Anyone cutting after a bulk?
Replies
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Davidsdottir wrote: »Things are going alright over here. I find I am slowly starting to lose my mojo though. It's only been 6.5 weeks, so I really have to buck up and just do it. Maybe it has to do with my goals, or it could be just a rough mental patch. I keep flip flopping between being a bit more aggressive, or sticking with the rate of loss I have now. I am so terrified of losing muscle, but I am starting to get impatient.
I totally get that. I wonder if I'm spinning my wheels by attempting to recomp out of this bulk. I know you know what to do and you're doing an awesome job!
I think you should stick with the recomp! It will be really interesting to see your results, which I think will be pretty fantastic. Not to mention your strength, endurance, energy will be up and you don't have to feel like crapola most of the time like many of us do in a deficit.
No joke. I've not been sleeping particularly well and have had a heck of a time dragging myself out of bed for morning workouts this week and last (it being in the 90s all this week hasn't helped). I'm also starting to feel generally worn down, specifically in my shoulders and where I strained and/or tore my left pec back in the fall. I felt great doing my extra workout Saturday afternoon but I think I should've just kept it in my pants and rested. Similar circumstances were what resulted in opting for the diet break in March, which turned into the flabby bulk from which I'm still cutting down. I know I need to just power through to get to a point where I'm proper lean enough to actually bulk effectively for once. Hard to fully commit to that when the "bro-devil" on my shoulder keeps whispering in my ear that I'm not swole enough.
Believe me I know all those feels all too well. Just keep powering through
@Sardelsa, I imagine you having more of a "booty-devil" sitting on your shoulder feeding you these insecurities. I see "bro-devil" is a cross between Rob Gronkowski and Thor.
@steveko89 exactly!! By the time my cut is done I actually don't look that great but I stick it out for the good of the bulk. My favourite time is a few weeks into the bulk, very minimal fat gain, muscles all filled up, feeling tight but big. 2 -
Davidsdottir wrote: »Things are going alright over here. I find I am slowly starting to lose my mojo though. It's only been 6.5 weeks, so I really have to buck up and just do it. Maybe it has to do with my goals, or it could be just a rough mental patch. I keep flip flopping between being a bit more aggressive, or sticking with the rate of loss I have now. I am so terrified of losing muscle, but I am starting to get impatient.
I totally get that. I wonder if I'm spinning my wheels by attempting to recomp out of this bulk. I know you know what to do and you're doing an awesome job!
I think you should stick with the recomp! It will be really interesting to see your results, which I think will be pretty fantastic. Not to mention your strength, endurance, energy will be up and you don't have to feel like crapola most of the time like many of us do in a deficit.
No joke. I've not been sleeping particularly well and have had a heck of a time dragging myself out of bed for morning workouts this week and last (it being in the 90s all this week hasn't helped). I'm also starting to feel generally worn down, specifically in my shoulders and where I strained and/or tore my left pec back in the fall. I felt great doing my extra workout Saturday afternoon but I think I should've just kept it in my pants and rested. Similar circumstances were what resulted in opting for the diet break in March, which turned into the flabby bulk from which I'm still cutting down. I know I need to just power through to get to a point where I'm proper lean enough to actually bulk effectively for once. Hard to fully commit to that when the "bro-devil" on my shoulder keeps whispering in my ear that I'm not swole enough.
Believe me I know all those feels all too well. Just keep powering through
@Sardelsa, I imagine you having more of a "booty-devil" sitting on your shoulder feeding you these insecurities. I see "bro-devil" is a cross between Rob Gronkowski and Thor.
@steveko89 exactly!! By the time my cut is done I actually don't look that great but I stick it out for the good of the bulk. My favourite time is a few weeks into the bulk, very minimal fat gain, muscles all filled up, feeling tight but big.
That's too funny. I actually liked the middle of my bulk best, but I was in Mexico for part of it, so I'm a little biased. The beginning felt sad and the end felt fat.1 -
Things fell off the rails yesterday.
