Considering steroids, pleas suggest.

[soulz]

Hi,

I been researching a lot about steroids. To be honest nothing in particular just how to use them, what they do, etc. Also I have been reading the forum about first cycle, couple of threads.

I am opening a thread because I want an opinion about my personal case. I hate needles that is also one of the reasons I have never done steroids. I know you must inject, just saying. Also I wanted to do my transformation without any enhancements.

I am 27 yo, 5'6",170 lbs and ny body fat i night say around 17-18%. I do workout 5-6 days a week, proper diet and cardio.

My goals is to get around 8-10% bodyfat, maybe one day get on stage for a.physique competition, for fun. I have been training since 3 years ago and before that onwaa training but not as I described above. In this 3 years I had upa and downs.meaning diets that weren't the best for me, bad trainers, etc but from 185lbs I am down to 170lbs I I think bfat has been less. But I try and try and just can get rid of the.fat not able to get my fat lower( I do know.how to weigh food, count macros, etc).

I want to know if you guys think I should be on the juice? Or still my fat is to high for it, or any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance and I apologize for any inconvenience.

 

[GrymReefer]

You should definitely postpone the idea of venturing in the performance enhancement avenue. If you have been consistent with working out and following your own personal plan, but still having issues with excessive accumulation of body fat then I'd recommend going back to the drawing board. What is your current diet protocol? Or at least a rough sketch of what you generally follow.

Have you ever tried to calculate your BMR or TDEE? Even though they aren't 100% accurate its better than trying to meticulously figure out where your threshold is for calories in<calories out.


EDIT: BMR formula for a male- 66 + (13.7x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) - (6.8 x age in years) 1 kilogram=2.2 lbs 1 inch=2.54cm


To help put the work ahead into perspective. Figuratively speaking, 3500 calories is equivalent to 1 lb of body weight. So if you were to drop you caloric intake by 200 calories everyday then one would assume that by day 15-20 you would have had some form of results. Obviously if you get the hang of it then you can shed weight pretty fast. Just have to learn how your chemistry works and make it work for you, not against you.

 

[soulz]

You should definitely postpone the idea of venturing in the performance enhancement avenue. If you have been consistent with working out and following your own personal plan, but still having issues with excessive accumulation of body fat then I'd recommend going back to the drawing board. What is your current diet protocol? Or at least a rough sketch of what you generally follow.

Have you ever tried to calculate your BMR or TDEE? Even though they aren't 100% accurate its better than trying to meticulously figure out where your threshold is for calories in<calories out.


EDIT: BMR formula for a male- 66 + (13.7x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) - (6.8 x age in years) 1 kilogram=2.2 lbs 1 inch=2.54cm


To help put the work ahead into perspective. Figuratively speaking, 3500 calories is equivalent to 1 lb of body weight. So if you were to drop you caloric intake by 200 calories everyday then one would assume that by dayday po 15-20 you would have had some form of results. Obviously if you get the hang of it then you can shed weight pretty fast. Just have to learn how your chemistry works and make it work for you, not against you.

Yes I do know how to calculate it I'm on a deficit, 1770 cals a day. My macros around 187p,69f,100c. I dont remember my tdee but i am on a 20% déficit. Why should I re consider? I used to work out since 17 yo then ingot to college then I left it for a while then again started but it wasn't consistent until the past 3-4 years in which I have been doing all year round.

 

[GrymReefer]

For one I wouldn't recommend going into any cycle especially your first with body fat over 10%. (Thats just my personal opinion) The first cycle is a learning experience and while on, your body utilizes nutrients a lot more efficiently and recovery is accelerated. Don't be surprised to gain some more body fat. You also can't predict your own genetic predisposition for symptoms. You could be lucky and have minimalist cliche ailments or you could have a terrible reaction that leads you to a halt. I just try to cater towards the safe side. This forum is about harm reduction.

