How I’m getting leaner than ever (my diet + training)

Summary

0:00 — Starting Point and First Weeks

Matteo Marra describes the first four weeks of a planned 30-week cut ahead of his first natural bodybuilding competition. He began on October 5 at 173 lb, already lean enough to have visible abs.

His first week coincided with Canadian Thanksgiving and a family trip involving plenty of food. He says he generally stayed on plan by choosing lighter meals, tracking portions, and finding gyms while travelling. By October 12, he weighed 171 lb. In week two, he reached a low of 167.8 lb, despite two higher-calorie weekend days.

His weight loss slowed in week three. He lost 0.7 lb after adding high-fibre cereal to help with digestion, then lost another 1.1 lb by the end of week four. He says he is averaging about 2,300 calories a day and is deliberately avoiding an overly aggressive deficit because many weeks of dieting remain.

1:34 — Weigh-Ins and Nutrition

Marra eats four meals a day, aiming for about 170–180 g of protein and 50 g of fat daily, with the remaining calories coming from carbohydrates. He follows lower-calorie weekdays and higher-calorie weekends.

Travel, celebrations, and family meals have created occasional challenges, but he says he has generally stayed on schedule. He reports feeling energetic and not especially hungry, though dieting has made his digestion less consistent and his sleep somewhat shorter.

4:39 — Training and Keeping Muscle

Marra lifts five days a week and says his performance has remained stable or improved, with personal records in several workouts. He credits his moderate calorie deficit and carbohydrates during training—such as juice or a sweetened drink—with helping him maintain gym performance. His focus is on retaining muscle while losing fat, rather than dropping weight rapidly.

His workouts prioritize his chest, shoulders, and arms, while also giving extra attention to his middle delts, biceps, and lats. He reports progress on curls, presses, deadlifts, and rows. For example, he incline benched 225 lb for 13 reps, up from 11–12 reps at a heavier body weight.

Lower-body sessions are more tiring than before, but he says recovery remains manageable. His coach has prepared a new 12-week training block with a few exercise changes.

12:49 — Posing Practice

Since starting the diet, Marra has practised bodybuilding poses for 10 minutes, six days a week. He finds holding the poses physically demanding and says he often sweats through the session.

After focusing on relaxed front, side, and back poses during the first month, he plans to add classic poses such as front and back double biceps, side chest, and side triceps.

14:42 — Steps, Cardio, and Lifestyle

Marra’s step goal is 8,000 a day, though he usually reaches around 10,000 through dog walks and short breaks outside. He is not currently adding formal cardio or increasing his step target, since his weight is falling and his training, energy, and sleep are broadly going well.

He mentions trips and events as minor disruptions and notes that dieting has sometimes led him to wake earlier than usual.

16:17 — Effects Beyond the Physique

Marra says contest preparation has given him a motivating personal challenge and helped bring structure to his days. He describes feeling grateful for his work and community, and says that focusing on the goal has positively affected his sense of balance and daily habits.

17:54 — Changes After Four Weeks

Although he has lost only a few pounds over the month, Marra sees more definition in his abs, shoulders, arms, legs, and glutes, along with new veins and clearer muscle separation. He says gym-goers have begun approaching him to compliment his physique and ask for advice.

His coach has cautioned him not to expect dramatic changes every week, since water retention and slower periods can affect the scale and appearance.

19:34 — Next Steps

Marra and his coach plan to monitor his training, recovery, sleep, and rate of weight loss, aiming not to exceed an average of 1.5 lb per week. For now, they are making no major changes and will adjust the plan if needed. Marra says he intends to share further updates as the diet continues.

Presenter and sources: Matteo Marra (presenter); his coach, Dirk, is mentioned in connection with training guidance.