tl;dr: After years of mediocre results, I finally managed to get into a gym routine and adapted my diet. I am now celebrating the end of my very first and successful cut, having lost 4,5 kg / 10 lbs over the course of 3 months. I have learned a lot and became more confident in the process. This wouldn't have been possible without this subreddit and this is why I want to share my progress with you!
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PROGRESS
Long story short: This year, my life has changed profoundly with a lot of major and long overdue things happening in quick succession to each other. Most importantly, I have finally found the courage to acknowledge my mental health problems. I decided to seek professional counseling and resolved to stop treating my negative thought spirals, anxiety and depression like monolithic laws of nature. Instead, I am now trying to view and confront them as challenges that I am fully capable of overcoming in the long term - however difficult that may be.
That said: Working out has been an incredible outlet for me, but every one facing mental health issues is affected differently by them and I am fully aware that there would have have been slower approaches with fewer risks. I wouldn't have chosen this caloric defict for example if I had a history of eating disorders. Please support the people close to you if they are facing mental health issues and if you are affected, please be not afraid to reach out to the people you trust the most and / or seek professional help.
While I never considered myself to be unattractive, I was frustrated with my posture and the way I looked in general every time I looked into the mirror. It goes without saying that my anxiety has had a strong impact on my various attempts to exercise over the years. It was only after a particular experience in April that I arrived at the conclusion that I will never look better if I just keep complaining and I decided to try again, but this time with a proper plan.
For the next weeks I immersed myself in all things nutrition and fitness, with /r/veganfitness, /r/leangains, /r/Fitness and it’s incredible wiki as my main sources of information. I consulted a friend who worked as a fitness trainer for a beginners friendly plan, brought supplements, meal prep boxes, a proper blender and my very first scales. I even started to annoy my friends with all the new nutrition and exercise related facts and trivia that I learned and I’m pretty sure that most of them did not believe that I would last for long. Heck, I wasn’t quite convinced myself because everything happened so quickly. But here I am. After cutting for 3 months, I have lost 4.5 kg, built at least some muscle, improved my posture and have seen my belly button for the very first time in my life, so that's something.
----------------------------------------------------------------
CALORIES & MACROS
For my macros, I decided to just go along with the basic recommendations of the original IF protocol on average. I ate more carbs on workout days and consumed around 160g Protein (2.2g/kg) daily. I did cycle my carbs in the beginning, but I stopped doing so quickly because it felt like a lot of unnecessary effort, at least for what I was trying to achieve.
The hardest part happened in the middle of my cut when I hit my first plateau in the gym, coupled with the hormonal effects of a moderate caloric deficit. I loved the weekly progress I achieved with my weights and it was very hard to accept that I will have to wait until the cut is over to proceed properly. It's also astonishing how much your body starts to hate you once the cut begins to work.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
TDEE & Body Fat
Since I did not know my TDEE and initial body fat percentage, I began to base my initial calories on the average number of several calculators (~2800) and decided to adjust it after a month of tracking with @geroden93-Suns’ adaptive TDEE spreadsheet. I also tried to pinpoint my BF% with calipers (I settled with 20,5 %, since my with results were in the 19-22 percent range), but after the first month it was obvious that I must have overestimated both my TDEE and BF%. You can imagine how happy I was when I adjusted my TDEE down to 2400 and subsequently my weight loss improved significantly just as planned.
I’ve been wondering what my initial BF% must have been, but since I was bordering on the skinny fat spectrum I’d guess around 16% (with my LBM at 63.5 kg / 140 lbs) as opposed to 19-21%. Since I couldn’t find any proper DEXA scans here in Germany, with BIA more widespread, I relied on my calipers and measuring tape to track my progress.