You've been at it for the last 3 years and you've gotten down from 185 to 170 which is impressive so good job on that. However, your body fat isn't ideal and with the correct approach you can shed body fat pretty quickly. Can I ask what types of dieting variations have you tried? Carb Cycling? Ketosis? In my personal experience my best results have come from never maintaining a variable in my diet for more than a week.

If you were to go on a cycle what would your macro count be like?

If you feel that you are a 100% ready then we can't really stop you. We can only offer advice along the cycle and it comes down to you on how you want to interpret our advice.

Did you know if you were planning on running a a shorter cycle for first time sake or go with a standard 10wk/12wk and a proper PCT.


Look at it like this, the more body fat you hold the higher the probability your aromatase conversion will be elevated. Also, some of us do experience blood pressure issues and having a larger accumulation of body fat has the possibility to exacerbate a BP related symptom..if you are predisposed. 3-4 years of consistent exercise as you explained should have resulted in a pretty substantial development if dieting, exercise, sleep etc was to a T. I'm not trying to be condescending, but with your current development I wouldn't recommend AAS usage. Dieting is probably one of the most difficult aspects associated with executing a successful cycle. Thats not even talking about how much harder you have to train to utilize the supraphysiological anabolism that is within you.

I know we all possess drastically different genetic variations, but it took me a while to honestly realize that I was working out and dieting wrong the whole time. I still made gains, but without understanding the methodology I was just running on luck. Do a little more research, possibly try out a little more aggressive diet catered towards promoting lypolysis and I'm sure you'll be ready to go.

 

[soulz]

For one I wouldn't recommend going into any cycle especially your first with body fat over 10%. (Thats just my personal opinion) The first cycle is a learning experience and while on, your body utilizes nutrients a lot more efficiently and recovery is accelerated. Don't be surprised to gain some more body fat. You also can't predict your own genetic predisposition for symptoms. You could be lucky and have minimalist cliche ailments or you could have a terrible reaction that leads you to a halt. I just try to cater towards the safe side. This forum is about harm reduction.

You've been at it for the last 3 years and you've gotten down from 185 to 170 which is impressive so good job on that. However, your body fat isn't ideal and with the correct approach you can shed body fat pretty quickly. Can I ask what types of dieting variations have you tried? Carb Cycling? Ketosis? In my personal experience my best results have come from never maintaining a variable in my diet for more than a week.

If you were to go on a cycle what would your macro count be like?

If you feel that you are a 100% ready then we can't really stop you. We can only offer advice along the cycle and it comes down to you on how you want to interpret our advice.

Did you know if you were planning on running a a shorter cycle for first time sake or go with a standard 10wk/12wk and a proper PCT.


Look at it like this, the more body fat you hold the higher the probability your aromatase conversion will be elevated. Also, some of us do experience blood pressure issues and having a larger accumulation of body fat has the possibility to exacerbate a BP related symptom..if you are predisposed. 3-4 years of consistent exercise as you explained should have resulted in a pretty substantial development if dieting, exercise, sleep etc was to a T. I'm not trying to be condescending, but with your current development I wouldn't recommend AAS usage. Dieting is probably one of the most difficult aspects associated with executing a successful cycle. Thats not even talking about how much harder you have to train to utilize the supraphysiological anabolism that is within you.

I know we all possess drastically different genetic variations, but it took me a while to honestly realize that I was working out and dieting wrong the whole time. I still made gains, but without understanding the methodology I was just running on luck. Do a little more research, possibly try out a little more aggressive diet catered towards promoting lypolysis and I'm sure you'll be ready to go.

Grymreefer,

Wow! First let me express my gratitude for taking the time to answer some well articulated answers.

The type is dieting I have use is the most basic ones the macro counting obviously getting your tdee - a deficit to lean out. I count every gram and weigh every food. I have tried for a month or two carb cycling. Currently I am at the normal diet I got mi macros according to my numbers the only difference this time I went to a lower carb intake 50-100g per day and I bumped my protein and a lil bit my fat all withing the 1770 cals. I do t recall the grama.of carbs originally I believe it was around 170 or something I went down to 100g and the rest I added to the protein and fat, but once again never going more than 1770 which is 20% less than my numbers to maintain my weight.

