Anyone cutting after a bulk?
Replies
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I am not lean like most of you awesome folks are yet.
I have an ED history, am 44 this year and wanted to see how my body worked under a controlled surplus for 12 weeks. I gained 8 lbs comfortably. I am at 170lbs now after slowly losing 5lbs and have been maintaining that for a couple of months due to sickness and injury. I am seeing muscles at this weight that I never did before. So I am hoping that on my way to goal (135 - 140lbs and then another bulk) I see better results than previous attempts over the years to grow muscle and get lean. I will be cutting for 6 weeks (I refeed and free meal it on Fridays) and then having a 2 week diet break. That should take me to end of May. Then cutting again until end or middle of July and taking another diet break. And back to cutting again. My goal weight might change, it might be higher this time around, it might not be. I have only ever gotten as low as 19 - 20 % bodyfat before.
Macros are 40c, 30f, 30p. Lifting is an 8 week three day split, hypertrophy and then I want to get back to strength training with a powerlifting 12 week programme. I am not logging/measuring as tightly as before and finding I am doing pretty well this way. I log/measure Fridays food/drink only.3 -
I'm having a hell of a time trying to get into the right mindset for cutting. Not sure what's up this year as previously I've done fine. This year....dunno what's going on. Guess I just need to suck it up and get going.3
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piperdown44 wrote: »I'm having a hell of a time trying to get into the right mindset for cutting. Not sure what's up this year as previously I've done fine. This year....dunno what's going on. Guess I just need to suck it up and get going.
I struggled too. I mean I'm always intending to cut...scheduling the photo shoot is helping.2 -
piperdown44 wrote: »I'm having a hell of a time trying to get into the right mindset for cutting. Not sure what's up this year as previously I've done fine. This year....dunno what's going on. Guess I just need to suck it up and get going.
I'm hoping my motivation kicks in. I don't know how it is going to be, I have mostly been eating very calorie dense highly palatable food for a long time so I'm hoping it won't be a huge painful adjustment.5 -
I am hoping my progress will continue. I have been doing a more intuitive style of eating for about a week and went from 177.2 down to 176.1 this morning. But time will tell.2
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I have also been thoroughly enjoying the "I'm still under maintenance for the day, I can eat that" mentality. Been doing alright this week so far, got back to 175 this morning after that caloric explosion of a weekend (~4000/day Saturday and Sunday). Didn't lift Monday but did a light, "deload"-style workout when I got home last night, hit my main lifts for fewer sets with weight I knew I could handle with ease and felt really good to do something.1
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piperdown44 wrote: »I'm having a hell of a time trying to get into the right mindset for cutting. Not sure what's up this year as previously I've done fine. This year....dunno what's going on. Guess I just need to suck it up and get going.
I'm hoping my motivation kicks in. I don't know how it is going to be, I have mostly been eating very calorie dense highly palatable food for a long time so I'm hoping it won't be a huge painful adjustment.
It seems like you're pretty good with the whole "moderation" way of eating. I have to switch to super high volume/low fat to cut.3 -
piperdown44 wrote: »I'm having a hell of a time trying to get into the right mindset for cutting. Not sure what's up this year as previously I've done fine. This year....dunno what's going on. Guess I just need to suck it up and get going.
I'm hoping my motivation kicks in. I don't know how it is going to be, I have mostly been eating very calorie dense highly palatable food for a long time so I'm hoping it won't be a huge painful adjustment.
It seems like you're pretty good with the whole "moderation" way of eating. I have to switch to super high volume/low fat to cut.
Yea, for the most part... but right now my diet has become really grimy. When I cut I have two lower cal/carb days per week so I have to plan for those, which I might even track the first few weeks to make sure I am not over on my cals and hitting the protein.3 -
You're gonna rock. And I'll be here cutting so we can commiserate.piperdown44 wrote: »I'm having a hell of a time trying to get into the right mindset for cutting. Not sure what's up this year as previously I've done fine. This year....dunno what's going on. Guess I just need to suck it up and get going.
I'm hoping my motivation kicks in. I don't know how it is going to be, I have mostly been eating very calorie dense highly palatable food for a long time so I'm hoping it won't be a huge painful adjustment.