I am 12 weeks in now and my starting ibs was 183 (slowly lean bulked from 168 ish). I was 165 on scale yesterday morning. Technically 165 was my end point and i was like oh cool... I would guess I am 11-12% BF. I thought I would be leaner and so my new goal may be 160. So I was quickly, not cool. I am my own worst critic.
Honestly, Im not sure I will get there or if its worth getting "there". I feel like complete crap, my energy is gone, my lifts have starting to tank recently, I am moody and super food focused. About 1 o'clock yesterday I hit a wall. And then a bus hit that wall while I was still on it. A Leptin crash or something. I pounded not one, but two Ben and Jerry Froyo pints, crackers, protein bars etc. Then for dinner I ate 6 flipping bowls of cereal. I ended the day at 170p, 791c and 120f. Woke up to 169 ibs lol
I am not sure I am at a point in my life where this is worth it. I am not young @ 37 but with very young children, You cant just sit your butt on the couch when your tired. My 5 year old, Sure. But the 11 month old, no chance. It cant help I get up at least once per night for him.
So I don't know, Maybe I reassess this years goals. I guess I did pretty good so far as this was my binge first episode.. I had refeed 3 days prior so I am not sure what went wrong. Stress and being tired maybe,
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Things fell off the rails yesterday.
I am 12 weeks in now and my starting ibs was 183 (slowly lean bulked from 168 ish). I was 165 on scale yesterday morning. Technically 165 was my end point and i was like oh cool... I would guess I am 11-12% BF. I thought I would be leaner and so my new goal may be 160. So I was quickly, not cool. I am my own worst critic.
Honestly, Im not sure I will get there or if its worth getting "there". I feel like complete crap, my energy is gone, my lifts have starting to tank recently, I am moody and super food focused. About 1 o'clock yesterday I hit a wall. And then a bus hit that wall while I was still on it. A Leptin crash or something. I pounded not one, but two Ben and Jerry Froyo pints, crackers, protein bars etc. Then for dinner I ate 6 flipping bowls of cereal. I ended the day at 170p, 791c and 120f. Woke up to 169 ibs lol
I am not sure I am at a point in my life where this is worth it. I am not young @ 37 but with very young children, You cant just sit your butt on the couch when your tired. My 5 year old, Sure. But the 11 month old, no chance. It cant help I get up at least once per night for him.
So I don't know, Maybe I reassess this years goals. I guess I did pretty good so far as this was my binge first episode.. I had refeed 3 days prior so I am not sure what went wrong. Stress and being tired maybe,
I feel you man. That is why i struggled to get leaner. I just couldn't stick with it and when I did try and cut I'd be tired. It doesn't help i have a 2 1/2 yr old and a 7 month old.
A diet break might help you decide if you really want to try and lean up more. Or you could recomp a bit leaner.1 -
Things fell off the rails yesterday.
I am 12 weeks in now and my starting ibs was 183 (slowly lean bulked from 168 ish). I was 165 on scale yesterday morning. Technically 165 was my end point and i was like oh cool... I would guess I am 11-12% BF. I thought I would be leaner and so my new goal may be 160. So I was quickly, not cool. I am my own worst critic.
Honestly, Im not sure I will get there or if its worth getting "there". I feel like complete crap, my energy is gone, my lifts have starting to tank recently, I am moody and super food focused. About 1 o'clock yesterday I hit a wall. And then a bus hit that wall while I was still on it. A Leptin crash or something. I pounded not one, but two Ben and Jerry Froyo pints, crackers, protein bars etc. Then for dinner I ate 6 flipping bowls of cereal. I ended the day at 170p, 791c and 120f. Woke up to 169 ibs lol
I am not sure I am at a point in my life where this is worth it. I am not young @ 37 but with very young children, You cant just sit your butt on the couch when your tired. My 5 year old, Sure. But the 11 month old, no chance. It cant help I get up at least once per night for him.
