keeping muscle on a cut
socially_awkward_and_hungry
Posts: 42 Member
Hey guys, im done with 'bulking' and feel pretty fat now but pleased with my results overall. Any advice on cutting fat down? Was going to post in the diet section but I want bodybuilding advice not starve yourself skinnyfat advice! Should I deficit or eat at maintenance to cut? I want to keep as much muscle as poss and obv if I can build more that would be great but I know that's probably never gonna happen. I'm 140lbs, 5'5 and following strong curves gluteal goddess programme at present...I want to gain gain gain but I have too much fat now and know I need to cut for a while. Foods advice would be great too, what to avoid completely for fast results though I'm not great low carbing! Thanks
4
Replies
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Advice:
- maintain your lifting
- aim to lose slowly (0.5 - 1lb per week is typical)
- keep the protein up
- be prepared to add in re-feed days as and when you genuinely need them
- be prepared to add in de-load weeks as and when you genuinely need them (lifting is much harder on a deficit)
jamandlettuce1 wrote: »Foods advice would be great too, what to avoid completely for fast results
Not generally considered compatible with muscle retention, there are techniques (RFL) but they require extensive research to get right and would be incompatible with...jamandlettuce1 wrote: »I'm not great low carbing!4 -
What is your protein intake like? I think that's a key factor in keeping muscle in a cut, as well as strength training.
Don't have too steep of a deficit when you cut - that's another key. If you are doing a 1000 cal deficit, you risk losing more muscle than if you were to do a 250 cal or 500 cal deficit.
You won't lose 0 muscle...it happens when you lose weight but you can lose minimal muscle while keeping a small deficit, sufficient protein intake, and doing strength training.2 -
If you have fat to lose, then I would eat at a deficit vs maintenance.. (you can do either, but it will depend on how much you want to lose and how much time you want to spend doing it). After my first bulk I switched to maintenance for a few months but got ansy so switched to a small cut in the end. You can always cut then switch to maintenance when you are happy with your BF%.
Be sure you are getting enough protein, during a cut I aim for 0.8-1g per lb body weight (I lean more to the higher end for satiety), also maintaining adequate training stimuli is important too. This is going to be different for everyone, sometimes people find they can't keep up with the volume, their strength decreases... some people switch their programming..see how you feel and make adjustments.
In terms of speed of loss/deficit.. well that is going to vary based on the person. I have seen many different ways to go about this. I prefer slow (but not too slow) some people like to cut hard and fast and get it overwith. Cardio is good but not too much, you don't want it to affect your recovery and gym performance.
There are no foods to avoid, just aim to hit your macro minimums..you will find some will fill you up more than others (for me it's protein and fibre), and depending on how steep your deficit it you may not have too much room for treats.1 -
I would like to add that the macro ratio you choose should be based off of personal preference and how well you tolerate certain macros (some people find that they tolerate fat more than carbs and vice versa). The actual macro ratio you choose doesn't make a difference, so long as you get at least .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight, 0.4 grams of fat per kilogram, and the rest of the fats and carbs can be distributed as you want.2
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As far as foods, you should include foods that you enjoy and know that you can adhere to. The only reason you would have to cut some sort of food out is if that food were a trigger for you or that you have some sort of intolerance or allergy to the food. Other than that, pick mostly nutrient dense foods, about 80 to 70%, and compose the rest of the diet with whatever you want.1
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When transitioning, I will take a week or to back at maintenance.
This seems to help me get in the right mindset for trying to cut down.
I don't really know if this is necessary or not.
After that I will start with a moderate deficit and switch over to higher intensity workouts that really exhaust the muscle with the number of reps and only lift heavy 1x per week.
I'll monitor my progress and when I think I'm getting close, I will switch over to a cyclical diet (LC/HC) where I alternate between really large deficits and overfeeding. The overfeeding is paired up with my heavy lift days in the gym.
During the course of my cut, Cardio is optional.
