# 11 Weeks in on cutting cycle and didn't lose any weight yet, need advice please



## Beefcake (Mar 31, 2015)

*11 Weeks in on cutting cycle and didn't lose any weight yet, need advice please*

Hey guys what's up?  I'm on week 11 of my Mast/Test/Var cycle and I though that my diet through myfitnesspal was on spot, however after 11 weeks I still weigh 242lbs.  This is my first cutting cycle, have several other bulking ones in the past. My daily calorie intake was around 2162 on average before. Now it's around 1500--1900 on average per day. I used to eat breakfast sandwiches with sausage or bacon, hoagies for lunch with chips, and a cheesesteak for dinner.  Now I have 3 cups egg whites, 1 slice of cooked ham, yogurt for mid morning, ground taco beef for lunch (or tuna/chicken/beef), and a shake after I workout, then maybe breaded chicken tuna or beef for dinner with a salad.

I've been hitting the gym hard and several of my lifts have increased.  My flat bench is up to 300lbs, incline around 320lbs, curls and tricept lifts increased as well.  I did three programs of Var and I'm at 600 Mast and 600 Test e right now.  I just ordered clen and T3 to add into my cycle.  I'm going to run the cycle for about 18 weeks.  I work out 5 days a week.  20 minutes of cardio on the stair machine which consists of 1 minute fast, 1 minute slow, etc. etc. for the duration.  Then 40-50 minutes lifting.

Supplements--creatine pwo, protein shake pwo, multi vitamin.

So I'm not sure why I haven't lost any weight at all in 11 weeks?  Is it possible that I lost some bodyfat and gained some muscle weight?

Here is a copy of one of my days.

Breakfast	 Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar

Cooks - Breakfast Sliced Smoked Ham, 3 oz 
                   130	2	6	15	1,020	1	

Kirkland - Egg Whites - Liquid Egg Whites, 3 Tbsp. 
                 25	0	0	5	75	0	

Lunch							
Homemade - Breaded and Fried Chicken Cutlet, 4 oz 
                175	2	3	6	60	0	

Dinner							
Purdue Breast Tenderloins - Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Tenderloins - Cooked, 3 oz
                100       0              1        	26           75         	0	

Snacks
Body Fortress - Super Advance Whey Protein- Chocolate, 2 Scoop (42g)   
                            340      14              5            60             200      4

Totals	              1,935	117	26	135	1,596	25	
Your Daily Goal 	2,660	333	89	134	2,300	100	
Remaining	725 	216 	63 	-1 	704 	75 	
	            Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar	

I'm very frustrated at this point in my cycle and not sure how to proceed to lose my goal of 10-15 lbs.  Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Beefcake


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## Paolos (Mar 31, 2015)

Beefcake I'm no expert but I'm transitioning from a bulk to a cut as we speak. My coach does and the diet and 
exercise planning but I will share what I know.

I was bulking from the end of October until 2 weeks ago and finished the bulk at 235# May have cheeped
up to 14.5% body fat and my daily caloric intake was 4700 calories @ a 40/40/20 ratio. I was training
5x a week and doing minimal cardio (10 min 3x a week)

I'm transitioning and that means not a full blown cut yet but a 4 week slow decrease in macros until the full blown
cut starts. Now i'm taking in 3900-4100 calories per day @ a 35/45/20 ratio. I'm still training 5x a week but I'm doing
cardio 9x a week. (30 minutes fasting every morning and 15 minutes of HIIT 2x a week)

I have lost 2 lbs on the scale and cloths are fitting better and no more swoled up head. Feel much much better
in week 3 of this transition.

When I compare my diet to yours you should be melting. Are you snacking, drinking beers or not doing cardio?
Something just dosent make sense bud. Are you actually weighing and measuring your food? 
Somebody more qualified then me needs help but I hope you get it figured out!


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## Beefcake (Mar 31, 2015)

Thanks for the response Paolos.  I've been looking at my logs and the only thing that I can think of is maybe my food measurements are off, but still why wouldn't I at least lose one or two pounds?  I'm doing the cardio along with lifting and busting my ass to lose weight.  Maybe my weekend cheat meals are slowing down my progress?  The fitpal tells me when my calorie intake is too low and it tells me how many calories I earned from working out and cardio.  Maybe I need to up the cardio to 30 or 40 minutes?  If anyone can help me then they're welcome to log into myfitpal under me to see what I'm eating.