I understand this forum is to reduce harm that is why I decided to do a thread. I have read that newbies on the weight shouldn't I don't consider my self one tho. I have more than a year training, I'm not obese but yea I did read that a large bf% is not good. I was thinking the 12w cycle if that was the best option for me, obviously I was going to do more research, ask here and probably some people locally that know about the subject.

I am very dedicated, patient and whiling to do the hard work(diet and train). I just a lil frustrated since I don't see my fat percentage go down at least on an average pace and having 3 years hitting the fit life.

 

[GrymReefer]

Carb cycling worked pretty well for me, but sometimes you need an aggressive stance on the manipulation. To really utilize the metabolic mechanics behind periodizing your carbs you may need to incorporate 1-2 days a week where you consume zero carbohydrates (excluding non-starchy fibrous veggies) and incorporate a adequate refeed period once a week to ensure you properly filled your glycogen storages and staved off the metabolic nightmares associated with your body triggering starvation mode.

http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/758240-Cyclical-Ketogenic-Carbohydrate-Manipulation This thread I posted a while back. This is how I would roughly set up a more aggressive approach to dieting. Just remember to make sure the days you consume no carbohydrates that you try not to do anything anaerobic exercise. Stick to low intensity endurance cardio on those days (generally they say don't go above 130BPM for heart rate) and utilize HIIT when you actually have some glycogen available. The higher carb days are for the more taxing lifts (legs, back) etc etc. The premise behind this set up is to keep your body teetering on the edge of energy homeostasis to maximize fuel usage and mitigate any fuel being converted for storage. You will be a grumpy ass individual on no carb days, but if you successfully make it your refeed the gratification is overwhelming! You also get to basically stuff your face and ignore macro count that day.

Do you have any medical ailments or diseases? Any significant injuries?


Tip*** Yes it is beneficial to achieve a hypocaloric state if one is trying to lose weight (especially body fat) However cardiovascular exercise is the number one factor on how much you are going to lose and at what rate. I've read about people getting ready for contest and spending 3-4 hours just walking with a brisk pace.

--No problem with helping because its usually the other way around and I'm trying to find answers. How else can you learn? Eventually other more knowledgeable members will chime in, but glad I could give you something of sustenance.

 

[soulz]

Carb cycling worked pretty well for me, but sometimes you need an aggressive stance on the manipulation. To really utilize the metabolic mechanics behind periodizing your carbs you may need to incorporate 1-2 days a week where you consume zero carbohydrates (excluding non-starchy fibrous veggies) and incorporate a adequate refeed period once a week to ensure you properly filled your glycogen storages and staved off the metabolic nightmares associated with your body triggering starvation mode.

http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/758240-Cyclical-Ketogenic-Carbohydrate-Manipulation This thread I posted a while back. This is how I would roughly set up a more aggressive approach to dieting. Just remember to make sure the days you consume no carbohydrates that you try not to do anything anaerobic exercise. Stick to low intensity endurance cardio on those days (generally they say don't go above 130BPM for heart rate) and utilize HIIT when you actually have some glycogen available. The higher carb days are for the more taxing lifts (legs, back) etc etc. The premise behind this set up is to keep your body teetering on the edge of energy homeostasis to maximize fuel usage and mitigate any fuel being converted for storage. You will be a grumpy ass individual on no carb days, but if you successfully make it your refeed the gratification is overwhelming! You also get to basically stuff your face and ignore macro count that day.

Do you have any medical ailments or diseases? Any significant injuries?


Tip*** Yes it is beneficial to achieve a hypocaloric state if one is trying to lose weight (especially body fat) However cardiovascular exercise is the number one factor on how much you are going to lose and at what rate. I've read about people getting ready for contest and spending 3-4 hours just walking with a brisk pace.

--No problem with helping because its usually the other way around and I'm trying to find answers. How else can you learn? Eventually other more knowledgeable members will chime in, but glad I could give you something of sustenance.

