Anyone cutting after a bulk?

I just finished my bulk. I have the week off from lifting but need to plan how to go back. I'm thinking of maintenance through March (I have a birthday party planned) and then a very slow cut till June. I'm feeling a little too fluffy for my bikini right now.

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

Week 4 of RFL in the books and weight is down 9.3Lbs on the weekly average and 15.1Lbs from starting weight. Let off the gas Friday night and all day Saturday, letting myself have a couple drinks each night and killed some carbs throughout the day Saturday. But right back to it Sunday and I'm gonna be fairly strict for the next 2 weeks, maybe 3 if I can push it. Then 2 weeks off. Energy levels fluctuate but mostly tolerable and very little strength drop. Hunger isn't too bad but I've spaced my food out enough to combat it during the day. On a full EC stack but at this point I feel the effects have diminished to be hardly noticeable.

Week 5 went pretty well. Skipped the free meal for the week. Had a couple drinks Friday evening but didn't indulge in any other extra calories. Sunday was my refeed and the carbs were as wonderful as I'd hoped. Weight is down another 2.2Lbs from last week on the weekly average. Overall, weekly average loss is 11.5Lbs, and, total weight loss is 16Lbs. Energy levels are still acceptable and hunger is always present but getting less noticeable. Lost a rep on a couple lifts yesterday but that's the first I've noticed any decrease in strength. Planning to grind out two more weeks then break for two weeks.

Week 6 was a bit of a drag. Loss slowed and found myself really craving food. Managed to fight it off until Saturday night when I had a couple drinks that led me to snacking a few hundred calories. So, the planned refeed for Sunday had to be quite strict and ended up just being kinda miserable instead of relieving and satisfying. Going to grind out the rest of this week and then take my 2 week break. Weekly average loss is 13.1Lbs and overall loss from starting weight is 18.5. I'd really hoped to hit 200Lbs on the scale before my break but not looking likely.

Started slowly back to maintenance calories throughout Friday & Saturday; so nice to have plenty of energy and eat carbs and all that good stuff. To close out my first phase of 7 weeks on RFL, I'm down 15Lbs on my weekly average and 21Lbs overall. Expecting around 5Lbs to come back on as water weight normalizes. My goal was to hit 200 this cycle but I ended up at 203.

I'll take a two week break while running a normal lifting routine (and a hefty amount of adult beverages on the upcoming St Patty's Day ), followed by another 6 week RFL cycle to hopefully get and additional 10-15Lbs off. If I can get to 190Lbs I'll be ecstatic to start summer time.

It's been really nice eating a regular diet and getting solid workouts in. St Paddy's was a successful day full of adult beverages and tasty treats without any guilt and my weight has stayed steady so far. Settled in at around 208Lbs so water weight checks out at about 5Lbs. Maintenance calories are around 2,500 with macro targets of 30%P/45%C/25%F; I'm lifting 4 days per week during the break. Gonna stick to the break the rest of this week and return to RFL next Monday.

Seems a bit quiet in here given we're about 12 weeks from summer. Figured this thread would be busier :shrug:

So I’m 0.6lb lower than my last cut, that counts right? Apparently bodyfat is 5% lower as well.

Week 11 and getting very hard. I think another 4lbs would see me where I want to be but considering a last minute vacation. A refeed is well and truly due so if I go away I think I will go to 0.5lb week loss when I return

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

11 weeks is a long time! Nice work! Takes serious patience to work that duration.

Thanks! I seem to be better at bulk/cutting than I am at maintaining.

maverick4x4 wrote: »

Checking in. Hit my initial weight target last Saturday but had already adjusted it lower because fat removal goals not met. Doing 25/50/25 c/p/f since mid-December. 1g/lb protein. So far so good. The daily up and down makes me crazy, but I like the trans. Does anyone know why the weight goes up and down so much? My daily intake is pretty consistent, as are the things I eat and when I eat them.

Well done on reaching your initial goal 💪

Weight fluctuations are normal. Generally they’re caused by water weight. Maybe you have ate something with a higher salt content or maybe your body retains more water to repair muscles after a hard workout. Just the way it is I’m afraid.

Better to use a weight trending app for daily weigh ins. These show your moving average so even when the scale has moved up slightly they report a downward trend with a lower moving average.

Fluctuations can totally derail a cut. My first cut was for many months, maybe 6. I didn’t know about trending apps and at the end one little increase was enough for me to go *kitten* it! Straight into a bulk when another few lbs would have had me at my goal. It’s easy to over react and get fed up after a long cut. Well least is was for me.

