Am I doing enough?

Hey y'all

Just wanna start out by saying thanks for all the advice and info everyone's shared in this forum. It's been really helpful for someone new like me. I feel like I've hit a plateau regarding my current workout routine and diet and would really appreciate advice as to where I can improve or what I can change. My goal is to try and cut fat but retain as much of my current muscle as possible. Been doing my current routines for like 4 months now and I haven't seen a drop in Body Fat %

I understand that this is a forum that discusses anabolics use but I'm not someone who's been on anabolics (yet) as I read on reddit (r/steroids) I'm not of the recommended minimum age or ffmi to begin my first PED cycle.

Here are my body stats:
Male
Age: 24
Height: 176cm
Weight: 81.2kg
BMR: 1850kcal

Here's my Full Blood Count Test results, figures in BOLD are my actual results and figures in ITALIC is the range they're supposed to be within (idk the exact significance of all this or if I even did the right tests but I'm dumping them here regardless. Maybe y'all can make more sense of them than me lol. The doctor I went to said the full blood count results are okay and that's all I went off of ):
WBCx10^3 6.81 /uL (4.00 - 10.00)
NEUTROPHILS 3.18 X10^3/uL (2.00 - 7.00)
POLYS 46.70 % (40 - 80)
LYMPHOCYTES 2.96 X10^3/uL (1.00-3.00)
LYMPHS 43.50 % (20 - 40)
Neu/Lymph Ratio 1.07
MONOCYTES 0.47 X10^3/uL ( 0.2 - 1.0 )
MONOS 6.90 % (2 - 10)
EOSINOPHILS 0.16 X10^3/uL (0.02 - 0.50)
EOS 2.30 % (1 - 6)
BASOPHILS 0.04 X10^3/uL (0.02 - 0.10)
BASO 0.60 % (0 - 2)
RBC x 10^6 5.22 /uL (4.5 - 5.5)
Hemoglobin (Profile):
HEMOGLOBIN 15.80 g/dl (13.00 - 17.00)
HEMATOCRIT 46.10 % (40 - 50)
MCV 88.3 fl (83 - 101)
MCH 30.30 pg (27 - 34)
MCHC 34.30 g/dl (31.5 - 37.0)
RDW 12.5 % (12.9 - 17.
PLATELET COUNT x 10^3 285 /uL (150 - 410)

Here's what I'm eating on a daily (except if I have to go for an event or a function).
Breakfast (360 kcal)
• 2 boiled eggs → 140 kcal, 12 g protein, 10 g fat
• 1 slice brown bread → 75 kcal, 15 g carbs, 3 g protein
• 1 small apple (~100 g) → 80 kcal, 21 g carbs
• 1.5 tsp peanut butter → 65 kcal, 2 g protein, 6 g fat

Lunch (510 kcal)
• 3 boiled eggs → 210 kcal, 18 g protein, 15 g fat
• 1 cup steamed veggies → 50 kcal, 10 g carbs
• 1 large boiled potato (~200 g) → 145 kcal, 34 g carbs, 4 g protein
• 1.5 tsp olive oil → 105 kcal, 12 g fat

Post-Workout Snack (250 kcal)
• Whey protein shake (1 scoop) → 120 kcal, 24 g protein
• 250 ml orange juice → 110 kcal, 25 g carbs

Dinner (730 kcal)• 250 g chicken breast → 410 kcal, 50 g protein, 8 g fat
• 1.5 cups mixed veggies → 100 kcal, 20 g carbs
• 1 cup cooked rice (~150 g) → 140 kcal, 30 g carbs
• 1.5 tsp olive oil → 80 kcal, 9 g fat

Daily Totals (core only)
Calories: ~1855 kcal
Protein: ~125–135 g
Carbs: ~150–160 g
Fat: ~50–52 g
And here's what I do for a "Workout" (I don't have a personal trainer or nutritionist and what I have so far was from reading multiple different forums and chatgpt). I swim every Monday-Friday from 6am-7am where I burn an average of 220kcal every session, I do this just so I can get some movement and some energy burnt before my main workout which is a Push-Pull-Legs(and core) "split" so I go:

Monday: "Push"
Tuesday: "Pull"
Wednesday: "Legs + Core"
Thursday: "Push"
Friday: "Pull"
Saturday: "Legs + Core"
Sunday: REST

"Push":
Bench Press: • Set 1: 30kg - 12 reps   • Set 2: 60kg - 10 reps   • Set 3: 60kg - 10 reps   • Set 4: 60kg - 10 reps   • Set 5: 50kg - Till failure
Cable Chest Fly: • Set 1: 65kg - 9 reps • Set 2: 65kg - 9 reps • Set 3: 65kg - 9 reps
Tricep Pushdown: • Set 1:30kg - 9 reps • Set 2: 30kg - 9 reps • Set 3: 30kg - 9 reps • Set 4: 30kg – 9 reps

"Pull":
Lat Pulldown: • Set 1: 35kg – 11 reps • Set 2: 35kg – 11 reps • Set 3: 35kg – 11 reps
Seated Cable Rows: • Set 1: 20kg - 12 reps • Set 2: 50kg - 10 reps • Set 3: 50kg - 10 reps • Set 4: 50kg - 10 reps
Dumbbell Bicep Curls (Seated): 4 sets of 10kg - 11 reps

"Legs + Core":
Back Squat: • Set 1: 50kg – 11 reps • Set 2: 50kg – 11 reps • Set 3: 50kg – 11 reps
Leg Extension: • Set 1: 50kg - 7 reps • Set 2: 50kg - 7 reps • Set 3: 50kg - 7 reps • Set 4: 50kg – 7 reps
Hamstring Leg Curl: • Set 1: 50kg - 9 reps • Set 2: 50kg - 9 reps • Set 3: 50kg - 9 reps • Set 4: 50kg – 9 reps
Plank: 3 Sets of 60 second holds.