I dont have any medical impediments, maybe jsut that I overpronate which really hurt my flat feet when doing treadmill which I try to avoid.

Are you basically saying to go ahead and try again maybe the carb cycling, for example, Chest day low intake of carbs, back I can do low intake, leg Hight intake, shoulders i can do no carbs, arms i can do no carbs. when it comes to weekends i try to do low carbs.. perhaps my refeed can be on sunday which i dont go to the gym at all plus gotta have some quality time with GF and family which involve eating carbs. Correct?

Also, are you saying that when I am on the zero carb days jsut go weightlift and do some low pace cardio and when I am in low high intake perhaps do HIIT and weightlift?

I try to do cardio 6 days a week depends on time I have after my lifting, mostly i was doing MWFSaturday 45-60 min low pace and TTH i was doing HIIT 20-30min. Most of my cardio comes from doing stationary bike, elliptica, sometimes I would do stairmaster or treadmill. Plus I do my workout with supersets or 15 sec rest in between sets and a couple of dropsets.

I dont know what I am doing wrong that my fat is coming of super slow!!!

 

[Serotonin101]

Carb cycle and tread mill for me. I walked for an hour at max Incline everyday and burned some serious calories that way. Then again, I am enhanced so there is some other variables to be aware of

 

[GrymReefer]

I dont have any medical impediments, maybe jsut that I overpronate which really hurt my flat feet when doing treadmill which I try to avoid.

Are you basically saying to go ahead and try again maybe the carb cycling, for example, Chest day low intake of carbs, back I can do low intake, leg Hight intake, shoulders i can do no carbs, arms i can do no carbs. when it comes to weekends i try to do low carbs.. perhaps my refeed can be on sunday which i dont go to the gym at all plus gotta have some quality time with GF and family which involve eating carbs. Correct?

Also, are you saying that when I am on the zero carb days jsut go weightlift and do some low pace cardio and when I am in low high intake perhaps do HIIT and weightlift?

I try to do cardio 6 days a week depends on time I have after my lifting, mostly i was doing MWFSaturday 45-60 min low pace and TTH i was doing HIIT 20-30min. Most of my cardio comes from doing stationary bike, elliptica, sometimes I would do stairmaster or treadmill. Plus I do my workout with supersets or 15 sec rest in between sets and a couple of dropsets.

I dont know what I am doing wrong that my fat is coming of super slow!!!

That is where experimenting and trying more aggressive methods for dieting could possibly give you some new answers. Personally I don't recommend ketogenic diet just because of the difficulty of slowly depleting (as to not crash your energy too fast) and then maintaining ketosis. However, my dibble and dabble with it for a few months gave me some pretty positive results in reference to my body fat, vascularity and it even improved my skin quite a bit. I was a complete asshole for a good 10-15 days until the kinks got worked out and I adjusted to the lack of carbohydrates.

If you already integrated a proper cardio activity with sufficient intensity/time then it is up to you to personally choose other avenues. We don't recommend the use of stimulants/thermogenics to increase metabolic activity, however this is a section about performance enhancement compounds and there are other members who have successfully utilized fat burning compounds without being an idiot like the people you see on TV. This is all a personal choice for you, but sometimes you just need a little kick to get the motivation going again. Especially when you hit a wall.

Just out of curiosity how long have you been holding onto this body fat? The mechanics of adipose tissue and the oxidation of fatty acids for energy can be a pretty difficult mechanism to activate. Especially if there is unwanted variables added into the pictures... The harmony of metabolic hormones is quite sensitive.

 

[CFC]

Lots of good info above. I would just add that I don't think you're eating enough. Try 3-4 days per week in the region of 2500-3500 calories, or 2 days of about 4000 cals, with plenty of carbs. That should see your metabolism pick up and fatloss resume.

 

[soulz]

Lots of good info above. I would just add that I don't think you're eating enough. Try 3-4 days per week in the region of 2500-3500 calories, or 2 days of about 4000 cals, with plenty of carbs. That should see your metabolism pick up and fatloss resume.

