@Getdown well.. you might not fall into the newbie category anymore.. which means your best bet will be to go into a slight deficit to lose weight first. Do you have an idea of what your bodyfat % is though? Maybe post a picture so we can guesstimate for you? If you're skinny fat there might actually not be any point in cutting yet.

Also, did you go to the @mealplan page to get some more numbers? Or is that where you got those original numbers?

I would think I'm about 20% BF. Have a handful of fat around belly button and sides, but a flat stomach. I just worked out my Marco consumption myself. To be honest I don't under stand the calculator bit on protein/fat

Thanks

@Getdown at 20% bodyfat, I'd suggest cutting down a bit first before you go back into a surplus then.

It's pretty straightforward with the protein and fat. If you're cutting, it tends to help if you go a bit lower on your carb consumption. Typically I'd suggest at least 1.2g-1.5g protein per pound of lean body weight, and then you would also go on the higher end of fat intake per gram using the calculator too (in this case 0.55). That would allow you to drop carbs down quite a bit.

Those are just starting numbers too. So if you do the calculations with protein and fat on the higher end of the scale, but your carbs are still a little too high, you can simply increase both protein and/or fat in order to keep reducing carbs. I would input the numbers to take a look myself, but you haven't updated your profile with any info yet! haha.

@Scott_Herman. 5 months later and i've gained a good amount of lean muscle. I want to get shredded but i'm not sure if it's the time yet. What do you think? (I recently done a mini cut before summer of about 3 weeks). I'm also open to any critism, anywhere I should focus on developing?

Great work Arnold, you have gained some good size bro! You can still see your abs and your arms have good definition, so I don't think you need to cut yet.. plus you're only 18. Hormones are still probably peaking or getting close to it, so I would make the most of this time to stay in that lean mass phase. If you keep going like you are, you won't gain much fat! 💪 

Thanks Scott! Will do that so. Appreciate it :)

No problem man. Got to make the most of your opportunities to gain when you are young! And you're not obese or close to it so no need to cut. Build that muscle! 💪 

2 years after my original post and I just wanted to post this update. From 168lbs I got to 200lbs and added just a little fat. I have since begun a cut from 1st of January 2020, It's week 7 of my 12 week cut and here are some recent photos.

Looking back at now i'm so happy with the progress I have made (not even close to where I want my physique to be) and I would like to thank all of you who posted here and in particular Scott who has been a great role model all these years! 

After educating myself and going through trial and error with my body and a few clients I decided to start a youtube channel and help as many people get into the gym and fitness or even help intermediates take their physique to the next level by providing them with knowledge NOT BULLSHIT! #staynatty #nattygains #keepbreakingthenattylimit

@xarnoldasx You've made so many awesome gains Arnold! I'm proud of you man, you're looking awesome!

This is just the beginning man, keep grinding and keep hitting it HAHHHD!

@Scott_Herman Appreciate it man! Keep making those awesome videos. I love that you're helping others in the gym like Tariq! You're a legend.

Oh yeah I realized I need to make good thumbnails for my youtube videos to stand out and get clicks, What do you use to make your thumbnails? Adobe Photoshop? or something else?

@xarnoldasx Yeah man if you want a high quality editor for your thumbnails, that's a good option. Though if you don't want to pay for photoshop yet there are probably other options you could try to see if they work well enough for what you want in the meantime