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## Paolos (Mar 31, 2015)

Frustrating man hope you get it figured out soon. I would up the cardio to 30 and give it a try fasting it seems to work wonders.
I agree with your fitpal seems like your underfed thats why its confusing.

I did not mention cheat meals B4. I was getting 2 per week in place of meal 6,7&8 Wed & Sat. This week down to 1 per week
until we get closer to show time.

Keep pushing don't let it derail your motivation


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## DocDePanda187123 (Mar 31, 2015)

2000cals is low for someone 242lbs. It's either you're not calculating your intake right, eating more than you realize, or water retention from cortisol from dieting.


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## Cobra Strike (Mar 31, 2015)

Are you not following the diet at all on the weekends? And there really shouldnt be a 400 calorie swing in your daily intake. Your cals and macros should be the same day in and day out. The only thing you should be doing for a cheat meal is one cheat meal a week while cutting to get your leptin revved back up. Also I wouldnt use myfitnesspal for anything but a diet log...its not going to be able to tell you how much to eat to lose such and such weight.

Also with the nutritional info you gave us are those the actual portion sizes? Because your given info doesnt add up to 1900...it adds up to like 1000 if that


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## Itburnstopee (Mar 31, 2015)

I would try counting sodium, and maybe stop the creatine but only for two weeks and then start taking it again. I'm sure you're losing fat it's just that we hold water easily. Also are you weighing yourself at the same time? Our bodies fluctuate in weight by like 5-8 pounds each day. Try weighing yourself in the morning when you wake up once a week always on the same day.


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## Beefcake (Mar 31, 2015)

Thanks for the input guys.  Yes I'm on the creatine which retains water.  I drink about 8-10 bottles of water a day.  Cobra--Yes I think the weekends are killing me.  I'll get a stromboli on say Saturday and that will be 2-3 meals for me.  As for the chicken it's never fried.  Sometimes breaded, sometimes ground chicken for tacos just like my beef intake.  Steak, beef, canned tuna, etc.  It's gotta be the cheat meals on the weekends.  I also tend to skip lunch on the weekends if I'm busy doing projects around the house.  Yesterday 1266 calories, today is 1544.  So it is fluxuating from day to day.  Last week was around 1800-1900.  What is a good calorie level for me to cut at 242lbs?  What is a good sodium level to be at??  I also see that 3tbs of egg whites is not accurate.  It's more like 3 egg size portions of egg whites.  I have to start measuring my whites out.  The cooked ham is also high in sodium too, so I'll cut that out.  Just looking for something to mix with my egg whites.  Thanks for the input guys, greatly appreciated.


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## Itburnstopee (Mar 31, 2015)

*11 Weeks in on cutting cycle and didn't lose any weight yet, need advice please*



Beefcake said:


> Thanks for the input guys.  Yes I'm on the creatine which retains water.  I drink about 8-10 bottles of water a day.  Cobra--Yes I think the weekends are killing me.  I'll get a stromboli on say Saturday and that will be 2-3 meals for me.  As for the chicken it's never fried.  Sometimes breaded, sometimes ground chicken for tacos just like my beef intake.  Steak, beef, canned tuna, etc.  It's gotta be the cheat meals on the weekends.  I also tend to skip lunch on the weekends if I'm busy doing projects around the house.  What is a good sodium level to be at??  Thanks for the input guys, greatly appreciated.



When I lost my weight I did my best to just not have any sodium at all. Despite that I still had those microwaveable ramen noodles almost everyday. I wouldn't recommend to have none though so probably 1500mg at the minimum but 2500mg max. If your working out hard and getting a good sweat then 2500mg
Also, it seems to me that your cal intake is too low. Try to go 2000 cals a day no lower than 1900. When you wake up, have a cup of black coffee and walk for 15- 30 minutes on an empty stomach, then at least three days a week do HIIT for 30 minutes. Don't go too hard with the HIIT, do what you can without feeling sick for 30 minutes but don't make it easy on yourself either.


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## Cobra Strike (Mar 31, 2015)

Yea beefcake it really seems like your calculating your food wrong. If you drink 1 1/2 - 2 gallons a day you dont really need to worry about sodium especially since your not in a contest prep. Its also ok if you miss lunch as long as you get that food in sometime...not eating is worse than eating. I think it would help if you really dialed your consistentcy in especially on the weekends. Consistentcy is key bro...every day counts.


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## Cobra Strike (Mar 31, 2015)

I mix torani chocolate sugar free syrup in my egg whites with a little pb2...tastes like a milk shake


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## DocDePanda187123 (Mar 31, 2015)

Sodium doesn't cause fat or inhibit fat loss. It has no bearing on you not losing weight so long as your intake of it is consistent.


