12 week cut, first time feeling like giving this up

alondrakayy

This is my first cut aggressive cut cycle. Started Aug 8th and I've only had two refeed days since (200 cals above maintenance).

Stats: 5 ft 7 in - started at 146.6 lbs - now 143.3 lbs - started at 1750 cals - now 1700 cals. Protein goal of 140g which I don't normally meet but I at least get to 110g daily. Strength train 4x a week, cardio (40 min) 2x a week. Goal weight 135 lb.

I understand weight fluctuations. And one of the two weeks I was on my period. But even in the pictures I'm no longer seeing a difference... I think I even look more full.

My diary is now open. I'm ready for anyone to tell me what on earth I'm doing wrong. I've never been this consistent.. weighing absolutely everything.. not taking any extra bites here and there.. etc.

alondrakayy

tcunbeliever

you lost 3.3 lbs - I don't understand why you are saying you do not see results

are you doing measurements too or just the scale?

mmapags

The only thing you are doing wrong (assuming you have input everything correctly) is being impatient. Seriously, it's only been 2 weeks! What big changes were you expecting in that time? You've lost a couple of pounds, mostly water weight. Pretty normal. I've been cutting for 16 weeks and I'm down 10 bs. Not super fast. Slow and steady.

When did you begin strength training? Have you been doing it previous to starting the cut? Honestly, you look a little slimmer through the middle. But, if you are going to expect bigger results, it's going to take longer than a couple of weeks or a month.

boulank

I honestly see a difference in your pictures on the right. Stop being so hard on yourself.

SezxyStef

Give it a couple more weeks and watch the weight trends to see where you really are.

a couple of weeks isn't enough time really to tell much.

sardelsa

You look great! You lost weight, I think you look leaner in the second photo (are you taking measurements?) when you are close to goal, progress can be slow. I know it sucks, but you simply have to adjust your expectations!

I have been cutting since May, down about 8lbs.. sometimes I feel like I look the exact same month to month, sometimes I can see it in photos, sometimes I can't. Just keep going!

julesEMS2016

Patience! You aren't going to see a lot of definition in just one month. I don't follow a bulk/cut program so I'm not sure how long you will be doing the cut cycle. But, I would give yourself another month. Don't give up! You are much closer than you think.

alondrakayy

mmapags wrote: »

The only thing you are doing wrong (assuming you have input everything correctly) is being impatient. Seriously, it's only been 2 weeks! What big changes were you expecting in that time? You've lost a couple of pounds, mostly water weight. Pretty normal. I've been cutting for 16 weeks and I'm down 10 bs. Not super fast. Slow and steady.

When did you begin strength training? Have you been doing it previous to starting the cut? Honestly, you look a little slimmer through the middle. But, if you are going to expect bigger results, it's going to take longer than a couple of weeks or a month.

I've been lifting for about 4 years now but have never been consistent with my diet. Just enough to stay at a healthy range or gain and lose the same 10 pounds. If this is me being impatient trust me, that's totally fine with me! My fear was that the scale and progress pictures are my only form of progress (I do not trust myself to measure myself accurately) and both things are telling me that I'm gaining weight instead of losing.

Aug 24th - 144 lbs
Aug 31st - 142.4 lbs
Sept 7th - 143 lbs
Sept 14th - 143.2

I really don't want to cut longer than 12 weeks. My thought process was losing 1 lb a week and then start a slow bulk afterwards. I thought if I counted my cals to a T, worked out as hard as I could, and took care of myself then everything would go the way that I planned.

quiksylver296

Trust the process!

tinkerbellang83

alondrakayy wrote: »

[quote="mmapags;c-40434389" My fear was that the scale and progress pictures are my only form of progress (I do not trust myself to measure myself accurately) and both things are telling me that I'm gaining weight instead of losing.

Aug 24th - 144 lbs
Aug 31st - 142.4 lbs
Sept 7th - 143 lbs
Sept 14th - 143.2

The scale is telling you you're lighter according to the above, so I am a little confused - how is it telling you you're gaining?

sardelsa

alondrakayy wrote: »

mmapags wrote: »

The only thing you are doing wrong (assuming you have input everything correctly) is being impatient. Seriously, it's only been 2 weeks! What big changes were you expecting in that time? You've lost a couple of pounds, mostly water weight. Pretty normal. I've been cutting for 16 weeks and I'm down 10 bs. Not super fast. Slow and steady.