At most I will do 30 mins of low intensity work on the treadmill and follow up with some ab work.
The treadmill is set to 'max' incline, keeping my hands off the bars the pace makes me break a sweat.
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Intermittent fasting might be something to consider. I get good results from it. Just make sure to take bcaa's if you're working out when fasted to prevent protein breakdown and muscle protein synthesis is stimulated. Depending on your protein intake if you need more in your diet add protein powder to food and baked sweets. I add whey to bowls of cereal and oatmeal, crepes, and anything else I think of. Add enough carbs on active days but make sure it's earlier during the day consuming carbs. Any food I usually avoid I make sure it's on days I'm hardcore active and before evening to burn it off so that part it's all about planning.3
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The first couple of weeks you'll lose weight extremely easy just by eating at maintenance and sticking to your workout routine.
Also you don't HAVE to be low carb, if you're looking to keep strength and still hit those PRs I would actually advice to a high carb diet as long as you don't surpass your daily calorie goal.
Keep your workouts the same, while ensuring you're hitting your protein goal. Once you start dipping into the lower BF% then it might be time to tighten up the diet, work with macros + increase workout intensity + cardio.
Also, try to aim for 1 pound lost a week, any more and you could possibly be losing muscle, no one wants that
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You have to reduce your intake, do cardio and up your protein Intake by a lot when you go on the cut. Do your usual training and let the diet and cardio do it's job. Also just because your intake is low it doesn't mean you have to starve yourself as some experienced. Just eat low calories. A regular size bowl of strawberry for example is 25g - 35g carbs, but a same bowl of rice is way over 110carbs. Spinach and such can be used too. By end of may/June you may be able to be in a great physique.
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jamandlettuce1 wrote: »Hey guys, im done with 'bulking' and feel pretty fat now but pleased with my results overall. Any advice on cutting fat down? Was going to post in the diet section but I want bodybuilding advice not starve yourself skinnyfat advice! Should I deficit or eat at maintenance to cut? I want to keep as much muscle as poss and obv if I can build more that would be great but I know that's probably never gonna happen. I'm 140lbs, 5'5 and following strong curves gluteal goddess programme at present...I want to gain gain gain but I have too much fat now and know I need to cut for a while. Foods advice would be great too, what to avoid completely for fast results though I'm not great low carbing! Thanks
i found that keeping my protein intake up around 200g per day is helping me keep my muscle mass during fat loss2 -
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thanks everyone for all your advice
i dont feel the urge to indulge in cakes and the desserts as such so i have no problems avoiding that sort of food...i tend to stick to yogurt and fruit for a sweet fix. I use whey as meal replacements on the go and post workout protein but im not overly keen on adding it to food! I wondered who is for and who is against bread? Is it really the devil when it comes to cutting fat? Im not gf so is it a problem to have a couple slices of wholemeal a day? I generally feel like i will die if i only eat veges as carbs! I can stay away from rice and pasta if needs be but potatoes and bread i feel i need if i'm not going to pass out!
Is dairy also bad? opinions?
Thanks 0 -
jamandlettuce1 wrote: »thanks everyone for all your advice i dont feel the urge to indulge in cakes and the desserts as such so i have no problems avoiding that sort of food...i tend to stick to yogurt and fruit for a sweet fix. I use whey as meal replacements on the go and post workout protein but im not overly keen on adding it to food! I wondered who is for and who is against bread? Is it really the devil when it comes to cutting fat? Im not gf so is it a problem to have a couple slices of wholemeal a day? I generally feel like i will die if i only eat veges as carbs! I can stay away from rice and pasta if needs be but potatoes and bread i feel i need if i'm not going to pass out!
Is dairy also bad? opinions?
Thanks
Assuming no individual allergies/intolerance:
Bread, pasta, dairy are all fine.
There's no need to restrict your carbohydrate selection to a small set of certain foods.