So I don't know, Maybe I reassess this years goals. I guess I did pretty good so far as this was my binge first episode.. I had refeed 3 days prior so I am not sure what went wrong. Stress and being tired maybe,
I feel you man. That is why i struggled to get leaner. I just couldn't stick with it and when I did try and cut I'd be tired. It doesn't help i have a 2 1/2 yr old and a 7 month old.
A diet break might help you decide if you really want to try and lean up more. Or you could recomp a bit leaner.
I get it, guys. My kid is 8 and he's very, very active... never wants to sit still.0 -
Now you guys really aren't helping. My wife is expecting our first in December and I'm just expecting all hell to break loose. I feel like everyone I see out in public with their kid(s) always look tired, overweight, and miserable. Going to need all the help I can get staving off that reality when the time comes.1
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Now you guys really aren't helping. My wife is expecting our first in December and I'm just expecting all hell to break loose. I feel like everyone I see out in public with their kid(s) always look tired, overweight, and miserable. Going to need all the help I can get staving off that reality when the time comes.
nah seems like the perfect setup. get lean by December which is more then doable for you and then lean bulk for about two years while attempting to survive a baby lol.2 -
Now you guys really aren't helping. My wife is expecting our first in December and I'm just expecting all hell to break loose. I feel like everyone I see out in public with their kid(s) always look tired, overweight, and miserable. Going to need all the help I can get staving off that reality when the time comes.
It could be worse. You could have to carry the baby.. then give birth to it.. then feed it .. then at some point think about getting your body back in between all that jumble.
But congrats! You will be just fine
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Now you guys really aren't helping. My wife is expecting our first in December and I'm just expecting all hell to break loose. I feel like everyone I see out in public with their kid(s) always look tired, overweight, and miserable. Going to need all the help I can get staving off that reality when the time comes.
It could be worse. You could have to carry the baby.. then give birth to it.. then feed it .. then at some point think about getting your body back in between all that jumble.
But congrats! You will be just fine
Yup. Getting back in shape after having a baby isn't too bad if you start off in good shape and maintain throughout your pregnancy... but it's still hard. And the exhaustion is real.0 -
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Now you guys really aren't helping. My wife is expecting our first in December and I'm just expecting all hell to break loose. I feel like everyone I see out in public with their kid(s) always look tired, overweight, and miserable. Going to need all the help I can get staving off that reality when the time comes.
It depends on your child. I have lucked out with two good kids. My baby girl has been sleeping 10+ hrs since she was 3 months. And both started with 4-6 hours from birth. Now my baby girl whines more than my boy ever did but only between 7 and 8pm (night night time). My friends actually regularly tell us how much they hate us for getting 2 "easy" kids.0 -
Cut for almost 6 weeks. Last week was not good. Easily the least fun I can recall having in the gym. I finished my workout last Tuesday in the worst mood, just depressed by how fatigued I was, how low my reps were, and how much sweet, sweet muscle I suspected I was losing. I started eating at maintenance on Saturday and stayed there through yesterday. Great workout yesterday. Night and day from last week's debacle. So, the refeed seems to have repaired me both physically and mentally, and now I'm heading back into the cut for another 2.5 weeks or so. I'm just going to live with whatever that gets me.
In other news and going back to the volume vs. intensity discussion from several pages back...I listened to Jeff Nippard's recent discussion with Mike about volume training, including volume needed to maintain muscle. About 11:40 in Mike says maintenance volume is "way less" than minimum effective volume. They discuss it again near the end of the recording.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kwl5LiuCs4
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Fantastic video. Thanks for sharing @edickson76. Do you do refeeds often? Maybe start to incorporate them regularly. Good luck with the rest of your cut.0
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Now you guys really aren't helping. My wife is expecting our first in December and I'm just expecting all hell to break loose. I feel like everyone I see out in public with their kid(s) always look tired, overweight, and miserable. Going to need all the help I can get staving off that reality when the time comes.
