Since my last cut I was toying with the idea that I had lost a little muscle mass and I was not happy about this. I decided during the Christmas break that I would therefore try to gain some of the mass back and cut again trying to stay above 215 at 15% fat which I was last time. So I needed to eat. And I did, but to be honest the bulk was not the feasty party celebration that I imagined it to be. I was expecting to be living among angels, having salty and creamy foods delivered to me on golden platters as I ate my fill of all things delicious. However it rapidly became a chore and after only 3 or 4 weeks I was thoroughly disenchanted with the whole process. But I have made a commitment so I continued to eat above my requirement in anticipation of lean gains. I can’t tell yet if I was successful, what I do know is that at my lowest before Christmas I was 216lbs and 15%. The other day when I stepped on the scale I was a whopping 240lbs at 18% fat. A little math will give you the answer that those 2 weights are not drastically different. My low weight was a lean mass of 183lbs and right now apparently I am 196lbs which would indicate a lean gain of 13lbs which is not bad at all. Since I have gained 24lbs total that means I am also up 11lbs of fat which I have to admit I have noticed.
So what now? In order to get back to the cutting phase I am going to get back to paleo then to keto. This means for the last 2 weeks I have been cutting out the carbs I had added (oatmeal, rice, potato) and for the next 2 weeks I will be cutting back further and going into ketosis to try and burn the remaining fat. I am hoping to get back to around 225 by the time I do my level 3 coaching course mid March. My workouts have remained the same, I am still doing regular 6 day split body part workouts, with the occasional deadlifting or cleans work at home when I can’t get to the gym. I think as time goes along and I start to lose more weight I will have to start getting back into the HIIT methodology of full body compound lifting in order not to have to do cardio. I hate cardio.
This has been an interesting exercise and one that I am not really keen to repeat. Sure it was nice for a few days to not even worry about food volumes but in the end it took a psychological toll on me. Also, getting older (it’s my birthday tomorrow) I am getting more and more aware that carrying bulk around is not th best thing for my health. Getting down under 220 is probably something I should be looking to maintain as a long term goal rather than something I return to after each bulking cycle.
The short of it is that I really enjoyed being cut at the end of the year, I though I looked pretty good but I fell prey to the voices inside my head telling me I wasn’t big enough. Body dysmorphia is real people…