How much is too much, Weekly Weight Loss

[robertmmcgrew]

I am about 9 weeks out from a show that I am considering doing, however i still have about 25lbs to cut and i realize that is more than what most people suggest in order to conserve muscle. Could I get away with 3 lbs a week. I already have decent mass. If it comes down to it i will just wait till the july show but i really want to try to pull this one off. Any suggestion?

[fitlover]

I am about 9 weeks out from a show that I am considering doing, however i still have about 25lbs to cut and i realize that is more than what most people suggest in order to conserve muscle. Could I get away with 3 lbs a week. I already have decent mass. If it comes down to it i will just wait till the july show but i really want to try to pull this one off. Any suggestion?

I would suggest waiting till the July show, honestly. It's better to do it slowly and keep a good amount of mass instead of stressing off the last 25 lbs. 2 lbs. per week should be the MAX amount without sacrificing too much muscle, IMO.

Or, you could cut slower and see how you look, and then decide from there.

[AustrianOakJr]

You can get away with 3 lbs of weight loss for a little while. For instance when I do a mini-cut, I cut pretty hard and thats fine at upper body fat levels. BUt once you get close to stage-lean, there is no way in the world you could continue to lose 3 lbs a week. Most people, in the final stages of fat loss, will be struggling to lose a half pound per week. The last 5-8 lbs is takes 10+ weeks.

[BigTymePlayer25]

Agree with the OAK... when its early on in prep the fat melts off with ease so 2,3, or even 5 lbs lost per week is normal I think... However, the last 5-10 lbs takes forever to come off it seems...The body never wants to give up that last layer of comfort (Fat).

[mdovner]

what would you say that bf% is when your body really starts to fight it?

[TQsmooth5]

what would you say that bf% is when your body really starts to fight it?

I don't know about others but for me it was the 6-8% range that my body just simply refused to give up any more fat. Just keep at it! You will eventually start dropping again!

[Barn01]

I don't know about others but for me it was the 6-8% range that my body just simply refused to give up any more fat. Just keep at it! You will eventually start dropping again!

+1 ^^^

I can get down around 8% without much effort these days but to get from there to <5% is nightmare that seems to take forever. By the end you just want it all to be over so you can have a slice of pizza!

[zcholla]

+1 ^^^

I can get down around 8% without much effort these days but to get from there to <5% is nightmare that seems to take forever. By the end you just want it all to be over so you can have a slice of pizza!


I don't know about others but for me it was the 6-8% range that my body just simply refused to give up any more fat. Just keep at it! You will eventually start dropping again!

Exactly I have been at 5-6% for about 5 weeks and losmaybe .5-1lb per week. Im currently 5 weeks from my shows, and know for a fact the last 2-3lbs are going to be a struggle.

[Quelly]

I'm going to echo what everyone else is saying here....the initial pounds of fat are NOT the same as the final pounds of fat....and if you think about it this makes sense.

Say you have 30lbs of fat on your body...you need to lose 25lbs to be stage ready. The first 5lbs are only 1/6th of your bodies total stores...that last 5lbs are HALF of your body fat stores.

Expecting the body to be able to let go of 50% of its fat in a week is unrealistic...remember our bodies are survival mechanisms...if we could drop half of our body fat in a week we wouldnt have made it through the ice age.

I got to 190 relatively easily...getting to 181 (my lowest weigh in) took MONTHS more of dieting...but its individual

to OP...the idea of dieting for 9 weeks to lose 25lbs is in my opinion ludicrous. I went from 213 to 181 over the course of 38 weeks...I dealt with some injury and other abnormal stuff...but most naturals who come in shredded have dieted for 20+weeks. The guys who swear by 12 week diets who are natural....normally have never been shredded

[seriouslifter]

You can get away with 3 lbs of weight loss for a little while. For instance when I do a mini-cut, I cut pretty hard and thats fine at upper body fat levels. BUt once you get close to stage-lean, there is no way in the world you could continue to lose 3 lbs a week. Most people, in the final stages of fat loss, will be struggling to lose a half pound per week. The last 5-8 lbs is takes 10+ weeks.

what are you doing to cut hard? i weigh/count my calories and it seems like im not losing enough bf that i want to each week. why is this so hard? i am counting everything and being 100%. its been about month half now trying to cut.

[Barn01]

what are you doing to cut hard? i weigh/count my calories and it seems like im not losing enough bf that i want to each week. why is this so hard? i am counting everything and being 100%. its been about month half now trying to cut.

Welcome to contest prep. This is about more that just counting everything you eat. This is about finding a balance of keeping your body burning and feeding it exactly what it needs and nothing more. The object here is to hold as much muscle while you get as lean as possible. Simply losing weight is all about calories, we need to take it a step further to get the kinds of results we're looking for on stage ... Full and shredded! Losing fat is exponentially harder with each lbs that comes off. Remember that and time it appropriately. Life doesn't get any easier until after show day so stay strong mentally and you can do it. There is a reason you rarely see more than a handful of guys on stage but yet lots in the gym.