As you can see on my progress pictures, I lost a lot of fat all over my body and if my LBM is around 63 kg, this would leave me around 11-12% right now (almost all calculators put me into the 7-9% range, but I think my measurements are to blame). But regardless of the correct percentage, I am very happy with the results of my cut. I would never have expected how visible the changes were, especially in my face and around my waist. My co-workers and friends complimented me without being prompted and I will never forget the moment I realized that I really, really liked what I saw in the mirror for the first time in years.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
DIET
I have been a vegan for 8 years now. This was mostly for environmental and ethical reasons; of course I was aware of the many backed health benefits, but aside from becoming much more relaxed with my lactose intolerance I did not spent a lot of time thinking about it. I still ate a lot of junk food and while I always loved to cook, I relied much more on convenience food and eating out around work for lunch. Counting calories for the very first time in my life turned a lot of my diet upside down, in a good way.
I was always fascinated by meal prep and so I took this cut as an opportunity to learn about it and to rediscover my passion for cooking. I approached nutrition as a mathematical riddle; it was really fun to experiment and determine the most efficient meals for any given day, especially if it meant that I could make room for treats or social events in the evening.
I thankfully had a lot of staples that I would incorporate into the cut. Major additions were lentils, broccoli, peas and seitan. I also adopted Intermittent Fasting since I enjoyed big meals and routinely skipped breakfast most of the time anyway.
My staples were the following:
For supplements, I used Vegan Protein Powder by ESN, Creatine, B12, D3 & Omega 3.
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EXERCISE & ACTIVITIES
I asked the personal trainer friend because I felt much more comfortable developing a plan with someone who is familiar with me than to try to adapt one from reddit to myself. Since I wanted to improve my posture too, it proved to be very helpful to have someone around that has known and seen me for a good amount of time before. We did some strength and execution tests in the beginning, which was when it became apparent that my knees were not really in the best shape. He strongly advised me to train them before I would start with squats to avoid unnecessary injury. This is why I did not start with the holy trinity of bodybuilding.
I figured that I take it easy then and approach the cut to ease myself in first. I concentrated on establishing my new habits, learning how to listen to my body when working out and perfecting the execution of basic exercises, which worked splendidly. My plan did however account for linear progression, which I was able to hit very consistently until I reached my plateau two months in.
Every exercise consisted of 3 sets per 12 reps.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
TOOLS & RESSOURCES
Tools and Calculators:
Websites, Researchers, Bodybuilders
I would always roll my eyes when other people wrote this because it sounds cheesy AF, but it has become as true for me as it has been for others who undertook this journey before me: The last months have changed my life. I have crossed an important milestone for myself and have proven to me that I am indeed capable of succeeding and reaching my goals, which just makes me very proud. I am without hyperbole in the best shape I have ever been in my life and I’m experiencing a boost in confidence I’m wholly unfamiliar with. Thank you for helping me reach this stage, Reddit!
I am now transitioning out of my cut by halving my deficit from 20% to 10% over the course of two weeks and then entering a short maintenance period until the middle of August. I definitely want to get bigger, especially when it comes to my arms and my chest. As of know, I’m planning to do a lean bulk (10% surplus) for three months again and then I will evaluate my progress again. If I do it properly I should be able continue for a longer time; if not, I will schedule a cut somewhere in the next year. I’m thrilled to see where I will be in one year and I hope I can share my progress with you then again!
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PROGRESS
- Height: 186 cm (6'1'')
- Weight before: 75.6 kg (166.5 lbs)
- Weight after: 70.9 kg (156.3 lbs)
- Before & After (Home)
- During & After (Gym)
- Celebratory Gym-Selfie
Long story short: This year, my life has changed profoundly with a lot of major and long overdue things happening in quick succession to each other. Most importantly, I have finally found the courage to acknowledge my mental health problems. I decided to seek professional counseling and resolved to stop treating my negative thought spirals, anxiety and depression like monolithic laws of nature. Instead, I am now trying to view and confront them as challenges that I am fully capable of overcoming in the long term - however difficult that may be.
That said: Working out has been an incredible outlet for me, but every one facing mental health issues is affected differently by them and I am fully aware that there would have have been slower approaches with fewer risks. I wouldn't have chosen this caloric defict for example if I had a history of eating disorders. Please support the people close to you if they are facing mental health issues and if you are affected, please be not afraid to reach out to the people you trust the most and / or seek professional help.
