Anyone cutting after a bulk?
Replies
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Appreciate the info. Do you guys intermediate fast any? Or carb cycle? My last cut, I intermediate fasted then carb backloaded after my workouts. Usually quite moderate on the carbs and also depended on what muscle groups I hit.0
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Appreciate the info. Do you guys intermediate fast any? Or carb cycle? My last cut, I intermediate fasted then carb backloaded after my workouts. Usually quite moderate on the carbs and also depended on what muscle groups I hit.
Nope, but the biggest difference in my diet from cutting to maintaining to bulking is almost all due to changes in carb intake, keeping fat and protein relatively stable under all 3 scenarios1 -
I don't IF, but I do a bit of carb cycling. For me it helps with adherence and workout performance. Maybe some positive hormonal effects too? Who knows. So I did two low calorie/carb days on my rest days or lighter cardio days. Three medium days and then two heavier refeeds on weekends. I was not very precise about it though, really lax, rough estimates, I didn't track (although I kept tabs on my protein levels somedays)0
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What do your grams of carbs usually run during a cut? I'm thinking I was averaging 150 or less.0
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Pretty much all complex carbs. Usually a brown rice or oats. I would eat a banana post workout with some rice cakes0
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I didn't really track but did for a few days to get an idea then went with it, so my days look like this
2600- high day
Carbs: 250-325g
Fat: 75-95g
Protein: 160 g
2100 - medium day
Carbs: 195g
Fat: 75g
Protein: 160g
1700 - low day
Carbs: 95g
Fat: 75g
Protein: 160g
Sometimes my low days would get even lower than that so I could have higher refeeds. I would get my protein in, minimum fats and very little carbs.
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And my carbs ranged from whole grain toast, jam, croutons, candy, a little fruit, pasta, rice, potatoes, tortillas, polenta, risotto, pancakes, lots of vegetables2
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Yeah I take in a lot of greens. Some sweet potatoes. Of course, I'd allow myself some sweets here and there. So you carb cycle. Seem to work for you?0
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Yepp definitely worked for me. Was the easiest and most comfortable cut so far, no real loss of strength, always felt great, not a lot of hunger or loss of energy, achieved my best physique yet. I mentioned this above but I also took several diet breaks (which I never did in the past) what a huge difference.0
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Oh and the best part was I was able to live life. Eat out regularly, dinners at family's house, functions, vacations. No one around me (besides my husband) even knew I was on a cut.0
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I think my endocrinologist would hunt me down and force-feed me if I tried to drop to 1,200 cals a day.
I just finished a light 12-week cut because I was just sick of eating. Dropped 5-6 lbs.
I just stayed at around 14-15 calories per pound of body weight and did Andy Baker's Garage Gym Warrior program.
I was practically on cruise control.
For the record, I bulk at about 17 calories per pound of body weight, and I'm not a "big" guy to begin with.1 -
Same here. I struggle more with clean bulking than cutting.2
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After an awkward weigh day with my personal trainer last night- it would seem that after my competition this weekend it is time for me to consider stopping eating all of the food
Long time lurker of this thread, and I want some accountability so thought I would join in
I think my maintenance is around 2,400cal, so I will look to drop it to 2,150 and see how it goes for a couple of months! Not actively looked to lose weight for a couple of years now, so not looking forward to it!7 -
stephaniedenise28 wrote: »After an awkward weigh day with my personal trainer last night- it would seem that after my competition this weekend it is time for me to consider stopping eating all of the food
Long time lurker of this thread, and I want some accountability so thought I would join in
I think my maintenance is around 2,400cal, so I will look to drop it to 2,150 and see how it goes for a couple of months! Not actively looked to lose weight for a couple of years now, so not looking forward to it!
Welcome to the insanity group.0 -
stephaniedenise28 wrote: »After an awkward weigh day with my personal trainer last night- it would seem that after my competition this weekend it is time for me to consider stopping eating all of the food
Long time lurker of this thread, and I want some accountability so thought I would join in
I think my maintenance is around 2,400cal, so I will look to drop it to 2,150 and see how it goes for a couple of months! Not actively looked to lose weight for a couple of years now, so not looking forward to it!
What type of competition? I find it’s easier to cut then it is to lean bulk. Good luck this weekend!1 -
185.5 this morning. I feel like my head is back in the right place.
