Who is on a cut?

What's a carb? A car part? What's a macro? A type of camera lens?

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JohnHelton
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Who is on a cut?

#1

Post by JohnHelton » Wed Aug 15, 2018 2:05 pm

I just started to get serious about tracking macros, etc. I'm curious who else is doing the same. If you have successfully cut recently, I would love to hear about what you did and how it went.

Maybe a little support group here.

My starting values: 206 lbs, 16.5% BF and 36" waist. I'm targeting 175g protein, 220g carbs, 70g fat, 30g fiber. I think that is about 2,210 calories per day. Hopefully, I can lose fat and not lose LBM/strength. I would like to get closer to 10-12% BF so I can do the slow gain from there. Incidentally, I tried to do this over the past few weeks managing my total calories and protein, disregarding fat versus carbs, and I got nowhere. We will see how it goes with theses macros.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#2

Post by quark » Wed Aug 15, 2018 2:30 pm

I believe the overriding issue on a cut is compliance. Having a plan you can stick to is more important than the details of the plan (beyond that you lower calories below maintenance and maintain or increase activity levels). What works best for your compliance is a matter of individual difference.

My main strategy is to track everything with myfitnesspal. I'll enter the day's meals in the morning, then eat what I'm supposed to eat and no more. No thinking, just follow the plan.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#3

Post by broseph » Wed Aug 15, 2018 4:16 pm

In on support group.

I've been losing about a pound a week, except when I don't, for a few months.

15 pounds down. 41" waist to 38". My goal is visible abs for no reason but vanity. Figure I'll have to get down to about 34" waist for that.

I've been repeating week 1 of Hanley's 2 week program the whole time without changing my numbers much. My Power Day singles still seem like a true 90%, so I don't think I've lost any much strength. I've also been doing more conditioning, so I'm counting that as progress (technically, shut up).

Edited because I've probably lost SOME strength.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#4

Post by JohnHelton » Wed Aug 15, 2018 4:56 pm

broseph wrote: Wed Aug 15, 2018 4:16 pm In on support group.

I've been losing about a pound a week, except when I don't, for a few months.

15 pounds down. 41" waist to 38". My goal is visible abs for no reason but vanity. Figure I'll have to get down to about 34" waist for that.

I've been repeating week 1 of Hanley's 2 week program the whole time without changing my numbers much. My Power Day singles still seem like a true 90%, so I don't think I've lost any much strength. I've also been doing more conditioning, so I'm counting that as progress (technically, shut up).

Edited because I've probably lost SOME strength.
15 lbs. is great. It seems like if you have the patience for 1 pound per week, your strength doesn’t take much of a hit. On the GPP side, I plan to just continue doing incline walks on the treadmill. Just enough to get the HR up but not so much as to interfere with recovery.

Incidentally, abs would be great but I generally only take my shirt off in front of my wife...and she doesn’t really care. If I get down to 8% and look like a superhero, I’ll have to work at my office desk without my shirt. I’m sure everyone at the office would be super impressed.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#5

Post by broseph » Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:11 pm

Initially, I added cardio for health reason and why not burn a few extra calories. I too kept it mild so as to not interfere with my lifting.

As long as you add slowly, I’ve learned that you can actually do a lot and it doesn’t hurt your gainz. Yesterday after my full Strength day I did, for conditioning, a total of 75 chins, 150 push-ups, and 225 air squats. I will do Hypertrophy day as prescribed tomorrow without issue.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#6

Post by omaniphil » Wed Aug 15, 2018 6:15 pm

I should be on a cut, although this week you wouldn't have known it. Sigh... I hate tracking macros, but I think its the only way to comply with any sort of non-stupid eat habits.

My waist is around 46. I really need to get that down to below 40.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#7

Post by JohnHelton » Wed Aug 15, 2018 6:28 pm

@omaniphil Welcome to the “support group”.

I’ve come to the same conclusion about macros. It is a pain in the ass, but I think it produces the best results (at least for those that are also training).

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#8

Post by MattimusMaximus » Wed Aug 15, 2018 9:11 pm

I'm here for the support group. Down 13 lbs now but I wanna eat eat eat lol.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#9

Post by cgeorg » Wed Aug 15, 2018 10:59 pm

broseph wrote: Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:11 pm Initially, I added cardio for health reason and why not burn a few extra calories. I too kept it mild so as to not interfere with my lifting.