This also assumes you are still able to hit your calorie and macronurtient goals. Keep in mind that not all foods have an equal satiety value to them and so for example, if you selected kids cereal for your carbohydrates you might find yourself either excessively hungry or just over-eating.3 -
jamandlettuce1 wrote: »thanks everyone for all your advice i dont feel the urge to indulge in cakes and the desserts as such so i have no problems avoiding that sort of food...i tend to stick to yogurt and fruit for a sweet fix. I use whey as meal replacements on the go and post workout protein but im not overly keen on adding it to food! I wondered who is for and who is against bread? Is it really the devil when it comes to cutting fat? Im not gf so is it a problem to have a couple slices of wholemeal a day? I generally feel like i will die if i only eat veges as carbs! I can stay away from rice and pasta if needs be but potatoes and bread i feel i need if i'm not going to pass out!
Is dairy also bad? opinions?
Thanks
Assuming no individual allergies/intolerance:
Bread, pasta, dairy are all fine.
There's no need to restrict your carbohydrate selection to a small set of certain foods.
This also assumes you are still able to hit your calorie and macronurtient goals. Keep in mind that not all foods have an equal satiety value to them and so for example, if you selected kids cereal for your carbohydrates you might find yourself either excessively hungry or just over-eating.
cosign..
I would also add that unless carbs are eliminating your deficit there is no reason to avoid them. When cutting I usually keep my carbs at about 40% of my overall intake...1 -
Ace, cheers guys. I actually find it harder to hit my carb goals than the other 2 so cutting out certain things makes it soo hard! On my bulk it was hell hitting carbs as I could just never eat enough! I'm set at maintenance for now, and will drop down slowly over next few weeks... Hopefully won't go back to being a twig0
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jamandlettuce1 wrote: »Ace, cheers guys. I actually find it harder to hit my carb goals than the other 2 so cutting out certain things makes it soo hard! On my bulk it was hell hitting carbs as I could just never eat enough! I'm set at maintenance for now, and will drop down slowly over next few weeks... Hopefully won't go back to being a twig
I don't bother trying to hit my carb goal when I'm tracking.. I aim to hit the minimum protein and fat and let carbs fall where they may (as long as I am close to my cal goal and not way under or anything).1 -
jamandlettuce1 wrote: »thanks everyone for all your advice i dont feel the urge to indulge in cakes and the desserts as such so i have no problems avoiding that sort of food...i tend to stick to yogurt and fruit for a sweet fix. I use whey as meal replacements on the go and post workout protein but im not overly keen on adding it to food! I wondered who is for and who is against bread? Is it really the devil when it comes to cutting fat? Im not gf so is it a problem to have a couple slices of wholemeal a day? I generally feel like i will die if i only eat veges as carbs! I can stay away from rice and pasta if needs be but potatoes and bread i feel i need if i'm not going to pass out!
Is dairy also bad? opinions?
Thanks
Wholemeal? Poo to that.... Crusty white for me! Preferably a delicious sourdough!1 -
livingleanlivingclean wrote: »jamandlettuce1 wrote: »thanks everyone for all your advice i dont feel the urge to indulge in cakes and the desserts as such so i have no problems avoiding that sort of food...i tend to stick to yogurt and fruit for a sweet fix. I use whey as meal replacements on the go and post workout protein but im not overly keen on adding it to food! I wondered who is for and who is against bread? Is it really the devil when it comes to cutting fat? Im not gf so is it a problem to have a couple slices of wholemeal a day? I generally feel like i will die if i only eat veges as carbs! I can stay away from rice and pasta if needs be but potatoes and bread i feel i need if i'm not going to pass out!
Is dairy also bad? opinions?
