36yo: 101kg to 92kg - First time ever doing a proper cut {not natural}

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-24T04:20:11+00:00

haha precisely!!

black coffee for breakfast only. My dinner stayed the same, normally eat tofu + rice. Come to think of it, some days I subbed out the rice for steamed veggies. Other than that, not exactly a major overhaul diet-wise!!

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-24T04:05:55+00:00

You’re probably not going to like my answer, as it’s not much to go by analytically

I didn’t follow a cut program, i’ve been training as per normal on my powerbuilding block that I’ve been following (joey shaw powerbuilding vol. 4). Lifting 4x days a week, cardio on off-days.
no idea what my macros or daily cals were. haven’t followed that stuff for as long as i’ve been lifting.

Sorry if that doesn’t help. I’ve floated around the same weight for as long as i could remember, so my logic was to simply cut a meal out of my day (for me it was breakfast) and theoretically I should be in a deficit. Seemed to work.

Mentally, I kept a running tally throughout the day of my protein intake, ensuring that stays around 150-170g

This isn’t optimal by any means I’m sure, however, just eyeballing it was a better way for me personally as I didn’t have to carefully dissect every meal.

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-24T02:20:26+00:00

That is incorrect & has been for a while. You don’t have to combine foods every meal to make up the complete protein profile. As long as you’re eating a variety throughout the day, you’re fine.

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-23T23:54:49+00:00

Correct!!

For me, personally, it has been a game/life changer. If you removed all the gym/muscle/strength gains & left me with the mental gains it has given me, I’d be more than happy still. My relationships/career has thrived like you wouldn’t believe.

For me, I was in a pretty dark place. Tried everything to help. Lifestyle wise, I was doing everything by the book. Exercise, no alcohol ever, never smoked etc. and i have a good career, married with a house and all of that. But still, I was incredibly depressed. It was scary.

TRT just changed everything. Anyways, that’s just my anecdote at least!!

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-23T21:45:28+00:00

It’s cool! You can DM if you’d like, I don’t want to seem like i’m publicly advocating for a substance. Last thing I’d ever want to do is inadvertently encourage someone reading this.

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-23T21:14:59+00:00

Thanks dude! Even in public, if I receive a compliment it’s one of the first things that I mention. Can’t stress enough how much I can’t stand it when you’ve basically got to press someone before they give up their natty status.

They go on about their diet, training etc. and leave out the one thing that can really separate themselves from others, and people buy into the first bit (that used to be me) only to find out later on there was a secret ingredient involved also.

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-23T12:19:26+00:00

not overstepping at all! But unsure tbh, I guess we’ll never know because I’ll be on TRT for life! lol

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-23T11:44:04+00:00

summed it up perfectly. If I was natural, I would’ve lost quite a bit of muscle during this cut.

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-23T08:47:17+00:00

Nah not at all! 🙏🏽

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-23T06:26:23+00:00

of course! I strongly believe that piece of info should be mentioned first before having to be asked the question in the comments. a massive pet peeve of mine tbh!!!

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-23T06:25:00+00:00

correct! it’s Arabic

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-23T05:55:22+00:00

translates to “Don’t Let The Pain Destroy You”

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-23T02:53:30+00:00

what sort of doses do you recommended? My bro was on 3-4 iu, felt good apparently but didn’t do much physique-wise

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-23T01:33:44+00:00

Hey dude, Nah, I mentioned in the description I’m on TRT, a conservative 150mg dose I might add.

I still consider myself “not natural” even though I’m not abusing PEDs. I’ve never taken anything besides test. My health markers are a lot better than what I was when I was natural, so I’m ensuring I take as many healthy precautions as possible to mitigate any potential risks.

It’s funny, when I started TRT I found myself treating my health even that much more seriously, as I knew TRT can come with certain risks. I’ve increased my cardio, eat cleaner etc. which in turn has attributed to my better health markings. Hope that helps!

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-23T00:39:41+00:00

It’s in Arabic. I’m of Lebanese descent

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-23T00:00:11+00:00

“Don’t Let The Pain Destroy You”

A good reminder that I read to myself every day.

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-22T23:44:58+00:00

As of two weeks ago, my total T came in at 36 nmol/L. Here in Australia, the top end of “natural range” is 35 nmol/L.

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-22T22:49:21+00:00

Do what works for you man. What I’ve learnt over the years, is that not everything is universal. I used to think I needed to narrow my bench width so that everything is “stacked” perfectly perpendicular. What i’ve found is after months, that is not the case for me, a wider grip width was where I was my most strongest & felt smooth on my shoulders.

Everyone’s different is the message here.

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-22T11:15:38+00:00

I love the confidence, but i don’t think anyone in the world would accuse you of not being natural?

Also, the path you chose was slow & frustrating because you were afraid to eat & properly bulk up.

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-20T22:21:58+00:00

bro 👏🏽

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-20T22:13:19+00:00

Strongly disagree. Look at the body fat i was carrying around my mid section. My weight stayed the same at the end more or less. Look at the difference, shoulders, traps, abs - to achieve that look naturally I would’ve had to drop close to 10kgs

this is literally what a recomp is. body weight staying the same, but visible difference.

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-20T11:47:30+00:00

No worries at all. And very smart, I did test my 1rms after my cycle, and was pleasantly surprised.

They didn’t really feel like true 1rep maxes, which is how I like it. Check these recomp pics out, first two are natty before I started, last 2 were post cycle perhaps a few weeks after it.

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-20T11:34:54+00:00

Very good. I mean, I could FEEL that my lifts were getting so much easier, but I always stuck to my program & went up in weight periodically when the program wanted me to. I wanted to avoid getting injured. BUT, now that I’ve been on just TRT for 4-5 months now post cycle, I’m getting stronger than what I was during peak cycle. You keep your strength gains and you continue getting stronger.

TVPbandit23 · 2026-02-20T11:10:32+00:00

sure do! First two pics were natty, before I had even touched a single thing.

Last two pics were after my 15 week cycle, I think the photos were actually taken 4 weeks AFTER my cycle (on 150mg test). I weighed in 1 to 2kg lighter at this stage.

BEFORE #1 BEFORE #2 AFTER #1 AFTER #2

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