Anyone cutting after a bulk?

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  • francesca_grey
    francesca_grey Posts: 96 Member
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    I am down 6 pounds this month and lost some inches as well. I've lost weight before many times but it's my first time losing while lifting this heavy. It was a really tough transition the first two weeks but I've adapted and now am just a little tired. Eating around 1700-1800 calories and 90-100g of carbs per day seems to be the lowest I can go without feeling awful. Also consistently getting 130g of protein per day.

    My arms/shoulders are getting a lot more definition, it's so cool seeing that in the mirror! Thighs still have a lot of fat but they have better muscle tone. I worked on my back and chest more this month so I feel those muscles more while I lift. Still making strength gains every week but I suspect that I'm not lifting as heavy as I could be.

    Now I need to figure out if I should continue training full body 4 days a week or reduce it to 3 and replace the extra day with LISS cardio. I'd trade gains for extra energy right now.
  • jseams1234
    jseams1234 Posts: 1,216 Member
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    watts6151 wrote: »
    My plan was to cut till Christmas then have a 2 week diet break, unfortunately due to work commitments ive spent the last 7 weeks in a small surplus, currently dropped to maintenance till the new year then ease into prep

    Currently bulked up but itching to start prep
    Current starting point

    Jeez... your bulked up is leaner than my cut. ;)

    Very nice.

  • jlhalley7835
    jlhalley7835 Posts: 188 Member
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    i spent the last 10 years in a bulk phase, currently in a cut for the last 9 months :smirk:
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
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    watts6151 wrote: »
    My plan was to cut till Christmas then have a 2 week diet break, unfortunately due to work commitments ive spent the last 7 weeks in a small surplus, currently dropped to maintenance till the new year then ease into prep

    Currently bulked up but itching to start prep
    Current starting point

    nui8f49wvnva.jpeg

    You are a beast!

  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
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    Starting 2020 with my HappyScale trend at 178.6 - the highest I've trended since Fall of '17 though I feel like my composition is better than the 2% body fat difference my BF scanner indicates (I also have skulpt, which Mr Healthy Habits mentioned).
  • Mr_Healthy_Habits
    Mr_Healthy_Habits Posts: 12,588 Member
    edited January 2020
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    I'm up about 3lbs since Christmas eve... I haven't measured my waist, nor pinched myself since then but the skulpt device I have says basically there's been no bf change...

    If I can retain a few lbs and keep my waist and pinch the same... I'm going to call it a huge win...

    If I can't keep the measurements, I will totally panic and start cutting again immediately 😂...

    I'll see what happens tomorrow... But, I've definitely either added a rep or 2, or increased the weight on a number of key lifts...
  • watts6151
    watts6151 Posts: 887 Member
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    Day 1 of cutting, going to miss the muscle fullness and performance in the gym
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
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    watts6151 wrote: »
    Day 1 of cutting, going to miss the muscle fullness and performance in the gym

    Care to share your strategies? Your physique certainly says you have a very good handle on what does and doesn't work for you.
  • GaryRuns
    GaryRuns Posts: 508 Member
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    mom23mangos wrote: »
    I've actually lost weight while on vacation. It's a good reminder to me of why I never used to have a weight problem. When you are super active and don't have time to sit around boredom eating it's easy to lose/maintain. Especially since I've never had very active hunger cues.

    This is totally me. I've had two weeks off work and grabbing that bag of nuts, or those chocolate covered cherries, is so tempting when you're sitting around doing nothing. I can ignore a little hunger when I'm active. Not so easy when I'm binge watching the drop of season 2 of Lost in Space on Netflix.
  • watts6151
    watts6151 Posts: 887 Member
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    steveko89 wrote: »
    watts6151 wrote: »
    Day 1 of cutting, going to miss the muscle fullness and performance in the gym

    Care to share your strategies? Your physique certainly says you have a very good handle on what does and doesn't work for you.

    Yea of course
    Diet wise is high carb low fat, very bro
    With set meal times, I have alarms set on my phone to tell me when to eat, 4of my 5 meals per day are pretty much set. The evening meal with the wife is my treat/enjoyable meal where I aim for highly palatable food, Usually post training

    Training wise I’m currently running a hybrid PPL twice per week, at 41 years old and over 25 years training history I know what works for me, but always open to different training approaches. I run a basic 5 week block, 1 week deload then repeat the same block aiming to improve slightly on reps and or intensity, then deload and change exercise selection for the next block, I also rely on auto regulation for quite a few sessions due to unpredictable work schedules.

    I believe the phrase “ consistency over time”
    Represents the most important part of training especially for an advanced trainer, gains are slow, but over several years significant changes can be made.

