My pants are close to not fitting anymore so its almost time to take off some fat. I’ve come across some good advice for people doing quick cutting but I’m going to take my time and I’m wondering what advice still applies.
If I’m aiming for 1-2 pounds a week, is staying a maintenance before I cut a big must to avoid losing lean?
I’m not going to cut more than a couple hundred calories/day and make up for that by being more active to burn a couple hundred more. Good idea/bad idea for keeping muscle? Or should I just do one or the other and not both? I naturally gravitate to eating 30% fat and protein each and, obviously, 40% carbs, if that makes any difference.
And last one, I’m going to continue lifting, duh, but should I keep trying to make gains or mellow out? I hope its the former but both make sense to me so I dunno.
Hah, obviously I’m afraid I’m going to do something stupid and lose muscle. Everytime I’ve purposely set out to lose weight I do it wrong.
I’d up the protein. Eating more protein while restricting calories can enable your body to use any extra protein as fuel instead of breaking down your muscle for fuel.
Right now after the Velocity Diet, I’ve been trying to stay at around 80% of my maintenance calories wise, and so far I’ve been staying at the same weight as when I got off the V-diet. These last 4 weeks since the V-diet I’ve been doing light cardio for 30 min., 2 days a week, and these next 4 weeks I’ll keep the cardio the same, but my routine will be density dominate which means I’ll be using circuit training.
Then I’ll lower my calories again to 70% of maintenance and up the cardio to 2 light days, and 2 interval days.
This is all based on CT’s new ebook. Overall, including the 28 days of the Velocity Diet, I’ll be losing fat for 22 weeks, so I’m not too upset for not seeing the fat fall off quickly.
You have the right idea to take your time with it.
Good luck. Keep us posted.
How much and what type of cardio do you have planned? How many days lifting and what setup? I agree that upping the protein might be helpful, too.
My body decides what I’m going to do so I don’t have anthing planned ahead more than a month, and I don’t know what next month will bring until it comes, so I can’t really answer those questions. Hah, I know thats zero help, sorry. Thats why I’m asking for some guidelines I can keep in mind.
Well, if you’re not going to make a plan, then why bother asking for help? 
I’d say either consider doing 2-3 HIIT cardio sessions a week or doing early morning fasted cardio at a lower intensity almost daily for a month - along with upping your protein to 1g/lb bodyweight, limiting your carbs to the postworkout window and your first meal of the day and making sure to get in some good healthy fats.
I don’t know how close or far this is from what you’re already doing, though…
[quote]Jillybop wrote:
Well, if you’re not going to make a plan, then why bother asking for help? [/quote]
I asked a few specific questions that I don’t really think require more info then I’ve given.
[quote]I’d say either consider doing 2-3 HIIT cardio sessions a week or doing early morning fasted cardio at a lower intensity almost daily for a month - along with upping your protein to 1g/lb bodyweight, limiting your carbs to the postworkout window and your first meal of the day and making sure to get in some good healthy fats.
I don’t know how close or far this is from what you’re already doing, though…
[/quote]
Oh Jilly, I’d have to lower my protein by nearly half to get it to 1g/lb BW! haha. I eat like a horse.
My first meal is during my workout. By 9:30am I’ve usually had 930 calories of P+C. Then by noon I have a couple more meals and pretty much am done with carbs by then. I guess I’m on top of things before I start.
Well it sounds like you are already doing really well. Your idea of simply cutting a few hundred calories and upping the cardio should work out great. The other thing to consider is carb-cycling. I haven’t really done it, but I’ve read really good things. Thibaudeau has a great article in the archives if you’re interested.
I’d say weekly weigh-ins and measurements will tell you how your plan is working. Keeping it simple is always a good idea in my book
I’ve found that eating at a conservative maintenance level works well for me. Keeping proteins high, carbs to lower GI types and fats at the moderate level also keeps my energy at a great level. I always try to keep up the intensity of my workouts during lower calorie times.
Good Luck!
I think its interesting that 1-2lbs a week is considered slow fat loss. I mean that is 50-100lbs in a year! Maybe it doesnt take extreme measures but I wouldnt call it slow.
my advice would be start out slow. It would be much better to lose no weight the first few weeks then to drop 15lbs. Either way you take away some knowledge but the latter is more likely to negativly impact your long term goals.
[quote]texass wrote:
Oh Jilly, I’d have to lower my protein by nearly half to get it to 1g/lb BW! haha. I eat like a horse.
[/quote]
My bad for assuming you weren’t eating much protein also.
When you said your protein intake was only 30% of your total calories, I assumed tha was low.
Do you know how much total calories you’re taking in?
Even for somebody weighing only 120lbs, that would mean their total calories are 3200 per day; a 130lb person would be eating 3467 and so on. That just seems like a lot to me, even for someone with a high metabolism.
Bro from the sounds of it your making this to damn complex or well every one is. simple drop your intake a bit sounds like you eat like a horse which is good. So just dropping it a bit not starving but lowering it maybe some different food choices more veggies.
Cardio dont fall for the fasted etc. no need right now your looking to slowly drop some fat with minimal or no strength and muscle loss. Just add something in a few days a week dont go friggin drastic add a few walks. Go for a bike ride some more activity play a game of bball a hike
if you havent done cardio in a while for god sake dont jump in and expect to do HIIT off the bat its going to tear you up and hinder recovery from the weights. It HI as in High intensity. Like I said just add something a little bit and tweek the diet a little you can do more later when and if needed.
As for training I actually hear you on the plan thing or lack of I lift with an outline but hey I may go balls out today may not I know monday and tuesday will be ehavy but hell not sure exactly what or if it will be a screaming fest of 20 rep breathing squats or a heavy single.
What ever you do keep the loads, the intensity High. Keep listening to your body and drop volume or take longer to recover as needed. The high load/intensity will aid in keeping muscle.
I guess Ill stop for now just make a few simple changes this aint rocket science your not trying to get ready for a photo shoot and be 6% your looking to lean up a bit. No big deal
Thats my 2 cc any way,
Phill
SWR, last time I checked, I was eating near 3000. I don’t have a high metabolism though, just tons of energy that comes out as unintentional exercise.
Phill, thank you for adressing my third question. I’m new to training for size and I’m not trying to complicate things, I’m trying to learn.
[quote]JNeves wrote:
I think its interesting that 1-2lbs a week is considered slow fat loss. I mean that is 50-100lbs in a year! Maybe it doesnt take extreme measures but I wouldnt call it slow.[/quote]
Hah, I guess I was taking my audience into account. With all the velocity dieting going on around here, traditional weight loss is slow 
thanks for the advice.
If by the “5 foot nothing” you have in your profile you mean you’re 5 feet tall or thereabout and you’re eating 3000 calories a day you have large amounts of room to just drop across the board.
I’m only making this next statement because it still seems to have not been learned by a lot of folks in general, but too much restriction of fat will negatively impact your body’s ability to retain muscle and may also make it stingy about giving up what it already has stored.