\*\*yes I know I have a bad farmers tan 😭\*\*

M36. Current weight is 165. I’m 5’8”. The first few pics are what I look like as of this morning. The last pic was my starting point from last July (sorry for the jump scare on that lol).

so one year ago, I had really let myself go and weighed 230 as you can see in the last pic. Decided it was time to get my health in check and whip myself into shape.

the first handful of months I was simply trying to lose weight and not build muscle. I was in a major caloric deficit (like 1200-1500 calories a day) and killing myself with cardio. I lost a TON of weight fairly quickly but by january of this year, I just looked very weak and skinny fat.

So in January, I’ve been hitting the weights as my main workout, and have slowed down on the cardio (I pretty much just walk now).

I added a lot of muscle in the first few months of 2026 but I feel like progress is starting to stall. I see a personal trainer two times a week and he said I have not really gained any muscle in the last two months. This concerns me.

And he’s right. I look at pics of myself from two months ago and I basically look the exact same. In fact, I’ve actually lost even more weight in the last couple months (i weighed like low 170s a couple months ago, now I’m at 165).

My goal? I want muscle. I want to eventually look absolutely jacked. Yes I know it takes time. I am committed! But the fact I look the same as I did two months ago is very concerning to me.

I am also not sure if I should bulk or continue to cut. I used to be obese so the idea of bulking and gaining weight again scares me. And now even though I have lost weight, I still think I have a lot of lingering fat on me. It’s deceiving because when I have clothes on, I look very lean. But shirtless you can see the lingering fat.

My trainer thinks I have gotten lean enough and it’s time to bulk. He says I am not eating enough to put on the amount of muscle I desire. I only see him twice a week so there’s only so much he can do.

im currently on a PPL split. I lift 5x a week. yes every set till failure. Yes, I am progressively overloading. Cardio is Mainly just incline walking on the treadmill. I aim for 10k steps a day in general too but it doesn’t always happen. Sometimes I land in the 8k range.

diet wise- I am consuming about 2500 calories a day. I am hitting protein goals consistently (1 g per pound of body weight). Usually consume over 170+ g of protein daily. I eat clean 99% of time. Lots of chicken, fruits, veggies, ground beef, turkey, oatmeal, whey protein shakes. I am also taking daily creatine.

my trainer thinks I need to add more carbs in my diet and he also suggested it’s time to go on a bulk and increase my calories, and add like 300+ calories to my daily diet. As a former obese guy, this makes me nervous.

what do you guys think? Listen to trainer and bulk up and increase daily calories, or keep cutting? Am I even lean enough to start bulking? 

In any case, I am not happy with my current physique and am frustrated progress has stalled. I thought I was doing things right so I’m just so frustrated.

sorry for the novel. Thanks for reading if you read all that lol

Help me guys! Should I bulk or cut? Lost 60 pounds in the last year, trying to get jacked, but progress has stalled. My trainer thinks I need to go on a bulk but I’m not sure.