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## Itburnstopee (Mar 31, 2015)

DocDePanda187123 said:


> Sodium doesn't cause fat or inhibit fat loss. It has no bearing on you not losing weight so long as your intake of it is consistent.



but it may contribute to him holding water. if his intake is high enough for it to be significant then it wouldn't hurt to lower a bit so long as it's not too low.


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## DocDePanda187123 (Mar 31, 2015)

ItBurnsToPee said:


> but it may contribute to him holding water. if his intake is high enough for it to be significant then it wouldn't hurt to lower a bit so long as it's not too low.



Not if his intake of it is consistent as I already said. High or low doesn't matter as much as consistency.


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## Itburnstopee (Mar 31, 2015)

DocDePanda187123 said:


> Not if his intake of it is consistent as I already said. High or low doesn't matter as much as consistency.



I'm not sure I understand. I'm not being smart, just asking/interested. How does that work?


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## DocDePanda187123 (Mar 31, 2015)

ItBurnsToPee said:


> I'm not sure I understand. I'm not being smart, just asking/interested. How does that work?



Well Cobra and I share tube steaks from time to time lol. 

Water retention from salt is really only an issue when your salt intake is inconsistent. If you always eat a lot or a little sodium then it's not an issue. Here's Martin Berkhan explaining it better:



> The most common reason people hold water is due to shifts in sodium balance. Going from a low baseline intake of sodium to sudden and high intakes can have dramatic effects on your visual appearance (which any bodybuilding-competitor can attest to). Conversely, reducing sodium can have the opposite effect and cause water loss. This is all about relative and not absolute numbers; it's not high sodium per se that cause water retention/water loss, but deviations from the habitual intake. The solution therefore is to reduce sodium to a level below baseline. So for a day or two...


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## TheLupinator (Apr 1, 2015)

I'd bet you're missing calories somewhere - 1,900 calories is low as hell for someone your size unless you're 30% bf.

Also you mentioned the weekend and cheating - you can carb up on the weekend (1 day) as long as your fat intake is low, but still no sugars (desserts, pastries, candy, etc).

Also the fried + breaded chicken is not helping. Stick to chicken breast or turkey with vegetables for 3 meals and then ham, lean ground beef, or whole eggs for 2 fatty meals - I save the fatty meals for breakfast and before bed; helps keep me full.


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## Beefcake (Apr 1, 2015)

So what exactly is carbing up then?  Pizza, hoagie, bread, ?  I know pasta has a lot of carbs.  What else has carbs but low fat?  Potato's, stuffing, etc??  As for the chicken my wife uses chicken and breads it herself then either bakes it or fries it in a pan.  It's not like KFC deep fried in a greese pit.  I actually measured out my egg whites last night and 1tbls=1 full size egg.  So I made 7 eggs for breakfast for two days.  So today is 3.5 and I'll plug that into my daily intake.  Thanks for the advice and continued support bro's.


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## Cobra Strike (Apr 1, 2015)

There is no way one tablespoon of egg whites is equivalent to one egg white. You should measure your egg whites in fluid ounces. One fluid ounce is one egg white. There are 2 tablespoons in one fluid ounce.

In your cut you should only need one cheat meal to kick your leptin hormones up. That meal can be whatever you want as much as you want and it should replace your dinner or your last meal. On all other days you should be eating the same thing for every meal every day. Of course you can flavor thise things differently but lets say at lunch you eat 6 ounces lean meat and 1 cup oats...that is what you should have every day at lunch. Skip the breaded stuff...especially the fried breaded stuff. If you have to have breaded then lightly bread the chicken with panco and bake not fry. Consistency brother...day in day out


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## Beefcake (Apr 1, 2015)

That's what the side of the egg white carton said, but maybe they meant just the egg white part and not the whole egg.  On myfitpal it measures egg whites in tbls.  I do add two regular eggs too like you suggested cobra.  As for consistency, I'll have to work on that one b/c sometimes the wife makes steak, sometimes tuna, sometimes chicken, but I can dictate that.  Like last night was steak so that's lunch for today too.  Breakfast is always the same b/c I make my own.  Thanks for the advice this really is an upward battle.