May I ask why should I bump my calorie intake? I thought it was very straight forward how to get your macros and calories and do a deficit and if in a deficit you dont see any results lower a 10-20% more. I always thought to lose FAT was maintenance weight - deficit

 

[soulz]

I believe I was heavier in fat percentage numbers when I started I might say 23-20%, after that people guesstimate me at 17-18% and I have been stuck there since then. I can say I am stuck because yeah I see a lil more vascular on my arms, i see my core is lil more flat, bit not enough to actually even s how top abs .. Im just lil desperate now, because I think I am doing hard work. From time to time I wonder which way is the correct way, I know everyone is different, but at least which approach is the best. I have tried counting macros, counting calories, deficits. I have tried not counting macros and just eating whole foods. I have tried 1 cheat meal ever week, every 2 weeks even sometimes only one a month. I have tried the reefed day without even knowing, having a day with family and gf eating more carbs, not pigging out but eating more carbs.

 

[Serotonin101]

May I ask why should I bump my calorie intake? I thought it was very straight forward how to get your macros and calories and do a deficit and if in a deficit you dont see any results lower a 10-20% more. I always thought to lose FAT was maintenance weight - deficit

Your body may believe it's starving and holding onto fat etc to sustain survival. Periodically you have to feed it a decent amount to remind it that food will come and not become so damn stingy.

 

[CFC]

May I ask why should I bump my calorie intake? I thought it was very straight forward how to get your macros and calories and do a deficit and if in a deficit you dont see any results lower a 10-20% more. I always thought to lose FAT was maintenance weight - deficit

What Sero has just said really.

Think of it this way: when on a diet, you're basically in a war with your body - you're trying to lose stored bodyfat, and your body is trying to retain it.

When you cut calories, for a short period of time (typically just a few weeks) there's a lag where your BMR is still relatively fast but your energy intake has fallen, and so bodyfat falls successfully.

However the body seeks equilibrium and begins to reduce basal energy expenditure in order to balance out your calorie reduction. It believes you're experiencing a famine, and tries to protect you as best it can by reducing energy consumption.

This explains why, after some period, the fat loss simply stops. You can continue to cut calories, but you're in a losing battle at this point as your body will start to strip away muscle and lower thyroid output to further reduce energy use.

Thus you can't indefinitely reduce calories - instead you have to find a way to increase energy expenditure. You could continually increase your cardio of course, but you run the risk of raising cortisol and catabolic hormones too far.

It turns out that the best way to ramp up your metabolism and energy expenditure is to eat excess calories for a periodised time. Your body is temporarily fooled into thinking food is plentiful, and it switches out of starvation mode. Which then increases the release of fatty acids from adipose tissue, and so bodyfat loss resumes.

So rather than maintaining a relatively stable calorie intake, you take advantage of periodising your diet to include days of high calories and carbs, inter-mixed with days of significantly lower calories.

On some diets when a client's (or my) bodyfat has been very low, they've been essentially bulking for 4-5 days of the week in the latter stages. It can seem very surprising and counterintuitive...

 

[Serotonin101]

Also remember fat is metabolically inactive while muscle requires energy to maintain so after a certain point as a natural you have to be more careful about cutting as losing muscle mass would be the body's "best" option to reduce caloric expenditures. I found after essentially starving and doing excessive cardio I lost a lot of muscle towards the end as a natural. Luckily my last (extreme) diet I had a decent amount of hormones to hold my lean mass though I became flat as a pancake and miserable. Though insulin sensitivity became stupid high, one banana and veins bulged like the Alaskan pipeline and I began to sweat like a whore in church.

 

[soulz]

What Sero has just said really.

Think of it this way: when on a diet, you're basically in a war with your body - you're trying to lose stored bodyfat, and your body is trying to retain it.

When you cut calories, for a short period of time (typically just a few weeks) there's a lag where your BMR is still relatively fast but your energy intake has fallen, and so bodyfat falls successfully.