[seriouslifter]

Welcome to contest prep. This is about more that just counting everything you eat. This is about finding a balance of keeping your body burning and feeding it exactly what it needs and nothing more. The object here is to hold as much muscle while you get as lean as possible. Simply losing weight is all about calories, we need to take it a step further to get the kinds of results we're looking for on stage ... Full and shredded! Losing fat is exponentially harder with each lbs that comes off. Remember that and time it appropriately. Life doesn't get any easier until after show day so stay strong mentally and you can do it. There is a reason you rarely see more than a handful of guys on stage but yet lots in the gym.

ok thx, but i count and weigh all my foods and trying to get lean as possible like taking it as contest prep. what else do i need to do?

[jth16]

ok thx, but i count and weigh all my foods and trying to get lean as possible like taking it as contest prep. what else do i need to do?

How are you weighing your foods?
What is your current macro intake?
What kind and what duration are you doing for cardio?
What does your workout split look like?

[Trillios]

+1 ^^^

I can get down around 8% without much effort these days but to get from there to <5% is nightmare that seems to take forever. By the end you just want it all to be over so you can have a slice of pizza!

Hey Barn quick question. What is your approach to getting less than 5% if you have plenty of time (or not) before contest day? Would you increase cardio or lower cals a little bit?

Or would you just keep pushing through with same diet/cardio until your body jumps over that hill?

This is where I want to avoid my mistakes when I start prepping in the future...it seems I panic when I do not see changes after leaning out and then make radical changes. If anyone else has input on their strategies as far as pushing through or making changes please let me know.

[Barn01]

Hey Barn quick question. What is your approach to getting less than 5% if you have plenty of time (or not) before contest day? Would you increase cardio or lower cals a little bit?

Or would you just keep pushing through with same diet/cardio until your body jumps over that hill?

This is where I want to avoid my mistakes when I start prepping in the future...it seems I panic when I do not see changes after leaning out and then make radical changes. If anyone else has input on their strategies as far as pushing through or making changes please let me know.

Good question and still one that I'm trying to perfect. I won't sit here and claim to be an expert at getting to sub 5%. I'm not even convinced that everyone can get there. You're starting to enter essential BF% levels and not everyone has the same tolerance genetically to allow their bodies to get to those levels. That is NOT an excuse to stop trying and just blame genetics. I'm just saying that it's not always possible.

So if you have enough time and enough mental endurance I would say the best approach is to get as lean as you can on just slow diet and hard and heavy workouts. When you get to a point where you are seeing more strength and muscle loss and either no more or very very little fat loss (notice I didn't equate this to weight loss). Then I would bump in some cardio and start with HIIT. Something like high resistive cross-trainer or something that you need bursts of muscle power. The point is you're trying to make your body HOT again and still keep your body in a state where it feels it needs the muscle to perform the duties you give it.

This is where I'm at right now! I didn't do any cardio last prep but this time around I feel very cold all the time and I'm doing either cross-trainer or sprint bursts and after 30 mins or so I actually feel hot again ... if even for only a couple hours.

You might get some other opinions on this subject but it's a good question and even I'd like to hear some thoughts of guys that are known to getting in that range and I know there are very few that truly do!

[ScottishMark]

Interesting posts to read. Some very encouraging!

[wakingmalice]

i'm at 3500 calories a day, weighed in at 199 last week. that's down from 225 7 weeks ago. i'm a little under 12 weeks out now, I squatted 335 8 times ATG no belt last week. Only strength loss i've noticed honestly is a bit on dumbell bench. Which seems odd. I also refeed up to 5500 calories once a week on quad day. i throw in a few fat burners here and there, mostly stim free. Got them for cheap so whhy not, but i dont really attribute my success to that. I'll post pictures when closer. I'll probably be in the 170's when I compete. SO the 2 pound a week thing is true..ish. I always thought it was, but i've kinda shocked myself this go around.

[Quelly]

I truly think any body can get to sub 5%....its just getting there and still looking like a bodybuilder that is difficult, and also doing it without totally destroying your metabolic rate. I had to diet for 38 weeks last time to do it. Had some injuries and personal stuff happening, but I'll probably still give myself 24 weeks next time to get there at least. Rate of loss can really slow down A LOT. And remember that the less bodyfat you have, the less bodyfat you can oxidize at one time. If you only have 10lbs to lose left, don't expect to drop 2lbs/week....your body is unlikely to let go of 20% of its stores that easily.

[Barn01]

I truly think any body can get to sub 5%....its just getting there and still looking like a bodybuilder that is difficult, and also doing it without totally destroying your metabolic rate. I had to diet for 38 weeks last time to do it. Had some injuries and personal stuff happening, but I'll probably still give myself 24 weeks next time to get there at least. Rate of loss can really slow down A LOT. And remember that the less bodyfat you have, the less bodyfat you can oxidize at one time. If you only have 10lbs to lose left, don't expect to drop 2lbs/week....your body is unlikely to let go of 20% of its stores that easily.