Thanks
Wholemeal? Poo to that.... Crusty white for me! Preferably a delicious sourdough!
crusty white was my nickname in high school
...wait what3 -
Hahaha I actually prefer brown varieties, they have more flavour but I do like a white thick cut piece of toast dripping in butter and lemon curd lol0
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jamandlettuce1 wrote: »Ace, cheers guys. I actually find it harder to hit my carb goals than the other 2 so cutting out certain things makes it soo hard! On my bulk it was hell hitting carbs as I could just never eat enough! I'm set at maintenance for now, and will drop down slowly over next few weeks... Hopefully won't go back to being a twig
I don't bother trying to hit my carb goal when I'm tracking.. I aim to hit the minimum protein and fat and let carbs fall where they may (as long as I am close to my cal goal and not way under or anything).
Ace, thank you x0 -
livingleanlivingclean wrote: »jamandlettuce1 wrote: »thanks everyone for all your advice i dont feel the urge to indulge in cakes and the desserts as such so i have no problems avoiding that sort of food...i tend to stick to yogurt and fruit for a sweet fix. I use whey as meal replacements on the go and post workout protein but im not overly keen on adding it to food! I wondered who is for and who is against bread? Is it really the devil when it comes to cutting fat? Im not gf so is it a problem to have a couple slices of wholemeal a day? I generally feel like i will die if i only eat veges as carbs! I can stay away from rice and pasta if needs be but potatoes and bread i feel i need if i'm not going to pass out!
Is dairy also bad? opinions?
Thanks
Wholemeal? Poo to that.... Crusty white for me! Preferably a delicious sourdough!
crusty white was my nickname in high school
...wait what
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OP, carbs and fats are a bit more variable and personal. Just dont' cut fat too much as they support hormone balance.1
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Thanks... Will definitely keep that in mind. I've been adding a dollop of peanut butter to my yogurt or fruit in evening to try and hit those last fat macros as I do eat alot of low fat foods.OP, carbs and fats are a bit more variable and personal. Just dont' cut fat too much as they support hormone balance.
How does everyone cope with the weak feeling when they cut? Last time I did it I felt terrible all the time. I'm gradually cutting calories out this time to see if I respond better but not looking forward to losing the will to live!
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jamandlettuce1 wrote: »
Thanks... Will definitely keep that in mind. I've been adding a dollop of peanut butter to my yogurt or fruit in evening to try and hit those last fat macros as I do eat alot of low fat foods.OP, carbs and fats are a bit more variable and personal. Just dont' cut fat too much as they support hormone balance.
How does everyone cope with the weak feeling when they cut? Last time I did it I felt terrible all the time. I'm gradually cutting calories out this time to see if I respond better but not looking forward to losing the will to live!
I would suggest filling in remaining macros with carbs, as carbs = energy1 -
jamandlettuce1 wrote: »
Thanks... Will definitely keep that in mind. I've been adding a dollop of peanut butter to my yogurt or fruit in evening to try and hit those last fat macros as I do eat alot of low fat foods.OP, carbs and fats are a bit more variable and personal. Just dont' cut fat too much as they support hormone balance.
How does everyone cope with the weak feeling when they cut? Last time I did it I felt terrible all the time. I'm gradually cutting calories out this time to see if I respond better but not looking forward to losing the will to live!
I get around this by rapid cutting. I'm in, down ten pounds, and back out to maintenance before my strength tanks. That said, it's not for everyone, and requires a very specific protocol to avoid (or at least minimize) LBM loss.
You will be hungry, you will hate everyone, and it may not work out as well for you as it does for me. However, I prioritize relative strength above all else, so if I can manage to pull 495 at 165 instead of 175, I don't give a *kitten* what happens to my LBM number in the process.
That said, I (and a lot of others) pull it off regularly, with no discernible losses in such.1 -
jamandlettuce1 wrote: »Hahaha I actually prefer brown varieties, they have more flavour but I do like a white thick cut piece of toast dripping in butter and lemon curd lol
Now your talking!1 -
Cheers guys
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I have nothing to add but I read the topic as 'Keeping muscle on a Cat' haha1
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LizzyK1983 wrote: »I have nothing to add but I read the topic as 'Keeping muscle on a Cat' haha
Haha had to check I didn't typo for a minute then!0
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