Cutting 101!

[RisingAgainst]

In my opinion, there is a particular 'cascade' you should follow when trying to cut, I will give a quick outline of my thoughts in this thread and allow people to make their own decisions with new found info.

Cutting 101 begins.

First off, DIET! Diet is 95% of cutting, you should have a good diet in place and use it faithfully. Allow all excess body fat to be used while on a good diet, (yes this takes time!). A good diet, usually consists of complex carbohydrates, a good protein intake, and a healthy fats intake. Examples of such:

Complex Carbs: Oatmeal, whole wheat foods, fiberous veggies (not a true form), brown rice, and other low glycemic index carbs.

Good Proteins: Poultry, fish, bovine, dairy products, powders, and for the ladies....... LOL jk guys

Healthy fats: Nuts, Olive oil, Avacados, MCTs, some dairy products, etc.

Now, find your maintenance caloric intake, which is usually your body weight multiplied by 15. Take this, and subtract 500 calories from it, you have now formed a defecit. Eat at this caloric defecit for the duration, do not cut carbs, do not decrease fats, do not do any modern bullshit diet!!! Instead try to eat at a 33/33/33 ratio, meaning 33% of your caloric intake is from protein, 33% from carbs, and 33% from fats. Some people prefer a 40/40/20, others a 45/30/25, and the variables continue on.

You will realize that soon after eating at a caloric defecit, weight will drop, without supplementation, without increased exercise and cardio!!! Miraculous eh?

You will come to a point where the weight won't decrease naturally anymore, this is where you increase the intensity of your workouts, and (still not doing cardio folks) Once again, your body will quickly adapt and learn to stay at a set weight despite the increased intensity, this is where....

Cardio finally makes a slight appearance. Adding in cardio 2-3 times per week post workout will give you that extra edge in the fight vs fat! Once your body has adapted again, you will move on to....

Supplementation! There are soo many options here, and I won't even begin to voice my opinion on this just yet...

In the end, you can expect to cover a 6 month timeframe EASILY, and also quite possibly a 15-20 pound drop in body fat if done correctly. This is how to 'cut' while sparing muscle, and doing so naturally. If you are not able to discipline yourself enough to do something this easy, then why do you think you're ready to jump into supps and anabolics right away?? eh?? lol

SO, in review, DIET ---> Intensity ---> Cardio ---> Supplementation ---> Skinny

[Sampson]

nice post RA. some great advice here.

[spaceclown]

I think many people also make the mistake they have to bust their nuts on the treadmill to burn fat. I personally got to 4% bf and only did 30-45 minutes on the treadmill at speed walking pace (setting 3-4 typically) and get the incline nice and high. I prefer 15 degrees and this burns like a MF'er. I used to be big into running and have to say walking fast at 15 degrees is much more painful.

Cutting is a mental challenge more than anything imo.

[thesinner]

Isn't that 15 on the treadmill the %grad? (and not degrees)

[spaceclown]

Originally Posted by thesinner

Isn't that 15 on the treadmill the %grad? (and not degrees)

Yep, my bad

[thesinner]

Originally Posted by spaceclown

Yep, my bad

I'll forgive you this once. But do it again and............. (j/k)

[Stillot]

ok so diet -- then intensity -- then cardio -- then supplements

1) how is this for a daily diet at 160 lbs --

salad w/ cucumber, cheese, italian dressing
3-5 hardboiled eggs
1 protein shake
lean cuts deli meat w/ cheese, mustard

2) (are these veggies good: cucumber, green beans, celery, carrots)

3) which cheeses/milks do you reccomend?

4) what is increasing intensity? smaller breaks, more reps, supersets?

5) so a 30 minute 4.0 on 15 % would be sufficient cardio?

6) protein.. glutamine.. what else would i want to be taking thats cheap and aside from caffiene products (ive got enough of those i can add in)

7) would it be bad for me to start off with all of these? if i dont mind the work.. i know some ppl hate cardio but i dont mind it -- also i have a few supps leftover from past cutting attempts.. and intensity is just in regards to the gym correct?

well, anything you got to answer these would help

thanks

[Sampson]

1) thats not nearly enough food. good choices of food, but your going to need alot more than that. shoot for around 1900-2100 calories to start and see how that works.

2) yes, those veggies are fine. brocolli and lettuce are also good choices that I actually think taste good.

3) cheeses and milk arent the best when on a cut, but if you got to have them get low fat cheese and skim milk.

4) yes....all of the above. make sure your not overtraining though.

5) should be a good starting point. see what kind of progress you are making after about two weeks and adjust from there. you should start at about 3-4 cardio sessions per week.

6) there are lots of good options. try creating a new thread in the supplements forum for better and quicker answers to this question. also be sure to mention whether you would prefer a stim or a non-stim. my guess is that you dont want a stim considering your not looking for any caffiene, so DCP by Recomp would probably work well.

7) you should definitely start off with good diet and cardio....supplements can come down the road. if you aren't dieting well right now, and arent doing cardio, you will lose weight quickly without the use of supplements.

Eat right. Train Hard. You will achieve your goals. If you want help throughout your cut, try creating a thread in the workout journals and people will help you out along the way. just update every so often and let us know how the results are coming!

[Sampson]

bump for stillot.....any more advice to help him out??

[PUSHINW8]

Is it iceburg lettuce? I hear it has zero anti-oxidants..