getting demotivated during cut

[pistachio]

well, i'm starting to get a bit emo.

i'm sitting at around 97kgs at the moment, so i've dropped 6-7kgs since i started cutting. the thing is, it isn't that noticable yet. i'm dropped a belt size and a bit, and have generally lost some fat, but have virtually no extra definition to show for it. arms are just as lean as they were before, maybe slightly more vascular. some slight vascularity around shoulders/traps. abs have obviously come out more.

but here's the depressing thing.

I've found some pics from 3 years ago where i was 87kgs and reasonably lean (loads of definition on my back, more than i have now). But i still looked shit!! i looked skinny, around a lot of areas, not to mention i had no legs at all.

So now, I'm 10kgs heavier than that, with a higher bodyfat level, and bigger legs (albeit not much bigger...). So I'm worried that i'm not actualy all that much bigger when you strip away the extra fat and that and I'll end up looking skinny rather than ripped when i lose say another 5kgs. I've got really thick skin too, so even when i do get lean, i don't get that ripped look.

I'm thinking maybe I should just do the best with what I've got and keep my bodyfat where it is at the moment and just get as big as i can and accept I'll never have that ripped look (think zyzz, plyoathlete, greg plitt etc), at least not naturally

*sigh*

 

[Shrek]

That's A defeatists attitude.
Truth isyou probably need to get to 80 kg to look ripped.
Go to a BB show and look at the under 80kg class. They look huge and weigh less than 80.
Work harder, diet smarter.

 

[Bazza20]

This happens with almost everyone when they cut. I know it's happened to me

First few kgs you don't notice much. Like most people you probably had more fat to lose than what you think. Lose another 5kg and I think you will see a big difference.

Stick at it.

 

[pistachio]

That's A defeatists attitude.
Truth isyou probably need to get to 80 kg to look ripped.
Go to a BB show and look at the under 80kg class. They look huge and weigh less than 80.
Work harder, diet smarter.

Dude, this is me in mid 70's



I don't think an extra 5kgs on top of that is going to make much difference.

Also, every workout I do these days absolutely destroys me, I busting out PB's while on a cut and just generally destroying myself. Almost throwing up most days. Which is fine, I like pushing myself. I just hate the feeling that it's not really achieving much, especially on a cut...

Also, I am pretty sure I have body dysmorphia. Once I start losing weight, I just feel really skinny again.

 

[Bazza20]

That photo is not that low body fat. Add more muscle to it minus body fat and shrek is probably about right at 80kg.

How tall are you.

 

[leachy]

You gotta stop comparing yourself to guys on steroids.

You have admitted you carry a fair amount of bodyfat naturally too...

 

[pistachio]

This happens with almost everyone when they cut. I know it's happened to me

First few kgs you don't notice much. Like most people you probably had more fat to lose than what you think. Lose another 5kg and I think you will see a big difference.

Stick at it.

Thanks mate, I'm going to keep going regardless, I just feel like I'll still look skinny by the end of it, and that I'll end up losing muscle too.

That photo is not that low body fat. Add more muscle to it minus body fat and shrek is probably about right at 80kg.

How tall are you.

I'm a little over 6"1 mate.

I've also noticed that I had far greater vascularity in my older photos, especially in my arms. I suspect this was to do with all the supps i took back then tho, arginine, cit malate etc. I don't really use anything these days and vascularity is much less prominent.

I might start taking that stuff again, if i get some veins popping out, it might help with the psychological aspect of it all.

 

[pistachio]

You gotta stop comparing yourself to guys on steroids.

You have admitted you carry a fair amount of bodyfat naturally too...

Yeah i know man, but i can't help it. That's the way i want to look. Not huge, but lean and carrying lots of muscle. I want to look thick, even when i've got low bodyfat. I don't think that's a reality without hitting the juice.

It doesn't help that almost everyone at my gym is either bigger than me, or ripped, or ina couple of cases, both. Or maybe its just me and they think i'm bigger than them, who knows.

The thing is, I store bodyfat in a strange way. I always carry a small amount around my lower abs, and to lose that, I have to look VERY skinny around the shoulders/traps.

My dad is a perfect example, he has been dieting for a year now. He looks really skinny (basically like me before i started training), has shoulders/traps like a 10 year old girl, but STILL has fat around his gut. FUcking genetics

 

[pistachio]

On another note, I haven't started doing any designated cardio yet, as I don't have time with my exams (just dieting to lose the fat atm).

After exams (3 weeks away), I will be incorporating cardio into my training. Maybe that'll help with the definition.

 

[Bazza20]

You would be more vascular in the old photos because you were leaner.

I'm 6'2 and was up to 112kg at one stage, didn't think I had that much fat to lose. I got down to 88kg before I looked pretty lean. The first 10kg I lost didn't change a real lot.

Like I said keep at it. Despite losing over 20kg people kept asking me how I had packed on so much muscle and wanted to know if I was on roids. Lol. Like leachy said you can't compare yourself to roided up air brushed pictures. Get lean and you will look good.

 

[The Hulk]

Probably best to get a DEXA scan to reveal the truth of how much muscle you really have.
When you're carrying a bit of fat, it's difficult to tell.
The only way you're really going to know how you look at 8% is by getting there.

