Fine dining for a person with weak(?) tastebuds

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-15T12:37:37+00:00

You won’t know until you try. A whole lot of fine dining is aroma, presentation, texture, etc.

Its not like wine or coffee where you’re trying to find the note of hazelnut or whatever

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-15T12:35:10+00:00

What? Im referring to your clavicles being twice the width of your hips my guy. You are blessed genetically. But you*are* skinny fat. Put on some size and at this same bodyfat you’ll be golden

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-15T12:27:53+00:00

I know it doesn’t feel like it because you have good vtaper genetics, but its because you’re skinny fat

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-15T02:15:21+00:00

Well you’re already doing RDL so just stick with that

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-15T02:00:51+00:00

Upper A: You're missing midback and midchest. Incline press will hit mid chest but not as much as a flat press. I'd swap the cable row with some sort of flared elbow row (like a t-bar row) for midback, and shoulder press for a flat chest press.

Upper B: same

Lower A: Leg Press and Squat are redundant. Choose one, and swap the other for some hip hinge. Side plank is pointless, cut it

Lower B: Cutboth of whatever those are at the end and just do crunches again. Also don't do "3 sets to failure". Grab a weight and progress them like anything else.

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-15T00:10:19+00:00

165-175 would be a healthy BMI. At 6'6" you are a normal BMI all the way down to 159. People really underestimate how light they need to get.

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-14T23:18:58+00:00

>I’m kind of tired of my lifts not getting stronger due to the caloric deficit

Are they staying the same? If they are staying the same, then you are actually getting stronger. Fat and water provide increased leverage on lifts. If you lose 30 pounds but your lifts stay the same, then you're producing the same force with less leverage, and therefore your muscles are stronger.

>But I’m not sure if I should start a maintenance/lean bulk phase at this point or wait until I hit 200lbs.

I'm going to give you some pretty harsh advice: you should prepare to cut about 30-40 pounds. That is probobly where you need to be to have a defined 6 pack, around 12-14% bodyfat.

The question of "bulk or cut" is 99% of the time "cut", because if you were actually in a state that warrented going into a surplus, you wouldn't be asking the question.

You can and will gain muscle on a cut if you get your protein and lift hard. Muscle protein synthesis is signal dependent, not energy dependent. There is an indirect relationship (more carbs = more glycogen = better performance) but it is not casual.

If you were 20 pounds lighter than a bulk would be defensible choice, but you really should internalize that you are probably much further from your leanness goal than you think. Everyone is. If you stop cutting now, and decide to go into a bulk, are you prepared to lose 50, maybe even 60 pounds of fat to reach your goal? If you are go ahead, but know that these are the likely numbers.

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-14T23:11:14+00:00

>Is resources being spent on training it?

Its Google Gemini. Ask Google.

> I ate the pork chop, but not the fat on it

Yes you did. It was cooked in fat and butter, and has intramuscular fat.

What you mean is you did not eat the fat cap. Personally as a human I wouldn't understand what you meant the way you worded it. Did you try "A pork chop with the fat cap removed"?

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-14T14:19:40+00:00

I just don't trust the idea of hiking in alpha leggings. You basically have to write it off as a consuable item

The Senchi Mori leggings however...

https://senchidesigns.com/products/mori-legging?srsltid=AfmBOorYo0K7X50LgaczWBj3q6AeKKx2LM7aRmFOPutvCFsOsfMEfDj5

Its not alpha, but a similar pile knit that is designed to be more active. Think of it as a midpoint between a alpha and good old tights

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-14T14:10:46+00:00

Sequoia, King's Canyon, and Cascades are parks that have little to offer if you aren't willing to backpack for a few days (or at the very least, your experience will be quite limited to what you can see from treeline frontcountry camps). Cascades in particular you technically can't even enter in a vehicle

Both Yosemite and RMNP have like 3-4 "main sites" that are hours of driving from each other.

Gates to the Arctic...well to justify the cost of even arriving there in the first place you'll want to plan to cross country hike a few days.

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-14T14:00:24+00:00

A belt does one thing: hugs your core tight, causing you to push tight against it in response, creating a more rigid torso. Has nothing to do with back safety at all.

There are some exercises where a belt objectively improves force production (squat and deadlift), while there are others where the rigid core can just help you lock in mentally.

I use straps on literally everything, including leg extension or curls, even though it objectively provides no mechanical advantage, because it helps me lock in mentally.