    I guess the bro in me majors in the minors,
    I Focus on carb timings around workouts
    Caesin protein pre bed, any slight potential benefits I will incorporate into my training regimen while still following a sicentific approach

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
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    watts6151 wrote: »
    steveko89 wrote: »
    watts6151 wrote: »
    Day 1 of cutting, going to miss the muscle fullness and performance in the gym

    Care to share your strategies? Your physique certainly says you have a very good handle on what does and doesn't work for you.

    Yea of course
    Diet wise is high carb low fat, very bro
    With set meal times, I have alarms set on my phone to tell me when to eat, 4of my 5 meals per day are pretty much set. The evening meal with the wife is my treat/enjoyable meal where I aim for highly palatable food, Usually post training

    Training wise I’m currently running a hybrid PPL twice per week, at 41 years old and over 25 years training history I know what works for me, but always open to different training approaches. I run a basic 5 week block, 1 week deload then repeat the same block aiming to improve slightly on reps and or intensity, then deload and change exercise selection for the next block, I also rely on auto regulation for quite a few sessions due to unpredictable work schedules.

    I believe the phrase “ consistency over time”
    Represents the most important part of training especially for an advanced trainer, gains are slow, but over several years significant changes can be made.

    I guess the bro in me majors in the minors,
    I Focus on carb timings around workouts
    Caesin protein pre bed, any slight potential benefits I will incorporate into my training regimen while still following a sicentific approach

    Nothing wrong with that. If it works, no need to change. And i do it, too. I take a pre-workout, creatine and add additional L-Citrulline in to get better performance and recovery. I also started to time some carbs pre-workout.
  • jseams1234
    jseams1234 Posts: 1,216 Member
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    Less than a month into this bulk... I've put on about 5 pounds but I've been eating way above my targets. I'm bringing it down to reasonable levels now. lol

    Interesting thing is I've already added another 10 pounds to my bench. I'm going to test my 3 plate next week - I think I've got it finally. Everything has shot up pretty quickly. I should have cut that recomp short months ago. Well, live and learn.
  • watts6151
    watts6151 Posts: 887 Member
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    jseams1234 wrote: »
    Less than a month into this bulk... I've put on about 5 pounds but I've been eating way above my targets. I'm bringing it down to reasonable levels now. lol

    Interesting thing is I've already added another 10 pounds to my bench. I'm going to test my 3 plate next week - I think I've got it finally. Everything has shot up pretty quickly. I should have cut that recomp short months ago. Well, live and learn.

    Good luck with the 3 plate bench,
    Sounds silly but a very satisfying achievement, even better than hitting 2 plates for the first time
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    jseams1234 wrote: »
    Less than a month into this bulk... I've put on about 5 pounds but I've been eating way above my targets. I'm bringing it down to reasonable levels now. lol

    Interesting thing is I've already added another 10 pounds to my bench. I'm going to test my 3 plate next week - I think I've got it finally. Everything has shot up pretty quickly. I should have cut that recomp short months ago. Well, live and learn.

    Could be some extra water weight due to more food, carbs, more intense workouts? Mine jumps up then levels off, unless it's 5lbs on top of that.

    Sucky that recomp wasn't successful for you. I think I am going to attempt it in a few weeks until September, I keep having huge doubts about it though. Arg I don't know what to do :/
  • jseams1234
    jseams1234 Posts: 1,216 Member
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    watts6151 wrote: »
    Good luck with the 3 plate bench,
    Sounds silly but a very satisfying achievement, even better than hitting 2 plates for the first time

    Thank you - I've been working on that target for almost two years now. I really thought I was going to hit it a year ago but stalled pretty hard way short. It's been a frustrating battle since. I can still remember my dad poking fun at my lack of chest so it's always been one of my fixations. It doesn't help that all my gym buddies can do it easily. lol

    sardelsa wrote: »
    Could be some extra water weight due to more food, carbs, more intense workouts? Mine jumps up then levels off, unless it's 5lbs on top of that.

    Sucky that recomp wasn't successful for you. I think I am going to attempt it in a few weeks until September, I keep having huge doubts about it though. Arg I don't know what to do :/

    I think I'm just starting to getting fluffy... I went to visit my parents and son for a week this Christmas. I did workout - Planet Fitness (son has a membership... got in trouble there too) but my mother and father just kept rolling out this incredible food. Also, they have Arby's which we don't have in the Bay Area so I probably ate 10 of those .5 pound roast beef sandwiches. Then my son traveled back with me and my wife and I spent a week taking him to all my favorite restaurants. :)

    Don't be too worried about recomp... just temper your expectations. I keep seeing people on these forums who like to recommend it more than anything else. They commonly misrepresent how painfully slow the process is... and the success stories I've seen are usually just great angles and lighting taken by guys that are pumped and already pretty damned jacked to begin with. Otherwise I have to squint and give them the benefit of the doubt that anything even changed. That was my problem. I knew it was slow - I just didn't fully realize how slow.

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