Unsure how to manage nutrition when returning to the gym

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi Jordan,

I’m not quite sure what to do with regards to my nutrition when gyms reopen here in England in about 2 weeks. I have just cut down from 178lb to 162lb during lockdown and my waist currently sits at 33". I would estimate myself to be ~17-18% body fat, but I still have a bit of visible fat and am undertrained. I just turned 17 years old, 6ft 0inch and have been lifting for around a year prior to lockdown. I am going to start with the beginner template from Phase II onwards as you have previously advised me to do. I want to eventually gain weight to sit at a higher weight class with significantly more LBM, but I’m afraid of getting too fat if I do that now since I am not starting from a particularly lean condition. The other option is to keep cutting until I am ~12% body fat or so with visible abs and hopefully gain some of the muscle that I lost during lockdown while continuing to drop fat; this would set me up well for a long period of steady weight gain afterwards. The third option is to maintain my weight at 162lbs and try to recomp.

I have a few options in front of me and each one seems to have its pros and cons, which option do you think would be best for my long term goals of becoming monstrously jacked and strong? If possible, could you provide me with a bit of a roadmap on what to do over the coming months?

Many thanks,

Arsh

2

I would probably maintain for the first few weeks and see what happens to your waist circumference. If it goes down, I would add some calories to maintain or, perhaps, even slightly increase your weight. I’d just plan on keeping your waist < 34".

3

I have lost weight first, and then have tried to set me up and drink nutritional supplements. It will be difficult to do this during the quarantine period, but it is possible if you create the correct regime for yourself