The quest for 10% BF - Lifeforces Cutting guide

[Lifeforce]

Here we are again, last time I wrote the first post in a thread like this was june last year and I weighed 65 kg with clothes. Now the bulk has gone on for far enough, I am going to start a cutting cycle to trim up my body a little before attempting next bulking run. I thought it was a good idea to start clean off, both with the cutting and a journal so here's my new journal. =)

Here's the old journal off mine: Lifeforce's Weightlifting journal

I was a little startled when I weighed myself today and ended up at 77.5 kg without clothes. I think it has to do with water weight I've lost after going off creatine. I was stretching over 80 kg when I was on creatine.

Anyways, people have been talking **** to me about my gains over this year, they say that 30 pounds off my gain was fat/water or glycogen (Giving me BF off 24% or maintaining BF at 15-16% and storing 6.4 kg glycogen in my body). They say my real gain was around 10 pounds. If this is true I'll end up at 65 kg or less after this cut. We'll see who's right at the end.

========================================
CUTTING SPECS. AND SCHEDULE OVER FOLLOING WEEKS
========================================

Current weight: 170,5 pounds (77.5 kg)
Current BF%: Around 15-16%

LBM: 65.4 kg 144 lbs
Goal: 71.8 kg 158 lbs
Amount to lose = 6.4 kg 14 lbs Around 1.5 lbs per week


FOOD INTAKE
Carbs: 185 g/day
Protein: 340 g/day
Fat: 30g/day

TOTAL CALS: 2350

Week 1 2350 cals Adding 2 sessions off cardio per week
Week 2 2200 cals
Week 3 2050 cals
Week 4 1900 cals
Week 5 1800 cals
Week 6 1700 cals
Week 7 1600 cals
Week 8 1600 cals Might add more cardio if needed.
Week 9 1600 cals
Week 10 1600 cals

If I count at my current Basal metabolic rate, 10 weeks off cutting like this will add up to 36000 cals deficit = 4 kg fat.

So this add up 18000-27000 cals to be burned through exercise during these 10 weeks.

========================================
============ WORKOUT SPLIT ===============
========================================

Day 1:
4 sets off Squats
4 sets off stiff leg deads
4 sets off calves raises
3 sets off military press
2 sets off lateral raises


Day 2:
7 sets off incline Db press
4 sets off biceps curl
4 sets off forearm training
4 sets off leg raises in cable machine

Day 3:
2-3 Sets off chin ups or pull-ups
3 sets off deadlifts
2 sets off power cleans
2 sets off T-bars
2 sets off shrugs
3 sets off dips
2 sets off close grip bench
1 set off skull crushers



LIFEFORCE

 

[Lifeforce]

Did my first HIIT training. Man, that was more taxing than deadlifts.

Warm up-a couple off minutes jogging
Set 1: 30 seconds sprinting - 30 seconds jog
Set 2: The same

Didn't manage more, I'm gonna do some regular half fast cardio to build up my cadiovascular ability.

 

[de silva]

Anyways, people have been talking **** to me about my gains over this year, they say that 30 pounds off my gain was fat/water or glycogen (Giving me BF off 24% or maintaining BF at 15-16% and storing 6.4 kg glycogen in my body).

I didn't think the body is capable of storing anywhere near that much glycogen, is it?

And don't worry too much about what other people think of your gains. If, after cutting, you find you've only put on a little muscle mass, don't be discouraged. Building a great body, no matter how much you want it, doesn't really happen in a year.

 

[Lifeforce]

If you do maximum carb loadup: you'll burn out as much glycogen you can and then you eat 10g carbs/kg weight every day for 2-4 days. That'll give me 3100 g off carbs if all carbs taken in would be converted to glycogen. Even so, I do not eat 775 carbs per day, i eat around 400 and I workout too. It would be physically impossible for me to store 6.4 kg in my body. That's more than the double maxmum weight I can store if I do maximum loadup.

Thansk for the response man. =) I won't stop train, that's a fact, nothing has changed my world more than lifting.

 

[Lifeforce]

Originally posted by Sazuki
Good luck Lifeforce!

If you feel that HIIT is to taxing change it to medium intensity cardio, I don't think it matters that much. Most people on JohnStone don't do HIIT but do medium intensity cardio for 50 minutes orso. I atleast couldn't stand HIIT, way to taxing, drove me nuts

Many thanks. =) I'm gonna do regular cardio but keep it under 20 minutes. If I can go on longer I'm gonna increase the speed. I've a question for you. What do I do when I'm through with this cutting, how do I up the cals? The same way as I dropped it or straight to the BMR?