It depends on your child. I have lucked out with two good kids. My baby girl has been sleeping 10+ hrs since she was 3 months. And both started with 4-6 hours from birth. Now my baby girl whines more than my boy ever did but only between 7 and 8pm (night night time). My friends actually regularly tell us how much they hate us for getting 2 "easy" kids.
I hate you. I was up twice last night and my wife once. My son has slept thru the night maybe twice, ever. My daughter didn't sleep till around 18 months. Pure hell. We talk about accumulating fatigue in resistance training but accumulating fatigue over a year of broken sleep is a level of stress I cannot even put into words. I need a sleep deload
On another note, my diet suffered yesterday too. I finished 1k over goal. so that's back to back days of sucking. And to top it off I hurt my AC joint benching on Monday. I couldn't do the compounds on today's push day. Not sure I should even attempt a pull day tomorrow or throw in a leg day, or stay out. Then Legs Monday, pull tues and see if i can push wed. I will see how it goes. I could do fly movements so maybe that is all I do.
So anywho I am going to throw the cals back to 2350 which I didnt feel so awful at and keep up the cardio. That might still put me at a small 200 kcal deficit. Maybe. I planned to lean bulk again in Aug, which is right after my last summer vacation, so the recomp idea probably wouldn't work so well for me. I dont have that sort of patience but I appreciate the idea.
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Now you guys really aren't helping. My wife is expecting our first in December and I'm just expecting all hell to break loose. I feel like everyone I see out in public with their kid(s) always look tired, overweight, and miserable. Going to need all the help I can get staving off that reality when the time comes.
It depends on your child. I have lucked out with two good kids. My baby girl has been sleeping 10+ hrs since she was 3 months. And both started with 4-6 hours from birth. Now my baby girl whines more than my boy ever did but only between 7 and 8pm (night night time). My friends actually regularly tell us how much they hate us for getting 2 "easy" kids.
I hate you. I was up twice last night and my wife once. My son has slept thru the night maybe twice, ever. My daughter didn't sleep till around 18 months. Pure hell. We talk about accumulating fatigue in resistance training but accumulating fatigue over a year of broken sleep is a level of stress I cannot even put into words. I need a sleep deload
On another note, my diet suffered yesterday too. I finished 1k over goal. so that's back to back days of sucking. And to top it off I hurt my AC joint benching on Monday. I couldn't do the compounds on today's push day. Not sure I should even attempt a pull day tomorrow or throw in a leg day, or stay out. Then Legs Monday, pull tues and see if i can push wed. I will see how it goes. I could do fly movements so maybe that is all I do.
So anywho I am going to throw the cals back to 2350 which I didnt feel so awful at and keep up the cardio. That might still put me at a small 200 kcal deficit. Maybe. I planned to lean bulk again in Aug, which is right after my last summer vacation, so the recomp idea probably wouldn't work so well for me. I dont have that sort of patience but I appreciate the idea.
I haven't been participating in this thread but I've been following along and had to chime in here. I've been "cutting" since March (unsuccessfully) and have hit wall after wall like what you've described. Our fourth baby (we had 4 within 5 years) is almost a year old and he's my worst sleeper yet. I also started homeschooling my kindergartener last fall which has been a huge adjustment. Additionally, this is the first year I set more ambitious goals for myself in the gym, so I've had the pressure of training on top of it all (which I've enjoyed, but still has added pressure). I am tired and overwhelmed, and every time I "crack" it happens in my diet. Now that his birthday is drawing closer, and he's finally taking naps that last longer than 35 minutes, and he's only waking 1-2x per night (vs 4-5), my insatiable desire to binge is GONE. Don't underestimate the power of fatigue. They all say to sleep sleep sleep when you're dieting, because you need the hormonal replenishment, but when you just can't, staying in a deficit is almost impossible. So give yourself grace!10 -
Tonight is my carb refeed night... until Sunday. I will be destroying some carbs starting at dinner time; making some udon noodles and post workout will be 4 kiwi (love my some kiwi) and and some lemonheads for the glucose.1
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Tonight is my carb refeed night... until Sunday. I will be destroying some carbs starting at dinner time; making some udon noodles and post workout will be 4 kiwi (love my some kiwi) and and some lemonheads for the glucose.
