Current Weight Cut Check-In

A new approach

This cut has been extremely easy, but it has also been very slow. I started working on my MBA in November, I got into a relationship in October, and I was working 10-12-hour days, often 6 days a week, while ramping up and launching a new fleet of products at my previous job. As of late October, I weighed 175 pounds at 5'11", and I was able to bench 235. As my life got more and more hectic, I decided to deprioritize lifting from what I focused the most on, to maintaining where I was at. Shortly after this, I pulled a muscle in my back while squatting and had to take a couple of weeks off from the gym.

So naturally, I figured I might as well start a cut around January. Now it is the end of March, and I am floating between 166 and 169 pounds. 5-10 pounds in 2-3-ish months is pretty decent, and I mentioned my rules in a previous blog. This time around, I have had an extremely consistent diet, generally the same exact breakfast and lunch every day. Dinner is just leftovers, and I occasionally go out to eat. If I feel like I need more volume, I just mindlessly consume carrots and celery, and I've been staying busy.

The Effects

Cons: I know I am not eating enough protein; I've done the calculations, and I am under an optimal level. Everything says 0.8-1 g per pound of body weight, and I'm sitting around 0.5-0.6g per pound. I've upped my tilapia intake a bit, but I am still experiencing some strength losses in the gym. Today I was squatting on the Smith with 80 pounds on each side, and I only put up 3 reps, compared to 5 reps just a week ago. Although I'm losing strength and I can feel it a lot sooner than before, I don't want to optimize this cut so much that I burn out of it. Seriously, more important than being perfect is being consistent. I know I'm going to lose a little more muscle than I need to, and I'm okay with that. When I was bulking, I bulked really hard, and I was okay with that, too. At the time, I felt extremely hungry all the time, and to me it was more important to be happy than to bulk at the slow, steady rate that I should have. Interestingly, my arms look a lot bigger than just a few weeks ago, back to a size close to when I was first hitting 175. Overall, I feel great. I feel like I can focus a lot more (probably because I'm not crushing 1500 calories at lunchtime, then trying to work through that monstrosity of a digestion period), and I see myself doing more of the things I'm supposed to do rather than engaging in distractions. Plus, being lighter makes it easier to do things like hiking and disc golf, so I'm excited for that. Anyways, I'm heading off on a road trip tomorrow, so I might not post for a week or so. I might write on my phone, but I'll be honest, I strongly dislike typing without a real keyboard.