Cut time frame

ambsnic17

What is the recommended time of cutting, 3 months? Then you eat at tdee for how long before cutting again?

jerilynconn

There are a few options. I'm doing 8 week cuts (during my endurance and hypertrophy lifting phases) followed by 4 weeks at maintenance (strength phase).

ambsnic17

Ok that's good to know.

ambsnic17

I have been cutting since beginning of February. However I have had a lot of days where I have eaten at tdee too, lol. Here is my plan of attack. Please give me feedback. I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not!

Continue at cut til april 9. Week of April 10th eat at tdee. Following week cut, week of April 23rd eat at tdee. Then cut for month of May. Eat at tdee for vacation in June (about a week or two) then cut.
(I chose those weeks in April to eat at tdee b/c we have lots of April birthdays in our family and parties will be happening then)

Is that too much jumping around?? Is it a good thing for my body to do that?

jerilynconn

I'm not sure. I usually just read about people cutting for at least a month. What if you ate April at tdee and do a strength phase. Then cut may- June (or July) with vacation being a tdee break?

ambsnic17

I have two more weeks in the strength program I'm doing. I will have to find another one if I end up doing that. I've heard it's good to keep your body "guessing" so it's not becoming accustomed to what you are doing and plateau?? I'm still learning all this so I'm searching for advice/suggestions. Haha I'm not sure what to do. I'll hopefully have some others chime in here and do some more research. Thanks!!! :-)

jerilynconn

Right, mix it up. I like doing low rep high weight during tdee because I can lift more and go for personal bests.

3furballs

I have read before about having a high calorie day in amongst the low cal days. Haven't read any recent research though.

ambsnic17

@saranharm I did find a couple programs I could do. I was searching yesterday. I only have Dumbbells up to 20# soooo...
I'm such a weakling, it's quite pathetic really. I found some 25# online for sale but didn't work out :-( I'll have to look at calendar again to make a more concrete plan. I've been slacking food wise lately, pretty much eating at tdee anyway (supposed to be my cut) so i have messed up there!! Ugh!

ambsnic17

@3furballs I've certainly had my share of high calorie days lately. Lol I think my body is needing more. So eating at tdee sooner than later may be my plan. Also, TOM and that always messes with my cut! I eat until I'm satisfied and normally after TOM is over I lose a little.

I feel like Dumbbells right now is not enough for me to see change and I think that's part of my frustration. I never measure accurately and in my pics i can't see a difference. Just get kinda bummed some days. Oh well, life goes on!! :-)

Jennifer_Lynn_1982

I hear you about being frustrated @ambsnic17 - after cutting for a few weeks in March I lost focus and probably ate at TDEE or just above. Frustrating but I'm back at it this week and have felt so much better and more balanced!

For weight training, I too used to work out with dumbbells and found I was limited once I got up to the 30s that were in my complex's gym so I had to start going back to an actual gym to get the better equipment. One day I will have a home gym but for now, I love it. Using barbells make you feel so strong! plus the lifting options are so much more with squats and deadlifts I find then when I used dumbbells.

If you're struggling a bit and with TOM, maybe eat at maintenance for a few weeks or all of April and focus on your training and then consider a cut in May. Just a thought to allow your body to recover.

Let us know what you decide

heybales

Your body isn't that easily confused. Nor does it need to be.

Those ideas of muscle confusion come either from pure advertisements - the same ones that say you enter starvation mode by skipping a meal, and eating 1200 calories over 6 meals daily, ect, ect bull.

The point to changing it up in general is if your workout is the type that either starts out with complex moves and inefficiency of movement learning them - and then you get more efficient - but can't increase the intensity or effort to compensate. Think Zumba or many of the video programs that are the same movement tied to music basis. You can only move so fast, eventually you'll be moving less weight around with more efficiency and can't increase the level of effort.
Then you'll be burning less calories and making no more improvement.

But for a whole bunch more types of workouts - you merely increase the weight or the pace or intensity or effort in some way. No need for totally changing it up - which in actuality is ruining any good adaptations you received from the workout to get to that point. In which case worst idea ever.

For eating levels, besides - when you think about it - eating at average weekly TDEE has each day at literally varying amounts of deficit.
Depending on workout schedule, you could have rest days with no real deficit, and big calorie burn days with the most deficit.
That's why that system can work so well.

If workout schedule doesn't cause that to literally happen, that's when the TDEE reset or refeed weeks are useful.