Woohoo yum!
What is the difference between RFL and UD2? Is it just the aggressiveness about it? I was considering buying the UD2 book and learning more about it but honestly, I know me and I can't follow a diet to save my life.0 -
Tonight is my carb refeed night... until Sunday. I will be destroying some carbs starting at dinner time; making some udon noodles and post workout will be 4 kiwi (love my some kiwi) and and some lemonheads for the glucose.
Woohoo yum!
What is the difference between RFL and UD2? Is it just the aggressiveness about it? I was considering buying the UD2 book and learning more about it but honestly, I know me and I can't follow a diet to save my life.
RFL is super aggressive, especially being lower fat. UD2 is a bit more of a cycle diet (4.5 days of very low carb with glycogen depletion workouts to help mobilize fats) and then refeeds because your body will prioritize glycogen replenishment over fat storage. And you can use UD2 in a less aggressive way. I do a 40-50% cut in calories on cut days, and will eat around maintenance or slightly over (depending how well I can refeed the carbs) on the other days.0 -
Tonight is my carb refeed night... until Sunday. I will be destroying some carbs starting at dinner time; making some udon noodles and post workout will be 4 kiwi (love my some kiwi) and and some lemonheads for the glucose.
Woohoo yum!
What is the difference between RFL and UD2? Is it just the aggressiveness about it? I was considering buying the UD2 book and learning more about it but honestly, I know me and I can't follow a diet to save my life.
RFL is super aggressive, especially being lower fat. UD2 is a bit more of a cycle diet (4.5 days of very low carb with glycogen depletion workouts to help mobilize fats) and then refeeds because your body will prioritize glycogen replenishment over fat storage. And you can use UD2 in a less aggressive way. I do a 40-50% cut in calories on cut days, and will eat around maintenance or slightly over (depending how well I can refeed the carbs) on the other days.
Yea I just cut a bit more aggressively all week then refeeds on weekends. I know I need something more set in stone but I don't know if I can be that strict. I might look into it though. Thanks!0 -
He does mention that a 20% cut is reasonable too. The big thing i took away is low carb to help mobilize fatty acids and see improvements in bloodflow and refeed to support hormonal balance.Tonight is my carb refeed night... until Sunday. I will be destroying some carbs starting at dinner time; making some udon noodles and post workout will be 4 kiwi (love my some kiwi) and and some lemonheads for the glucose.
Woohoo yum!
What is the difference between RFL and UD2? Is it just the aggressiveness about it? I was considering buying the UD2 book and learning more about it but honestly, I know me and I can't follow a diet to save my life.
RFL is super aggressive, especially being lower fat. UD2 is a bit more of a cycle diet (4.5 days of very low carb with glycogen depletion workouts to help mobilize fats) and then refeeds because your body will prioritize glycogen replenishment over fat storage. And you can use UD2 in a less aggressive way. I do a 40-50% cut in calories on cut days, and will eat around maintenance or slightly over (depending how well I can refeed the carbs) on the other days.
Yea I just cut a bit more aggressively all week then refeeds on weekends. I know I need something more set in stone but I don't know if I can be that strict. I might look into it though. Thanks!
Or you can even bulk with this method.0 -
Also to add, this is intended to last 6-8 weeks and then a 2 week break0
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Fantastic video. Thanks for sharing @edickson76. Do you do refeeds often? Maybe start to incorporate them regularly. Good luck with the rest of your cut.
My original plan was 4 weeks, then a refeed, then another 4 or 5 weeks of cut. Social events have interfered with that plan. "Refeed" day first weekend, then Memorial Day BBQs (more refeed...er surplus) after week 3. That had limited my progress so I was trying to stretch the cut out to 6 weeks and refeed this week. Obviously life went a little differently, but yes there was a plan.