As long as you add slowly, I’ve learned that you can actually do a lot and it doesn’t hurt your gainz. Yesterday after my full Strength day I did, for conditioning, a total of 75 chins, 150 push-ups, and 225 air squats. I will do Hypertrophy day as prescribed tomorrow without issue.
Oh look.at Mr. Cindy over here




I really hope I got right name.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#10

Post by DCM » Thu Aug 16, 2018 12:06 am

A support group is a great idea. I've been cutting all year, lol. And half of last year as well. Started off at 111kg / 245 lbs in January 2017, currently at around 91kg / 201 lbs (I will soon cease to be an adult male, it seems). Waist has gone from 40.5 inches to 35.5 inches. Visible abs is the plan, goal weight around 88kg / 194 lbs. I use MyFitnessPal pretty religiously, shooting for 200g protein, 250-300g carbs and 45-70g fat.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#11

Post by JohnHelton » Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:15 am

DCM wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 12:06 am A support group is a great idea. I've been cutting all year, lol. And half of last year as well. Started off at 111kg / 245 lbs in January 2017, currently at around 91kg / 201 lbs (I will soon cease to be an adult male, it seems). Waist has gone from 40.5 inches to 35.5 inches. Visible abs is the plan, goal weight around 88kg / 194 lbs. I use MyFitnessPal pretty religiously, shooting for 200g protein, 250-300g carbs and 45-70g fat.
5" and 45 lbs. is solid work.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#12

Post by JohnHelton » Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:17 am

MattimusMaximus wrote: Wed Aug 15, 2018 9:11 pm I'm here for the support group. Down 13 lbs now but I wanna eat eat eat lol.
Nice work! What have you been doing to lose the weight?

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#13

Post by DCM » Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:34 am

JohnHelton wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:15 am
DCM wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 12:06 am A support group is a great idea. I've been cutting all year, lol. And half of last year as well. Started off at 111kg / 245 lbs in January 2017, currently at around 91kg / 201 lbs (I will soon cease to be an adult male, it seems). Waist has gone from 40.5 inches to 35.5 inches. Visible abs is the plan, goal weight around 88kg / 194 lbs. I use MyFitnessPal pretty religiously, shooting for 200g protein, 250-300g carbs and 45-70g fat.
5" and 45 lbs. is solid work.
Thanks man! It's been a journey ;-) My lifts are all down quite a bit in temrs of overall weight on the bar, but at least I no longer look like Henry VIII. And actually, in terms of bodyweight-to-lift ratios, things are pretty much the same.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#14

Post by JohnHelton » Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:51 am

DCM wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:34 am
JohnHelton wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:15 am
DCM wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 12:06 am A support group is a great idea. I've been cutting all year, lol. And half of last year as well. Started off at 111kg / 245 lbs in January 2017, currently at around 91kg / 201 lbs (I will soon cease to be an adult male, it seems). Waist has gone from 40.5 inches to 35.5 inches. Visible abs is the plan, goal weight around 88kg / 194 lbs. I use MyFitnessPal pretty religiously, shooting for 200g protein, 250-300g carbs and 45-70g fat.
5" and 45 lbs. is solid work.
Thanks man! It's been a journey ;-) My lifts are all down quite a bit in temrs of overall weight on the bar, but at least I no longer look like Henry VIII. And actually, in terms of bodyweight-to-lift ratios, things are pretty much the same.
I have been thinking about that. I hope to be able to concentrate on my Wilks score. If that is going up, then I'm doing the cut right.

Have you done in any blood work since losing the weight? If so, has the reduction in weight caused any favorable changes in that regard? I plan to get a physical after losing some weight. I'm curious if it will have an impact on my lipid panel.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#15

Post by Murelli » Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:37 am

I've been on a rocky road down from 99 to ~90 since last year. I believe I am really stagnant right now, so I'll try to reboot the system (reverse diet + maintenance) to try to begin losing again in a few months. This stuff is way harder than adding 2,5kg 3x/wk on LP.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#16

Post by Allentown » Thu Aug 16, 2018 5:02 am

I am, technically (shut up). Mostly got sick of eating at maintenance.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#17

Post by cwd » Thu Aug 16, 2018 5:43 am

I'm using MATADOR protocol: cut 2 weeks, maintain 2 weeks, repeat.

First two rounds I lost 5 lbs each cut, so I'm averaging about 1 lb/week overall. 196 & 37" waist >> 186 and 35" waist so far (5'10" tall). Will do at least one more round.

Strength is stable so far -- I lose a little on the cuts and get it back during maintenance.

Instead of counting calories or macros, I'm counting "hungry hours" which is easier for me. 3-5 hungry hours per day is a cut, 1-2 hours per day is maintenance. I fiddle with portion sizes do this. I try to make dinner big enough and late enough to not be hungry at bedtime.