HIIT is too much hassle, all the time measuring and the extreme changes in tempo.

 

[Double]

you can do 20sprinting/90jogging HIIT.

good luck with the cutting man, soon we will have the same weight

Q: do you eat more carbs on workout days?

 

[Lifeforce]

Originally posted by Double
you can do 20sprinting/90jogging HIIT.

good luck with the cutting man, soon we will have the same weight

Q: do you eat more carbs on workout days?

Thanks =) Looking forward to it. Man you're gonna get big!

I eat some more carbs on training day. My regular dose + 0.5g per lbs off weight with fast carbs. That's about it.

How does that HIIT work? you spring for 20 sec and then jogg 90?

 

[Lifeforce]

My Diet I'm gonna use. Not any meat because I simply can't afford it to eat it every day:

Supplement: Whey, creatine, multivitamin and flax seeds (not included in calori intake)

100 g linser (english?)

24g protein
49 g carbs
1g fett

3 shakes off whey + 500 ml milk.

190 g protein
25 g carbs
2 g fat

1 litre off light fil?? english?

35 g protein
50 g carbs
5 g fat

1 dl (parboiled) rice + 500 ml milk

23 g protein
55 g carbs
2 g fat

500g cottage cheese

60 g protein
10 g carbs
20 g fat

=======================
======== TOTAL =========
=======================

332 g protein
189 g carbs
30 g fat

2354 cals total - I think I put it together well

 

[Double]

thanx for the encourgemant man, i hope so bad i will be 165lb's in may....but i dunno i feel a bit hopeless that i will not reach my goal and die as a skinny mother****er 8[.....mhh either my acne clears up and i gain some weight till summer...or i dont know what i should do when it fails....hum...i mean it's all pretty fvcked now, i can't drink milk b/c of lactose intolerance and i always feel like puking.....can't eat that much. or with girls.....only ug's check me out...than i was at the bathroom looked at the mirror and saw a desperate looking very white face with red dots....i thought FVCK IT GO and after some rejections danced with a girl with good body....and she looked at me that she wanne be kissed, but i couldn't b/c my lips were so dry and wound b/c of roaccutane and drinking.....bah great FR, omg!

ok, end of whining.


meat is expensive??its around 6-7€/kg here. i think thats pretty cheap. do you have € in sweden, too?

HIIT: yes, i mean YOU decide which intervals you do, and for a beginner you don't have to do 30/30 which is for experienced sprinters. so i would suggest doing only 20/90 for the beginning. you can try it and see if you like it better. b/c you should do like 5sets and not only 2sets . your calories look good.

 

[de silva]

Originally posted by Lifeforce
What do I do when I'm through with this cutting, how do I up the cals? The same way as I dropped it or straight to the BMR?

I would eat a maintenance diet (not gaining or losing) for 2-3 weeks after you finish cutting, and then slowly begin upping the calories again over a week or so, until you're in caloric surplus (how much in surplus depends on how quickly you want to gain weight. More in surplus=more fat.)

 

[Lifeforce]

Man I can really relate to that stuff. :/ I just wonder, is your acne severe? If it isn't you may try the regimen at www.acne.org. It's said to be very effective and you only use benzoyl peroxid. Then it's possible to get a tan which really improve the way your skin looks.

All the girls will come around when you bulk, for every pound you gain a better looking girl will check you out. It really sucks having only ugly women checking you out. But hell you're lucky, when I started I didn't get a single stare, I kid you not. Now girls turn their head and I've had girls grabbing my ass and whistling when I walk. =)

The one I'm seeing now she told me she became all self councious when I was around because I looked so good and that she didn't deserve me. All that from a guy who one year before thought he was so ugly no one would ever want him. It's been hell adapting to it. Alot off limiting beliefs, but the work will pay off. I mean, if a little weight did that change for me when noone checked me out, imagine what it'll do for you when you hit 165!!!

Girls having crushes on you, discussing how you look with their friends, girls flirting on the street, girls checking you out, girls making themselves sexy for you, bending over to pick up things, push their boobs together, dropping condoms when you talk, wearing sexy clothes when they will see you, fighting over you, trying to pick YOU up. I'd go invest in a bodyguard to help you keep the girls at bay.