When did you begin strength training? Have you been doing it previous to starting the cut? Honestly, you look a little slimmer through the middle. But, if you are going to expect bigger results, it's going to take longer than a couple of weeks or a month.

I've been lifting for about 4 years now but have never been consistent with my diet. Just enough to stay at a healthy range or gain and lose the same 10 pounds. If this is me being impatient trust me, that's totally fine with me! My fear was that the scale and progress pictures are my only form of progress (I do not trust myself to measure myself accurately) and both things are telling me that I'm gaining weight instead of losing.

Aug 24th - 144 lbs
Aug 31st - 142.4 lbs
Sept 7th - 143 lbs
Sept 14th - 143.2

I really don't want to cut longer than 12 weeks. My thought process was losing 1 lb a week and then start a slow bulk afterwards. I thought if I counted my cals to a T, worked out as hard as I could, and took care of myself then everything would go the way that I planned.

I'm gonna be honest here... things don't always works out the way you want it to no matter how much you plan it. I know, bummer. I originally thought I had to cut 3-4 lbs after my bulk and it was going to be short and sweet then I could get back to building... HAHA.. ya no clearly that was not the case.

You are doing great... you started a new workout program (if I'm not mistaken) so keep in mind some water weight could be masking your "true weight" .. take measurements and take lots of photos.

alondrakayy

tinkerbellang83 wrote: »

alondrakayy wrote: »

[quote="mmapags;c-40434389" My fear was that the scale and progress pictures are my only form of progress (I do not trust myself to measure myself accurately) and both things are telling me that I'm gaining weight instead of losing.

Aug 24th - 144 lbs
Aug 31st - 142.4 lbs
Sept 7th - 143 lbs
Sept 14th - 143.2

The scale is telling you you're lighter according to the above, so I am a little confused - how is it telling you you're gaining?

Right, I was losing in the beginning but from the 31st to now I've slowly been gaining.

I probably freaked out a bit when I compared the first two pics because I swear on everything I don't see a positive difference. But I'll keep on going and will make myself chill out. Thank you guys for your honesty! It's exactly what I needed.

tinkerbellang83

You're at a point where the amount lost can be masked easily by water weight - to put it bluntly the amount you're seeing as a gain in a week is less than a big poo, so if you've increased the intensity of your workouts, got food still in your system, had higher sodium or carbs than usual or a little dehydrated you could be seeing that on the scale. Try using a weight trend app like Happy Scale or Libra and weigh daily, can help you see the bigger picture.

hesn92

You lost 3 lbs. don't give up because you don't see a noticeable difference. Not enough time has passed!

alondrakayy

Just want to come back to this and say that all I needed to do was be patient. A week after making this post (and also continuing to be consisted with my plan) I'm now at 140.4lbs! Thank you all for the tough love.

lorrpb

2 weeks isn't much time and something is whacky with these pics. The bottom pics make you look smaller than the top pics, even though the Sept 14 pics appear to be the same photo, the bottom one looks much smaller than the top Sept 14 pic.

JaydedMiss

2 weeks is nothing. Stop being impatient. But for what its worth your arms look leaner, Could just be the pose since again 2 weeks. Your not going to see overnight results here, But it also wont take TO long. Just stick to it clearly its working

BusyRaeNOTBusty

I think it's really hard to tell what is going on with those high waisted pants.

JaydedMiss

BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »

I think it's really hard to tell what is going on with those high waisted pants.

side note, Thats why i LOVE high waisted pants hah. Keeps me all tucked in and hides my little loose skin pouch Used to hate them lol. But yeah they make for awful progress pics because of that

alondrakayy

I think the last few of you missed my response lol but yes I agree, the high wasted pants were a mistake. But that's what I had on when I took the first picture and didn't put much thought to what I was wearing.

cefleischman

I personally can see a difference from the pics. One of the BEST things I read on this forum is that weight loss is not linear. When you break a bone, you can expect it to heal in a cast in "x" amount of weeks. When you're trying to lose weight you have to take into account many other factors: water retention, hormones, sleep cycle, types of food being consumed, exercise, etc... it's a slow process- but it's the healthiest and you're more likely to keep the weight off going slower. You can do this! Slow and steady wins the race!!

sardelsa

alondrakayy wrote: »

Just want to come back to this and say that all I needed to do was be patient. A week after making this post (and also continuing to be consisted with my plan) I'm now at 140.4lbs! Thank you all for the tough love.

Awesome stuff!! Keep up the great work