The trend apps are free for iPhone it’s called happy scale and for Android it’s libra.

Keep up the good work 💪

maverick4x4 wrote: »

Checking in. Hit my initial weight target last Saturday but had already adjusted it lower because fat removal goals not met. Doing 25/50/25 c/p/f since mid-December. 1g/lb protein. So far so good. The daily up and down makes me crazy, but I like the trans. Does anyone know why the weight goes up and down so much? My daily intake is pretty consistent, as are the things I eat and when I eat them.

That's pretty awesome work! Agree the fluctuations are maddening but that's nature of things. What is your transition plan once you finish your cut?

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

Week 4 of RFL in the books and weight is down 9.3Lbs on the weekly average and 15.1Lbs from starting weight. Let off the gas Friday night and all day Saturday, letting myself have a couple drinks each night and killed some carbs throughout the day Saturday. But right back to it Sunday and I'm gonna be fairly strict for the next 2 weeks, maybe 3 if I can push it. Then 2 weeks off. Energy levels fluctuate but mostly tolerable and very little strength drop. Hunger isn't too bad but I've spaced my food out enough to combat it during the day. On a full EC stack but at this point I feel the effects have diminished to be hardly noticeable.

Week 5 went pretty well. Skipped the free meal for the week. Had a couple drinks Friday evening but didn't indulge in any other extra calories. Sunday was my refeed and the carbs were as wonderful as I'd hoped. Weight is down another 2.2Lbs from last week on the weekly average. Overall, weekly average loss is 11.5Lbs, and, total weight loss is 16Lbs. Energy levels are still acceptable and hunger is always present but getting less noticeable. Lost a rep on a couple lifts yesterday but that's the first I've noticed any decrease in strength. Planning to grind out two more weeks then break for two weeks.

Week 6 was a bit of a drag. Loss slowed and found myself really craving food. Managed to fight it off until Saturday night when I had a couple drinks that led me to snacking a few hundred calories. So, the planned refeed for Sunday had to be quite strict and ended up just being kinda miserable instead of relieving and satisfying. Going to grind out the rest of this week and then take my 2 week break. Weekly average loss is 13.1Lbs and overall loss from starting weight is 18.5. I'd really hoped to hit 200Lbs on the scale before my break but not looking likely.

Started slowly back to maintenance calories throughout Friday & Saturday; so nice to have plenty of energy and eat carbs and all that good stuff. To close out my first phase of 7 weeks on RFL, I'm down 15Lbs on my weekly average and 21Lbs overall. Expecting around 5Lbs to come back on as water weight normalizes. My goal was to hit 200 this cycle but I ended up at 203.

I'll take a two week break while running a normal lifting routine (and a hefty amount of adult beverages on the upcoming St Patty's Day ), followed by another 6 week RFL cycle to hopefully get and additional 10-15Lbs off. If I can get to 190Lbs I'll be ecstatic to start summer time.

It's been really nice eating a regular diet and getting solid workouts in. St Paddy's was a successful day full of adult beverages and tasty treats without any guilt and my weight has stayed steady so far. Settled in at around 208Lbs so water weight checks out at about 5Lbs. Maintenance calories are around 2,500 with macro targets of 30%P/45%C/25%F; I'm lifting 4 days per week during the break. Gonna stick to the break the rest of this week and return to RFL next Monday.

Seems a bit quiet in here given we're about 12 weeks from summer. Figured this thread would be busier :shrug:

Back on RFL protocols today. Calorie goal is 1200/day, P195/C30/F33; supplements are EC stack 3x/day, 9 fish oils, daily vitamin, Potassium, magnesium, vitamin D, and biotin.

The 2 week break was fantastic, but, I crept back up to nearly 210 so it's important that I jump back in full force and make sure I don't fall off the cliff. Certainly less motivation this time around but there's goals to be met so I'll have to be diligent.

Once I get through these next six weeks, I plan to post some progress photos; not that it's terribly impressive but hoping there's a noticeable enough difference to show off a bit.

jseams1234 wrote: »

... decided not to cut. Too much going on right now and just not in the mood so I've been maintaining - I guess you could call it a recomp of sorts. I'm not logging currently except to keep a running tally in my head for my protein totals. I lost a bit initially and I've been hovering around 210 for the past month. It's been refreshing not logging anything and just eating what I want when I want. It's sort of experiment to see if I could maintain without having to log. Progress with lifts are slow, however, and that does annoy me. I *have* made progress but mostly just adding reps here and there except for rows and overhead press. Those made good jumps for some reason.

