Ate around 2100 calories yesterday. It fell on a day where I was training, had to do a ton of walking and football coaching so a bit of a big deficit to start off but 2000-2200 calories is what I’m going to be aiming for. This lines up with C.Thibs recommended 10-11 calories per lb of bodyweight, which will be easy to maintain for 4 weeks. My protein takes care of itself during a cut phase as I get most of my carbs from vegetables and fill myself up on more meat. I ended up on 190g yesterday without much thought which leaves me around the minimum of around 2g per kg of body weight. It’s likely I’ll end up with a little more protein than this as time goes on, reaching a more “optimal” amount but I’m happy to be around that range with no effort.
This needs to happen, I had originally planned to bulk until Christmas and cut in the New Year again but it’s just gonna leave me dreading it even more than I do now because I’ll have even more to lose. I can shave off 8-10lbs quickly this next month. Jump back on the bulk and depending on how I feel do another small cut in around 3 months. If I’m happy though it’s entirely possible I’ll stretch that to 4 or even 5 months.
I’m one of the lucky ones. I find dieting so easy. Last night I even had to chase a couple 100 calories as I ended up way too low.
My breakfast during a bulk is
Rice + scrambled eggs = 600cals
And my lunch is
Meat + veg + carb source =~1000cals.
So i’m usually on 1600 cals by 1pm, and if I have a pink of milk that can potentially be closer to 2000 cals.
On the diet i’m just having 3 scrambled eggs plus 20g of crisps for around 250-300cals for breakfast.
Lunch being just being lean meat + veg = 300-400 cals. Maybe a 100cal protein shake afterwards. Already have my ~1000cal deficit just from that.
It leaves a ton of freedom in my evening meal then so my missus doesn’t have to worry about what she’s cooking. And then I can add protein scoop or two depending on how I ended up. Will sometimes even be room for an extra meal/big evening snack.
When I diet I like to be stricter during the day so I have more calories for the evening meal and it does mean you don’t go to bed hungry which for me is key.
So you doing for 4 week mini cut then? Hope it goes well.
Definitely the best way I feel. It’s easier to kill time/be distracted during the day with work or whatever too.
Yup. Quick 4 weeks in and out. It’s not that I want to do it, it’s that if I don’t I’ll have to buy a bunch of clothes the size up and will only end up needing to go on a longer one after Christmas. Not so much about aesthetics to me, it’s about staying within 4-8 weeks of 17-18%. If I exceed that then I’m only making it harder for myself in the future.
I’m not too bad now thanks. Energy levels are not brilliant but feeing a lot better than I did last couple of days. Even if I was able to go out I’m not sure I’d have the energy for a workout but guessing the weeks rest is probably needed.
Hope the cut goes to plan. My biggest cutting advice would be chilled diet sprite instead of beer and timing the carbs for energy when needed.
Good stuff. I forgot to add before, be glad it came now instead of on the week of your holiday.
I know it’s expected, mostly water weight etc, but down 4lbs in 2-3days. I think my main obstacle is having the discipline to keep it slow enough. I’m loving the digestion break way more than any pleasure more food would give me.
Short session today. Missing Monday got me out of sync so I skipped a couple exercises, but this is why I created the program the way I did, for situations like this. All it means is I move Lat Pulldowns and Arm Work to tomorrow for an extra 25-30mins onto the session
With the extra time I had, I did some more neat. BPM only around 90-100 so shouldn’t harm recovery, and burns an extra bunch of cals.
One thing I realized which I’m not sure if I’m annoyed about or not. My bench work at the start of my last cut was also 95kg for sets of 5, shortly after re-entering a bulk I hit 101kg 3x5. I made a whole bunch of progress on the BB in higher rep ranges but didn’t play with anything around 5s, which I used to do 2x/week. My DB flat + incline press made LOADs of progress. I chose to cut as I was about to realize growth on the BB in this rep range so it almost feels like I didn’t move anywhere. Bit of a mental fuck.
Went dairy-free yesterday to try and figure out some of my digestive issues. An elimination diet is always gonna be easier on a cut! I don’t know if it’s linked but I then proceeded to get barely any sleep. Fell asleep on the sofa at about 9pm-11pm, then managed to sleep 12am-1am. The rest of the night I was just tossing and turning feeling sorry for myself. Trying to debate with myself whether to force my workout in today or leave it until tomorrow so I can perform better (C.Thib always says it’s better to perform well than have a half-assed workout, but I don’t know how true that is on a cut!).
