Cutting

[NorwegianDJ]

Ive been lifting for about 7 months now and have quite a decent idea about how stuff works.
Gained 14kgs, up on 71.2kgs, 181cm. / 155lbs 5'11
I think my bf % is between 10-15

Im planning on working my way up from 90kg to 100kg squat by monday, and then start cutting for summer in Norway.

What Im wondering is: Generally, how does cutting work? I know that you need a calorie deficit (I dont know my baseline calories!), keep lifting to maintain mass, cut calories thru carbs, etc.

Should I do cardio? HIIT? 2 or 3x a week? Non lifting days of course.
Gonna cut out diary and possibly nuts(?) Do I need to cut nuts? Would hate to swap them with something like avocado.

When I checked my baseline calorie limit it was 2800 calories.. but that is about how much Ive started eating recently, and I gain massively. Should I just decrease calories every week till I start losing .5kg (3500 calories) a week? This seems time consuming.

I know I didn't really need to post this, but I'd just like some opinions. I've never done this before, and its nice to have some opinions to make sure I do it correctly.

 

[StateOfMind]

Find your baseline Calories, cut no more than 500 cals. Lift the same, do not start lifting differently, keep lifting heavy. Cardio isn't necessary but you can include it if you like to run, preferably Sprints(Outside not on treadmill) And take notice of your carb intake... Look into CKD, cycle keto diet... And for supplements to aid fat loss, you could take BCAA's or L-carnitine, there's others but you can research that on your own.

 

[NorwegianDJ]

Guys, I still need some help with this.
It's mostly the fact that Im scared of losing muscle, and I have no idea what Im doing.

So I found my calorie maintenance to be about 2300 calories.
Plan now is to cut down to like 1800-1900 a day and see how much I lose.
What do you guys think? Is this a reasonable calorie deficit?

Also, should I drop milk? I know that trans fats are bad (1g per liter), but exactly how "bad" is milk? Does healthy foods and meal placement even matter, or is it just the calories that matter in the end? I do admit I like to be healthy.

Some things I've picked up is to eat a lot of broccoli, lots of water (Do it already), some fruit (spread out), and cut calories through carbs. Eat most carbs in pre and post workout meals.

Please reply to this, Im starting on Thursday.

 

[Luis]

I think don't cut milk from your routine and carry on with milk. You may drop other fats except milk. Because milk is the best thing to drink and it is helpful in every form to every one.

 

[Pimp-sicle]

Guys, I still need some help with this.
It's mostly the fact that Im scared of losing muscle, and I have no idea what Im doing.

So I found my calorie maintenance to be about 2300 calories.
Plan now is to cut down to like 1800-1900 a day and see how much I lose.
What do you guys think? Is this a reasonable calorie deficit?

Also, should I drop milk? I know that trans fats are bad (1g per liter), but exactly how "bad" is milk? Does healthy foods and meal placement even matter, or is it just the calories that matter in the end? I do admit I like to be healthy.

Some things I've picked up is to eat a lot of broccoli, lots of water (Do it already), some fruit (spread out), and cut calories through carbs. Eat most carbs in pre and post workout meals.

Please reply to this, Im starting on Thursday.

First off what are your exact goals? I know you said you want to cut.

1) Have you got your body fat tested? This is the biggest thing you MUST BE doing when cutting. That will help calm your fears of losing too muscle, because you will see if you are headed in the right direction based off your body fat percentage.

2) Milk is almost all saturated fat, I know a lot of guys who cut it out when they go on a caloric deficit, but I don't agree with that. You need to figure out your macronutrient breakdown, then from there as long as the food fits within that breakdown you are fine to eat it whether you are on a cut or not.

3) On training days your biggest carb meal should be post workout. On non-training days your biggest carb meal should be breakfast. Meal frequency although touted as speeding up metabolism and helping fat burning is more of a myth than anything else. As long as you hit your macro's frequency doesn't matter in my opinion. That's from 10 years of eating 5-6 a day, then going to whatever I felt like, but hitting my macros daily for the past 2 years.
Not to mention the mental break from not having to worry about eating every 2-3 hours.

With all that said I would still implement a reverse pyramid with your carbs on non training days. Meaning your highest carb meal should be first thing in the morning and then start tapering carbs the rest of the day. Another effective strategy is too keep fat intake higher on off days from training days and cut carbs on non training days compared to training days as well.

Also don't forget to drink tons of water so you don't hold too much fluid in your body.

As for the HIIT cardio and all, you can do it. But if your already somewhat lean definitely do not OVER-DUE cardio because you will burn muscle. If I were you I'd implement the new diet, go high reps less sets with your workout routine and see where that takes you. Once you hit a plateau then introduce the HIIT to help you get to the next level.

Getting super lean takes dedication, consistency and keeping your eyes on the prize. Also keep protein intake high to aid in recovery and ensure enough calories are being taken in.

Lastly I wouldn't cut 500 from your maintenance, that's going to take you pretty low and you will feel sluggish especially if your fat intake isn't in check while your low carb.

I would cut 250 from maintenance and then keeping going lower every OTHER week. Don't go below 1400-1500 calories.




PIMP