Dunno if counting hungry-hours would work for anyone else. I eat basically the same 3 meals in rotation every day and never snack, that might be a prerequisite for this to work right.

The cuts are pretty aggressive -- 5 lbs in 2 weeks. I get *very* hungry, for hours every day. I try to think of the hunger as the sensation of my fat shrinking away, which helps. Also, the fact that it's only 2 weeks at a time helps a lot.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#18

Post by Chebass88 » Thu Aug 16, 2018 6:53 am

I've been counting macros for about two months now. I got tired of being a fatfuck, and had let my weight get to above 260lb (up to 264, I think). I'm now at ~258lb. I'd like to take this as far as I can - losing 20-25lbs would be pretty cool.

I don't particularly like tracking macros, but at this moment, the desire to not be a tub-o-lard outweighs the inconvenience of tracking the numbers.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#19

Post by DCM » Thu Aug 16, 2018 7:02 am

cwd wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 5:43 am I'm using MATADOR protocol: cut 2 weeks, maintain 2 weeks, repeat.

First two rounds I lost 5 lbs each cut, so I'm averaging about 1 lb/week overall. 196 & 37" waist >> 186 and 35" waist so far (5'10" tall). Will do at least one more round.

Strength is stable so far -- I lose a little on the cuts and get it back during maintenance.

Instead of counting calories or macros, I'm counting "hungry hours" which is easier for me. 3-5 hungry hours per day is a cut, 1-2 hours per day is maintenance. I fiddle with portion sizes do this. I try to make dinner big enough and late enough to not be hungry at bedtime.

Dunno if counting hungry-hours would work for anyone else. I eat basically the same 3 meals in rotation every day and never snack, that might be a prerequisite for this to work right.

The cuts are pretty aggressive -- 5 lbs in 2 weeks. I get *very* hungry, for hours every day. I try to think of the hunger as the sensation of my fat shrinking away, which helps. Also, the fact that it's only 2 weeks at a time helps a lot.
That would absolutely not work for me. Hate being hangry or feeling deprived.

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Re: Who is on a cut?

#20

Post by TimK » Thu Aug 16, 2018 7:14 am

Last year I cut 39lbs in 28 weeks, from 277 on 4/14 down to 238 on 10/28. That works out to about 1.4lbs a week on average, although I kept my calories constant around 2700 and lost faster at the beginning and slower toward the end. Waist went from 45.25 -> 38.75 (-6.5 inches). Deadlift went up, squat stayed about the same overall, and bench went up at first but then dropped a bit for a slight net gain.

Maintained around 236-238 for the next three months until my bicep tear at the end of January. Gained some weight post-surgery up to a high (low?) point of 253 on 4/4 and realized I needed to lean out again. Signed up for a meet on 8/4 for the 105/231 weight class which was good motivation to stick to my diet. I went from 253 -> 230, 23lbs in 17 weeks, again roughly 1.4lbs per week, also on 2700 calories. Waist went from 40 -> 37.5 (-2.5 inches). Squat went up, deadlift went way up, bench seemed to improve a bit despite poor performance on meet day but I also switched from TnG to paused so it's hard to gauge precisely.

I am currently cutting more aggressively. I dropped my calories to around 2000-2100 after the meet and I'm aiming to get down to 215, although I might go even lower depending on how I look and feel when I get there. I've dropped another 6lbs in the last two weeks so I'm already down to 224. At this point I just want to cut as quickly as possible without feeling like shit or starving myself. I actually don't have a lot of hunger or cravings currently which is great. I've been eating pretty much the same four meals for the last couple of weeks every day and it's not difficult for me to stick to, so I'm just going to keep going. The main reason that I'm cutting is that I want to get lean enough that I'll be able to actually bulk for the first time in my lifting career without getting too fat. Also, it would be cool to have visible abs, even if it's just for a week or two, but I don't know if I'll go that far with it.

Regarding waist measurement, I watched the video that BBM put out recently and I am definitely not measuring the same way. I put the tape right over my navel and pull it somewhat tight, then exhale and relax. They said that the tape shouldn't be tight enough to indent the skin but it does for me, so my stated numbers may well be and inch or so less than "reality," although if I put the tape where they say to measure I seem to get a lower number than at my navel, so maybe it's a wash. Anyway, I started measuring this way a long time ago so I would have consistent measurements to compare so I'm just going to keep doing it the same way. The important thing is that I can see whether it's trending down.

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