I’m not 100% sure I’m anything as Western medicine has failed me with my digestive problems. I drink a ton of lactose free milk and think i’m okay with it (despite symptoms 24/7, I never feel that the milk inherently makes them worse), I’ve also randomly taken lactase tablets with varying amounts of success. Given that whey Isolate is for the most part lactose-free but still instantly creates a layer of mucus, shortness of breath and creates sinus issues though … it could be something else.
I’ve tried all kinds of different things. It’s been over a decade I’ve put up with this stuff, I don’t think there’s many things I haven’t tried. Now that I’ve all but quit alcohol and exercise regularly, it’s the one thing I need to get more control over so I’m fighting on all cylinders again and willing to retry anything. Cutting is obviously the best time to experiment with this stuff.
TBDL
170kg x 1
187.5kg x 8 (Rep PR)
170kg x 8
170kg x 8
Lat pulldowns
82.5kg x 10
82.5kg x 10
82.5kg x 10
Leg press
120kg x 10
Leg curls
47.5kg x 12
47.5kg x 12
47.5kg x 14
Chest-supported DB Rows
26kg x 12
26kg x 12
26kg x 12
DB Curls (one arm straight set - not alternating)
18kg x 10
18kg x 10
Triceps
All over the place. Lots of junk volume to be honest.
Well i’ve been eating next to nothing. 1800-2200 cals a day, 4lbs down in a week, went in with the feeling i’d struggle to get the planned 6 reps on the TBDL. Got 8 with relative ease, really feel I could have pushed even more. I have no idea where that came from. I wasn’t sure whether to drop a back-off set with the nature of the cut but if i’ve got the energy, why not? 170kg 2x8 is more great progress.
Had to add lat pulldowns to the session as I didn’t do them on Friday, and only did one set of leg press as my knee was a little inflamed messing around at football in the morning (nothing to worry about though). My left wrist hurt with lying tricep extensions so ended up doing a bunch of random stuff, think I only went close to failure on one set. I think I was just a bit knackered after a long couple of days. In that messing around I forgot to do the last set of DB curls but I’m not under the impression my bis are gonna disappear after missing a set though.
Notes: Finding something to put the dumbells on before chest-supported rows is a game changer.
Sore throat, coughing mucus and a bit dizzy as of late evening yesterday. Got a bit of a cold but it doesn’t feel too bad. Mostly above the throat. Typical (and almost expected) this kind of stuff happens when eating lower calories. Still buzzing about that TBDL PR though.
Cheers dude. Was not expecting a 2 rep jump with a weight like that after losing 4-5lbs!
Still feeling this cold quite a bit, but throats not as sore as yesterday. Yet again I’m wondering whether to go in today considering I’ve gotta walk the dog AND have football coaching later. I still don’t have much experience with cuts. If I give myself an extra day off to fight this cold, I’ll still be going Wed, Thurs, Sat this week, and then on Monday. Seems like all former skinny dudes feel like muscle is gonna drop off them when low on calories, delaying a day makes them thoughts even louder!
EDIT: I first edited to shun my victim mentality and go anyway. I then had a bit of a sneezing fit, 3-4 in a row. Even though I feel that it’s possible I may have caught this from a particular guy who was blowing his nose and sneezing in the gym last week, i’m still gonna give myself a day of rest as a common courtesy as I don’t wanna be “that” guy. I will do the dog walk later though, maybe have a hot bath and go to football coaching aswell as it’s all outdoors and the light movement may help.
Despite feeling better yesterday evening and going to football coaching for some light activity, my throat feels like it’s got razor blades in it this morning - not great when i’m also coughing like crazy. This will be my third day off and i’m starting to question whether I should continue to eat such low calories whilst having this short time off the gym.
Trying to eat a bit more but it’s a real struggle with the fire in my throat. The gym is definitely a no right now. Hopefully, I feel a bit better tomorrow.
I hate the victim mentality, I usually aim to smash through this stuff. When my body says “no” though, I should probably listen in this instance.