It seems like you're pretty good with the whole "moderation" way of eating. I have to switch to super high volume/low fat to cut.
Yea, for the most part... but right now my diet has become really grimy. When I cut I have two lower cal/carb days per week so I have to plan for those, which I might even track the first few weeks to make sure I am not over on my cals and hitting the protein.2 -
Still working on my cut but today was a bad day. Trying not to beat myself up but i know where I went wrong today. First of all I didn’t have any food left from my meal prep which almost never happens. Normally I meal prep Sunday’s and Wednesday’s. Secondly since I didn’t meal prep I also didn’t eat my normal 6-7 meals per day. Lastly I was tired because I have been cutting and didn’t get the rest I needed last night. All those things together resulted in me eating over 800+ calories then I was supposed to. Oh well just need be on point tomorrow. Hopefully those of you who are cutting can learn from my mistakes. Good luck to all and feel free to share your thoughts and struggles as we cut together.1
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mkgoodson1007 wrote: »Still working on my cut but today was a bad day. Trying not to beat myself up but i know where I went wrong today. First of all I didn’t have any food left from my meal prep which almost never happens. Normally I meal prep Sunday’s and Wednesday’s. Secondly since I didn’t meal prep I also didn’t eat my normal 6-7 meals per day. Lastly I was tired because I have been cutting and didn’t get the rest I needed last night. All those things together resulted in me eating over 800+ calories then I was supposed to. Oh well just need be on point tomorrow. Hopefully those of you who are cutting can learn from my mistakes. Good luck to all and feel free to share your thoughts and struggles as we cut together.
The combination of lack of sleep and not being prepped can do me in too. I might have trouble sleeping tonight because I did AMRAP sets today and had a bit too much caffeine
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mkgoodson1007 wrote: »Still working on my cut but today was a bad day. Trying not to beat myself up but i know where I went wrong today. First of all I didn’t have any food left from my meal prep which almost never happens. Normally I meal prep Sunday’s and Wednesday’s. Secondly since I didn’t meal prep I also didn’t eat my normal 6-7 meals per day. Lastly I was tired because I have been cutting and didn’t get the rest I needed last night. All those things together resulted in me eating over 800+ calories then I was supposed to. Oh well just need be on point tomorrow. Hopefully those of you who are cutting can learn from my mistakes. Good luck to all and feel free to share your thoughts and struggles as we cut together.
The combination of lack of sleep and not being prepped can do me in too. I might have trouble sleeping tonight because I did AMRAP sets today and had a bit too much caffeine
Don’t think I’ll be doing AMRAP anytime soon. It’s bad enough living in a calorie and carb deficit. Are you planning to track everything? Tracking everything really helps me and of course it’s time to break out the food scale again. Also curious how you all are planning to track BF. I am using the hand held device but only for trends. So far it’s trending down. I have heard from some that it’s 2-3% off on the higher side. My last measurement was Saturday and it said 14.7%.0 -
Im running 50/30/20 putting a caloric deficit of 400 cals for 3 days on 1 day refeed. Macros will adjust on those days. I am pulling around 55lbs so far im around 34lbs to the good on the cut.....ill plain out a little here and there in order to maintain gains as long as i adjust macros properly hasnt been an issue yet.1
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piperdown44 wrote: »I'm having a hell of a time trying to get into the right mindset for cutting. Not sure what's up this year as previously I've done fine. This year....dunno what's going on. Guess I just need to suck it up and get going.
I struggled too. I mean I'm always intending to cut...scheduling the photo shoot is helping.piperdown44 wrote: »I'm having a hell of a time trying to get into the right mindset for cutting. Not sure what's up this year as previously I've done fine. This year....dunno what's going on. Guess I just need to suck it up and get going.
I'm hoping my motivation kicks in. I don't know how it is going to be, I have mostly been eating very calorie dense highly palatable food for a long time so I'm hoping it won't be a huge painful adjustment.
Finally have gone a full 5 days without derailing my cut.
The past 5 or so years I haven't had an issue with dropping weight, locked on so to speak, and work down to a comfortable weight.