While I never considered myself to be unattractive, I was frustrated with my posture and the way I looked in general every time I looked into the mirror. It goes without saying that my anxiety has had a strong impact on my various attempts to exercise over the years. It was only after a particular experience in April that I arrived at the conclusion that I will never look better if I just keep complaining and I decided to try again, but this time with a proper plan.
For the next weeks I immersed myself in all things nutrition and fitness, with /r/veganfitness, /r/leangains, /r/Fitness and it’s incredible wiki as my main sources of information. I consulted a friend who worked as a fitness trainer for a beginners friendly plan, brought supplements, meal prep boxes, a proper blender and my very first scales. I even started to annoy my friends with all the new nutrition and exercise related facts and trivia that I learned and I’m pretty sure that most of them did not believe that I would last for long. Heck, I wasn’t quite convinced myself because everything happened so quickly. But here I am. After cutting for 3 months, I have lost 4.5 kg, built at least some muscle, improved my posture and have seen my belly button for the very first time in my life, so that's something.
----------------------------------------------------------------
CALORIES & MACROS
- Calories per Day: 2300 (initally), 2000 (after adjusting)
- Caloric deficit: 500
- Macros: Protein: ~160g, Fat: ~70g, Carbs: Rest
For my macros, I decided to just go along with the basic recommendations of the original IF protocol on average. I ate more carbs on workout days and consumed around 160g Protein (2.2g/kg) daily. I did cycle my carbs in the beginning, but I stopped doing so quickly because it felt like a lot of unnecessary effort, at least for what I was trying to achieve.
The hardest part happened in the middle of my cut when I hit my first plateau in the gym, coupled with the hormonal effects of a moderate caloric deficit. I loved the weekly progress I achieved with my weights and it was very hard to accept that I will have to wait until the cut is over to proceed properly. It's also astonishing how much your body starts to hate you once the cut begins to work.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
TDEE & Body Fat
Since I did not know my TDEE and initial body fat percentage, I began to base my initial calories on the average number of several calculators (~2800) and decided to adjust it after a month of tracking with @geroden93-Suns’ adaptive TDEE spreadsheet. I also tried to pinpoint my BF% with calipers (I settled with 20,5 %, since my with results were in the 19-22 percent range), but after the first month it was obvious that I must have overestimated both my TDEE and BF%. You can imagine how happy I was when I adjusted my TDEE down to 2400 and subsequently my weight loss improved significantly just as planned.
I’ve been wondering what my initial BF% must have been, but since I was bordering on the skinny fat spectrum I’d guess around 16% (with my LBM at 63.5 kg / 140 lbs) as opposed to 19-21%. Since I couldn’t find any proper DEXA scans here in Germany, with BIA more widespread, I relied on my calipers and measuring tape to track my progress.
As you can see on my progress pictures, I lost a lot of fat all over my body and if my LBM is around 63 kg, this would leave me around 11-12% right now (almost all calculators put me into the 7-9% range, but I think my measurements are to blame). But regardless of the correct percentage, I am very happy with the results of my cut. I would never have expected how visible the changes were, especially in my face and around my waist. My co-workers and friends complimented me without being prompted and I will never forget the moment I realized that I really, really liked what I saw in the mirror for the first time in years.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
DIET
I have been a vegan for 8 years now. This was mostly for environmental and ethical reasons; of course I was aware of the many backed health benefits, but aside from becoming much more relaxed with my lactose intolerance I did not spent a lot of time thinking about it. I still ate a lot of junk food and while I always loved to cook, I relied much more on convenience food and eating out around work for lunch. Counting calories for the very first time in my life turned a lot of my diet upside down, in a good way.
I was always fascinated by meal prep and so I took this cut as an opportunity to learn about it and to rediscover my passion for cooking. I approached nutrition as a mathematical riddle; it was really fun to experiment and determine the most efficient meals for any given day, especially if it meant that I could make room for treats or social events in the evening.
I thankfully had a lot of staples that I would incorporate into the cut. Major additions were lentils, broccoli, peas and seitan. I also adopted Intermittent Fasting since I enjoyed big meals and routinely skipped breakfast most of the time anyway.
