Cutting

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Cutting tips?

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  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    What tips are you looking for exactly?

    Read the stickies at the top of these boards. Tons of good info up there.
  • Cats_fitness_journey
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    I’m cutting atm and I’m doing a slight deficit (about 300 cal less than maintanence) im losing about 1 pound per week, and getting about 1g of protein per cm of height. I eat around 162g of protein a day. This helps maintain and grow muscle, because my goal is to burn mainly fat. I also workout 5 times a week! My tips are: prioritize protein intake, don’t cut down too many calories (you want it to be sustainable), and continue with progressive overload at the gym.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,737 Member
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    I’m cutting atm and I’m doing a slight deficit (about 300 cal less than maintanence) im losing about 1 pound per week, and getting about 1g of protein per cm of height. I eat around 162g of protein a day. This helps maintain and grow muscle, because my goal is to burn mainly fat. I also workout 5 times a week! My tips are: prioritize protein intake, don’t cut down too many calories (you want it to be sustainable), and continue with progressive overload at the gym.

    If you're losing a pound a week, your actual daily deficit is more like 500 than 300. A smaller deficit might be better?

    I've never heard that way of estimating protein. For my situation, it would dramatically overestimate protein needs - it'd be more grams than 1.6 times my estimated lean mass in pounds (3.5 x weight in kg). That's unnecessarily high, IMO. The height method may work fine for other demographics (not mine!) but personally I like this evidence-based "calculator" and guide, and it's what I'd recommend to the OP for protein intake estimates:

    https://examine.com/protein-intake-calculator/
    https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/

    Note that the guide says that if someone is substantially overweight, it can make sense to use a reasonable goal weight as the basis for protein estimates. That's probably not the situation for someone cutting as part of planned muscle-mass management, but it's worth mentioning because lots of people read here.
  • rcxkfbkm8v
    rcxkfbkm8v Posts: 13 Member
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    When using MFP are you eating daily calories + exercise calories?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    rcxkfbkm8v wrote: »
    When using MFP are you eating daily calories + exercise calories?

    Yes. Unlike other sites which use TDEE calculators, MFP uses the NEAT method (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), and as such this system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated for them and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back. Others are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.

    https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-