cut or gain mass

[cuse kid]

I am 6'1" 192 work out 4-5 times per week. My diet is as follows:

5:30 am 2 eggs 3/4 cup of egg whites 2 slices of ezekiel bread green tea
8:30 am PBJ sandwich (natural P.B. on whole wheat bread)
10:30 am protein shake
12:00 pm chicken with brown rice or whole wheat pasta
2:00 pm cottage cheese 1/2 cup with unsalted walnuts
3:30 pm PBJ sandwich
5:00 pm protein shake
8:00 pm protein shake post-work with gatorade
8:30 pm cottage cheese (1/2 cup with unsalted walnuts) or tuna/chicken salad

Work-out schedule
Monday = off
Tuesday= chest
Wed = off
Thurs = full body (push ups, pull ups, clean & press, etc.)
Friday = Legs
Sat = Back & tri's
Sunday = Shoulders
No cardio

My question is I went from 175 lbs to 196 lbs recently (hdrol cycle). Started my pct and not sure if I should cut or continue to and pack on muscle. When I try and cut I think I get too skinny. Maybe I cut too fast and burn a lot of muscle. I have put on some fat recently around my waist. I know this is to be expected but I not sure if I where to go from here.
My goal is 185 lbs around 10-12% bodyfat.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[JoHNnyNuTZ]

From what ive heard, you want to wait to cut after your pct. You dont want to lose all that hard earned muscle. Just thought id throw this in! And what about just gaining lean. Meaning just raise your calories a little and still eat clean. Just a thought.

[10bathroomsO]

you eat 9 meals a day?

[ShadowFury]

I'm about to hit the sack so I'm not gonna be specific on your diet you posted.

Do you know what your BF is right now? Are you getting nice (muscle) gains? If you're BF is lower than say, 17-18%, I would bulk until you are around that(optional ofcourse, some won't go that high) and then cut. On the issue of cutting too fast... cut your maint cals by 500 or so(no lower) and see how it treats you. If you're losing a lot of muscle/strength, then drop it to 400 or 300 cals off your maint. Feel it out.

EDIT: Also, the main thing... it really comes down to how you wanna look. If you think you're getting tubby, then cut. Bulk after that and just do it cleaner the next time. Much easier to clean bulk and never really have to do a hardcore cut than to bulk/cut/bulk/cut/bulk/cut..

EDIT2: I also assume you are talking about post-PCT. Keep cals up during PCT always, during any cycle.

[bigsexy74]

don't cut during pct, you'll lose your gains.

[HumpTheCook]

don't cut during pct, you'll lose your gains.

dead on. this is most important to time to keep your calories up.

[cuse kid]

Thanks to all for the information. Yes I eat 9 meals per day. I am trying to get more clean bulk so I guess I need to focus on that. Last post cycle theraphy round I cut calories. Big mistake. I went down to 175. I lost all gains. My strength went down fast. I don't want to make the same mistake this time. Overall, I want to keep the strength/muscle I gained but tone out my mid-section. I know you cant spot reduce. Last time I checked my bf was about 18-19% & weighed 193 lbs. I can see my upper abs but lower abs are gone.
Thanks again for the information. I will let keep you posted.

[10bathroomsO]

i would suggest if you wanna cut yet keep your strength to lower your meals to maybe 6 or 7 ( thats alot ) but im not sure how the calorie thing works because i just spend time lifting i only eat 4 times maybe 5 times on work out days
all i know is when i worked in charleston my boss was p90 x fanatic.
he ate like 8 times a day
little snacks here and there
and he thought he was so in shape
but everyone besides him could see his gut and his man boobs.
i imagine that eating that many times a day you should probably work out atleast 3 times a day
because its hard for me to keep my tone and my strength eating 4 times a day and i weigh 190 pounds maybe 188 or 189 depending on the scale
im just saying most of the guys that eat that much dont work enough of it off and they gain maddd weightt in bad places but think that they are so healthy because it feels right.
has your metabolism caught up with this eating habit yet?
i know this is a weird question but you should be having twice the normal amounts of bowel movements per day if your eating that much per day.

[HumpTheCook]

i would suggest if you wanna cut yet keep your strength to lower your meals to maybe 6 or 7 ( thats alot ) but im not sure how the calorie thing works because i just spend time lifting i only eat 4 times maybe 5 times on work out days
all i know is when i worked in charleston my boss was p90 x fanatic.
he ate like 8 times a day
little snacks here and there
and he thought he was so in shape
but everyone besides him could see his gut and his man boobs.
i imagine that eating that many times a day you should probably work out atleast 3 times a day
because its hard for me to keep my tone and my strength eating 4 times a day and i weigh 190 pounds maybe 188 or 189 depending on the scale
im just saying most of the guys that eat that much dont work enough of it off and they gain maddd weightt in bad places but think that they are so healthy because it feels right.
has your metabolism caught up with this eating habit yet?
i know this is a weird question but you should be having twice the normal amounts of bowel movements per day if your eating that much per day.

this is quite off base. eating more frequntly with very small meals like you are doing is much more effective. several of your "meals" are just a protein shake which is prob only 100 calories. your diet isnt perfect put its pretty good bro.

[10bathroomsO]

im just saying you can follow a diet plan that works for some people or you can do what your body tells you, if your not satisfied with the way your body looks then its up to you a little bit of change can go a long way

[cuse kid]

I am in my late 30's. My metabolism is pretty fast I guess it always has been. No man boobs. The only place I that I would like to cut/see more is the lower abs. I would like to keep the muscle & strength I have gained. When I started the last Hdrol cycle I was 175, 32" waist pants. I felt I was too thin. The goal of this cycle was to put on as much mucle as possible so I was taking a mass protein shake to help me. I have stopped taking my mass gainer and went back to just whey protein. Gaining mass/muscle has always been difficult for me. I want to be shredded and have some mass. I will try to post some pics this weekend for feedback. Also, I will tweak my diet a little so any feedback/ideas on diet would be great.

[cuse kid]

With regards to the bowel movements, they seem to be a little more frequent but this has been my diet for some time now. I need to change/tweak it I guess to get the results I am looking for. Any ideas on the diet??? Thanks

[10bathroomsO]

yeah bc what some people dont understand is just because increasing your diet and caloric intake drastically may have worked for them, it will treat others diffrently.
i jumped into 8 meals a day when i was 18, from taking in 3 meals a day normally. i gained strength right off the rip no problem but slowly i gained more fat than muscle and then it just piled on towards the end. i think you should gradually work up to this type of eating plan. pros claim to eat that much a day ( but pros are also 250 to 300 pounds and cut, these guys look good on off seasons ) alot of people dont understand that they need to work towards these things slowly not dive in. if its working for you then good congrats i give you mad props. but it did not work for me nor 3 other people i know personally.