Cutting

mmyers1129
mmyers1129 Posts: 67 Member
I really need some advice on cutting my bf down

Replies

  • mmyers1129
    mmyers1129 Posts: 67 Member
    so I can see my abs but still keep my muscles
  • baptiste565
    baptiste565 Posts: 590 Member
    congrats on ur 82lb weight loss. how long have u been lifting weights?
  • Well to cut you want to be in a calorie deficit (under bmr) of around 500 kcal. Are you talking in terms of macro count? If so you'll want about 40% calories from protein and then depending on what you're doing at the moment you'll want to lower carbs from your normal amount.... what's your height and weight?
  • mmyers1129
    mmyers1129 Posts: 67 Member
    about 6 months ive been lifting thx I did 2 rounds of insanity........... im 178 5'9 I really dont want to lower my calorie intake because I want to build muscle as well I just want to lose the last bit of fat on my stomach so I can fully see my abs
  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
    about 6 months ive been lifting thx I did 2 rounds of insanity........... im 178 5'9 I really dont want to lower my calorie intake because I want to build muscle as well I just want to lose the last bit of fat on my stomach so I can fully see my abs

    then you have to find a way to expend more energy (if you dont want to eat less)
    you aren't gonna drop bodyfat while putting on muscle though. pick one and go for it.
  • baptiste565
    baptiste565 Posts: 590 Member
    from ur pics u may have to lose 10-15 lbs to start to see abs. u have only been lifting for 6 month. i would wait another 18months b4 i would cut. in those 18months u would build alot alot of muscle and u would be able to see abs without going to very low body fat
  • kerve13
    kerve13 Posts: 13
    Great job on the progress so far, BTW.
  • mmyers1129
    mmyers1129 Posts: 67 Member
    Ya that what I planned on im just becoming impatient because I lost the weight fast so I want to gain the muscle fast even though ik very well it doesn't work like that but thx
  • BrofessorPHD
    BrofessorPHD Posts: 42 Member
    When you say "lifting" ...what kind of lifting are we talking here? post it

    Bottom line is six pack abs will ruin your life. If your deadset on getting down to ~ 10% BF in order to see them..its all about calories in and out to burn the fat off to see them. The lower the BF the harder/slower it is to keep pushing forward since we see minimal changes over such hard/long work...you just have to push through the next couple months lifting hard, getting adequate protein/fats lower carbs (less water weight for your must see abs).

    Once you have your abs..which may leave you looking "skinny fat" since you don't hav emuch mass..you will need to bulk. Do it slow and right..no 500+ calories over maint. just gradually increase calories 200-300 over maint. Lift heavy. Plenty of resources out there for information - its all about finding it. You would be interestedin leangains. google is your friend

    good luck
  • drefaw
    drefaw Posts: 739
    I agree with baptiste565 and his answer for the OP.


    "Bottom line is six pack abs will ruin your life." - Nice Elliot Hulse quote ......

    AND, maintaining a 10%BF will not ruin your life. I did it for many years, but trying to stay down around 6% damn near ruined me....LOL...
  • Just from some personal experience I would add weights to your ab workouts if you don't already. Your abs are a muscle too and if you want to be able to see them more without killing yourself staying at 8% bf, make them bigger. However, when it comes to obliques try to stay away from adding weight as this will make you look thick. Hope this helps.
  • hello, I am relatively new to mfp, i join and quite here and there but I am sticking to it legitimately, from here on out. I am however not new to weights with a workout regimen consisting of 3-(sometimes)5 times a week. I'm currently on my first cut ever with close to a week and a half finished. I'm using the animal cuts supplement which consists of 3 weeks on one week off and another 3 weeks on. does anyone have any tips on how to get a better cut other than low cal high cardio? feel free to add me!
  • nick1109
    nick1109 Posts: 174 Member
    You will never see your abs without loosing body fat, you can do as many ab exercises as you want but as long as you're eating too much they will never be revealed.

    I have pretty visible abs and do no direct ab work, they will strengthen through deads and squats.

    Get the diet right and they will shine through!
  • Mrsallypants
    Mrsallypants Posts: 887 Member
    I think Arnold used steroids to help preserve muscle mass while cutting.
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
    from ur pics u may have to lose 10-15 lbs to start to see abs. u have only been lifting for 6 month. i would wait another 18months b4 i would cut. in those 18months u would build alot alot of muscle and u would be able to see abs without going to very low body fat

    This makes me glad I haven't attempted a cut. I'm taking the slow recomp route and eating at maintenance with some +300 days. Sometimes I'm tempted to cut, but I'm enjoying my slow transformation even more.
  • nick1109
    nick1109 Posts: 174 Member
    from ur pics u may have to lose 10-15 lbs to start to see abs. u have only been lifting for 6 month. i would wait another 18months b4 i would cut. in those 18months u would build alot alot of muscle and u would be able to see abs without going to very low body fat

    This makes me glad I haven't attempted a cut. I'm taking the slow recomp route and eating at maintenance with some +300 days. Sometimes I'm tempted to cut, but I'm enjoying my slow transformation even more.

    Yeah agree with you. I can't be arsed with the whole bulk, get fat and have no abs for a large portion of the year thing, all in aid of gaining a few extra pounds. Much prefer to stay six pack lean all year round and only make modest gains, slow and steadily in slight surplus is the way for me
  • Mrsallypants
    Mrsallypants Posts: 887 Member
    Don't let the fat gain get out of control. No use in adding more fat cells ripe for estrogen production. I have read that once a certain bf percentage is reached (over 15%) you begin to add more fat than muscle.
  • from ur pics u may have to lose 10-15 lbs to start to see abs. u have only been lifting for 6 month. i would wait another 18months b4 i would cut. in those 18months u would build alot alot of muscle and u would be able to see abs without going to very low body fat

    AHA ! You sure hit a home run with that one ... couldn't have put it better myself...sound advice
  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
    about 6 months ive been lifting thx I did 2 rounds of insanity........... im 178 5'9 I really dont want to lower my calorie intake because I want to build muscle as well I just want to lose the last bit of fat on my stomach so I can fully see my abs

    then you have to find a way to expend more energy (if you dont want to eat less)
    you aren't gonna drop bodyfat while putting on muscle though. pick one and go for it.

    ^^^^ THIS ^^^^

    You'll have people all the time tell you that you can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. While this is possible (body recomping) it is so painfully slow that you could have just cut down to the BF% you wanted and started a bulk cycle and built some muscle in about the same amount of time with less stress.

    Just cut till you get to the BF% you want then bulk.