That's where I really struggle - putting limits on myself without the accountability of logging or following a strict program. Especially once I add some drinks to the mix. Nice work!

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

Week 4 of RFL in the books and weight is down 9.3Lbs on the weekly average and 15.1Lbs from starting weight. Let off the gas Friday night and all day Saturday, letting myself have a couple drinks each night and killed some carbs throughout the day Saturday. But right back to it Sunday and I'm gonna be fairly strict for the next 2 weeks, maybe 3 if I can push it. Then 2 weeks off. Energy levels fluctuate but mostly tolerable and very little strength drop. Hunger isn't too bad but I've spaced my food out enough to combat it during the day. On a full EC stack but at this point I feel the effects have diminished to be hardly noticeable.

Week 5 went pretty well. Skipped the free meal for the week. Had a couple drinks Friday evening but didn't indulge in any other extra calories. Sunday was my refeed and the carbs were as wonderful as I'd hoped. Weight is down another 2.2Lbs from last week on the weekly average. Overall, weekly average loss is 11.5Lbs, and, total weight loss is 16Lbs. Energy levels are still acceptable and hunger is always present but getting less noticeable. Lost a rep on a couple lifts yesterday but that's the first I've noticed any decrease in strength. Planning to grind out two more weeks then break for two weeks.

Week 6 was a bit of a drag. Loss slowed and found myself really craving food. Managed to fight it off until Saturday night when I had a couple drinks that led me to snacking a few hundred calories. So, the planned refeed for Sunday had to be quite strict and ended up just being kinda miserable instead of relieving and satisfying. Going to grind out the rest of this week and then take my 2 week break. Weekly average loss is 13.1Lbs and overall loss from starting weight is 18.5. I'd really hoped to hit 200Lbs on the scale before my break but not looking likely.

Started slowly back to maintenance calories throughout Friday & Saturday; so nice to have plenty of energy and eat carbs and all that good stuff. To close out my first phase of 7 weeks on RFL, I'm down 15Lbs on my weekly average and 21Lbs overall. Expecting around 5Lbs to come back on as water weight normalizes. My goal was to hit 200 this cycle but I ended up at 203.

I'll take a two week break while running a normal lifting routine (and a hefty amount of adult beverages on the upcoming St Patty's Day ), followed by another 6 week RFL cycle to hopefully get and additional 10-15Lbs off. If I can get to 190Lbs I'll be ecstatic to start summer time.

It's been really nice eating a regular diet and getting solid workouts in. St Paddy's was a successful day full of adult beverages and tasty treats without any guilt and my weight has stayed steady so far. Settled in at around 208Lbs so water weight checks out at about 5Lbs. Maintenance calories are around 2,500 with macro targets of 30%P/45%C/25%F; I'm lifting 4 days per week during the break. Gonna stick to the break the rest of this week and return to RFL next Monday.

Seems a bit quiet in here given we're about 12 weeks from summer. Figured this thread would be busier :shrug:

Back on RFL protocols today. Calorie goal is 1200/day, P195/C30/F33; supplements are EC stack 3x/day, 9 fish oils, daily vitamin, Potassium, magnesium, vitamin D, and biotin.

The 2 week break was fantastic, but, I crept back up to nearly 210 so it's important that I jump back in full force and make sure I don't fall off the cliff. Certainly less motivation this time around but there's goals to be met so I'll have to be diligent.

Once I get through these next six weeks, I plan to post some progress photos; not that it's terribly impressive but hoping there's a noticeable enough difference to show off a bit.

Why 1200 cals/day? trying to lose 3-4lbs/week? for a male, it is suggested not to go below 1200 cals. if you get 195 protein, you are only leaving yourself 420 cals for fat and carbs, even if all 420 was from fat, that amount of fat is not enough, or are you not counting the fish oil?

psuLemon wrote: »

erickirb wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

Week 4 of RFL in the books and weight is down 9.3Lbs on the weekly average and 15.1Lbs from starting weight. Let off the gas Friday night and all day Saturday, letting myself have a couple drinks each night and killed some carbs throughout the day Saturday. But right back to it Sunday and I'm gonna be fairly strict for the next 2 weeks, maybe 3 if I can push it. Then 2 weeks off. Energy levels fluctuate but mostly tolerable and very little strength drop. Hunger isn't too bad but I've spaced my food out enough to combat it during the day. On a full EC stack but at this point I feel the effects have diminished to be hardly noticeable.