One thing I did was to search the web for the best looking girl I could find, then I pined her to my door (refrigerator might have been a better place). She was out off my leauge, but one day I will have somone like her. It really gives motivation if I want to slack off.

Lean meat is pretty expensive compared to the protein it contains! Minced meat is pretty cheap but it contains alot off sat. fat. If I buy 6-7 kg off lean meat then I'll get around 1.2 kg pure protein, if I buy protein powder then I'll get 2,7 kg for the same price. We have Svenska Kronor in sweden. The swedish people is stubborn refusing the Euro. But then we have conservative socialist forces who rule.

Okey, I might try that out, it seems a little less taxing than going 30/30 !

 

[Lifeforce]

Originally posted by de silva
I would eat a maintenance diet (not gaining or losing) for 2-3 weeks after you finish cutting, and then slowly begin upping the calories again over a week or so, until you're in caloric surplus (how much in surplus depends on how quickly you want to gain weight. More in surplus=more fat.)

Thanks man for your replies, they really help.

 

[Lifeforce]

Best leg workout ever!!

Warm-up

Squat 8x55 kg
Squat 5x65 kg
Squat 3x85

Workout

Squat 6x105 kg 231 lbs <--- personal best
Squat 4x105 kg 231 lbs
Squat 5x100 kg 220 lbs
Squat 4x100 kg 220 lbs

Warm up
Stiff leg deads alotx50 kg

Workout
Stiff leg deads 8x90 kg 198 lbs
Stiff leg deads 6x95 kg 209 lbs <--- Personal best
Stiff leg deads 4x95 kg 209 lbs

Hamstring curl 7x50 kg 4x40 kg 6x30 kg 8x20 kg <--- all in one set I could hardly walk after that!

Warm up

Military press 8x27.5 kg
Military press 6x35 kg

Workout

Military press 8x40 kg 88 lbs
Military Press 6x40 kg 88 lbs
Military Press 6x40 kg 88 lbs

Lateral raises 10x6 kg 13 lbs
Lateral raises 5x7 kg 15 lbs

Warm-up
Standing calves raises 10x60 132 lbs

Workout
Standing calves raises 10x100 220 lbs
Standing calves raises 8x100 220 lbs
Standing calves raises 7x100 220 lbs
Standing calves raises 7x100 220 lbs

Grip training 80 kg 25 seconds hold
Grip training 100 kg 25 seconds hold (my legs collapesed before my grip!!!)

End off training - 1 hour and 5 minutes off training. Not including stretch.

Weight: 175.8 lbs with clothes

 

[Lifeforce]

Originally posted by Sazuki
Lifeforce, I like the idea of somewhat slowly dropping your calories within a week orso.

2/3 weeks seems to much and is kinda useless I think.

Dropping/upping like 150/200cals each day worked good for me.

It's DIESEL's idea, I'm following this to the letter, his bulking guide really helped me and I'm gonna stay a jaded DIESEL-fan until I learn more about cutting and finding my own style. I don't really know my BMR so I'm gonna find where it is so I know where I'm gonna up the cals to when I'm done.

 

[semag]

Congrats bro, now you're starting the REAL part of BB. The part where you don't get to eat a lot of stuff, and get kinda cranky at times hahah

A couple thoughts here:

a) I know lotsa people are way against it, but remember that many (all) BBers will throw together an EC stack when cutting. (ephedrine + caffeine) It helps keep your energy levels high when you're carbed down, but it's something you have to personally decide whether you want to attempt it or not. There's my disclaimer on that.

b) Also, to Sazuki, I know I've disagreed with him before about his higher fat cutting diets, but I kinda changed that opinion a little while ago when I saw a post on here with a site explaining the diet a little more fully. ( http://www.ironaddicts.com/articles/lose bodyfat.htm )

I was allways speculative about how you could raise your fat intake while keeping your calories down, because of the higher amount of calories in fat, but I did the math on that diet in that webpage and I really think it would come out to about 1800 calories or so per day. So, as has been said, cutting is more of a time to feel out your body, to feel what affects you, how it affects you, and where you need to add and subtract calories. You should learn a lot about carbs, and blood sugar, just from the state your body will be in, and what you will crave. Remember this paragraph the day you see a piece of bread and drool as if it is some beautiful woman waiting to take you

Keep it up, stay motivated, and get shredded man. If you do it right, it'll help your bulking because you can realize "hey, I can bulk longer... put on a bit more fat, and deal with looking a little chubby for a while. 'Cause I can take all this fat off in 10-12 weeks, and get ripped."

