Found my limits

tomcornhole
tomcornhole Posts: 1,084 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am always curious about how far I can push the limits so I did a low net calorie experiment. For the last 10 days, my avg net calories has been 1700 / day. My TDEE is around 2700. So I was at 1,000 cal / day deficit for 10 days with no rest days. I ran every day, lifted heavy every other day. Everything was going OK but it got progressively tougher to hit my numbers. Then yesterday I failed to hit 3x125 on OHP which is an easy set for me. Failed at one rep. I was PO'd.

So I ate like a madman last night. 4,000 calories of pure carby goodness. Got a good night's sleep and hit it again this morning. Did my deadlift sets and hit my numbers with no problem (4x395). Then I decided to try OHP again. 5x125 no problem (I failed on 1x125 yesterday). 3x135 no problem. 1x145 no problem (that's only 10 lbs shy of my 1RM PR). Dang, that felt good.

Probably nothing epic or new with this experiment. Maybe the combo of no rest days, big deficit and doubling my average daily exercise is what ultimately killed me. 1000 too much. 500 good to go. Slow and steady wins this cut.

Enjoy the ride,

Tom

Replies

  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    Nice empirical proof of the fact that you need to eat properly to get results. Good work!
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Yep, I did the same thing. Ended up failing on rep 4 of DL 345lbs. Then on rep 2 of DL 390lbs. Then failed it again. I was scheduled to do 435x5 if that tells you anything. So I took a rest week and upped my calories at the same time.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    If you find that you like this style of dieting,there is a structured way to do it, backed by scientific evidence. Look into Lyle McDonald's excellent book The Ultimate Diet 2.0
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    while i agree with your general principles and findings, unless you're 5'2", 2700 sounds awfully low for your TDEE.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    I've had similar experiences. It seems to help when I limit my cuts to 2 weeks at a time and about 400-500 deficit a day. (Usually I can feel the drain starting at the end of the second week.) Also it helps if I adjust my attempts at progress during a cut.
  • tomcornhole
    tomcornhole Posts: 1,084 Member
    while i agree with your general principles and findings, unless you're 5'2", 2700 sounds awfully low for your TDEE.

    Scooby says it's 2900. But with 700+ cal / day exercise, Scooby would say it's closer to 3300. But I have data that show it's anywhere between 2700 and 3300. Coming off a cut, I can maintain at 3300 for a few weeks. After a few weeks at maint, I have to throttle back to 2700-2900. I can get away with a week @ 3000 and not gain any weight, but if I keep my average at 2700 with 310 cal / day average exercise, I can maintain forever.
  • tomcornhole
    tomcornhole Posts: 1,084 Member
    I've had similar experiences. It seems to help when I limit my cuts to 2 weeks at a time and about 400-500 deficit a day. (Usually I can feel the drain starting at the end of the second week.) Also it helps if I adjust my attempts at progress during a cut.

    I normally don't do 700+ cal / day exercise, but this was an experiment in low net calories and I didn't feel like eating less so I exercised more. I agree with you on reducing overall workload in a cut. I drop most accessory work on my lifts and just do the big 4 + some pull ups and back work. Helps reduce the repair demands on a less than efficient machine.

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