Week 5 went pretty well. Skipped the free meal for the week. Had a couple drinks Friday evening but didn't indulge in any other extra calories. Sunday was my refeed and the carbs were as wonderful as I'd hoped. Weight is down another 2.2Lbs from last week on the weekly average. Overall, weekly average loss is 11.5Lbs, and, total weight loss is 16Lbs. Energy levels are still acceptable and hunger is always present but getting less noticeable. Lost a rep on a couple lifts yesterday but that's the first I've noticed any decrease in strength. Planning to grind out two more weeks then break for two weeks.

Week 6 was a bit of a drag. Loss slowed and found myself really craving food. Managed to fight it off until Saturday night when I had a couple drinks that led me to snacking a few hundred calories. So, the planned refeed for Sunday had to be quite strict and ended up just being kinda miserable instead of relieving and satisfying. Going to grind out the rest of this week and then take my 2 week break. Weekly average loss is 13.1Lbs and overall loss from starting weight is 18.5. I'd really hoped to hit 200Lbs on the scale before my break but not looking likely.

Started slowly back to maintenance calories throughout Friday & Saturday; so nice to have plenty of energy and eat carbs and all that good stuff. To close out my first phase of 7 weeks on RFL, I'm down 15Lbs on my weekly average and 21Lbs overall. Expecting around 5Lbs to come back on as water weight normalizes. My goal was to hit 200 this cycle but I ended up at 203.

I'll take a two week break while running a normal lifting routine (and a hefty amount of adult beverages on the upcoming St Patty's Day ), followed by another 6 week RFL cycle to hopefully get and additional 10-15Lbs off. If I can get to 190Lbs I'll be ecstatic to start summer time.

It's been really nice eating a regular diet and getting solid workouts in. St Paddy's was a successful day full of adult beverages and tasty treats without any guilt and my weight has stayed steady so far. Settled in at around 208Lbs so water weight checks out at about 5Lbs. Maintenance calories are around 2,500 with macro targets of 30%P/45%C/25%F; I'm lifting 4 days per week during the break. Gonna stick to the break the rest of this week and return to RFL next Monday.

Seems a bit quiet in here given we're about 12 weeks from summer. Figured this thread would be busier :shrug:

Back on RFL protocols today. Calorie goal is 1200/day, P195/C30/F33; supplements are EC stack 3x/day, 9 fish oils, daily vitamin, Potassium, magnesium, vitamin D, and biotin.

The 2 week break was fantastic, but, I crept back up to nearly 210 so it's important that I jump back in full force and make sure I don't fall off the cliff. Certainly less motivation this time around but there's goals to be met so I'll have to be diligent.

Once I get through these next six weeks, I plan to post some progress photos; not that it's terribly impressive but hoping there's a noticeable enough difference to show off a bit.

Why 1200 cals/day? trying to lose 3-4lbs/week? for a male, it is suggested not to go below 1200 cals. if you get 195 protein, you are only leaving yourself 420 cals for fat and carbs, even if all 420 was from fat, that amount of fat is not enough, or are you not counting the fish oil?

It's a pretty standard number for the RFL protocol. And yes, generally fish oil is recommended.

Okay, guess I stand corrected... though I have trouble cutting at 0.5lbs/week 1950 cals. Lol

Yeah, not just going at it on my own lol. As Lemon mentioned, it's a very strictly defined diet program written by one of the best diet & recomp minds in the business. Quite miserable to run but effective. Goal is to maximize fat loss while minimizing muscle/strength loss. Certainly not for everyone but I've found it to be useful for my needs and personal limitations (or weaknesses, haha).

nab212 wrote: »

How many calories in a deficit do you guys usually start out with? I know everyone is different but my last cut, I think started too quick and I lost a lot of size. I coming off a month or two of letting my diet go. Hit a platoe pretty hard and wanted remotivate myself. Any suggestions?

I usually cut at 10-15% below TDEE (300-350 cal deficit), for 5 days a week and usually eat maintenance or close to it on weekends. end up losing about 0.5lbs/week that way, some weeks a little less, others a little more. I have hunger and energy level issues if I reduce cals any more than that