Please note that I couldn't do the weights or the reps I've written above before. I've currently built up to those weights and reps by changing up one rep every week until I hit 12 reps for a particular exercise and I can do it somewhat comfortably then I increase the weight for that exercise and try and build up to 12 reps again for that new weight.


Also apologies for the really lengthy post just wanted to try and give a sorta full picture about my situation so I may be better guided. Thanks in advance.

Your calories are a bit on lower side, you are way below bmr.

So many factors to look at, 1 is your basal morning body temp wirh thermometer under the tounge.

That will represent metabolic health..if its is lower than 36.0 first thing in the am, the thyroid is under strain.

I suck as a weight loss coach in my coaching career as I always make new, young clients see that fatloss is a by product of muscle gain.

Your goal when new is to still train and diet with enough intensity and calories to prioritize muscle gain, and then use steps to burn through calories to bring down body fat.

Your training is low volume which isnt bad due to frequency, but we cant see your level of intensity or form, and thats why I get clients to video their working sets to see all of the above.

Hi Empire, Thanks for the advice!

I hadn't known measuring my basal morning temp in the morning before, will do this tomorrow morning and update this thread.

Do you think I should drop swimming and go for a walk instead? Like how many steps on average should I be taking daily for fat loss and should I add a 30 min treadmill walk at some incline too?

 

8000 steps a day average, if you aren't recovering from the swimming.

as i say, i would shift focus to building muscle and fat loss as a by product, and most of us started steroids long before you at 24.

Thanks for the reply Empire. I’ll follow your advice and I’ll try to update this thread with my progress/questions.

“and most of us started steroids long before you at 24.”

I’m not sure I correctly understood this statement of yours, you mean y’all started PEDs before y’all reached 24?

i started at 19

Update: under tongue temp is 36.2 degrees. Apologies for the late update as I wanted to test over a few days just to be absolutely sure. I guess that means my metabolic health is okay?

What other tests should I do to confirm normal body function? And what would a mild PED cycle look like for someone of my body stats?

Your body weight x 2.5 = testosterone dose.
So for you about 200mg per week.
Split into 3 injections with an insulin needle or a 1ml syringe with a 27g needle, a quick Google search will find you a website you can but a 100 of them in a box.

So id buy a bottle of test cyp (250mg/ml) and then draw up 0.27ml(27ius if you get a normal bd insulin syringe) and jab that into a muscle 3x per week. This will give you stable blood concentrations, with less estrogen conversion.

I've got a client who is just completed this over 24 weeks( blood work allowed us to run a bit longer) and went from 76kgs to just over 91kg, little bit of body fat went on but calories went from 2800 to 4700 in the time frame too. So 15kgs(about 11kgs lean body mass) over 24 weeks is pretty decent on 200mg of test.


I do blood work analysis with my partner who is a doctor, who has done all the research based on common issues you have when using peds and others, so if you need more insight into blood work, you can ask admin for some help locating the website.

Thanks for the reply Empire! You’re a legend!

I’ll be testing my Total Testo, Free Testo, LH, FSH and E2 levels this week. Will post my results when I get them before starting any dose lol.

I’ll try to contact admin regarding the website, thanks

I wouldn't bother with LH and FSH at this stage, that would be more along the lines of causation of low testosterone/fertility when much older, also HCG will cover LH whilst on course by improving ITT, Cystatin C would be better for kidney function, and Lipogram and CRP, baseline TSH and T4, and HB1Ac, but i would be able to interperet all of that as well as get the blood form too you. get free test and SHBG

Thanks Empire!

Will attempt to get these tests done this week. Will update this thread with the results.

Empire, if I may ask... Are you and your clients using UPA. With all that is happening with the raws coming from China and the crackdown, are they still properly dosed in your experience? I know that its mainly affecting Mast and Primo at the moment, so Test, Deca and EQ should still be fine. Just wanted to see if you have noticed anything or are still happy with what we are getting here in SA.

Thanks

wowwww took me a while to update this thread, apologies for that guys, I was going overseas for masters.

@Empire, I promise I'll get the tests you recommended done within the next 2 weeks. Im so sorry for the late response🙏🏽

Update: i managed to get the following tests done. dumb chatgpt says my free testo is low compared to other people my age but idk, yall are the experts. please advise 🙏🏽

Total Testosterone: 12.2 nmol/L
Free Testosterone: 225.4 pmol/L
SHBG: 31 nmol/L
DHEAS: 2.9 µmol/L
Estradiol E2: 85 pmol/L

You would be correct

thanks bro. would your earlier recommendation of test cyp fix this? or do you need some other tests/measurements to confirm?