal with TRT clinics ever again. I’ve been hovering right at or under 220lbs so things have stalled or slowed a lot, but I’m okay with that still.

I also “home brewed” some l carnitine injection, it was easier than ever and I mixed up 700mg/ml with no problems and no magnetic stirrer. I’m tempted to try the 900mg/ml. That’s what I’ve been buying and it doesn’t fall out or burn, but they’ve got industrial equipment and he mixes with a bit of vitamin C as well.

 

[rascal14]

217.9lbs on the main home scale this weekend so overall 20lbs or so. I was 237 at my heaviest. I do feel I see a little more definition in my shoulders, but that’s about it. Less bloat for sure in my belly but still plenty of fat there lol

vacations in 2 weeks, still toying with the idea of throwing some extras in when I get back. I’d like to drop another 20lbs I think before the end of June? May be a bit extreme so I’d definitely only do that if I upped the test. That’s only 7 weeks, but hopefully I drop another pound or two before leaving and I don’t put anything major on when I’m gone. Still haven’t decided if or what I’ll take with me to minimize any fat gain if I can. I know I could try a GDA or something similar but I know those won’t actually prevent any fat gain if I’m eating too much.

 

[akboom87]

Just checking in man to see how everything is going!

 

[rascal14]

Just checking in man to see how everything is going!

Went on vacation then was incredibly busy after at work so training wasn’t great and diet has been lacking.

8 full days of vacation is a first for me, it was awesome but also felt somewhat excessive, especially for being in NYC and not a beach lol we averaged about 10 miles of walking a day, so I burned some energy from all the pizza and pasta.

I just filled out the form to hire an online coach, so I’m getting through the holiday weekend like a fatty then starting back up Tuesday, not sure when he will get the plan to me but going to straighten up Tuesday regardless.

Still around 217 lbs but noticeably flatter a little more bloated. It sucks but I’m hoping he can help me get to a decent BF level that is easier to maintain when things get busy. Still just running basic TRT and low dose daily carnitine. I have to wait a bit to up the test any because my doctor is doing 3 month bloods for the first few months since I just started with him.

 

[rascal14]

Trying to not just completely forget about this.

Weight for Sundays update was 211lbs. Coach estimated me at 16-18%bf and the goal is 10% so actually shouldn’t be as bad as I was thinking, I was thinking my bf was much higher.

Schedule is
Chest & Biceps
Shoulders
Arms
Legs
Back & Quads

 

[akboom87]

Trying to not just completely forget about this.

Weight for Sundays update was 211lbs. Coach estimated me at 16-18%bf and the goal is 10% so actually shouldn’t be as bad as I was thinking, I was thinking my bf was much higher.

Schedule is
Chest & Biceps
Shoulders
Arms
Legs
Back & Quads

Sounds like pretty close to your goal!

 

[Dustin07]

Coach estimated me at 16-18%bf and the goal is 10% so actually shouldn’t be as bad as I was thinking, I was thinking my bf was much higher.

That's a super reasonable cut for an experienced lifter

 

[rascal14]

That's a super reasonable cut for an experienced lifter

Experience with years, I’d say I’m inexperienced when it comes to executing proper nutrition. I have always known all the rules - just never practiced them myself and kept to it. Having a coach 100% keeps me accountable.

steady dropping weight, one cheat meal a week, end of the day eating my normal meals up to that point. Had my first Oopsie of a cheat “cheat evening” more so on Saturday. Took it a bit far since the cheat meal was taking longer in the smoker so I snacked all afternoon waiting on it lol

regardless, weight before that was 204.4lbs. Total 12lbs or so down in 4.5 weeks since starting with the coach, no diet changes yet. Only upped cardio to 30 minutes 5x a week after the second week.

he’s wanting me to get down to about 190lbs or so before bulking it sounds like so may be a little longer than I was thinking but we’ll see how it goes.

 

[akboom87]

Experience with years, I’d say I’m inexperienced when it comes to executing proper nutrition. I have always known all the rules - just never practiced them myself and kept to it. Having a coach 100% keeps me accountable.

steady dropping weight, one cheat meal a week, end of the day eating my normal meals up to that point. Had my first Oopsie of a cheat “cheat evening” more so on Saturday. Took it a bit far since the cheat meal was taking longer in the smoker so I snacked all afternoon waiting on it lol

regardless, weight before that was 204.4lbs. Total 12lbs or so down in 4.5 weeks since starting with the coach, no diet changes yet. Only upped cardio to 30 minutes 5x a week after the second week.

he’s wanting me to get down to about 190lbs or so before bulking it sounds like so may be a little longer than I was thinking but we’ll see how it goes.

Awesome to hear that it’s going well, sounds like you have been sticking to it and getting results!

 

[rascal14]

Awesome to hear that it’s going well, sounds like you have been sticking to it and getting results!

The last 4-5 weeks have been so much more encouraging than the last 8 years of my “cuts” I’ve learned that I CANT do IIFYM. I don’t have the discipline to stop at 5 chips, I have to have set meals and eat the same thing every day.

I’m just ready to do a proper bulk, I feel like I only look like I lift when I’m pumped but I’m finally seeing some veins pop in the gym or if I eat a bunch of carbs and I have never had any vascularity at all.

Makes me want to retry all those supplements I never tried with proper nutrition.

 

[Dustin07]

The last 4-5 weeks have been so much more encouraging than the last 8 years of my “cuts” I’ve learned that I CANT do IIFYM. I don’t have the discipline to stop at 5 chips, I have to have set meals and eat the same thing every day.

I’m just ready to do a proper bulk, I feel like I only look like I lift when I’m pumped but I’m finally seeing some veins pop in the gym or if I eat a bunch of carbs and I have never had any vascularity at all.

Makes me want to retry all those supplements I never tried with proper nutrition.

I agree with you on iifym. I prefer balanced clean eating that's planned, plus clean calories are far more filling in terms of caloric intake. But all that aside when life allows, I'm still favoring full 30-36hr+ fasts. They're just very difficult to schedule in-between lifting days and family needs.

 

[KvanH]

The last 4-5 weeks have been so much more encouraging than the last 8 years of my “cuts” I’ve learned that I CANT do IIFYM. I don’t have the discipline to stop at 5 chips, I have to have set meals and eat the same thing every day.

I’m just ready to do a proper bulk, I feel like I only look like I lift when I’m pumped but I’m finally seeing some veins pop in the gym or if I eat a bunch of carbs and I have never had any vascularity at all.

Makes me want to retry all those supplements I never tried with proper nutrition.

For a possible little extra encouragement; I pretty much always look my best about 3 to 4 weeks after my cuts. It's when I've gained all the muscle fullness back and have still not gained back any of the fat lost during the cut. So if at some point you start to look deflated or small in the mirror for your liking, trust me, when the muscle fullness is fully regained, then you'll see the full effects of the cut.

This is of course if you do the 'reverse diet' or incrementaly working up to your new maintenance calories correctly after the cut and don't let the rebound effect get you soft quick. And it's not like after 4 weeks you'll start to look not your best again, if you keep things in check. But just in terms of if I had to pick a time spot where I look my best (to my own eye), it's usually about 3-4 weeks after a successful cut. It's when I'm still at my leanest, and I have most of the muscle mass I had prior to the cut now fully visible.

 

[rascal14]

Obviously not equal posing/lighting but this is June 15 to July 2. Finally don’t feel like a complete fat slob until later in the evening after all my meals lol so I’m okay with photos now