# One Year's Progress: from 20% to 12% bodyfat



## Findedeux (Mar 16, 2012)

I thought I would post this for people who haven't been through a cutting or bulking cycle. I was always curious how much muscle you could gain/fat you could lose during these cycles but never had documented anything. Here is a summary of my progress in the last year.

Started at 176 pounds in January at estimated 26% body fat without having worked out in about ten years.

Bulked for four months till the end of April, reaching 196 pounds. Gained 20 pounds at a rate of 5 pounds per month. The muscle gain was relatively easy because of muscle memory from being in shape in early 20s.

On 4/6/15, I was 20% body fat at 195.5 pounds (156 lean body mass & 39 pounds of fat)

(Yeah the picture below is embarrassing and yes I'm a hairy *******)

















Goal was to get down to 10% body fat. I thought if I lost 20 pounds of fat I could reach my goal.

My cut lasted from May to January. I started cutting in May with a 500 calorie deficit below TDEE. That didn't work (e.g., no weight loss for three weeks) so at the end of May I went down to 2200 calories per day (about 800 calorie deficit).

From June to January I lost about 30 pounds at a general rate of 4 pounds a month. My upper body strength stayed the same but I started to lose lower body strength halfway through the cut.

Midway into cut I stalled a little bit so switched to intermittent fasting for the next four months/remainder of the cut.

On 1/18/15, I was 12% body fat at 167.3 pounds (147.2 lean & 20 pounds of fat).

















I had lost about 8 pounds of muscle during my cut.
I had reached my fat loss goal but had not taken into account the muscle loss that would accompany it.

I had reduced fat at a low to moderate rate with a sufficient protein intake that never went below 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. It doesn't appear possible for me to maintain muscle mass while on a cut despite a multitude of websites and experts stating otherwise.

About 25% of the weight I lost during my cut was muscle, with the rest being fat. The only way the results might be inaccurate is if some of the muscle lost was actually just water weight, but I wouldn't really be able to track that without a dexa scan.

My macronutrient profile was generally 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat.

I am going to spend the next year trying to gain about 12 pounds of muscle.

Anyone else have similar experiences to share?


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## JH1983 (Nov 14, 2013)

I cut down to 160lbs a couple years ago and was pretty lean, but I wasn't happy with the muscle and strength loss and looking like I didn't lift in a shirt. Currently a little over 230 at around 18% body fat at 5'10". Much happier with size and strength now, but I'm going to try to get down around 15% again soon so I look a little better. I'm a competitive athlete though, so my numbers matter more to me than looks as long as I look decent. I still wear a 34" waist in jeans, so I'm good with that. 

Congrats on your progress so far though. I've read some of your posts and you seem motivated and organized about your goals. You've got a good base going and with diet and training on point you could do a lot in the next couple years. Lean bulk and lift heavy, you'll do well. You'll know a little more about what to do on your next bulk and cut now, too. It's all a learning experience and takes trial and error. Good luck.


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## Dark Shines (Feb 11, 2013)

Nicely done, good result. I've always found it tricky to maintain muscle mass during a cut, it's getting worse with age, mid 20s it was easier, supplementation is gradually becoming more relevant, but you can always expect to lose some I think. That said, I've always found cut and bulking yields better results than lean bulking, probably due to lifestyle making discipline difficult. I've had to drop physical exercise over the last couple of years due to physical illness, but plan to try again in the summer, it wont ever be what it was before, but I figure something is better than nothing at all, am looking forward to it.


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## SupaDupaFly (Sep 1, 2011)

Bulking 4 life crew checking in

I stopped lifting 2 years ago, but I will go back to it. Hopefully like you, OP. I will gain some of that muscle back fast.


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