Problems cutting up

[madgame]

Ive been cutting up for 4 1/2 weeks now, lost 11 lbs, still lift the same weights (though I do 1 rep less for most of the lifts...but only one rep), but I still dont really see any visible changes. I know quite a bit of the weight I lost must have been water (I was on creatin before I started cutting up also), but as my weight has decreased gradually (each week) I think I should be on the right track right?

I'm just a little confused/surprised that I dont really "see" any changes now, because I cut up for I guess 7 weeks a year ago and think I could see some changes at that stage already (and I didnt really have lots of bf to start with)...However Im gonna keep going for another 3 weeks and hope Ill be in shape for the summer by then

I mean my diet must be working if I keep losing about 1lbs (or a little more) per week and still manage to lift the same weights, right?

(just a little confused right now and needed to get that off my chest ;-))

 

[jordan]

Try Hydroxycuts, You can buy them in GNC. They really work, just follow the direction. With your diet, up your protein intake and watch your carbs. Also do some cardio, and of course keep lifting. I take Hydroxycuts myself and they really work, it will get you cut i promise!

 

[FlyGuy]

3 cups of green tea on your cardio days works well too (and its cheaper than hydroxycut)

What is your diet/routine? What is your height, weight, and bodyfat %?

If your bodyfat was over 20% at start then you won't necessarily see a huge difference even @ 11lbs loss. Some guys carry more fat on their back then their stomach, and also fat comes off in the reverse order it was put on. So if your back fat was the most recent then it would come off first and THEN you would start to lose the gut and see your abs. Chances are if you can lift the same weight you aren't losing much muscle.

 

[hb]

green tea? what does that have to do with cutting

 

[semag]

raises your metabolism.

I go for two EC stacks a day, plus 1-2 cups of green tea.

 

[FlyGuy]

Yup. 3 cups of green tea a day has been proven to increase the amount of calories your body burns by up to 35%.

I've been taking 3 cups of green tea + aspirin (thins the blood, allows more fat mobilization) on cardio days for my cutting phase, and so far have lost an average of 2.7 pounds per week - WHILE gaining 1 lb of muscle each week

Never tried Hydroxycut so I can't give an opinion on it.

 

[California Love]

Madgame, post your diet up here so we can see what the problem may be.

 

[madgame]

I drink 3 protein shakes. Besides I eat bread with lowfat(?) cottage cheese, eat lowfat yogurt, noodles, chicken and well I do drink some coke too every day or few beers once a week. All in all I consume 2700 calories 30g of fat or less and as much protein as I can get. All in all I dont think theres anything wrong with my diet as I keep losing weight, but can still lift almost the exact same weights (--> no or hardly any loss of muscle mass).

The problem might be mostly in my head as im losing my sanity due to cutting up :-D

 

[semag]

dude... if you're seriously cutting: no noodles, beer or coke.

 

[madgame]

dude... if you're seriously cutting: no noodles, beer or coke

Are you just saying this because one is not "supposed" to eat those foods during a diet? I have a calorie deficit of about 500kcals a day, eat enough protein and 30g fat at the most. Plus my weight is decreasing week by week by actually just as much as I planned to (besides I was on the exact same diet last time I cut and it did work just as i wanted to) and my lifts are staying almost exactly the same. So actually everything should be ok except for the little fact that I think I cant see "visible" changes. BUT why should I consider cutting out those foods (which I only take in moderately) if my weight IS decreasing?

 

[FlyGuy]

Its up to you, you'll get even faster results if you cut out the beer and coke. Any simple sugars will spike your insulin levels. But more important is finding the balance in your routine that you can sustain for a long time. If you want a coke and a few beers every week, and you're still losing weight, no worries. You may find that when your bodyfat gets around 12% it will be harder to keep dropping it without being more strict with diet, but that is not true for everyone.

 

[madgame]

This might sound a bit silly, but is it possible that I dont really "see" any results, because I did kind of neglect working out my abs (as in worked them out rather less than once a week whilst I used to work em out twice a week) which I didnt really notice...but actually yesterday I just did 13 or 14 reps with a weight that I used to do about 20 reps right before starting the diet?

I know this sounds like Im making up an excuse for not seeing the results I want to, but actually my weight is decreasing week by week and my lifts (except for crunches) are remaining the same. So is this a possible reason why my abs dont look better than before (than Im used to them looking after cutting for a while etc.)?

 

[Golden Arms]

Solution is pretty simple - lower your carbs

that means bread, yogurt, coke, beer,etc...

 

[FlyGuy]

You should work your abs more, but again... without knowing your bodyfat % its hard to say what's going on. It could just be that you have more fat than you thought, or you store more of it in your gut than anywhere else on your body, etc.

 

[madgame]

Solution is pretty simple - lower your carbs

I dont see how this could be the solution. Im losing weight (about 1 lbs rather a bit more per week) and hardly any of it seems to be muscle otherwise my lifts would have declined by more than approx. one rep. If I lowered my carbs it would only make me lose weight faster and Id thus be risking to lose muscle wouldnt I?

Its really strange to me because last time (about a little over a year ago) I cut the exact way that Im doing now and this time I started cutting at pretty much the same weight I did last time (and all my lifts are a bit higher than they were last time). I hope I will see the results Ive been looking for in about one month, but anyways Im gonna buy a bf caliper now so I can check my body fat levels and watch if they decrease.

How accurate are these calipers? Im not really talking about how close they are to your true bodyfat levels, but if you can see the difference in your bf levels if they decrease by ..lets say a bit over a pound each week thus about one percent each 10 days or so...would suhc a caliper show me the difference after such a relatively short period of time or wont they really be a big help?

 

[Viroid]

You can have your noodles and coke. Just eat them right before or right after your workout and youll be fine. Insulin is blunted during intense exercise. Just cut out the beer, Alcohol is no good on a cutting routine.

 

[FlyGuy]

How accurate are these calipers?

The accu-measure caliper is pretty much the ONLY self testing method that is reliably accurate. Some dudes on the skinnyguy forum have compared it to getting BF readings by doctors using water submersion methodds and it came out with only a .1% difference... so its very accurate. And YES you see a difference in measurements even taking them weekly.

 

[madgame]

Okay cool I ordered one of these calipers yesterday so hopefully Ill be able to check my bf levels tomorrow, so Ill have a confirmation that Im on the right way.
(like I said before I guess im just a little out of my mind right now because of dieting ;-))

 

[FlyGuy]

Only thing you should know is that to get the most accurate results you need to take 9 measurements and 2 of them are on your back - which is hard to measure by yourself. So you'll probably need some help with it unless you're really limber and have 2 mirrors in your bathroom.

Other than that I can't say enough about them! Its a great motivator to see those measurements drop week by week and to know whether you gained/lost muscle as well!

 

[California Love]

You wont be able to cut on 2700 cal a day plus the occasional beer. THe calories from ethanol contribute to all that lard around the belly so its totally **** on any kind of diet. Also, it's the carbohydrates that you should be watching out for. Minimize bread, pastry, coke, and any sweets.