Friend is having a birthday party end of the month, so that will be another refeed. And then there's July 4th. I think I'm covered for refeeds. 1 -
How is everyone doing?
Cut is still going over here. My weekends are a little more indulgent than they probably should be but it's ok. I am trying to get in 4 training sessions per week, plus one yoga class and at least one day of cardio. I have a weekend getaway in less than 4 weeks so hopefully I am in decent shape by then. That will also be the start of my diet break.0 -
Mine is next week, can't wait. I'll be going from 2400 calories to somewhere around 2800. Not sure if that's my new maintenance, but they say that you need to estimate BW X 14-17...since I have a high metabolism, I multiplied it by 17. Even if I do gain weight, the following week, I'll flush it all down again when I get back to my regular cutting calories.How is everyone doing?
Cut is still going over here. My weekends are a little more indulgent than they probably should be but it's ok. I am trying to get in 4 training sessions per week, plus one yoga class and at least one day of cardio. I have a weekend getaway in less than 4 weeks so hopefully I am in decent shape by then. That will also be the start of my diet break.
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A month into my recomp and I'm sitting at exactly 140.0 still. My TDEE has dropped because life stuff has changed, so I'm trying out 2400 cals now.0
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How is everyone doing?
Cut is still going over here. My weekends are a little more indulgent than they probably should be but it's ok. I am trying to get in 4 training sessions per week, plus one yoga class and at least one day of cardio. I have a weekend getaway in less than 4 weeks so hopefully I am in decent shape by then. That will also be the start of my diet break.
Bulk going ... going
Gained 12 pounds since ending the cut. Still trying to keep it lean(ish) but constantly questioning if I'm spinning those wheels. I was stuck at 197 for almost three weeks and then all of a sudden popped up to 202... and then back down to 200 this morning. Big surplus and big bulks are so much easier on my head but I want to avoid another 4 month cut.0 -
I am on vacation until the 2nd, but my trial week of UD2 went very well. I was compliant and my net loss was 1.5 lbs before vacation started. I have to finalize the programming of my lifting routine but that should be easy3
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It had been a while since I did any sort of rest/deload week so I'm doing that this week; lighter weight, mostly dumbbell, full body workout. Did that Monday and this morning, will likely do a third Saturday. Also cut my grass last night and might hit cardio tomorrow if I feel like getting out of bed on time. Food this week has been a little suspect, all-day meetings Tuesday and yesterday with a big vendor, calories floating close to maintenance, average weight so far this week at 173.2 which is flat compared with last week.
The right shoulder soreness I've been feeling hasn't really gone away and I think it's being caused by how I snooze my alarm, not by working out. Not really sure how to feel about that, not the type of "injury" I thought I'd already be incurring at 29. Going to change where I keep my phone (alarm source) and see how much better it feels through the weekend; if it's not back close to 100% I'll do another light weight week.
I should be able to stick to target calories today and tomorrow no problem, food-centric family events scheduled for Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday so it'll be a dice roll on those days.1 -
This was my first cut after a bulk and it was not easy. More accurately, it didn't happen. I never hit goal weight - I gained 14 and wanted to drop 8. I lost about 5 and found summer indulgences like a cocktail on the patio at sunset or slushies with my kids are too good to worry about the last three pounds. Guess I was made to be a recomper I'm back at maintenance calories and will see how things go over the next few weeks with a vacation. 4
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This was my first cut after a bulk and it was not easy. More accurately, it didn't happen. I never hit goal weight - I gained 14 and wanted to drop 8. I lost about 5 and found summer indulgences like a cocktail on the patio at sunset or slushies with my kids are too good to worry about the last three pounds. Guess I was made to be a recomper I'm back at maintenance calories and will see how things go over the next few weeks with a vacation.
Nothing wrong with that! I specifically went into this bulk with the mindset that the end weight is my goal weight and that once I hit it I'd recomp. It's been a month since I hit my goal and I dropped to maintenance. So far so good.3
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