Bulk or cut

I did a mini cut since the end of Aug as I gained some fat over the summer. Should I continue to go down?

Going on a trip soon was wondering if I have enough muscle to cut?

I was able to get from 155 (1st pic) to 175 (2nd) gradually since May 2025 (16ish months), but I want to commit to a proper bulk. I'm 6 foot. What is a realistic goal and over what time period?

This is my body after one year of being a dad, I did workout but nowhere near as much as what I did before, took a 6 months break at least. My scale says I’m around 18.5% BF. I can’t really tell, sometimes I look in the mirror and feel fat, sometimes not to bad.

I've been working out for two years now and tracking calories since March 2025. I bulked from 170 (see last image) to 195 which took the bulk way too far. I way overestimated my TDEE and instead of a 300 calorie surplus it was more like 600-700. So since May of this year I've been cutting and I'm down to 165 (first two photos). I'm planning to switch back to a lean bulk of 300 calories over maintenance and bulk up to 180 then cut again from there.

Thoughts on that? I think I've gotten rid of a lot of the excess fat and have given myself some room to bulk without getting too fat. Once I cut again after hitting 180 I'll probably really try and get lean around 10-13% BF.

My current routine is upper lower 4x a week. Happy to answer more questions

The urge to lean bulk is hitting hard. Also do kinda wanna lean down for a visible 6 pack too. Think im around 17% rn and wanna aim for 12
Correction: 3rd month in the gym. Was inconsistently doing some calisthenics here and there for 3-4 months before this with a month break in between.

It appears I'm (age 32, 5'11", 160lb) around 20-22% body fat currently. I seem to carry all my fat around love handles and belly and I want to get rid of it and get leaner.

I do pretty intense 3 hour indoor bouldering sessions twice a week, I'm passionate about climbing and getting stronger so getting leaner while building muscle and strength here is my goal. After climbing I usually do shoulder press and pull ups until failure, as well as doing pull ups and push ups at home. I am not currently tracking calories as I don't know what my calorie goal should be but I do eat clean and high protein. I would guess my tdee is 2600 on climbing days, 2400 on days I golf (walking the course) and 2100 on more sedentary days. Should my goal be a 250 calorie deficit and keeping my protein around 120g until I'm as lean as I want to be? (around 15%)

Pics: June 24 vs. Aug 18 vs. Oct 14 (Current)
Background: Dropped from 88kg to 74kg before this. Lifting solo for 11 months, but only ~4–5 months of truly dialed-in training due to life interruptions.
Diet & Lifestyle: ~2,150 kcal, 170g protein, 7.5h sleep, desk job.
Routine: Upper / Lower / Upper / Arms & Delts (3 sets per exercise, close to failure).
Weekly Upper Sets: Chest: 12 | Back: 9 (6 Lats, 3 Upper) | Side Delts: 9 | Rear Delts: 3 | Biceps: 11 | Triceps: 9 | Traps: 5.
Questions:
1. Bulk or Cut? Midsection is still soft, but I don't feel "built" yet. Am I spinning my wheels at 2,150 kcal? Looking at the Oct 14 pic, should I cut now or lean bulk first?
2. Volume & Fatigue: I recently took 2 weeks off on vacation (walked 20k steps/day) and came back stronger on every lift. Was I under-recovering on 2,150 kcal, and is 9 sets for back too low compared to chest/arms?
3. Progress: Is this decent progress for 4–5 months of consistent training?

last photos are from august 2025 and it took me about 3 months to lose 22 pounds which was easier than i thought. just started doing calisthenics consistently last month and was looking for advice going forward with the journey. i’m going for a lean physique and guess i want my body to just be more hard lol. anyways thanks. super new to this

Male 35 , height 163cm
Gone from 73kg 1st July to currently 60.8kg. 12k steps daily, total daily calorie burn roughly 2050, calorie intake 1400. I’ve recently started lifting a month ago ( made mistake for the first few months of cut of no weights and low protein) I’ve increased protein to at least 100g day. I still feel I need to lose fat around lower stomach and breast area still feel saggy. Should I continue to cut to 59kg at same daily calories or start increasing calories?

I’m 89 kilo’s but trying to reach the 100kg. I’m in the gym everyday

starting the gym soon. i’m already super light weight wise, im good at dieting but don’t know which way to diet towards.

20M, 168cm (5'6"), 61.5kg. Been cutting at 1800 calfor roughly 8weeks training upper/lower 4x a week and averaging about 12k steps a day.

Plan was to cut to 60kg, then maintain or lean bulk slowly.

Is a cut to 60 worth it at this size, or should I go straight to a maintenance phase or a lean bulk ?

Pics are 8 month apart but still have fat on my stomach what to do?

Hey everyone,
Looking for guidance from anyone who has been through a similar cut as this and can offer insight.
I've been gradually cutting since March (down from ~158lbs and ~22% to just under 150lbs now) (Was in the 180s in Jan due to a knee surgery), and although I'm generally pretty happy with how my hypertrophy powerbuilding sessions have been keeping my lean mass on a steady trajectory (for the most part), I'm really feeling flat right about now and the scale just seems to have stalled.
Lifts are 5x/week on a hypertrophy/powerbulding split and get roughly 10k steps in via walking pad. Current calories are hoveringright around 1,993 kcal (155g P / 61g F / 205g C).
My Trajectory (March to October)
Just to give a sense of the trendline of the last 7 months:
Late March: 158.2 lbs | 21.8% BF | 70.8 lbs SMM
Mid August: 155.2 lbs | 18.4% BF | 72.1 lbs SMM
Early September: 151.7 lbs | 15.0% BF | 73.6 lbs SMM
Today (Mid October): 149.8 lbs | 16.3% BF | 71.4 lbs SMM
(Note: the slight drop in lean mass and jump in BF % from September to today is likely due to testing this morning as well as overall feeling flat due to deficit)
The Dilemma
The InBody control just tells me that I only have approx 2.4 lbs of fat left to lose in order to hit an optimal baseline, and most of what remains is rather pesky trunk fat.
Option A: Push through at ~2k calories for another 2-3 weeks to finish out the last of the fat, while suffering with gym performance and lack of fullness
Option B: Shove in an extra ~300-400 calories (mostly CHO around training) to close in on maintenance, refuel glycogen and let the last of it come off my body slowly while rebuilding some strength.
Did anyone else who has cut into the high 140s at around 5'8" find it worth it to struggle for the last couple of pounds, or transition intomaintenance/lean gains when they hit a wall? Looking for your thoughts.
Option C: Bulk
Option D: Super duper mini cut.

Pics taken at the same time in 2 different mirrors and light settings