 

[Lifeforce]

I feel terrible man, I looked through a advertisement flyer from a local store yesterday... all those sausages, bread, ready to make pizzas, I'd kill for something like that... a GREAT BIG FAT pile off tacos... Now I wake up and have to take my protein shake... I wonder how I'll be in 5 weeks in the program

Actually I do this cut because I'm tired off eating like a horse, I wanted a change. Thanks for your advices, and the link you provided semag. I've thought off using EC-stack but I decided not to. Maybe drinking a cup or two off coffee instead before workout?

If I fail to lose weight then I'll try to up the fat intake... really, I'd die to eat some more fat... I'm open to change, but first I want to know how my body responds before I start messing around with it.

How is your views on having cheat days? I'm thinking off having one or two parties in this time and I want to drink a glass or two or is it completly out off the question?

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

 

[Lifeforce]

Another reply disappeared when I got back here... I'm getting sick off sosuave I wrote a reply to you sazuki, but it just disappeared. Thanks for the reply you gave, it was helpful and now I've changed my diet big time thanks to you.

Weighted myself today 76.9 kg 169 lbs, think I've lost some glycogen.

I'm gonna cut out most off the milk in my diet, it seems like everyone says it's bad for cutting. If I use half a litre a day to my shake, will that be bad?

Anyways, from sazukis reply I'm gonna have a bowl off oatmeal every day instead. Seems like a better Idea, then my diet would be:


100 g linser english?

24g protein
1g fat
49 g carbs

3 shakes off whey + 500 ml milk.

190 g protein
25 g carbs
7 g fat

1.25 dl oatmeal

13 g protein
52 g carbs
7 g fat

1 dl (parboiled) rice + chicken

35 g protein
55 g carbs
5 g

500g cottage cheese

60 g protein
10 g carbs
13 g fat


322 g protein (ideal 340)
191 g carbs (ideal 185)
33g fat (ideal 30)

+ 1 spoon off flaxseeds

2349 cals total (ideal 2350 cals)

I'm gonna cut down on 90% carbs and 10% protein the first time I drop 200 cals.

 

[Lifeforce]

When I started I forgot to add my measurements:

Left forearm: 12"
Right forearm: 12.2"
Left upper-arm: 13.6"
Right upper-arm: 14"
Chest: 39" (all air out)
Waist: 33.5 (unflexed)
Left Thigh: 23.4"
Right thigh: 23.8"
Left calf: 16.6"
Right calf: 16.6"

The calfs are getting big! =)

 

[de silva]

Sazuki: you say you're getting bigger while cutting, but how do you know? Did you measure yourself before you started? Gaining while cutting is possible but very hard, very rare, and the gains are minimal, especially in the short term. Plus 1800 calories is pretty low, I'd have a hard time believing anyone is gaining on that. How much do you weigh? Are you sure you don't just "look" bigger? That can happen when losing bodyfat. I have lost half an inch off my biceps in the past month, and my cousin who workouts with me is telling me I've gotten "bigger". Lol. On the other hand, if you are genuinely gaining while cutting, well done! I'm envious!

Lifeforce: what do the people who tell you not to drink milk while cutting thing milk will do to you? Is it the fat content of the milk? Or is it a calories thing? If it's fat, people need to stop being so scared of fat. Macronutrient mix does make some difference, but nowhere near as much as total calories. I wouldn't stress myself out too much trying to get everything "perfect". As long as you're in the ball park on food selection, and stay calorie deficient, you'll drop fat/weight. (I mean, it's not as if you add oats to your diet all of a sudden your fat loss is going to take off, and if you don't you'll never lose fat. It really won't make much of a difference at all, imo. But if you want to eat it, go ahead. I'm just saying don't think these little micro adjustments are going to add up to a whole lot.)

 

[Lifeforce]

I was thinking more off a the lactose, after all I was eating 2 litres off milk products a day, the fat I'm not worried about, I ingest enough fiber and unsaturated fats not to worry.



Here's a pic off me right now biceps almost unflexed so it looks strange, if you have an educated guess, what would BF% be?:

Pic, double biceps

Don't have any new shots where leg is included, but they are not lagging.

Page with my change from beginning with crappy pics