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## Paolos (Apr 1, 2015)

Cobra Strike said:


> Yea beefcake it really seems like your calculating your food wrong. If you drink 1 1/2 - 2 gallons a day you dont really need to worry about sodium especially since your not in a contest prep. Its also ok if you miss lunch as long as you get that food in sometime...not eating is worse than eating. I think it would help if you really dialed your consistentcy in especially on the weekends. Consistentcy is key bro...every day counts.



No Doubt good feedback


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## Beefcake (Apr 1, 2015)

So should I drop the creatine or not?  Are these BF% useful or junk guys? 
http://www.amazon.com/DGI-MART-Cali...d=1427890961&sr=8-26&keywords=body+fat+tester


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## DocDePanda187123 (Apr 1, 2015)

Beefcake said:


> So what exactly is carbing up then?  Pizza, hoagie, bread, ?  I know pasta has a lot of carbs.  What else has carbs but low fat?  Potato's, stuffing, etc??  As for the chicken my wife uses chicken and breads it herself then either bakes it or fries it in a pan.  It's not like KFC deep fried in a greese pit.  I actually measured out my egg whites last night and 1tbls=1 full size egg.  So I made 7 eggs for breakfast for two days.  So today is 3.5 and I'll plug that into my daily intake.  Thanks for the advice and continued support bro's.



Carbing up is simply that. Increasing your carb intake. It helps restore leptin and ghrelin levels among other hormones. It's been shown protein and fats have minimal if any impact on this but carbs have a significant impact. I would say on your refeed days to go up to 250g of carbs or more. Eat the foods you like just don't go too crazy with the calories.


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## Beefcake (Apr 1, 2015)

Doc I don't really have any set refeed days.  It's more like one cheat meal per week that I'm going to do.  Weekends I've been slacking off thus my weight hasn't changed.  I have to be strict the whole week and maybe say for Easter dinner I'll have some periogies and ham for my one cheat meal.


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## Cobra Strike (Apr 1, 2015)

Beefcake said:


> That's what the side of the egg white carton said, but maybe they meant just the egg white part and not the whole egg.  On myfitpal it measures egg whites in tbls.  I do add two regular eggs too like you suggested cobra.  As for consistency, I'll have to work on that one b/c sometimes the wife makes steak, sometimes tuna, sometimes chicken, but I can dictate that.  Like last night was steak so that's lunch for today too.  Breakfast is always the same b/c I make my own.  Thanks for the advice this really is an upward battle.



And this is fine as long as your meals still weigh the same as they are suppose to. Every single meat I eat is weighed post cook and all my carbs are measured..such as oats and rice. So lets say your wife cooks steak for dinner...after its cooked weigh it and eat what your suppose to, dont just eat the whole steak. Whatever is left weigh into a separate container and take it to work for your lean meat the next day. If your an ounce or two heavy on your second meal than eat it instead of wasting it. After seeing some of your comments on here beefcake i can almost garantee your issues are these;

1. Measuring wrong
2. Not measuring at all
3. No consistency in your diet

If you crack open a large egg and separate the egg white from the yolk you wont be able to fit the entire white on a tablespoon. I dont agree with that kirklands serving size. Also I would not stop the creatine. I use the monohydrate stuff but it wont make you hold that much water to where you cant lose a pound. Its also very good for muscle recovery and muscle retention.


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## Beefcake (Apr 1, 2015)

Great Cobra, thanks for the clarification.  you're right I haven't weighed anything.  I just eat and then pull it up on the pal.com and pick which one looks or sounds like what I ate.  I don't know if it's a 7oz sirloin or one the size of a hamburger.  How much would a hamburger weigh?  I'm not to good at portion sizes or weights, so yes a little meter in the kitchen is a good idea.  Consistency on the weekends is also an issue and I now know.  Any and all input is greatly appreciated to help me attain my goals.  Thanks everyone and keep it coming.


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## Cobra Strike (Apr 1, 2015)

Beefcake said:


> Great Cobra, thanks for the clarification.  you're right I haven't weighed anything.  I just eat and then pull it up on the pal.com and pick which one looks or sounds like what I ate.  I don't know if it's a 7oz sirloin or one the size of a hamburger.  How much would a hamburger weigh?  I'm not to good at portion sizes or weights, so yes a little meter in the kitchen is a good idea.  Consistency on the weekends is also an issue and I now know.  Any and all input is greatly appreciated to help me attain my goals.  Thanks everyone and keep it coming.



