Attempting my first cut

[Ragincajun91]

Hey guys,

I'm about to start my first cut in my life. No joking, let me explain. I've always been a notoriously hard gainer and would lose weight if I missed one meal out of the week. This coupled with the high school and college sports mind set of you always need to be "bigger, faster, stronger." has put me in pursuit of a bigger physique(body dysmorphia). I still feel like that 185lb kid... I've always hovered around the 12-16% BF range and have been scared to attempt to lean out due to not wanting to lose muscle. I don't want to lean down to single digits or anything crazy, just as close to 10-12% as I can get and still retain my size and strength.

Currently: 225lbs 13-16% BF

Diet is as follows:

Morning: 3 cups cooked oatmeal 12g protein, 6g fats, 99g carbs
Lunch: 6oz beef w/ 2 cups rice 34g protein, 12g fats, 90g carbs
Dinner: 7.5oz chicken w/ 2 cups rice 56g protein, 17g fats, 90g carbs
Pre-bed: Shake(ON serious mass) 25g protein, 35g fats, 125g carbs
Total cals: 2521

The two methods I'm considering are increase cardio and keep my diet the same or decrease my carbs, up protein and do a little cardio. My cardio would be in the form of sprints, boxing, more HIIT style workouts. Currently running hills/ pushing a sled once a week.

Which method would be more conducive to retaining muscle while losing fat? I know the loss of some muscle is inevitable but would like to minimize as much as possible.

 

[Jin]

Get rid of the mass gainer and you can just skip cardio

 

[TeddyBear]

Yeah, my buddies had a “cutting group” where they competed to make weight.

As someone who is usually afraid of dropping weight, I didn’t join. That said, as soon as I stopped eating more than my appetite I lost almost as much as the guys who were dieting and jogging.

My buddy who won; he simply cut out beer. He didn’t even add additional exercise. Literally cut out 300 beer calories a day. That’s all it takes sometimes.

Consider, my Apple Watch registers a mile run as 100 calories burned. If I stopped eating a Clif Bar as a snack before lunch, I’m saving myself a 3-mile run.

 

[CJ]

You're not that far off from where you want to be. A few very slight tweaks can get you there. You don't need to do anything crazy.

 

[Jin]

Yeah, my buddies had a “cutting group” where they competed to make weight.

As someone who is usually afraid of dropping weight, I didn’t join. That said, as soon as I stopped eating more than my appetite I lost almost as much as the guys who were dieting and jogging.

My buddy who won; he simply cut out beer. He didn’t even add additional exercise. Literally cut out 300 beer calories a day. That’s all it takes sometimes.

Consider, my Apple Watch registers a mile run as 100 calories burned. If I stopped eating a Clif Bar as a snack before lunch, I’m saving myself a 3-mile run.

what happens when you cut out 1,500 a day in booze? Asking for a fiend.

 

[TeddyBear]

what happens when you cut out 1,500 a day in booze? Asking for a fiend.

They are a “fiend.”
You should have seen the chat yesterday, talking about cutting carbs and bro mentions beer.
NO beer on a cut, that’s a waste of calories, money, and liver taxing.

 

[Blusoul24]

Shit man. I'm about your size, and if I drop my calories to 3000 per day I will lose weight quickly. 2500 seems low, although I defer to the more experienced members here.

I would cut back on the carbs, up the protein to preserve muscle while cutting.

 

[BRICKS]

Anybody bother adding up that protein? Unless I'm missing something it's at 27 gm/day. Nobody else thinks that's a little low....like a lot low?

 

[Ragincajun91]

Anybody bother adding up that protein? Unless I'm missing something it's at 27 gm/day. Nobody else thinks that's a little low....like a lot low?

Youre definitely right, my protein is way low at about 130ish per day. I wanted to see where my marcos were, then supplement or change where I need to. If I add a 0 carb protein shake after my workout and before bed. That will get me about 2300 cals and protein just north of 200g which is still low but much higher than what my body is used to now.

I wish I could eat like a horse but my schedule and

 

[Blusoul24]

I hadn't done the math. Holy crap, pick up the fork and eat some damn protein!

 

[Adrenolin]

Op, for starters, what does 225 @ 13-16% look like?

You eat like a girl.. a ton of carbs with little protein. Curious what similar dieting tactics built for you physique wise

 

[CJ]

Youre definitely right, my protein is way low at about 130ish per day. I wanted to see where my marcos were, then supplement or change where I need to. If I add a 0 carb protein shake after my workout and before bed. That will get me about 2300 cals and protein just north of 200g which is still low but much higher than what my body is used to now.

I wish I could eat like a horse but my schedule and

Get some protein in a breakfast too. The prior night's feeding all the way to lunch the next day is too long to go without some protein. Your body will get the amino it needs for the many functions it's used for, and you'd rather it be from food than taking it from muscle tissue.

Add some eggs to your breakfast. If you are low on time, hard boil a dozen, and leave in a bowl in your fridge. Grab and go protein source. I'd recommend at least 2 whole eggs, or 4 egg whites if you're tossing the yolks. But don't toss the yolks, there are good vitamins and minerals in them, that's where the nutrition is.

 

[Ragincajun91]

Get some protein in a breakfast too. The prior night's feeding all the way to lunch the next day is too long to go without some protein. Your body will get the amino it needs for the many functions it's used for, and you'd rather it be from food than taking it from muscle tissue.

Add some eggs to your breakfast. If you are low on time, hard boil a dozen, and leave in a bowl in your fridge. Grab and go protein source. I'd recommend at least 2 whole eggs, or 4 egg whites if you're tossing the yolks. But don't toss the yolks, there are good vitamins and minerals in them, that's where the nutrition is.

Thanks for the advise, not a huge fan of boiled eggs and was looking at egg whites or ham as my morning source of protein. The reason for the high carbs is to make sure I didnt lose any weight I had put on. Didnt really see the point in focusing on protein if I wasnt getting enough carbs to maintain my current weight. New diet:

Morning: 2 cup oatmeal 1 cup egg whites
Post workout: Isopure 0 carb Shake
Lunch: 6oz beef, 2 cup rice
Dinner: 7.5oz chicken, 2 cup rice
pre-bed: Isopure 0 carb Shake

Totals: 225g protein, 35g fats, 248g carbs, 2271 calories

 

[Ragincajun91]

It won’t let me upload a picture into the post so I put it in my profile...

 

[CJ]

Thanks for the advise, not a huge fan of boiled eggs and was looking at egg whites or ham as my morning source of protein. The reason for the high carbs is to make sure I didnt lose any weight I had put on. Didnt really see the point in focusing on protein if I wasnt getting enough carbs to maintain my current weight. New diet:

Morning: 2 cup oatmeal 1 cup egg whites
Post workout: Isopure 0 carb Shake
Lunch: 6oz beef, 2 cup rice
Dinner: 7.5oz chicken, 2 cup rice
pre-bed: Isopure 0 carb Shake

Totals: 225g protein, 35g fats, 248g carbs, 2271 calories

Throw some veggies in there. You're seriously lacking in nutrition, which is different from Cals/macros.

Easy add-ins:
-add some frozen spinach to your rice when it's just about done cooking.
-a small amount of berries on occasion. They're pretty low in Cals, but are packed with vitamins.
-occasional salad, just don't go crazy with a high fat/high Cal dressing. There's plenty of low/no Cal options.

Veggies also help to fill you up, so you won't be overly hungry on your cut.

When you start to get hungry later on in the cut, swap out the shakes for real food. Liquid Cals don't fill you up as much as solid food will.