Help Cutting - How to do it and what to avoid

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Facetious73
Facetious73 Posts: 9 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Last summer I tried cutting and dropped 10 pounds. I went from 195 at 17 percent body fat to 185 at 18 percent in 2 months. The was per dexa scans. I lost 8 pounds of muscle and 2 pounds of fat. It was very demotivating. Since then, I've added back 5 of the lost pounds of muscle and plan to cut again but want to do things right this time. Any suggestions?

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  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    First, start tracking your current intake accurately. Once you have an approximate for what you are maintaining weight at cut down 150 calories every other week until you are at about a 20% deficit from the maintenance number. Continue to lift, eat .8-1.0 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. Cardio can help, but don't over do it.
  • Facetious73
    Facetious73 Posts: 9 Member
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    okay. so start by switching to maintenance calories, then every other week drop it down 150 calories. I can do that. I've been at maintenance for about 2 weeks now which is why I decided to stop bulking and head the other direction. I get massive heart burn when I try to eat more than I am now.
    Thank you. :)
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    The factors that play into lean mass loss are:
    1. Extreme deficit
    2. Low protein
    3. Lack of resistance training

    Keep those in mind as you are cutting. If you stall then you reevaluate.
  • riveragirl15
    riveragirl15 Posts: 48 Member
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    To keep the muscle you have to eat high amounts of protein! Cutting carbs is usually the way to go when you cut. Also look into BCAAs, I've found helpful for keeping muscle. and always HIIT cardio<3
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    riveragirl15 wrote: »
    To keep the muscle you have to eat high amounts of protein! Cutting carbs is usually the way to go when you cut. Also look into BCAAs, I've found helpful for keeping muscle. and always HIIT cardio<3

    :|
  • Facetious73
    Facetious73 Posts: 9 Member
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    I'm a big fan of HIIT now. I blame steady state for my failures cutting last time. It's nothing for me to run 5 to 10 miles a day and that's what I did last time I cut. Since then I've cut steady state out all together and will only do HIIT or sprints.
    BCAAs- I take in 3 to 6 eggs a night before bed and 2 in the morning. Would that be enough or should I supplement.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Facetious73 wrote: »
    I'm a big fan of HIIT now. I blame steady state for my failures cutting last time. It's nothing for me to run 5 to 10 miles a day and that's what I did last time I cut. Since then I've cut steady state out all together and will only do HIIT or sprints.
    BCAAs- I take in 3 to 6 eggs a night before bed and 2 in the morning. Would that be enough or should I supplement.

    Steady state cardio is not to blame. Not eating enough to support your steady state cardio would be to blame, or as someone said above, extreme deficit.

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    riveragirl15 wrote: »
    To keep the muscle you have to eat high amounts of protein! Cutting carbs is usually the way to go when you cut. Also look into BCAAs, I've found helpful for keeping muscle. and always HIIT cardio<3

    BCAA research has only proven they are effective for lean mass retention when on a very low protein diet. When protein is at appropriate levels there is no added benefits to using BCAAs.
  • ovidnine
    ovidnine Posts: 314 Member
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    If you were running 5-10 miles a day a few times I week it sure sounds like you ran way too heavy a deficit.
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    Facetious73 wrote: »
    I'm a big fan of HIIT now. I blame steady state for my failures cutting last time. It's nothing for me to run 5 to 10 miles a day and that's what I did last time I cut. Since then I've cut steady state out all together and will only do HIIT or sprints.
    BCAAs- I take in 3 to 6 eggs a night before bed and 2 in the morning. Would that be enough or should I supplement.

    Steady state cardio is not to blame. Not eating enough to support your steady state cardio would be to blame, or as someone said above, extreme deficit.

    Agreed.
  • morkiemama
    morkiemama Posts: 897 Member
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    In, for knowledge. :)
  • Facetious73
    Facetious73 Posts: 9 Member
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    I was at a huge deficit on the calories last. Also, part of the problem I had when I failed last was I had ordered bunk whey off of amazon. It tasted like sugar powder and when microwaved it turned into a foamy mess. This time around, I'm not being cheap but staying with the whey I know is good. Keeping muscle is more important than losing fat this time around. If I do even one less rep on any exercise, I'll be adding calories back.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    Facetious73 wrote: »
    I was at a huge deficit on the calories last. Also, part of the problem I had when I failed last was I had ordered bunk whey off of amazon. It tasted like sugar powder and when microwaved it turned into a foamy mess. This time around, I'm not being cheap but staying with the whey I know is good. Keeping muscle is more important than losing fat this time around. If I do even one less rep on any exercise, I'll be adding calories back.

    Most people should be able to hit .8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass without supplements (unless vegetarian or vegan).

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