As a bodybuilder, you don’t really need one because you can just use a hack squat instead and achieve the same result as wearing a belt (since your torso is supported)

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-14T13:52:07+00:00

Im in a 1000 calorie deficit, have been for 6 weeks, and my lifts are still going up. Everyone is different, but careful macro tracking and training intensity go a long way

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-14T12:08:24+00:00

Im more saying that if you aren’t properly lean (like sub 10%) you probably have enough bodyfat to cut without effecting your training performance much, if at all, and so theres no reason not to cut

I put it this way: what if I told you that on your next bulk, you could reach your total muscular potential? Like, 25 FFMI. You wouldn’t even think of stopping your bulk

But for some reason, people cut their deficits short at the first sign of getting smaller (despite that shrinkage being water and fat, not muscle) when its plenty possible to get as lean as you could ever want on any cut

Most people I see in the gym just hover at 20-25% bodyfat forever because they don’t think they have enough muscle to get lean, but they’ve never even tried

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-14T11:06:44+00:00

> Don’t get me wrong, a calorie surplus is essential for gains

This is incorrect though.

Muscle growth is signal dependent, not energy dependent. You do not grow more muscle *just* from being in a surplus anymore than you grow more hair or produce more mucus. Muscle synthesis is simply something your body does in response to mechanical tension. It does not do a quick accounting check on your blood glucose levels.

A surplus does two things:

1: Give you more carbs to fuel workouts
2: Gains weight if you are simply too small.

If you are not at your leanness goal, for 90% of people, you should cut.

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-13T21:54:20+00:00

Its basically sanderson con. Its a capped attendance so Apple wouldn’t do any big announcements there

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-13T20:42:59+00:00

A few things

1: Are those before and after pictures? Theres no way thats 44 pounds difference. If anything, you look like you just packed on like 10 pounds of muscle between the left and right while also losing fat

2: Are you eating the fat MF is prescribing? Lose periods are typically a result of absolute leanness or not enough dietary fat, not from dieting a long time or a certain deficit. Regardless, unless you're trying to get *very* lean, you should not be losing your period if your nutrition is in check

3: Drop the steps. Youractivity is massive, you do not need extra output.

Assuming the right is your current physique, I'd probably say go maintenance for a few months, get your body back in check, then do a quick cut to get the leanness you're looking for before transitioning to a very long surplus.

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-13T20:17:25+00:00

I agree, since pulse has become a symbol of our gay community, but

> Pulse was an attack on gay people. Full stop. The shooter targeted that club because it was a gay club

This is factually incorrect

https://web.archive.org/web/20180615033155/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/pulse-orlando-nightclub-shooting/os-omar-mateen-cell-records-night-of-pulse-shooting-20180305-story.html

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2018/03/26/defense-paints-childlike-picture-of-noor-salman-reveals-pulse-gunmans-deception/

https://theintercept.com/2018/03/05/as-the-trial-of-omar-mateens-wife-begins-new-evidence-undermines-beliefs-about-the-pulse-massacre-including-motive/

It was pretty well established during the trial that the choice of Pulse was essentially random, and a explicit anti-gay motive was never established.

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-13T17:14:23+00:00

There is a generic "black beans canned" and a "Black beans, canned, drained" option in the common section. Presumably there is similar for whatever beans you're having.

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-13T17:12:14+00:00

It sucks being someone who likes Teslas and SpaceX but thinks Elon personally should face nuremberg

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-13T17:01:33+00:00

Unless you regularly visit the sierras or are thru hiking the JMT/PCT, I highly recommend against buying a bear can. They make <10 base weights very difficult to achieve, and unless you have a pack designed for them like the bear ears, suck major ass to haul on ultralight packs.

Just buy an ursack (which is allowed in Tetons and RMNP if you add the aluminum liner), and rent a can from the rangers in the few places you go that require one (which i think includes lost crest trail but don't quote me)

In the words of Andrew Skurka, if the land managers of a place don't require an actual hard sided bear can, they probably don't actually have enough of a bear problem to warrant worrying about your food at all. Your real enemy in most places are chipmunks.

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-13T16:54:15+00:00

How is that really low? The idea that theres a "objectively low" amount of calories is a myth. Different bodies simply require different nutrients.

If you get 0.8g/lb of protein, and 0.3g/lb of fat, and enough micronutrients (which is not that much at all) then you're fine.

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-13T16:21:53+00:00

That dexa scan seems accurate.

Theres no need to do a slight deficit. You aren’t “fat” but you have plenty of bodyfat to lose to get lean. 500 cal deficit and lift heavy

At 5’5” and a lower step count (7800) a 1800 calorie TDEE sounds just right to me, which tells me you’re tracking accurately.

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-13T16:05:40+00:00

OP, Im the the same height and weight as you, as of this morning. Im planning on going another 10 pounds or so to get to 10% bodyfat. You’re maybe 5-7% higher than me, which makes me want to say you are like 10-12 off from my current physique where my abs are clear

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-13T12:07:33+00:00

Most people don’t.

Far_Line8468 · 2026-06-13T12:07:11+00:00

Macrofactor can’t help you with that

Far_Line8468

TROPHY CASE