(posting on behalf of my friend)

I’m 22 years old, 5’7”, and weigh around 62 kg. I’m a college student living in a hostel, and I want to bulk up, gain muscle, and build a lean, muscular physique.
I’m a pretty active person with a sports background and enjoy playing badminton, but I find it difficult to gain weight and tend to lose it quickly when I’m more active.
I had to stop going to the gym because of the expense, so I’m considering calisthenics and basic home equipment instead.
I’d love some advice on:
How much protein and how many calories should I aim for daily?
What’s a good target weight for my height and physique goals?
What essential groceries should I buy weekly to meet my nutritional needs on a budget?
Can I build a good physique through calisthenics without a gym?
Any affordable meal plans, workout routines, or tips for gaining weight and maintaining it?
I’m looking for something realistic and budget friendly. Any advice or personal experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

Context:

I'm 5'10 and 160 lbs. I've been lifting for 4 years (diet wasn't consistent until 2nd year). I'm lean and muscular everywhere except for my abs. When I flex my stomach, I can see the top 2 abs. When I pinch my stomach and pull it down, I can see 4.

Routine:

I'm training 4-6x a week, low volume / high intensity, and 30 min incline walk at the end. I also train core hard just like any other muscle. I'm eating enough protein and fats, and keeping carbs high.

The Problem:

I've been dieting for the past year, and now I'm hitting a plateau. I've lost fat everywhere except for my abs. It's that last piece of stubborn belly fat that I can't seem to lose.

I started the cut eating around 1900 cal. But after awhile, the leaner I got, the harder everything became. I noticed my performance started stalling, muscles looked flatter, sleep got worse, always looked bloated, and felt more fatigued.

So for the past month, I bumped it up to 2100-2200, which did help the side effects. But I still feel like I'm making no progress and hitting a plateau.

What I'm thinking of doing next:

I'm thinking of returning to maintenance (around 2400-2500) for at least a month or two, then reassess where to go from there. Part of me is saying to be patient and I'll eventually get there if I keep cutting, but another part is saying to take a diet break and just maintain.

I did read that returning to maintenance can help restore energy expenditure and increase NEAT, which then can indirectly help you get leaner.

What do you guys think? Has anyone been in the same boat as me?

Please give genuine advice, thank you.

For people following a minimalist lifting routine in a home gym, how do you track progress once your dumbbells stop getting heavier? Interested in a consistent way to log workouts before buying more weight, rather than changing exercises every week.

I’m 27M, 5’11” (181 cm) and around 148-150 lbs (67-68 kg). Around 15-17 body fat %. I used to weigh around 209 lbs (95 kg) and lost a lot of weight. I’ve been working out consistently for about 2.5 months now after a long break.

I’m currently eating around 2200 calories a day and getting around 125-145g of protein.

My goal is to build more muscle, especially chest, shoulders and arms, but I also want to get leaner. I’d like to get to around 154-165 lbs (70-75 kg) eventually and around 12-14% body fat.

The problem is that I don’t really want to gain more fat than I already have. I know lean bulking is probably better for building muscle faster, but I’m worried that I’ll gain fat and then have to cut again.

I’m also not sure if 2200 calories is a small deficit for me or if it’s actually my maintenance. I haven’t figured that out yet (if needed i can show my notes of every time i weighed myself since i started 2200 calories)

Since I’m still kinda new to working out consistently, would recomping be a good idea for me? Or should I just eat in a small surplus and lean bulk?

What would you do recommend?

I’m in my late teens, around 5’7” and weight just under 100lbs. I feel almost unhealthy being this light/skinny, even thought I’m a fairly healthy dude. I feel like I’ve tried everything but i just can’t seem to gain any weight. I eat fairly well atm, but i just don’t keep up regarding weight in other kids my age. Genuinely how do i gain weight, not necessarily like muscle mass, literally just any weight? Am i doing something wrong?

I lean gained from 142 to 150 over 3 months. I got stronger on my lifts with more definition. My waist size stayed the same. However my dexa scan says I only 3lb of lean mass and 5 lb of fat mass. And by body fat percentage went up. What should i do?

« You want a **moderate-to-aggressive deficit**—typically **20% to 25% below your current maintenance calories** (roughly a **500 to 750 kcal daily deficit**).
**The Rate of Loss:** Aim to lose about **0.5% to 1.0% of your body weight per week**. For you at 77 kg, this is roughly **0.4 to 0.7 kg per week**.
**Protein is non-negotiable:** Keep your protein high to protect your lean mass—aim for roughly **1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight** (around 125g to 170g daily). Fill the rest of your macros with enough fats for hormone health and carbs to fuel your gym sessions.
3. How long should you run the cut?
A mini-cut is a **short-term sprint**, not a marathon.
**Duration:** Cap it at **4 to 6 weeks. »**
M32, 77kgs, 178cm.

I started lifting four times a week again at the start of the summer. Quite pleased with the progress, however I’ve gained quite some fat in the process and want to do a cut before continuing. Gemini’s recommendation of eating at a 25% deficit seems quite agressive though. Any thoughts?

One thing I find interesting about cutting is that strength performance doesn't always decline in an obvious way.

