Recomp guidance | Community Forum

kennethz13.09RPOriginal post

20d ago

I’m seeking some advice for my current recomp. I've been on this journey for 4 months now, maintaining a clean diet and a calorie deficit of 350-450 daily. I started at 195 lbs, at 5’7”, mostly dealing with typical love handles. Now I'm at 175 lbs, still have some love handles, but they’re reduced, and I'm leaner overall. I've shed a significant amount of fat while gaining lean muscle, and my clothes fit noticeably different. I work out and do cardio six days a week with a 3/1 split. I don’t use any peptides and have recently begun my first cycle with daily injections of 300mg Test E. I’ve been out for a couple of years due to injuries, which are now fully healed. After strict dieting and consistent training for over 4 months, I was expecting to be at 12-15% body fat, not in the mid-20s. For those who have been in a similar situation, how do you remain focused and effectively shed the fat?

11 replies

nighteast18.29RP

20d ago

Awesome work, my friend! I lost over 100 pounds about 8 years ago, which took me 2 years. If you feel like you've hit a plateau, it might be time to take a few weeks off from dieting. Eat at maintenance for a bit, and when you feel good again, get back to losing weight. Keep up the great work!

southrusty105.93RP

20d ago

Staying consistent is essential, my friend. Slow and steady is the way to go—it's a marathon, not a sprint. Celebrate those small victories every day and turn them into motivation! You won't be stuck like this forever; once you achieve true leanness, it becomes much easier to maintain in the future. Stick to your plan, keep doing what you're doing, take rest days as needed, set a daily step goal, track every macro, and note each workout. When everything is logged, if you hit a plateau, you can review and even minor adjustments can lead to significant changes.

kennethz13.09RP

20d ago

I keep track of everything, and it has been really beneficial. I’ve been on a carnivore diet for 4-5 months and have lost a good amount of weight. I switched things up this morning to hopefully shock my body a bit. I’m cutting my fats down to 50g and reintroducing carbs, hoping this will shift my mindset and how my body responds. After having half a cup of rice last night and a shake this morning with blueberries, oatmeal, and a scoop of whey protein, I felt like my body absorbed all the carbs and I felt energized for a change. I plan to stick with this for the next 4-5 months and see how it goes.

repdiesel14.81RP

20d ago

I totally get that feeling... it feels like you’re not making any progress. However, I’ve been thinking about it like a bowl of Rice Crispies. Every day you eat healthy and work out, it’s like you’re removing 5-10 Rice Crispies. You don’t really notice the bowl getting "emptier" until you reach the bottom (in this case, that’s around 14-15% body fat). Consistency is key... love handles and belly fat are usually the last to disappear. It relates to our evolutionary background. You can tell you’re still losing weight when the fat feels softer and more jelly-like. It’s kind of gross to see that the fat cells are slowly breaking down. You’ll be seeing some abs soon—just don’t give up!

kennethz13.09RP

20d ago

Man, I was just noticing this the other day too; my stomach has never felt this soft, like you said, almost like jelly. I was like, what the heck?

repdiesel14.81RP

19d ago

Exactly... the "hard fat" is what you should be concerned about. When you think about it, it makes sense. I bet in 2-3 weeks you’ll suddenly drop like 6-8 pounds in one day. That’ll be all the water in the "jiggly" fat.

staticracer11.44RP

19d ago

The last time I did an intense cut, I dropped down to 1800 kcal/day. I was hungry, cranky, and my weight loss stalled. My sleep was terrible, gym performance dipped, and overall quality of life took a hit. I aimed for below 10% body fat but my body was producing cortisol, making it evident I wouldn't lose much more without sacrificing performance and further cutting. So, I transitioned to a slow reverse diet, increasing my intake by about 200 kcal every two weeks until I reached maintenance. I managed to push my maintenance higher and added some muscle, so now that I’m cutting again, I’m consuming 3000 kcal daily (which feels easy) and losing about a pound each week. Results vary, but you might want to consider giving your body a break, reverse dieting for a while to reset, boost your metabolic rate, and then restart your diet. Also, Reta helps; 2-3mg a week is sufficient.

alexs310.84RP

19d ago

Daily injections of Test E are pointless. Check out forums about diet and recomp, they’re a great way to learn and improve. Just click on his name... forums... boom! I hit level 6 at my gym and do 60 minutes of cardio after my workout.

kennethz13.09RP

19d ago

Perfect timing! That’s precisely what I’ve been doing for the last two weeks. I’ve raised my calories back to maintenance, and I've definitely got more energy, my lifts are improving, my cardio is better, and it has made a huge mental difference. I plan to maintain this for another week or so before dropping 200 kcal and reassessing my progress.

shadowhungry29.6RP

19d ago

Definitely take progress pictures! Seriously, when you start feeling like quitting because it seems like you're not making any headway, check your progress photo from a month ago. You’ll definitely see the difference and it will reignite your motivation to keep pushing.

crowpump911.28RP

19d ago

Does it really make a significant difference with Test E?