Cutting and Metabolism Stalling

The day to day calories were come up with by starting at a small deficit on my baseline days (think I started at about 500 below BMR), a slightly larger one for low days, and no deficit for high days. Every few weeks, I would either lower the baseline a small amount (maybe 100 cals), OR try to create a larger deficit on the low days (while keeping the same baseline and high values).

Chris Aceto always stressed that you don’t need a deficit every day, but instead focus on a weekly deficit. Through my own experience, I’ve found that the larger the discrepancy between low and baseline/high values, the better progress you notice (at least in my own case).

My goal has been to NOT cut from the peri-workout carbs this time. I believe that not only is this the most anabolic time to ingest carbs, but also can serve as the most muscle sparing when cutting. If more carbs are allowed each day, the next most important time would be first thing in the morning (after an overnight fast). At the moment, I have cut my carb feedings from 4, down to 3: breakfast, lunch, and peri-workout.

Until this last week, I had also been having carbs with my mid-morning feeding. If I feel that I require yet another step-down (which I may, or may not as the contest approaches, - I think my cals are low enough to allow for higher carb intake), the oatmeal that accompanies my lunch may have to go (leaving me with the two important feedings untouched, and still well over 150g carbs - presently at 200g, down from the 225g I’ve been consistent with from 15 weeks out until last week).

S

COOKIES!!!

What do you mean by your baseline days? If I were going to attempt this without anymore knowledge, just based on your last post I would:

Have a High calories day - essentially my calories are at maintenance here: most amount of work done on this day

Medium Calories day - Be in a deficit of 500 calories on this day: smaller body group day or intervals etc on this day

Low Calories day - Be in a deficit of 750 calories this day: off day from the gym: the calories cut on this day are mainly carbs due to not needing peri-workout carbs on this day.

Thanks again for elaborating if you have the time Stu.

I tend to use the term ‘baseline’ to refer to my average, medium intake (meaning NOT a specific LOW or HIGH day), but the ‘base’ of where my caloric deficit is for that given week in my prep.

Aside from that, you’ve pretty much outlined what I do, except with the extreme nature of contest dieting, I use the Low days not for ‘off’ days, but for Interval work. I wasn’t initially sure if this was the best route, despite the obvious nature of not having an abundance of fuel, but when Shaun Clarida told me he does the same thing, I felt a bit better (and I think my conditioning last year turned out pretty well as a result).

S

Gotcha. Thank you again.