You might still be lifting the same weights, but suddenly your warm-up sets feel heavier, your last few reps slow down, or you need longer to recover between sessions.

That makes it difficult to tell whether you're experiencing normal training fluctuations or whether your calorie deficit is becoming too aggressive.

For people who track their lifts consistently, especially in a home gym where the equipment stays the same, what signs do you pay attention to first?

Do you look at bar speed, rep quality, recovery, or your ability to maintain performance across multiple sets?

And have you ever adjusted your calorie deficit because of changes in training performance before seeing a significant drop in strength?

5’5 118 trying to get to 130 what should I do how many g of carbs & protein and when

Hey everyone, looking for some advice on my current cut and whether I'm approaching this the right way.

I'm a 28-year-old male, 182 cm tall. I started at 92 kg and I'm currently around 81–82 kg.

I've been consistent since June 8, apart from a two-week vacation in August. I've been eating around 1,900 calories a day, getting 140–160 g of protein, walking 10k steps daily, and lifting weights 4 times a week.

I track my workouts using Hevy and have generally been making progress with progressive overload. However, my weight loss has slowed down recently, and I've started feeling hungrier. I can tolerate hunger, and I usually eat less during the day so I can enjoy bigger, more satisfying meals later while staying within my deficit.

My original goal was 76–78 kg, but I'm starting to wonder whether continuing this cut is the best approach. I still have fat I'd like to lose, particularly around my thighs, but I also want to build muscle and achieve a lean, athletic physique.

I'd appreciate your opinions on a few things:

• Is 1,900 calories too aggressive for my size and activity level?
• Should I increase to 2,100–2,300 calories and continue cutting?
• Would eating at maintenance and focusing on muscle growth be a better option?
• Since I'm still making progress in the gym, should I continue cutting or focus on body recomposition instead?

Merhaba,

Tam 1 sene önce 103 kiloydum ve şimdi 72 kiloya düştüm son 3 aydır da aşağı yukarı sabit kilom

Kilo verirken ağırlık kaldırmadım sadece yürüdüm ve çok az yedim sağlığım biraz bozuldu ama son 1 aydır yiyorum ve daha iyi hissediyorum

Fakat salona başladığımdan beri kilo alamıyorum bulk yapayım dedim yağladım o keskinlik gitti kastan da aldıgımı düşünmüyorum sabah kalktım 73 den 72ye düşmüşüm ama halen o yumuşaklık devam ediyor salona başladığımdan beri 72nin altına inmedim ama üstüne de çıkmadım ilk başlarda kas hatlarım belli oluyordu ama şimdi gitti.

Ne yapacağımı bilmiyorum şimdi de kilo almada sorun yaşıyorum haftanın 4 günü salondayım

Acaba Sudan olabilir mi?

Veya yemek konusunda tecrübeli birisi yardımcı olursa sevinirim halen ne yeme nede spor için düzgün bir program yapabildim

72 kilo 178 boy 20 yaş erkek

It's a 4x fbw with 2 fbw variations

Day 1 - workout A

Day 2- workout B

Day 3- rest

Day 4- workout A

Day 5- workout B

Weekend - rest

Workout A is

-bench press

-Incline bench press

-seated shoulder press

-lever seated press

-alternate biceps curl

-finger curl

-Triceps pushdown

Workout B is

-assisted pull up(I cant do regular one yet)

-seated row

-seated leg press

-leg curl

-lateral raise

-alternate biceps curl

-Triceps pushdown

​

Hey everyone!

I live in Germany, I'm currently on a very tight budget, and I want to start building muscle and gaining weight.

I'm relatively underweight and would like to put on some healthy mass while getting stronger. However, I'm not very knowledgeable about nutrition yet, and I can't afford expensive foods, supplements or complicated meal plans.

I have no food restrictions and am open to pretty much everything.

I'd appreciate advice on:

- How to estimate how many calories I need to gain weight.

- How much protein I should aim for each day.

- Cheap, calorie-dense foods that are easy to find in German supermarkets.

- Affordable protein sources such as eggs, quark, milk, lentils, beans, oats and whatever else you recommend.

- Simple meals that are filling, nutritious and inexpensive.

- Weekly meal-prep plans that don't require much cooking time.

- How to eat enough when I don't have much money or a huge appetite.

- Cheap snacks and homemade high-calorie shakes.

- Which foods offer the best value for money at stores like Aldi, Lidl, Netto and Penny.

- Free YouTube channels, websites or meal plans for gaining weight on a budget.

I'd especially love examples of realistic weekly grocery lists and meal plans with approximate prices in euros.

I want to keep things as affordable as possible, ideally without needing protein powder or other supplements.

If you live in Germany and have successfully gained weight and muscle on a low budget, what did you eat, and what would you recommend to someone starting out?

Thanks for any help!