My staples were the following:
- Rolled Oats
- Peanut Butter
- Lentils
- Peas
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Mushrooms
- Chickpeas
- Nutritional Yeast
- (Smoked) Tofu
- Tempeh
- Seitan (Homemade)
- Textured Soy Protein (TSP / TVP)
- Soy / Almond Milk
- Soy Joghurt, we call it “Quark” (similar to greek joghurt)
- Diet Coke (I’m so not sorry)
For supplements, I used Vegan Protein Powder by ESN, Creatine, B12, D3 & Omega 3.
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EXERCISE & ACTIVITIES
- Bench: 20 kg -> 45 kg (44 lbs -> 100 lbs)
- (Romanian) Deadlift: 20 kg -> 55 kg (44 lbs -> 121 lbs)
I asked the personal trainer friend because I felt much more comfortable developing a plan with someone who is familiar with me than to try to adapt one from reddit to myself. Since I wanted to improve my posture too, it proved to be very helpful to have someone around that has known and seen me for a good amount of time before. We did some strength and execution tests in the beginning, which was when it became apparent that my knees were not really in the best shape. He strongly advised me to train them before I would start with squats to avoid unnecessary injury. This is why I did not start with the holy trinity of bodybuilding.
I figured that I take it easy then and approach the cut to ease myself in first. I concentrated on establishing my new habits, learning how to listen to my body when working out and perfecting the execution of basic exercises, which worked splendidly. My plan did however account for linear progression, which I was able to hit very consistently until I reached my plateau two months in.
Every exercise consisted of 3 sets per 12 reps.
- Monday: Upper Body (Bench Press, Shoulder Press, Lat Pull Down, Rowing, Tricep Pull Downs, Bicep Curls, Crunches)
- Wednesday: Lower Body (Half-Squats, Leg Press, Romanian Deadlift, Glutes Press, Leg Raises)
- Friday: Full Body (Bench Press, Leg Press, Lat Pull Down, Romanian Deadlift, Bicep Curls, Leg Raises, Crunches)
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TOOLS & RESSOURCES
Tools and Calculators:
- @geroden93-Suns' TDEE spreadsheet
- 1PercentEdge IF Calculator
- The WeighTrainer Calculators
- EatThisMuch (just for the interface. I never used the auto-planning feature)
Websites, Researchers, Bodybuilders
- Reddit - /r/fitness, especially the wiki, /r/veganfitness, /r/leangains, /r/EOOD
- You are amazing. 'nuff said.
- Martin Berkhan / https://leangains.com/
- Even though /r/leangains has been much more helpful in hindsight, there is still valuable information on the main page. I’m not planning on buying the book though, especially since it's advertised as being unsuitable for vegans.
- Lyle McDonald / https://bodyrecomposition.com/
- His blog helped me tremendously with understanding weight loss dynamics, hormonal changes and how to transition properly between diets.
- Fritz Horstmann / @cynoopoo
- There are many vegan IG fitness ppl but he runs one of the most unpretentious and informative accounts.
I would always roll my eyes when other people wrote this because it sounds cheesy AF, but it has become as true for me as it has been for others who undertook this journey before me: The last months have changed my life. I have crossed an important milestone for myself and have proven to me that I am indeed capable of succeeding and reaching my goals, which just makes me very proud. I am without hyperbole in the best shape I have ever been in my life and I’m experiencing a boost in confidence I’m wholly unfamiliar with. Thank you for helping me reach this stage, Reddit!
I am now transitioning out of my cut by halving my deficit from 20% to 10% over the course of two weeks and then entering a short maintenance period until the middle of August. I definitely want to get bigger, especially when it comes to my arms and my chest. As of know, I’m planning to do a lean bulk (10% surplus) for three months again and then I will evaluate my progress again. If I do it properly I should be able continue for a longer time; if not, I will schedule a cut somewhere in the next year. I’m thrilled to see where I will be in one year and I hope I can share my progress with you then again!
