I decided to do a serious/dedicated cut after having "maintained" for couple years now (minimize body fat gain, gain lean mass and strength). I plan to do this until beginning of february (3 months total). I started beginning of Nov. The only thing i'm wondering is if I cut my calories too drastically. Will such a "drastic" cut in calories be bad, even for 12 weeks?

My stats:
Wt - 170 pounds
Ht - 5ft 9in
Bodyfat - 14-16%?

Workout:
45-50mins of MISS cardio x 3-4 days/week (running)
HIIT 1-2 days/week (on non-lifting days)

Weights-
4 days split, 2 on/1 off, repeat.
1 - Chest
2 - Back
3 - Rest
4 - Legs
5 - Shoulder/Bi/Tri + Deadlift
(Each session has been anywhere from 45-60mins)
I have not seen any strength loss YET, and actually been improving on number of reps/weights.

I've been eating 1300-1500 calories of clean food (P 40-50%, C 30-40%, F 20-30%) + 200 calories of "supplements" (BCAA, glutamine, Fish oil) every day. I've been cycling the clean food calories - 1200, 1200, 1500, 1800, then back down to 1200, repeat. (these calories do not include 200 calories worth of BCAA (30g), fish oil (6g), Glutamine (10g))

Thanks a lot for your input.

The only thing i'm wondering is if I cut my calories too drastically.

My stats:
Wt - 170 pounds
Ht - 5ft 9in
Bodyfat - 14-16%?

Workout:
45-50mins of MISS cardio x 3-4 days/week (running)
HIIT 1-2 days/week (on non-lifting days)

Weights-
4 days split, 2 on/1 off, repeat.
1 - Chest
2 - Back
3 - Rest
4 - Legs
5 - Shoulder/Bi/Tri + Deadlift
(Each session has been anywhere from 45-60mins)
I have not seen any strength loss YET, and actually been improving on number of reps/weights.

I've been eating 1300-1500 calories of clean food (P 40-50%, C 30-40%, F 20-30%) + 200 calories of "supplements" (BCAA, glutamine, Fish oil) every day. I've been cycling the clean food calories - 1200, 1200, 1500, 1800, then back down to 1200, repeat. (these calories do not include 200 calories worth of BCAA (30g), fish oil (6g), Glutamine (10g))

Thanks a lot for your input.
I think your calories are definitely way too low.

Will such a "drastic" cut in calories be bad, even for 12 weeks?
Depends. I wouldn't do it for one week, but that's just me. Some people like low-calorie diets and don't mind the loss of a little muscle, which could potentially happen if you continue with this plan.

I think it might be good that you're cycling up to 1800+200=2000 every few days, but I'd rather you cycle up to 1-200 cals over maintenance for those 2 days per week instead. I think 1200+200=1400 is really, really low myself though. Especially for the volume of exercise you're doing.

I decided to do a serious/dedicated cut after having "maintained" for couple years now (minimize body fat gain, gain lean mass and strength).

I think you're wanting to bulk?! :confused: Lose as much fat as possible and minimize lean loss or gain as much lean as possible and minimize fat gain?

I plan to do this until beginning of february (3 months total). I started beginning of Nov. The only thing i'm wondering is if I cut my calories too drastically. Will such a "drastic" cut in calories be bad, even for 12 weeks?

My stats:
Wt - 170 pounds
Ht - 5ft 9in
Bodyfat - 14-16%?

Workout:
45-50mins of MISS cardio x 3-4 days/week (running)
HIIT 1-2 days/week (on non-lifting days)

Weights-
4 days split, 2 on/1 off, repeat.
1 - Chest
2 - Back
3 - Rest
4 - Legs
5 - Shoulder/Bi/Tri + Deadlift
(Each session has been anywhere from 45-60mins)
I have not seen any strength loss YET, and actually been improving on number of reps/weights.