This year...yeesh! Doing fine for a day or so then it seems like I zone out and the next thing I know I've plowed through the calories like a dog getting into a plate of bacon. I've had to focus a lot more these past 5 days and not mindlessly grab food items.1 -
mkgoodson1007 wrote: »mkgoodson1007 wrote: »Still working on my cut but today was a bad day. Trying not to beat myself up but i know where I went wrong today. First of all I didn’t have any food left from my meal prep which almost never happens. Normally I meal prep Sunday’s and Wednesday’s. Secondly since I didn’t meal prep I also didn’t eat my normal 6-7 meals per day. Lastly I was tired because I have been cutting and didn’t get the rest I needed last night. All those things together resulted in me eating over 800+ calories then I was supposed to. Oh well just need be on point tomorrow. Hopefully those of you who are cutting can learn from my mistakes. Good luck to all and feel free to share your thoughts and struggles as we cut together.
The combination of lack of sleep and not being prepped can do me in too. I might have trouble sleeping tonight because I did AMRAP sets today and had a bit too much caffeine
Don’t think I’ll be doing AMRAP anytime soon. It’s bad enough living in a calorie and carb deficit. Are you planning to track everything? Tracking everything really helps me and of course it’s time to break out the food scale again. Also curious how you all are planning to track BF. I am using the hand held device but only for trends. So far it’s trending down. I have heard from some that it’s 2-3% off on the higher side. My last measurement was Saturday and it said 14.7%.
Yeah I'm not even a week in lol.
Of course I'll track calories. I can eat 3000 calories per day EASILY if not.1 -
mkgoodson1007 wrote: »mkgoodson1007 wrote: »Still working on my cut but today was a bad day. Trying not to beat myself up but i know where I went wrong today. First of all I didn’t have any food left from my meal prep which almost never happens. Normally I meal prep Sunday’s and Wednesday’s. Secondly since I didn’t meal prep I also didn’t eat my normal 6-7 meals per day. Lastly I was tired because I have been cutting and didn’t get the rest I needed last night. All those things together resulted in me eating over 800+ calories then I was supposed to. Oh well just need be on point tomorrow. Hopefully those of you who are cutting can learn from my mistakes. Good luck to all and feel free to share your thoughts and struggles as we cut together.
The combination of lack of sleep and not being prepped can do me in too. I might have trouble sleeping tonight because I did AMRAP sets today and had a bit too much caffeine
Don’t think I’ll be doing AMRAP anytime soon. It’s bad enough living in a calorie and carb deficit. Are you planning to track everything? Tracking everything really helps me and of course it’s time to break out the food scale again. Also curious how you all are planning to track BF. I am using the hand held device but only for trends. So far it’s trending down. I have heard from some that it’s 2-3% off on the higher side. My last measurement was Saturday and it said 14.7%.
Yeah I'm not even a week in lol.
Of course I'll track calories. I can eat 3000 calories per day EASILY if not.
I'm the same way0 -
mkgoodson1007 wrote: »mkgoodson1007 wrote: »Still working on my cut but today was a bad day. Trying not to beat myself up but i know where I went wrong today. First of all I didn’t have any food left from my meal prep which almost never happens. Normally I meal prep Sunday’s and Wednesday’s. Secondly since I didn’t meal prep I also didn’t eat my normal 6-7 meals per day. Lastly I was tired because I have been cutting and didn’t get the rest I needed last night. All those things together resulted in me eating over 800+ calories then I was supposed to. Oh well just need be on point tomorrow. Hopefully those of you who are cutting can learn from my mistakes. Good luck to all and feel free to share your thoughts and struggles as we cut together.
The combination of lack of sleep and not being prepped can do me in too. I might have trouble sleeping tonight because I did AMRAP sets today and had a bit too much caffeine
Don’t think I’ll be doing AMRAP anytime soon. It’s bad enough living in a calorie and carb deficit. Are you planning to track everything? Tracking everything really helps me and of course it’s time to break out the food scale again. Also curious how you all are planning to track BF. I am using the hand held device but only for trends. So far it’s trending down. I have heard from some that it’s 2-3% off on the higher side. My last measurement was Saturday and it said 14.7%.