Beefcake im not laughing at you but that last post made me laugh! Bro you got to weigh and measure your food or you will never know how much your eating. So now when you say you have been eating 1900 cals this could actually be 3000 cals. A food scale is very cheap my man. Lets start measuring and weigh your food next week. Go get a food scale from bed bath or walmart...could be a postal scale too. A hamburger size is whatever size you make it  Im glad we got down to the root of the problem...now we can help get you to where your working so hard to get to!


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## Beefcake (Apr 1, 2015)

Yea I usually just compare everything to my 6" penis and ballsack...lol.  I'm ordering one now along with a fat % meter.  Time to get serious and have my hard work pay off!!! thanks


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## Cobra Strike (Apr 1, 2015)

Save your money on the fat percent meter...its not accurate


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## coltmc4545 (Apr 1, 2015)

Just run tren and eat cake and pizza and get shredded. FTW.


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## Beefcake (Apr 2, 2015)

Thanks Colt.  I've run tren before and didn't lose any weight b/c my diet wasn't in check.  I have to get my diet in check and then I'm going to try T3 and clen for the remainder of my cycle.  I have learned quit a bit about cutting and weight loss and there is no miracle drug for weight loss if your diet isn't in check.  I can't eat pizza, stromboli, hot wings, pop tarts and cake and expect to lose any weight.  I bust my ass 5 days a week in the gym and although I do see increased muscle mass/definition the spare tire is still around my stomach.  I can do all the crunches in the world but if there's fat around my abs then I can't see them.  Thanks for the input bro.


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## coltmc4545 (Apr 2, 2015)

What's your cardio regimine? Are you doing steady state or have you tried HIIT? If you haven't, you should.


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## Cobra Strike (Apr 2, 2015)

coltmc4545 said:


> What's your cardio regimine? Are you doing steady state or have you tried HIIT? If you haven't, you should.



Arent you suppose to be drinking margaritas, eating cake, and snortin pure columbian cocaine right now? 

Hes doing low intensity HIIT...stairs at 1 min fast 1 min slow for 20-30 minutes then he goes home and bangs his woman for 10 seconds fast 10 seconds slow for 20 seconds


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## Beefcake (Apr 2, 2015)

Come on Cobra, you're giving me too much credit.  I bang her for 5 seconds fast, 5 seconds slow, then turn the clock ahead and fall asleep.  lol


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## trodizzle (Apr 2, 2015)

Cobra Strike said:


> Beefcake im not laughing at you but that last post made me laugh! Bro you got to weigh and measure your food or you will never know how much your eating. So now when you say you have been eating 1900 cals this could actually be 3000 cals. A food scale is very cheap my man. Lets start measuring and weigh your food next week. Go get a food scale from bed bath or walmart...could be a postal scale too. A hamburger size is whatever size you make it  Im glad we got down to the root of the problem...now we can help get you to where your working so hard to get to!



Nail on the head right here.

Beef, you need to weigh your shit and you need to track it accurately with MyFitnessPal. Lots of items have bar codes you can scan (like that carton of egg whites or even a package of eggs) but some things you do have to spend a little time searching for. These are usually generic items like "chicken breast" or "flank steak" which can have many entries in the MyFitnessPal database. I usually look for the USDA ones and go from there.

If you can't measure it, you cant improve it. Eyeballing your quantities (in ounces or grams) is a fools errand and will never be accurate which will lead to the results you're seeing. Can you tell me by looking at a steak if it's 7oz or 8oz? I sure can't. And if it comes to a cut and trying to hit specific calories, you need to be specific on your measurements.

Get a good food scale, this is my favorite and I've had it for a few years now.

http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-3839-G...87718&sr=1-8&keywords=taylor+food+scale+black







I know it's a pain in the ass but you need to track that shit if you want to get the results you're after.


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## coltmc4545 (Apr 2, 2015)

Cobra Strike said:


> Arent you suppose to be drinking margaritas, eating cake, and snortin pure columbian cocaine right now?
> 
> Hes doing low intensity HIIT...stairs at 1 min fast 1 min slow for 20-30 minutes then he goes home and bangs his woman for 10 seconds fast 10 seconds slow for 20 seconds



2 weeks from Saturday man. Can't come soon enough! The cake part I've already been doing though.

Sorry beefcake I didn't read the whole thread so I didn't see you're doing HIIT. I'll go back to my original statement about tren, pizza, and cake and stfu.


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## Beefcake (Apr 2, 2015)

Thanks guys, I ordered a scale yesterday on amazon and should be getting it today or tomorrow.  I'm gonna weigh everything and measure everything out and give it a shot.  Thanks for the advice.  Any and all comments are welcome.


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