Anyone cutting after a bulk?

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Replies

  • Mr_Healthy_Habits
    Mr_Healthy_Habits Posts: 12,588 Member
    Hi guys - I’m attempting my first cut by gradually restricting calories when when things get static on there, keeping my protein around 1g per lb, aiming for a 40:30:30 split on macros (carb first), and seeing a drop in weight of around 1.5lbs per week.

    I’d really like any pointers / recommendations as this is new ground for me and don’t want to undo my hard work.

    Doing resistance band training 2 times a week, conditioning 2 times a week and running 5-10k per week.

    Looking to up resistance and drop conditioning while leaving running in there for time being, but that’s just my idea at the moment. Would love your thoughts!

    Last time I cut down I went from around 187-188ish to around 169ish...

    What really worked for me was simply removing one thing at a time from my daily diet until I was somewhere between 2k-2.2k cals/day... But it was never about the number as much as it was about removing things from my diet until the scale started to drop at a rate I was happy with...

    It took about a month of *kitten* around before I finally got serious about it... The real real trick for me has always been controlling those extra cheats at the end of the day (kids leftovers / cookies 😂) and my weekend meal where I'd take the family out for dinner, because I couldn't expect them to just not eat out while I do this), but split the meal in half and take the rest for lunch the next day and it worked...

    Christian Guzman has a pretty good summer shredding YouTube series... The guy is kind of a douche honestly but when you see him all spaced out and half coherent because of the calorie restriction, it's pretty motivating 😂...

    Best of luck Bro ✌🏼
  • Mr_Healthy_Habits
    Mr_Healthy_Habits Posts: 12,588 Member
    Hi guys - I’m attempting my first cut by gradually restricting calories when when things get static on there, keeping my protein around 1g per lb, aiming for a 40:30:30 split on macros (carb first), and seeing a drop in weight of around 1.5lbs per week.

    I’d really like any pointers / recommendations as this is new ground for me and don’t want to undo my hard work.

    Doing resistance band training 2 times a week, conditioning 2 times a week and running 5-10k per week.

    Looking to up resistance and drop conditioning while leaving running in there for time being, but that’s just my idea at the moment. Would love your thoughts!

    Last time I cut down I went from around 187-188ish to around 169ish...

    What really worked for me was simply removing one thing at a time from my daily diet until I was somewhere between 2k-2.2k cals/day... But it was never about the number as much as it was about removing things from my diet until the scale started to drop at a rate I was happy with...

    It took about a month of *kitten* around before I finally got serious about it... The real real trick for me has always been controlling those extra cheats at the end of the day (kids leftovers / cookies 😂) and my weekend meal where I'd take the family out for dinner, because I couldn't expect them to just not eat out while I do this), but split the meal in half and take the rest for lunch the next day and it worked...

    Christian Guzman has a pretty good summer shredding YouTube series... The guy is kind of a douche honestly but when you see him all spaced out and half coherent because of the calorie restriction, it's pretty motivating 😂...

    Best of luck Bro ✌🏼

    Also... Because I could go on about this *kitten* all day lol...

    Get yourself a cheap pair of calipers and a tape measure... Look up the navy body fat test method and look up how to pinch your abdomen...

    You can use these tools to make sure you are losing body fat and not just simply getting smaller and losing muscle...

    Although admittingly I use these more so when I'm gaining to make sure I'm not adding too much fat...

    But you may simply be able to lose fat, build muscle and keep your weight relatively the same while achieving your desired look... Especially if you are new to all this..

    The calipers and tape measure will help you to tell if you are losing fat, even if the scale is not dropping...
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,373 MFP Moderator
    edited April 2020
    Weight is up about 4 lbs. It was my friend's kids bday, so i had "a little" ice cream cake :p . But also had a root canal, so i have had some more carbs than usual. I am definitely learning that i much prefer my carbs later in the day because when i eat them for breakfast, i am hungry all day.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,443 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    Weight is up about 4 lbs. It was my friend's kids bday, so i had "a little" ice cream cake :p . But also had a root canal, so i have had some more carbs than usual. I am definitely learning that i much prefer my carbs later in the day because when i eat them for breakfast, i am hungry all day.