Of course, my coach joking that he was going to put me on the Jacobs Ladder for the entirety of my next training session if I didn’t lose may have helped! :laugh:2 -
Back down to 174.8 this morning for me.
I feel like IF is helping with adherence but it's a little hard to say with the work travel I've had over the last two weeks. I will say I definitely did less damage this week than last. Unfortunately I haven't lifted since Monday between being out of town and picking up some upper respiratory crud. Probably good though as it's forcing me to rest my grindy left shoulder. Hopefully I can keep this going; 174.8 matches the lowest daily weight for the year, haven't hit under 174 since December (one day) and not for any length of time since August.1 -
Well pretty much stalled this week...
But taking my boy to see Mexico vs Paraguay at Levi's stadium last Tuesday and indulging a bit in saltyness was so worth...
He even got to see his first drunken brawl break out like 15' away 🤷🏽♂️...
Oy us Mexicans 🤦🏽♂️😂2 -
Just over three weeks into my second cut and down from 209 to 202 lbs. Feeling good, strength holding steady ... hitting the weights hard twice per week. Setting some "willpower PR's" by abstaining from the ice cream my kids seem to have every evening!3
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Please tell me how this is possible. I am in a cutting phase right now and for the last several weeks I have posted a loss and the mirror and measurements validates that it’s mostly fat. My average TDEE for the week was 3462 calories and it based on data collected by my Apple Watch. My diet is very regimented at 220g/protein 80g of carbs and no more then 45g of fat, all totaling about 1600 calories per day. With such a deficit I can’t image how I gained over the past 7 days. It wasn’t a huge gain but I gained a pound. Is it possible that while I lost some body fat I also gained muscle. I am by no means a beginner as I have been working out for several years and this is my 3rd cut phase in as many years. My strength training is geared toward a cut with several drop sets and some of my lifts have actually gone up over the last 4-5 weeks. I also do 2 cardio session per day with an average heart rate of 138. I am 5’7 at 176lbs and around 11-12% bf (but this is just a guess) age 37. Any thoughts0
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mkgoodson1007 wrote: »Please tell me how this is possible. I am in a cutting phase right now and for the last several weeks I have posted a loss and the mirror and measurements validates that it’s mostly fat. My average TDEE for the week was 3462 calories and it based on data collected by my Apple Watch. My diet is very regimented at 220g/protein 80g of carbs and no more then 45g of fat, all totaling about 1600 calories per day. With such a deficit I can’t image how I gained over the past 7 days. It wasn’t a huge gain but I gained a pound. Is it possible that while I lost some body fat I also gained muscle. I am by no means a beginner as I have been working out for several years and this is my 3rd cut phase in as many years. My strength training is geared toward a cut with several drop sets and some of my lifts have actually gone up over the last 4-5 weeks. I also do 2 cardio session per day with an average heart rate of 138. I am 5’7 at 176lbs and around 11-12% bf (but this is just a guess) age 37. Any thoughts
Your TDEE is 3400+ and your cutting at 1600 cals with two cardio sessions a day?
Well anyways first your Apple Watch probably isn’t even remotely accurate. And second I’d guess you may not be accurately measuring your intake.
And did you weigh every day or just twice total0 -
Back down to 174.8 this morning for me.
I feel like IF is helping with adherence but it's a little hard to say with the work travel I've had over the last two weeks. I will say I definitely did less damage this week than last. Unfortunately I haven't lifted since Monday between being out of town and picking up some upper respiratory crud. Probably good though as it's forcing me to rest my grindy left shoulder. Hopefully I can keep this going; 174.8 matches the lowest daily weight for the year, haven't hit under 174 since December (one day) and not for any length of time since August.
What’s up with you shoulder? Mines a mess0 -
Back down to 174.8 this morning for me.
I feel like IF is helping with adherence but it's a little hard to say with the work travel I've had over the last two weeks. I will say I definitely did less damage this week than last. Unfortunately I haven't lifted since Monday between being out of town and picking up some upper respiratory crud. Probably good though as it's forcing me to rest my grindy left shoulder. Hopefully I can keep this going; 174.8 matches the lowest daily weight for the year, haven't hit under 174 since December (one day) and not for any length of time since August.