I've been eating 1300-1500 calories of clean food (P 40-50%, C 30-40%, F 20-30%) + 200 calories of "supplements" (BCAA, glutamine, Fish oil) every day. I've been cycling the clean food calories - 1200, 1200, 1500, 1800, then back down to 1200, repeat. (these calories do not include 200 calories worth of BCAA (30g), fish oil (6g), Glutamine (10g))

Thanks a lot for your input.

Without knowing any of your food choices, I'd say you are way too low on calories. You will not gain strength (no big if you want to cut fat), you might lose some lean, and you might lose fat for 7 weeks before your body stops.

I'd say your baseline daily calorie level for a hardcore quick cut should be 1700 a day. If you want to cycle, maybe try

Monday - 1500
Tuesday - 1700
Wednesday - 1500
Thursday - 1700
Friday - 1500
Saturday - 2100
Sunday - 1900

I think your ratios are good ballparks. I'm not messed up with your split either.

I'm sure others will have more questions and ideas for you!

:gl:

EDIT: I thought I was the first reply :(

I think 1200+200=1400 is really, really low myself though. Especially for the volume of exercise you're doing.

I agree. When I go that low, I take most of the exercise out of the equation. Basically using the cut to force myself to take a break.

You might not be feeling any negative effects YET... but my guess is that you will. Either you will break down and binge, or you will stop losing weight/fat as your metabolism slows down.

Drastic negative energy balance is generally not a good idea.
But at 15% body fat it makes absolutely no sense.
You have a time frame of 12 weeks to lose ~8lbs of fat (I'm guessing you wanna hit ~10% bodyfat). that averages at 0.66lbs/week of FAT loss.

Why consume so little food? how does that fit with your goals?


Shahar.

I think your calories are definitely way too low.

I'd say you are way too low on calories.

You might not be feeling any negative effects YET... but my guess is that you will. Either you will break down and binge, or you will stop losing weight/fat as your metabolism slows down.

Drastic negative energy balance is generally not a good idea.
...Why consume so little food? how does that fit with your goals?


There's a trend in the replies here - They can't all be wrong;) Definately up your calories for the reasons posted by others above.

You can only stay on a low-calorie diet for so long before your metabolism adapts, and your fatloss is nil. I learned this the hard way. Give your body a bit of time to adjust, and you'll hit a brick wall :P. I reccomend eating at the very least 1600 clean calories a day, higher on training days.

Thanks everyone. It's good to get advice from those who are experienced.

I will raise my calories to 1700-1800 per day (1500-1600 food + 200 from fish oil/BCAA/glutamine) and increase that to 2200-2400 once or twice a week. I am currently tapering my calories and carbs too (most calories during earlier portion of day and around times of weight training, and eating starchy carbs around workout times and fibrous carbs other times).

I am also doing mostly compound lifts with some "isolation" exercises toward the end. And, I'm also switching around reps/weights every couple of weeks - lighter weights/more reps (12-15), heavier weight/less reps (6-8), and eccentric-focused lifts every few weeks (eccentrics really take it out of me), and 4 sets of 20 rep squat days every other week. I will switch over then to a full-body routine after the cut period.

If I don't really get good results by the end of this "serious cut", I will try SGX...

Thanks a lot everyone!

If/when you wish to come aboard Vizual X-Cellence and utilize my customized SwoleGenix Protocol with consultation/VIP client-only forum access, etc., I'll be here. You will want to e-mail me a few weeks in advance to check on space availability as I stay very busy and do fill up my available "slots" with a quickness. This time of the year (Oct/Nov/Dec) is usually slower than other times of the year, but such is not the case this year. Once the new year hits, I always get slammed with new clientele and consultation renewals, so I know this year is going to be even busier judging by my current workload during what is supposed to be the "slower" time of the year.

Thanks for the consideration. :cool:

~SC~

good luck Barber!

you're gonna love SGX if you ever get on it.

i regreted not getting on it sooner.