However the body seeks equilibrium and begins to reduce basal energy expenditure in order to balance out your calorie reduction. It believes you're experiencing a famine, and tries to protect you as best it can by reducing energy consumption.

This explains why, after some period, the fat loss simply stops. You can continue to cut calories, but you're in a losing battle at this point as your body will start to strip away muscle and lower thyroid output to further reduce energy use.

Thus you can't indefinitely reduce calories - instead you have to find a way to increase energy expenditure. You could continually increase your cardio of course, but you run the risk of raising cortisol and catabolic hormones too far.

It turns out that the best way to ramp up your metabolism and energy expenditure is to eat excess calories for a periodised time. Your body is temporarily fooled into thinking food is plentiful, and it switches out of starvation mode. Which then increases the release of fatty acids from adipose tissue, and so bodyfat loss resumes.

So rather than maintaining a relatively stable calorie intake, you take advantage of periodising your diet to include days of high calories and carbs, inter-mixed with days of significantly lower calories.

On some diets when a client's (or my) bodyfat has been very low, they've been essentially bulking for 4-5 days of the week in the latter stages. It can seem very surprising and counterintuitive...

Thanks for the reply first of all.

Correct me if i am wrong, if i understood you correctly basically you saying that i should bump my calorie intake perhaps upto 2000 cals again for 1-2weeks to confuse the body then cut them down again after that period of time, maybe to the same amount of calories that i currently have 1770 or lil lower?

If your answer to the above question is yes, can carb cycling be something similar or no?, meaning that instead of bumping calories to 2k just cycle the carbs within 1770 calories. If the answer for this second question is no i understand.

I have been on this diet for at least 3 months now and like I said I havent seen weight loss i keep fluctuating between 168 and 171 lbs. I can see more definition but not so much. Also, yes I feel like i am in a plateau of not losing fat, a lot of people are telling me that I need more cardio. They tell me this because i tell them that I only do cardio 6 days a week 3 HIIT(20-30min) sessions and 3 LISS (45-60min) sessions ( only elliptical, bike and sometimes stairmaster or treadmill ).

 

[Jabberwocky]

Thanks for the reply first of all.

Correct me if i am wrong, if i understood you correctly basically you saying that i should bump my calorie intake perhaps upto 2000 cals again for 1-2weeks to confuse the body then cut them down again after that period of time, maybe to the same amount of calories that i currently have 1770 or lil lower?

If your answer to the above question is yes, can carb cycling be something similar or no?, meaning that instead of bumping calories to 2k just cycle the carbs within 1770 calories. If the answer for this second question is no i understand.

I have been on this diet for at least 3 months now and like I said I havent seen weight loss i keep fluctuating between 168 and 171 lbs. I can see more definition but not so much. Also, yes I feel like i am in a plateau of not losing fat, a lot of people are telling me that I need more cardio. They tell me this because i tell them that I only do cardio 6 days a week 3 HIIT(20-30min) sessions and 3 LISS (45-60min) sessions ( only elliptical, bike and sometimes stairmaster or treadmill ).

Yes, increase to 2000 calories immediately. You will start leaning out at a faster rate. At this stage you can lose fat and gain a bit of muscle at the same time even without exogenous hormones.
Trust me if you keep doing what you're doing now you will look the same a year from now.

 

[soulz]

Yes, increase to 2000 calories immediately. You will start leaning out at a faster rate. At this stage you can lose fat and gain a bit of muscle at the same time even without exogenous hormones.
Trust me if you keep doing what you're doing now you will look the same a year from now.

Yes, I will do so.

While I was doing cardio I was reading about plateaus on the fat loss side and yes I saw a couple of articles stating to increase one week to my maintenance calorie intake and also incorporate cheat meal or refeed day either one. I even read that on that week I can go a lil about maintenance. After doing that go back to a 15-20% deficit ( which I will calculate again depending on how much I weight after hitting the diet on a maintenance calorie diet). Hopefully this will allow me to see at first some weight off the scale to get more confidence. I know what it matters is how you look at the mirror, but I also read that if i havent been able to lose weight (my fluctuation 168-171 lbs water retention) after doing this I might see actual weight loss maybe below that range and now not being water.