What’s up with you shoulder? Mines a mess
Haven’t gotten it looked at but overhead pressing is uncomfortable, barbell more so than dumbbells. Flat benching is ok though which I find interesting.0 -
I am cutting for the first time on my own. I've tried many times in the past with trainers but was never successful. I used to wonder why, but it turns out I have a neuromuscular disease! Now that I've started treatment, I've been able to build some muscle. So I am feeling more confident that this cut is going to work.
Planning on 1lb/wk with a 500cal deficit/day. Aiming for 5-10lbs fat loss or 5%-10% total body fat loss. I'm one week in and 1lb down. Strength training 5-6days/wk is the plan. I do full body workouts every time, because my energy can be unpredictable and I never know if I'll wake up one morning and not be able to exercise. I do 30min of cardio 3-4 times per week, and at least 15min daily.
Writing my own meal plans, and carefully working any cravings into my macros (40-40-20) and caloric intake for the day. Sometimes it turns into 33-33-33 for macros but still within total daily calories, and I can forgive myself for that. I know I'm only 7 days in, but so far I haven't had any massive self sabotaging 'cheat days'. Hopefully I can keep this up!0 -
Started my cut about 3 weeks ago. Currently 197 pounds a little under 15% body fat goal is to reach 10% then maintain/lean bulk. Gonna be honest have been yo-yo’ing since end of 2017 after I hired an online coach and the struggle has been real. He had me eating 200carbs/200p/50f, cardio 4X350Calories a week, weight training all while working heavy construction. Was intense and although I got ripped it was short lived I wound up getting burnt out at the end. Took a few good photos then started eating everything in sight and going on fasting/binging cycles. Totally unhealthy behavior that screwed with me mentally but I am planning on doing things the right way this time and getting control back with my relationship with food. Been researching diet breaks and sounds great especially for someone with a history like mine.3
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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.
Phase 2, Week 1 in the books. Kept things pretty simple, eating nearly the same thing each day keeps it easy to adhere but is very boring. Luckily life was busy all week and kept me from worrying about hunger or boredom. Workouts were great and energy was ok depending on time of day. Sleep was a bit restless most of the week but settled out over the weekend. Skipped the free meal and only did a partial/moderate refeed yesterday. Day one I weighed in at 212Lbs, ended the week at 205Lbs (assuming approximately 5Lbs is water weight), and my weekly average was 207.1Lbs. Grind continues to week 2.
Keep up the good work all you fellow cutters. Summer is coming soon!0 -
dozenmonkeyz 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.
Phase 2, Week 1 in the books. Kept things pretty simple, eating nearly the same thing each day keeps it easy to adhere but is very boring. Luckily life was busy all week and kept me from worrying about hunger or boredom. Workouts were great and energy was ok depending on time of day. Sleep was a bit restless most of the week but settled out over the weekend. Skipped the free meal and only did a partial/moderate refeed yesterday. Day one I weighed in at 212Lbs, ended the week at 205Lbs (assuming approximately 5Lbs is water weight), and my weekly average was 207.1Lbs. Grind continues to week 2.
Keep up the good work all you fellow cutters. Summer is coming soon!
Great work.0 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »185.5 this morning. I feel like my head is back in the right place.
Of course, my coach joking that he was going to put me on the Jacobs Ladder for the entirety of my next training session if I didn’t lose may have helped! :laugh:
Bumped up over the weekend. We went camping/hiking. The combination of sore muscles from hiking, a slight sunburn, and excess carbs had me up to 190. But I peed constantly yesterday, and am back down to 186.8 this morning.1 -
Back down to 174.8 this morning for me.
I feel like IF is helping with adherence but it's a little hard to say with the work travel I've had over the last two weeks. I will say I definitely did less damage this week than last. Unfortunately I haven't lifted since Monday between being out of town and picking up some upper respiratory crud. Probably good though as it's forcing me to rest my grindy left shoulder. Hopefully I can keep this going; 174.8 matches the lowest daily weight for the year, haven't hit under 174 since December (one day) and not for any length of time since August.
All the way down to 172.2 both this morning and yesterday. On antibiotics for sinus infection since yesterday and I still haven't lifted since Monday last week. I'm sure some of this is glycogen/water from not lifting but I'll take it either way; lowest single day weight since 7/1/18.2 -
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