    Same. I pack my breakfast with as much protein as possible.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,373 MFP Moderator
    psuLemon wrote: »
    Weight is up about 4 lbs. It was my friend's kids bday, so i had "a little" ice cream cake :p . But also had a root canal, so i have had some more carbs than usual. I am definitely learning that i much prefer my carbs later in the day because when i eat them for breakfast, i am hungry all day.

    Same. I pack my breakfast with as much protein as possible.

    Yea, it seems i need to do it for breakfast and lunch. And then i am pretty free for dinner as long i get enough protein.
  • adammokhtar1982
    adammokhtar1982 Posts: 3 Member
    [
    How much do you plan to lose in total? Because 1.5 pounds per week is awfully high.

    Also, I would be doing quite a bit more resistance training (I assume you can't lift actual weights because of COVID?), at least 4 days per week

    To be more accurate it seems like around 1lb but looking at other comments that seems high so thanks for pointing that out.

    I was looking to up my resistance training for sure so appreciate that too. It’s in line with my intentions. 💪
  • adammokhtar1982
    adammokhtar1982 Posts: 3 Member
    Also... Because I could go on about this *kitten* all day lol...

    Get yourself a cheap pair of calipers and a tape measure... Look up the navy body fat test method and look up how to pinch your abdomen...

    You can use these tools to make sure you are losing body fat and not just simply getting smaller and losing muscle...

    Although admittingly I use these more so when I'm gaining to make sure I'm not adding too much fat...

    But you may simply be able to lose fat, build muscle and keep your weight relatively the same while achieving your desired look... Especially if you are new to all this..

    The calipers and tape measure will help you to tell if you are losing fat, even if the scale is not dropping...

    The more help the better man so appreciate the guidance! I’ve got some callipers but didn’t think to use them here - of course that makes sense! I’m taking measurements weekly and seeing some places decrease, others maintain and other areas decrease so definitely by measuring using callipers that seems like a really good direction to go.

    Regarding calories, I’ve dropped from gain at around 3000 down to 2400 currently over a 4 month period. Was thinking about another reduction but might switch my training first and then look at that.

    Probably, moving forward I’ll measure using the method you described, not seek too high a reduction in weight as it seems that’s def problematic and increase my resistance training.

    Thanks for your help guys! 😃
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
    [
    How much do you plan to lose in total? Because 1.5 pounds per week is awfully high.

    Also, I would be doing quite a bit more resistance training (I assume you can't lift actual weights because of COVID?), at least 4 days per week

    To be more accurate it seems like around 1lb but looking at other comments that seems high so thanks for pointing that out.

    I was looking to up my resistance training for sure so appreciate that too. It’s in line with my intentions. 💪

    1-1.5 lbs seems aggressive when not lifting heavy to help discourage muscle loss.

    This is a study about bodybuilding prep and muscle loss with this nugget from the abstract:
    Caloric intake should be set at a level that results in bodyweight losses of approximately 0.5 to 1%/wk to maximize muscle retention. Within this caloric intake, most but not all bodybuilders will respond best to consuming 2.3-3.1 g/kg of lean body mass per day of protein, 15-30% of calories from fat, and the reminder of calories from carbohydrate. Eating three to six meals per day with a meal containing 0.4-0.5 g/kg bodyweight of protein prior and subsequent to resistance training likely maximizes any theoretical benefits of nutrient timing and frequency.
    https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-11-20
  • watts6151
    watts6151 Posts: 887 Member
    steveko89 wrote: »
    [
    How much do you plan to lose in total? Because 1.5 pounds per week is awfully high.

    Also, I would be doing quite a bit more resistance training (I assume you can't lift actual weights because of COVID?), at least 4 days per week

    To be more accurate it seems like around 1lb but looking at other comments that seems high so thanks for pointing that out.

    I was looking to up my resistance training for sure so appreciate that too. It’s in line with my intentions. 💪

    1-1.5 lbs seems aggressive when not lifting heavy to help discourage muscle loss.