I don't really track bodyfat% but I use the mirror and keep cutting until I am somewhat happy or until I start to look worse.4 -
mkgoodson1007 wrote: »mkgoodson1007 wrote: »Still working on my cut but today was a bad day. Trying not to beat myself up but i know where I went wrong today. First of all I didn’t have any food left from my meal prep which almost never happens. Normally I meal prep Sunday’s and Wednesday’s. Secondly since I didn’t meal prep I also didn’t eat my normal 6-7 meals per day. Lastly I was tired because I have been cutting and didn’t get the rest I needed last night. All those things together resulted in me eating over 800+ calories then I was supposed to. Oh well just need be on point tomorrow. Hopefully those of you who are cutting can learn from my mistakes. Good luck to all and feel free to share your thoughts and struggles as we cut together.
The combination of lack of sleep and not being prepped can do me in too. I might have trouble sleeping tonight because I did AMRAP sets today and had a bit too much caffeine
Don’t think I’ll be doing AMRAP anytime soon. It’s bad enough living in a calorie and carb deficit. Are you planning to track everything? Tracking everything really helps me and of course it’s time to break out the food scale again. Also curious how you all are planning to track BF. I am using the hand held device but only for trends. So far it’s trending down. I have heard from some that it’s 2-3% off on the higher side. My last measurement was Saturday and it said 14.7%.
I don't really track bodyfat% but I use the mirror and keep cutting until I am somewhat happy or until I start to look worse.
Same. But I'm not a good judge of myself. I've seen pictures of me when I was 128. I thought I was fat then. Now I think I look scrawny at that weight.
I have a friend who gave me an excel file to track my weight and measurements and I'm going to send him progress pics. I trust him to be honest with me.3 -
mkgoodson1007 wrote: »mkgoodson1007 wrote: »Still working on my cut but today was a bad day. Trying not to beat myself up but i know where I went wrong today. First of all I didn’t have any food left from my meal prep which almost never happens. Normally I meal prep Sunday’s and Wednesday’s. Secondly since I didn’t meal prep I also didn’t eat my normal 6-7 meals per day. Lastly I was tired because I have been cutting and didn’t get the rest I needed last night. All those things together resulted in me eating over 800+ calories then I was supposed to. Oh well just need be on point tomorrow. Hopefully those of you who are cutting can learn from my mistakes. Good luck to all and feel free to share your thoughts and struggles as we cut together.
The combination of lack of sleep and not being prepped can do me in too. I might have trouble sleeping tonight because I did AMRAP sets today and had a bit too much caffeine
Don’t think I’ll be doing AMRAP anytime soon. It’s bad enough living in a calorie and carb deficit. Are you planning to track everything? Tracking everything really helps me and of course it’s time to break out the food scale again. Also curious how you all are planning to track BF. I am using the hand held device but only for trends. So far it’s trending down. I have heard from some that it’s 2-3% off on the higher side. My last measurement was Saturday and it said 14.7%.
I don't really track bodyfat% but I use the mirror and keep cutting until I am somewhat happy or until I start to look worse.
Same. But I'm not a good judge of myself. I've seen pictures of me when I was 128. I thought I was fat then. Now I think I look scrawny at that weight.
I have a friend who gave me an excel file to track my weight and measurements and I'm going to send him progress pics. I trust him to be honest with me.
Yea I hear ya.. sometimes I wish I had a coach to help me out and tell me what I need to do3 -
So this is more of a vent - I just need to work on where my head is at and I know that. It has been a bit of a rough week. I have never before been that bothered by scale fluctuations. I have weighed myself daily for years and know what happens to my weight. Mid cycle and right before my period I have a scale increase. This is not surprising - I am fully aware of the fluctuations.
Yet for some reason this week it is been messing with my head. I increase my calories from losing 3 pounds a month to losing 2 pounds a month and boom scale increase. All these crazy thoughts immediately run through my head - My metabolisms f'd up! Why is my lower abdomen so fat, is that where I store fat first? I can't remember! I am never going to be able to eat cake again! OMG I need to drop calories - this increase is not working.
A few hours go by and I realize what is going on - mid cycle fluctuations. OK. I just need to ride this out, there is no reason to drop calories. Don't overreact.
It has been a few days now. I was peeing like crazy yesterday and my lower belly looks a little strange. I thought for sure I was going to whoosh. NOPE! I am the same weight as yesterday. I really feel like crying at this point. Grrrr stupid hormones.3
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