The most important thing I read it was what you mention actually, about the gaining muscle or at least conserving the one I already have. Supposedly by doing this I might as well lean out but not leaning out all skinny and flat.

If you guys have more suggestions please let me know. I am really working hard I do not have nothing against roids, but I have always wanted to transform naturally and perhaps consider any substances later in life, I dont know lol.

 

[CFC]

Correct me if i am wrong, if i understood you correctly basically you saying that i should bump my calorie intake perhaps upto 2000 cals again for 1-2weeks to confuse the body then cut them down again after that period of time, maybe to the same amount of calories that i currently have 1770 or lil lower?

Not exactly no. 2000 calories is much too timid. And I'm not suggesting a sort of two-week on two-week off protocol either. Calorie periodising is very similar to the way you might alter carb intake on a weekly basis. So for example, you might structure your calorie and carb intake like this:

Mon - 1700 cals - Med carb
Tue - 1700 cals - Low carb
Wed - 3500 cals - High carb
Thu - 2500 cals - Low carb
Fri - 1700 cals - Low carb
Sat - 0-500 cals - Fasting day (plus extra LISS cardio)
Sun - 4000 cals - High carb
THEN REPEAT

I have been on this diet for at least 3 months now and like I said I havent seen weight loss i keep fluctuating between 168 and 171 lbs. I can see more definition but not so much. Also, yes I feel like i am in a plateau of not losing fat, a lot of people are telling me that I need more cardio. They tell me this because i tell them that I only do cardio 6 days a week 3 HIIT(20-30min) sessions and 3 LISS (45-60min) sessions ( only elliptical, bike and sometimes stairmaster or treadmill ).

Yes, your diet is not working because you're not eating enough. You need to keep changing things both within the week (micro - as above) and from month to month (macro - based on overall progress) or the body will adapt and fatloss will stop. Your cardio is sufficient given your current bodyfat level. Therefore focus most attention on diet for now.

 

[soulz]

Not exactly no. 2000 calories is much too timid. And I'm not suggesting a sort of two-week on two-week off protocol either. Calorie periodising is very similar to the way you might alter carb intake on a weekly basis. So for example, you might structure your calorie and carb intake like this:

Mon - 1700 cals - Med carb
Tue - 1700 cals - Low carb
Wed - 3500 cals - High carb
Thu - 2500 cals - Low carb
Fri - 1700 cals - Low carb
Sat - 0-500 cals - Fasting day (plus extra LISS cardio)
Sun - 4000 cals - High carb
THEN REPEAT



Yes, your diet is not working because you're not eating enough. You need to keep changing things both within the week (micro - as above) and from month to month (macro - based on overall progress) or the body will adapt and fatloss will stop. Your cardio is sufficient given your current bodyfat level. Therefore focus most attention on diet for now.

Ok.

I will try the following let me know what you think. Starting next week ( I am one of those type of persons that say starting Monday lol, plus I need to buy more food if I want more calories in) I will bump my calorie intake to maintenance for a whole week, maybe lil higher. I will try to cycle calories as you mentioned in addition to carb ciclying, if not I will just try to hit the maintenance calorie goal. After one week ill try to go on a deficit 15-20% one more time. Will this sound ok?

If I did my math correctly:

Maintenance calorie intake = 2285cal
I already know my macros with this calories (p,f,c each calorie/grams for each) considering 1 gram of protein,etc..

After that week ill cut down 500 cals = 1785cal and ill re calculate my macros

Will this sound a good idea to you? Would you consider my activity level moderate? or im still sedentary? I have a desk job for 8 hours i do get up and walk alil go back home then go to the gym as i described around 2 hours at the gym ( i am trying to guess my activity level tho)