    This is a study about bodybuilding prep and muscle loss with this nugget from the abstract:
    Caloric intake should be set at a level that results in bodyweight losses of approximately 0.5 to 1%/wk to maximize muscle retention. Within this caloric intake, most but not all bodybuilders will respond best to consuming 2.3-3.1 g/kg of lean body mass per day of protein, 15-30% of calories from fat, and the reminder of calories from carbohydrate. Eating three to six meals per day with a meal containing 0.4-0.5 g/kg bodyweight of protein prior and subsequent to resistance training likely maximizes any theoretical benefits of nutrient timing and frequency.
    https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-11-20


    With respect a general cut and a bodybuilding prep are two completely different animals, I easily loose over 2lb per week on a cut without any muscle loss, but at the start prep it’s more like 1lb and less then .5lb nearing the end
  • theclaw900
    theclaw900 Posts: 320 Member
    I"ve been using the macro count and resulting cal total I got from RP. It's considered a cut for sure. Cals 1,417 Protein 145, Fat 53 and Carbs 90. Scale is pretty stuck at 170+/- but I'm pretty worn out. MFP macros do not equal RP macros because MFP counts ALL macros whereas in RP you only count the primary macro. For example, a piece of beef would be 25g protein, that's it. No fat included in the numbers. You just have to make sure you are choosing low fat protein source. I think that's where I'm cutting myself short.
  • theclaw900
    theclaw900 Posts: 320 Member
    steveko89 wrote: »

    This is a study about bodybuilding prep and muscle loss with this nugget from the abstract:
    Caloric intake should be set at a level that results in bodyweight losses of approximately 0.5 to 1%/wk to maximize muscle retention. Within this caloric intake, most but not all bodybuilders will respond best to consuming 2.3-3.1 g/kg of lean body mass per day of protein, 15-30% of calories from fat, and the reminder of calories from carbohydrate. Eating three to six meals per day with a meal containing 0.4-0.5 g/kg bodyweight of protein prior and subsequent to resistance training likely maximizes any theoretical benefits of nutrient timing and frequency.
    https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-11-20


    Going to see how my number fit in this. thanks for the reference.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,373 MFP Moderator
    psuLemon wrote: »
    Weight is up about 4 lbs. It was my friend's kids bday, so i had "a little" ice cream cake :p . But also had a root canal, so i have had some more carbs than usual. I am definitely learning that i much prefer my carbs later in the day because when i eat them for breakfast, i am hungry all day.

    Weekly update: huge fluctuations in weight this week between some additional carbs and the antibiotics for my root canal. Gonna see if i can track a bit better this week.
  • watts6151
    watts6151 Posts: 887 Member
    Officially back to pre prep weight
    Feeling a lot more energetic and strength has returned nicely. Planning on maintenance until a decision is made about reopening the gyms, then either back into prep or very slow bulk till early next year
  • Mr_Healthy_Habits
    Mr_Healthy_Habits Posts: 12,588 Member
    watts6151 wrote: »
    Officially back to pre prep weight
    Feeling a lot more energetic and strength has returned nicely. Planning on maintenance until a decision is made about reopening the gyms, then either back into prep or very slow bulk till early next year

    So what exactly is prep weight?
    Not the number but relative to stage weight, and... Bulking weight?
  • watts6151
    watts6151 Posts: 887 Member
    Back to 221lb

    I was down to 211lb with stage weight
    Guesstimated at around 202-205lb

    Profile pic is at 221lb at start of prep in jan
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,373 MFP Moderator
    watts6151 wrote: »
    Back to 221lb

    I was down to 211lb with stage weight
    Guesstimated at around 202-205lb

    Profile pic is at 221lb at start of prep in jan

    Good stuff!
  • theclaw900
    theclaw900 Posts: 320 Member
    I've dug up my old FitBit Blaze, just for fun. However, MFP will adjust my daily calorie and macro goal UP when I'm active. I don't want to see that. I found the setting for "negative" adjustments but is there a way to turn it off altogether or just put my fitbit back in the drawer?
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,443 Member
    My scale broke. Not sure what that says about how my cut is going. :laugh:
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,443 Member
    theclaw900 wrote: »
    I've dug up my old FitBit Blaze, just for fun. However, MFP will adjust my daily calorie and macro goal UP when I'm active. I don't want to see that. I found the setting for "negative" adjustments but is there a way to turn it off altogeher or just put my fitbit back in the drawer?

    You can unsync it so it doesn't report to MFP at all. That's what I did when I had one. I don't remember how though. Find the place in MFP where you can sync apps.
  • jseams1234
    jseams1234 Posts: 1,216 Member
    watts6151 wrote: »
    Back to 221lb

    I was down to 211lb with stage weight
    Guesstimated at around 202-205lb

    Profile pic is at 221lb at start of prep in jan

    Jeez @watts6151 - we are about the same weight right now... but I look like a puffy potato in comparison. lol