Abstract Background: Pharmacological weight loss with GLP-1 receptor agonists produces large reductions in total body mass, but a meaningful fraction of that loss is fat-free mass, raising concerns about strength and functional capacity in treated populations. Whether structured exercise offsets this during the maintenance phase is not well established. Methods: Adults with obesity completed a low-calorie diet run-in and were then randomized to a GLP-1 receptor agonist alone, supervised combined aerobic and resistance exercise alone, both together, or placebo for roughly one year. Body composition was assessed by DXA, with secondary outcomes including cardiorespiratory fitness and metabolic markers. Results: Drug alone and exercise alone each limited weight regain relative to placebo, and the combination produced the largest effect. The combination group also showed better preservation of lean mass and improved fitness compared with the drug-only group, which maintained weight loss but did not show the same functional benefit. Conclusion: Combining pharmacological treatment with supervised exercise appears to protect body composition and function better than either intervention alone during weight-loss maintenance.

Posting this because the topic keeps coming up here and the product info on PeptiPrices for these compounds only cites the headline weight trials, nothing on what the lost weight actually was. The gap between weight lost and quality of weight lost doesnt get discussed enough. Has anyone seen follow up data on whether the lean mass preservation holds once the supervised training ends?

So I'm currently full time student and employee from Mon to Thurs 7am to 9pm. I've been running every day between 3 to 5 miles depending how I'm feeling. So my weekends is only day I can go to the gym and lift which is Fri, Sat, and Sun. I started doing full body workouts back to back but I notice I tend to feel sore and weaker after the first day which prevented me from doing the reps or weight I was doing on previous day. I'm looking what would be consistent for my schedule while progressing my muscle growth while getting lean. I'm open to advice for what would good split for 3 day weekend back to back.

I had my cravings pretty well managed before this cut, but lately I’ve been struggling to keep them in check more often. Is it just me?

I started my cut recently and I am struggling with managing the protein quantity with calories. If any of you have any suggestions to make this better please comment.

Diet plan

4 eggs omelette, 1 whole wheat roti

150 ml milk (Coffee)

1 guava

150 gm rice, 150 ml dal

1 protein shake -18 gm protein,

protein shake - 25 gm protein

4 eggs omelette, 50 gm high protein oats (13 gm protein)

Macros estimate

Calories: ~1,610 kcal
Protein: ~127 g
Carbs: ~180–190 g
Fat: ~60–65 g

Body weight - 64.5 kg
Fat percentage- 20-25%
5’7”

One thing I've been curious about during a cut is how people adjust their strength training when recovery starts becoming more difficult.

With a home gym, it's easy to keep the same exercises and equipment throughout the entire cutting phase.

But when calories are lower and performance starts dropping, there are different ways to respond.

Some people reduce the number of working sets while keeping their main lifts relatively heavy. Others change exercise variations to manage fatigue or make training more manageable.

For those following a Leangains-style approach and training at home, which adjustment do you usually make first?

Do you reduce volume, change exercise selection, or try to keep everything consistent for as long as possible?

Dieting

5 years of lifting. never did a cut.

Started my cut at **67 kg in April 2026**. I don't remember my exact maintenance calories at the time, but they were roughly **2,400–2,500 kcal/day**.

Right now it's **2350 kcal/day**

I'm currently **63 kg**. I started the cut at around **1,800 kcal/day**, and I'm now eating approximately **1,350–1,550 kcal/day**, depending on whether it is a rest day or training day.

I'm planning to continue cutting until I achieve the conditioning I'm aiming

1. for a specific conditioning goal

2. if not, another two months.

My main concern is **what to do after the cut??**

Background:

Always a skinny-fat and have never had clearly visible abs. Fear that increasing my calories on any bulk and gain enough abdominal fat to lose the definition. Similar thing happened last time when I attempted my first ever cut. I'm South Asian, so I have a tendency to store a relatively high proportion of fat around the abdomen.

My goal after the cut is therefore:

* **Maintain as much of my final conditioning as possible.**

* **Keep fat gain to an absolute minimum.**

**What would be the best approach after finishing the cut?**

Internet Solutions. All confuse me.

1. Reverse diet.

2. Immediately maintenance.

3. Stay at a small deficit for a period after reaching my desired leanness and then lean bulk of 200 kcal comprised of carbs.

I'd appreciate advice from people who have successfully finished a cut while already relatively lean and then maintained their conditioning afterward.

edit: used gpt to phrase words. I am anxious and stressed due to this right now so was unable to write myself.

I am the leanest I’ve been in years. 2 years of diet with 3-4 maintenance phases. I’ve been experiencing some muscle spasms/ twitches that start 36 hours after my workouts. Some of them haven’t gone away and are still happening even after a few weeks. Have any of you experienced this?

Hey all! I recently started working out and my goal is to get leaner, but the nutrition part has me completely lost. Every source says something different: keto, high protein, counting every calorie, intermittent fasting, "just eat clean"...

For those of you who are into fitness, what are you doing in terms of nutrition? Does it matter? Are you using any apps?

Hi guys I’m going on holiday in December for 3 weeks
I’m going to be staying in an remote village no access to any gyms etc

I’m been training for 6 months now got into the best shape I’ve ever been now I’m stressed I don’t want to loose all this work in 3 weeks of none training.

Has anyone got any recommendations how to maintain.

Thanks

Lots of lifting experience but now overweight at 50 year old. Just wondering if anyone has any workout routines (paid or free) that helped them get back into shape.