Depending on your goals for strength training, some swaps of reps/sets/volume can be useful, actually it's been found merely keeping a range that's done all the time is useful for general. Again you swap it up in that case by actually progressing and adding weight.
Which could require a reset week or two to accomplish.
The plateau is in the progress in the workout while in a deficit - and doesn't require losing your progress by totally changing to something else.

If you think at any time you might have room and desire for home gym, I'd suggest not pricing individual dumbbells, but rather some olympic dumbbell bars/springs which weigh 13-15 lbs.
Then 4 x 2.5 lb plates, and 4 x 5 lb plates. (our local Dick's Sporting Goods has best prices and nice ones with handles like kettle balls).
That instantly gets you 15 to 30 lbs.
Then when the time comes, some 4 x 10 plates for 35 to 50 lbs.
That's 100 lbs combined weight, that should last awhile.
At that point, a 6 or 7 ft olympic bar adds 15 or 30 lbs in total.
So probably good for awhile until needing 2 x 25 lb plates, or another set of 4 x 10 lbs if dumbbells still being used.

Just some thoughts. Because the premise of EM2WL or any reasonable weight loss method is not immune to the same fallacies that plague the dieting world in general.

I think your schedule looks pretty good, and that's a great way to fit a cycle method in to what times you know would be hard to have a cut during.
No different than actual body builders prepping for a show with specific dates, or power lifters for a competition.
Times matter, and best to be planned if needed.

ambsnic17

@heybales I would love to eventually have my own gym, but right now I am actually struggling with using my 20# DB in certain exercises. Maybe shortening reps is what I need to do. As I said previously, I'm a weakling! Lol I will have to keep my eye out for a bar. I could use that for a while before getting any plates if it weighs 30#. Thanks for the input. For my birthday and other special occasions I'm asking for money so I can buy these things. Birthday and Mother's Day are coming :-)

ambsnic17

Which is best an Olympic bar or curling bar? What's the difference?

heybales

Olympic bar is straight and 2" diameter for taking the nicer taller plates and longer options, 5, 6, 7 ft.
You can curl with them, but if elbows are messed up and sensitive may not find a good hand placement to alleviate soreness.

Curling bar can be olympic sized with 2" or standard 1" - it has curves in it only good for curls and some tricep moves, perhaps upright row. Couldn't squat with it, and deadlift would be iffy on form, as well as other things, and much shorter.

So really those 2 don't go together in an either/or choice.

Straight bar more usage available with it, Olympic sized better quality/options - at a price.

ambsnic17

Awesome! That certainly helps, thanks. Hoping I can get one for my birthday!! :-)

ambsnic17

My plan is to eat at tdee this week. Then the following week cut. I return to work the end of April from an extended maternity leave. Pretty sure the eating part will be easier b/c of packing my lunch, however I'm worried about fitting in my exercise. I struggled with that before. Hoping cutting will be a little easier after taking a little break. We shall see!!

heybales

Just remember to adjust the eating as the workouts pan out for planned or not.

Easiest way is if you miss a planned workout that formed the calculation for your TDEE - cut 100 calories that day.
If you make it up another day, add 100 back.

This works short time, obviously if you miss an entire week or do this week after week, missing say 500 calories worth of workout but only eating 100 less to compensate - you won't be eating less in deficit.

But a week or two it's good adjustment.

ambsnic17

Thanks for the tip @heybales. I will certainly keep that in mind going into everything. :-)

ambsnic17

Feeling a bit fluffy from eating at tdee this past week. I can honestly say I'm looking forward to cutting this week again!! :-)

ambsnic17

So an overdue update...returned back to work the end of April from being a SAHM for a year(after having baby #2). I was eating 1800 before going back to work and continued when I returned. Not really loosing consistently when SAHM though. However, when I started back, the weight starting dropping consistently every week/every other week. So a couple things that are going on in my head:

A. I've figured out my activity level and calories enough to lose 1 lb per week. (Only during the school months though)

B. I need to tweek for summer months b/c I'm not loosing on the same amount of calories with a different activity level, obviously!!

C. was the loss just from a change in my routine? (Not as active to active)

D. How do I know how to figure out "B!"


"A" happened by accident. I didn't know what I was doing. I mean, I thought I did. Lol

So I will see what happens when I return back to work in 4 weeks if my "theory" is right. As of now, I guess I'll continue trying to figure out what the heck to do for 3 months out of the year!!