Cutting and cheat days

ravenperron1696

Im currently trying to cut im 5ft 1in weighing 138lbs and 28% body fat and i need to drop to about 18%-16%. I have a trainer doing my workouts and im doing my own nutrition. I am new to this and im not making that much progress in seeing the body fat drop. My goal is to have abs by the end of May and to start compteiting in bodybuilding bikini comps next year. Does anyone have any tips on the nutrition side? and are cheat days recommended or just cheat meals or no cheats?

sardelsa

How you plan your diet weekly will be up to you and what you can best adhere to. Some people like to keep calories consistent, some like to fit in treats everyday, some save up for high calorie days or refeeds weekly or monthly, some do a little of everything. Just make sure you are in a deficit over time and your cheats or high calorie meals/days don't throw you off.

In order to lower your bodyfat and retain muscle, first you want to make sure you are eating in a deficit. Are you losing weight over time? If not then you need to look at your intake and make sure you are tracking accurately (weighing and measuring consistently). Also make sure you are getting adequate protein, ~1g per lb goalweight or lb lean body mass. Next would be your workouts. I know you have a trainer, just make sure you are progressing and stimulating each muscle group adequately.

sardelsa

Also be sure to keep your expectations reasonable. Abs in a little over two months may or may not happen (depending on your starting point, muscle base and what kind of definition we are talking about). Take things one step at a time and don't put too much pressure on yourself.

ravenperron1696

Thank u for the tips these are definitely helpful

TavistockToad

ravenperron1696 wrote: »

Im currently trying to cut im 5ft 1in weighing 138lbs and 28% body fat and i need to drop to about 18%-16%. I have a trainer doing my workouts and im doing my own nutrition. I am new to this and im not making that much progress in seeing the body fat drop. My goal is to have abs by the end of May and to start compteiting in bodybuilding bikini comps next year. Does anyone have any tips on the nutrition side? and are cheat days recommended or just cheat meals or no cheats?

If your current bodyfat % is accurate then it's doubtful you will be able to get down to visible abs in a couple of months.

JBanx256

Cheat meals, cheat days, refeeds, whatever - all just depend on how you structure your diet.

As others have stated, if you're currently 28% it may not be the most realistic to think you're going to have visible abs within 2 months. For a lot of females that won't happen until you're in the mid-teens. Different people lose bodyfat from different places sooner versus later and some people can have a good bit higher bf% with popping abs, but just try not to get too hung up on NEEDING to have visible abs by May.

Silkysausage

Bikini and '6 pack' ab definition don't really go together, although their bf is pretty low their stomachs are much softer.

https://youtu.be/0t_H7EgIkRg

JBanx256

Silkysausage wrote: »

Bikini and '6 pack' ab definition don't really go together, although their bf is pretty low their stomachs are much softer.

the OP also referred to it as "bodybuilding bikini" which are 2 DRASTICALLY different divisions (VERY few federations even offer women's bodybuilding anymore).

Silkysausage

JBanx256 wrote: »

Silkysausage wrote: »

Bikini and '6 pack' ab definition don't really go together, although their bf is pretty low their stomachs are much softer.

the OP also referred to it as "bodybuilding bikini" which are 2 DRASTICALLY different divisions (VERY few federations even offer women's bodybuilding anymore).

Indeed, quite right... didn't realise that was stated

neugebauer52

I also would like to have a trainer who is doing my workouts. How much weight does he lose for you?

JBanx256

OP, serious question for you - if you've hired a trainer for the workout side of things and you're not getting the results you want doing your own nutrition programming, why not also get the trainer to do the nutrition portion of your prep? Or does the trainer only offer workout stuff and no diet? Contest prep diet is no joke and from what you've posted I'm not sure you're really aware of how meticulous you're going to have to be to get into that condition, especially when it seems that at this point you're just shooting from the hip?