Cutting before a bulk

MDC2957
MDC2957 Posts: 417 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Trying to get to 10 or 12% body fat. Lost 4.8 lbs since Sept 25th. Should I keep on this track? Are diet breaks a good idea? About 14% right now I think. Don't want to make a change and screw things up. Thanks!

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Replies

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    During my last cut (which was about 8 months, urg I know) I took two 7-10 day diet breaks... first was 10 weeks in and second was 8 weeks after. I found them really helpful and allowed me to plug through to the end. I believe it's usually recommended every 8-12 weeks, depending on how you feel and how lean you are. The leaner you get and closer to goal, the more frequent diet breaks are recommended and are most beneficial.

    Based on your stats you are probably still OK but you might want to consider one soon (maybe in 2-4 weeks) especially if you start to feel like you need one. I know sometimes it's hard especially when you get close and don't want to lose momentum, but they can really help.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I just ate at maintenance. I think I increased carbs and fats kept protein the same. Holidays is good timing, you can enjoy and not have to worry about cutting!
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
    what @sardelsa said. work your maintenance out on an online tdee calculator. It won't be perfect, but close enough. You will get a bit of a spike in weight as you re-introduce more carbs, but remember, it's not fat and it will go away again once you start cutting again.

    I also diet break often. Like more often than 8-12 weeks. As soon as I start to get stuck and weight not move I diet break for a week and then hey presto, the scale moves again in the right direction.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
    I am currently cutting and my plan is a diet break the week if Thanksgiving and Christmas. But then again, i am probably one of the few idiots to cut in the winter. During those weeks, ill be at maintenance.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
    Diet breaks are generally two weeks.
  • RovP6
    RovP6 Posts: 108 Member
    These might be of use (source: Boom Boom Performance on IG)

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  • cupcakesandproteinshakes
    cupcakesandproteinshakes Posts: 1,092 Member
    Yr on a diet break right? If your cals have been at maintenance any gain is likely to be water weight rather than fat. I’d personally finish the diet break then resume as per yr plan.
  • cupcakesandproteinshakes
    cupcakesandproteinshakes Posts: 1,092 Member
    MDC2957 wrote: »
    I don't really even know what my maintenance calories are. I just increased them from cutting about 500 to 600 for this diet break.

    If you’ve been tracking yr intake and yr weight of loss over a reasonable period of time then you should be able to work out your maintenance cals.
  • cupcakesandproteinshakes
    cupcakesandproteinshakes Posts: 1,092 Member
    Sorry rate of loss

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