Keep going with it, it's the only way to find out.
You can always get back to where you are right now very quickly if you don't like being a lighter body weight.

 

[Morgan]

Pistachio, same as Bazza said and as I was saying in your log a few weeks back.

You probably have more fat that you initially thought to lose
You probably have less LBM than you thought

A lot of people mistake gains in "size" as LBM gains.

Again, I'm not saying this to be a c*nt, just trying to explain it to you.

Looking at your AVI vs your old photo you are doing great.

Just keep doing what you doing training wise, keep the protein high to preserve muscle and the cals just low enough to keep losing weight steadily each week. Ignore the scales or what you weigh, go by your measurements / mirror, if you shrink, it means it wasn't muscle to begin with.

 

[pistachio]

You would be more vascular in the old photos because you were leaner.

I'm 6'2 and was up to 112kg at one stage, didn't think I had that much fat to lose. I got down to 88kg before I looked pretty lean. The first 10kg I lost didn't change a real lot.

Like I said keep at it. Despite losing over 20kg people kept asking me how I had packed on so much muscle and wanted to know if I was on roids. Lol. Like leachy said you can't compare yourself to roided up air brushed pictures. Get lean and you will look good.

I am actually talking about all the photos in general, even where my bodyfat was higher, i still seemed to have more vascularity, particularly in my arms (while having a bigger gut/less prominent abs).

How heavy are you now btw?

Probably best to get a DEXA scan to reveal the truth of how much muscle you really have.
When you're carrying a bit of fat, it's difficult to tell.
The only way you're really going to know how you look at 8% is by getting there.

Keep going with it, it's the only way to find out.
You can always get back to where you are right now very quickly if you don't like being a lighter body weight.

Wish i could, can't get em in Perth. It's been discussed before, and its a real bitch. Would certainly make things a lot easier and get rid of a lot of the guesswork.

Pistachio, same as Bazza said and as I was saying in your log a few weeks back.

You probably have more fat that you initially thought to lose
You probably have less LBM than you thought

A lot of people mistake gains in "size" as LBM gains.

Again, I'm not saying this to be a c*nt, just trying to explain it to you.

Looking at your AVI vs your old photo you are doing great.

Just keep doing what you doing training wise, keep the protein high to preserve muscle and the cals just low enough to keep losing weight steadily each week. Ignore the scales or what you weigh, go by your measurements / mirror, if you shrink, it means it wasn't muscle to begin with.

Yeah I know you're not trying to be a bastard, its all good.

I'll try to get some photos up some time in the next week and then compare them to photos taken at my leanest and see what you guys think.

 

[walt]

i think you are upset because you thought it was going to be easy... well its not easy lol.

From what i can see in your avi (good lighting ), you look like your carrying a bit of extra weight.

How long have you been cutting for?

 

[GUNS]

As most have said, stick with it.

I bulked up to 99kgs (I am 175cm tall) and now i am down to 88kgs. I really couldn't notice much difference when i shed the first 8-9kgs. When i lost another 2-3kgs, all of a sudden, in front of a mirror, things were really starting to come together. I still have a few kgs left to lose...

Just be patient mate, continue to train hard and eat clean and in no time you'll be rewarded.

 

[pistachio]

i think you are upset because you thought it was going to be easy... well its not easy lol.

From what i can see in your avi (good lighting ), you look like your carrying a bit of extra weight.

How long have you been cutting for?

not that i thought it would be easy, but i didn't think it would take so long... i've been going for nearly 3 months now (geez that's gone quick). dropped off a steady 0.5kgs per week over that time.

that pic is quite old actually, from early in the year. then i got gastro and a few minor injuries, started getting back into it, almost got injured again, so decided to cut. i probably wasn't back at my best when i decided to cut, so that has probably just exacerbated things.

from what i can see in your avi, you are a freaking beast

 

[pistachio]

i've actually been getting a lot of comments lately from friends and people at the gym that i'm looking a lot leaner and bigger, so maybe it is just in my head.

it just seems i should be a lot more than 10kgs heavier than those old photos, considering my legs are bigger and i'm carrying more fat. maybe the weight doesn't really mean all that much

 

[pistachio]

As most have said, stick with it.

I bulked up to 99kgs (I am 175cm tall) and now i am down to 88kgs. I really couldn't notice much difference when i shed the first 8-9kgs. When i lost another 2-3kgs, all of a sudden, in front of a mirror, things were really starting to come together. I still have a few kgs left to lose...

Just be patient mate, continue to train hard and eat clean and in no time you'll be rewarded.

so you saw most of the difference in the last 2-3 kilos? that is interesting. i have noticed a bit more definition coming through the last few days (have slipped under 97kgs now). i'm hoping that by 95kgs it should be getting very noticable.

 

[candyflip]

i've actually been getting a lot of comments lately from friends and people at the gym that i'm looking a lot leaner and bigger, so maybe it is just in my head.

It is, if you can trust these people. I think random comments from people you know are the best measure - they see you occasionally, and actually compare their mental 'photo' of you before, to after, whatever that time period might be.

 

[MaxBrenner]

What ever you do, do not fall into the trap of UNDER-EATING and OVER-TRAINING cause you will be disappointed with the results.

Penitence young skywalker