Hey guys, I need help with my first ever real cutting routine. The reason I say real is because i've tried the whole bulk/cut thing in hopes of gaining muscle while loosing fat. I just got off a slow HIT bulk (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=11246) where i gained ~13 lbs. The reason i'm stopping is because it's been 5 months, i'm gaining noticeable fat, and having a very hard time in the gym lately. It was a 3 week full body routine with no cardio. Basically what I want to do is 3 days weights, and 3 days low intensity cardio (incline treadmill). I want this to be a very slow cut, only loosing maybe 5-10lbs of fat at most(i'm ~145lb right now, 5"6.5'). My diet is great, and will remain throughout the rest of my phases.

What I need help with is two things:
deciding on whether I should contine on fullbody HIT those three days, or going back to splits. Side question, when on a cut, is it expected to make gains in the weight room?

also, the biggest problem is going on a calorie deficit. I'm only 17, and still growing, so going below maintnece concerns me as I may not be fueling my body to grow. Durring my bulk, I've been taking in ~3000kcal/day. The only way i'm going to lose this fat is if I go on a deficit, and I don't think a small, slow one will hurt my growth (but i'm not sure). Could anyone recommend an approximate intake for my stats?

If you think I should just keep lifting, and just do some cardio as well, keeping healthy and not worrying about a deficit/intake, i guess that's an option too.

Any advice would be greatly apprecitated :tu:

Thanks in advance

You know, I don't really know if a calorie deficit will stunt your growth. I suggest you consult a doctor/dietician for full advice. Your BMR stands at around 1800 calories and if you do weights 3 days a week and cardio 2 days, you are at 2800 calories maintenance. However, I don't really rely on these calculations coz they were way off on me.If you wanna lose slow, go for about 2000-2400 calories I'd say. For your three workouts, you should opt for chest/back day, bicep/tricep day and shoulder/leg day or ,and this is my preffered method, chest/tricep day, back/bicep day and shoulder/leg day. Chest and back are big muscle groups and once I finish the chest, I have very little energy to do back so I opted out. So, in conclusion, 3 days weights and 2-3 days cardio is fine, go back to a split routine (full body 3 times a week is too extreme) and yes,you may expect some gains in the gym. The gains you see actually mostly come from definition coming through from losing fat. Most chubby people have pretty good muscle development under all that fat! Really!

You know, I don't really know if a calorie deficit will stunt your growth. I suggest you consult a doctor/dietician for full advice. Your BMR stands at around 1800 calories and if you do weights 3 days a week and cardio 2 days, you are at 2800 calories maintenance. However, I don't really rely on these calculations coz they were way off on me.If you wanna lose slow, go for about 2000-2400 calories I'd say. For your three workouts, you should opt for chest/back day, bicep/tricep day and shoulder/leg day or ,and this is my preffered method, chest/tricep day, back/bicep day and shoulder/leg day. Chest and back are big muscle groups and once I finish the chest, I have very little energy to do back so I opted out. So, in conclusion, 3 days weights and 2-3 days cardio is fine, go back to a split routine (full body 3 times a week is too extreme) and yes,you may expect some gains in the gym. The gains you see actually mostly come from definition coming through from losing fat. Most chubby people have pretty good muscle development under all that fat! Really!

I'm going to slowly work down to 2000 or until i see a major drop in weight, and then I'll kick it back up to make sure I don't lose any muscle. I'm going back to splits just because i think HIT with cardio would be overtraining, plus i need a change up. Other than that, I'm set. Wish me luck.

after two weeks of a constant 146lbs, this morning a wake up to 140 out of no where. This really hurts what i want to do with cutting because I only wanted to lose around 5 lbs. Does anyone have an explanation for how after 2 weeks, last week being my break week, i can be a certain weight, and then drop 6lbs over night? I would hope I wasn't retaining water for 2 weeks. :confused:

i have actuallly lost 7 pounds overnight before, then 5 came back over the next week, it was hard seeing myself gaining weight while on a cut, but in the long run i lost the weight i wanted...

i am 17 too, and i know what its like, i am 6' 1'' and i weigh around the 200 lb's.. and i am now getting off a bulk, gotta trim around 20 lb's..

during a cut you are not exxpected to make gains in the weight room, and some ppl will even say you shouldnt try for any gains, because this will put a large strain on your body..
if you really are worried about your growth, then there is an alternative you could take:

Eat whatever you want as long as it is healthy and not crap food... (i think we know what crapfood is..)

we need to remember that you are only 17, in this age your body is supposed to be in probably its best state that it will EVER be in your entire life, and handicaping it w/ some cutting diet could have its adverse affects on you and/or your body..

i took this option when i couldnt hold onto my cutting anymore due to lack of motivation/school/work.. it all came together on me..

and believe it or not i only gained like 5 lb's in the first week, which i think was my intestines filling up, and after that i was gaining a lil weight, but nothing severe because i was also gaining strengh plus i didnt see much fat gain.. well not any really.. after i went on this pure healthy all u can eat diet, i began to see my body fit into its new form, i had lost 44 lb's, but my body never really adapted to the new me.. and i think this boost in nutrients helped me a lot and i dont regret it at all.

the choice is yours, i mean judgeing from your stats you arent really overweight, but i do understand if your not wholely satisfied...

GL! :tu:

Hey guys, I need help with my first ever real cutting routine. The reason I say real is because i've tried the whole bulk/cut thing in hopes of gaining muscle while loosing fat. I just got off a slow HIT bulk (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=11246) where i gained ~13 lbs. The reason i'm stopping is because it's been 5 months, i'm gaining noticeable fat, and having a very hard time in the gym lately. It was a 3 week full body routine with no cardio. Basically what I want to do is 3 days weights, and 3 days low intensity cardio (incline treadmill). I want this to be a very slow cut, only loosing maybe 5-10lbs of fat at most(i'm ~145lb right now, 5"6.5'). My diet is great, and will remain throughout the rest of my phases.

What I need help with is two things:
deciding on whether I should contine on fullbody HIT those three days, or going back to splits. Side question, when on a cut, is it expected to make gains in the weight room?

also, the biggest problem is going on a calorie deficit. I'm only 17, and still growing, so going below maintnece concerns me as I may not be fueling my body to grow. Durring my bulk, I've been taking in ~3000kcal/day. The only way i'm going to lose this fat is if I go on a deficit, and I don't think a small, slow one will hurt my growth (but i'm not sure). Could anyone recommend an approximate intake for my stats?

If you think I should just keep lifting, and just do some cardio as well, keeping healthy and not worrying about a deficit/intake, i guess that's an option too.

Any advice would be greatly apprecitated :tu:

Thanks in advance
dude if u wanna cut calories without losing muscle then all you have to do is work your muscles even harder then you usually do then drink a protein shake right after weight training. you wont see any gains but it will maintain your muscle while burning fat.iv fasted for 3 days before and havent lost any muscle because i lifted weights before i ran. this method of fat loss/muscle maintenence can only be done for a week tops cuz it will drain your energy like fuckin crazy . it doesnt work for everyone though so be careful