Haha yes I stand corrected with a caveat ... "and still look like a bodybuilder". That's the trick that isn't easily accomplished. Hence why most guys that get on stage don't actually reach that level.

I gave myself 15wks and I'm down a little over 25lbs. Sub 5% ... I don't think so at the moment, gotta be close though. I'm definitely not as lean as you ended up. That was pretty damn lean and I haven't seen anyone top that lately.

[co1e_train]

I truly think any body can get to sub 5%....its just getting there and still looking like a bodybuilder that is difficult, and also doing it without totally destroying your metabolic rate. I had to diet for 38 weeks last time to do it. Had some injuries and personal stuff happening, but I'll probably still give myself 24 weeks next time to get there at least. Rate of loss can really slow down A LOT. And remember that the less bodyfat you have, the less bodyfat you can oxidize at one time. If you only have 10lbs to lose left, don't expect to drop 2lbs/week....your body is unlikely to let go of 20% of its stores that easily.

So Quelly would you say that once you get to around having 10 or so lbs to loose thats when your body starts to initially fight or become more stubborn in loosing bf? Im not currently cutting for a show but am shedding excess high school "football weight" and I would say im in 10-15lbs to go range.

I ask just cause I have just been wanting to know, for the sake of knowledge, when is a rough estimate of lbs where your body begins to fight letting go of bf. I know this varies from person to person but am curious of the "rule of thumb" amount so to say.

[Quelly]

Haha yes I stand corrected with a caveat ... "and still look like a bodybuilder". That's the trick that isn't easily accomplished. Hence why most guys that get on stage don't actually reach that level.

I gave myself 15wks and I'm down a little over 25lbs. Sub 5% ... I don't think so at the moment, gotta be close though. I'm definitely not as lean as you ended up. That was pretty damn lean and I haven't seen anyone top that lately.
dude you gotta post some pics, you looked ridiculous in your pics from the show you did last, ie your avatar, I bet your looking sick right now!

So Quelly would you say that once you get to around having 10 or so lbs to loose thats when your body starts to initially fight or become more stubborn in loosing bf? Im not currently cutting for a show but am shedding excess high school "football weight" and I would say im in 10-15lbs to go range.

I ask just cause I have just been wanting to know, for the sake of knowledge, when is a rough estimate of lbs where your body begins to fight letting go of bf. I know this varies from person to person but am curious of the "rule of thumb" amount so to say.
its very individual, but I guess my main point is just that the less you have to lose, the harder it is to lose it because the proportionate amount of fat loss you're looking at weekly gets larger as total fat stores decrease.

And if you truly only have 10-15lbs of bodyfat left on your body...you would look pretty dang lean and you would already be feeling a lot of the effects were talking about.

[AustrianOakJr]

So Quelly would you say that once you get to around having 10 or so lbs to loose thats when your body starts to initially fight or become more stubborn in loosing bf? Im not currently cutting for a show but am shedding excess high school "football weight" and I would say im in 10-15lbs to go range.

I ask just cause I have just been wanting to know, for the sake of knowledge, when is a rough estimate of lbs where your body begins to fight letting go of bf. I know this varies from person to person but am curious of the "rule of thumb" amount so to say.

Its different for different people. Matt (jck4life) and I were talking about this on the way to the Arnold. He was telling me that he didnt hit the "death stage" until he hit the high 180's. He'll be on stage in the mid 180's. So, he seems to have a really low set point. I, on the other hand, feel like death at anything under 10% BF......probably 14-15 lbs over my stage weight. Im more of an endo though and need to carry some bulk. Ecto's can walk around at 8% BF and naturally and not have any issue at all......just depends.

[Barn01]

So Quelly would you say that once you get to around having 10 or so lbs to loose thats when your body starts to initially fight or become more stubborn in loosing bf? Im not currently cutting for a show but am shedding excess high school "football weight" and I would say im in 10-15lbs to go range.

I ask just cause I have just been wanting to know, for the sake of knowledge, when is a rough estimate of lbs where your body begins to fight letting go of bf. I know this varies from person to person but am curious of the "rule of thumb" amount so to say.

When your body is cold most of the time and you remember that a couple months ago you used to walk around like a furnace .... I would say you're starting to get to that "shut down" point. Whatever BF% you happen to be, is what it is, and now you're going to have to work exponentially harder for ever lbs of actual fat loss. There's also a cross over point between fat loss and muscle loss and guys that get <5% natural defiantly dip into the cross over. That's why you only want to stay around those levels (if you can get there) for as short a time as possible.

[AustrianOakJr]

When your body is cold most of the time and you remember that a couple months ago you used to walk around like a furnace .... I would say you're starting to get to that "shut down" point. Whatever BF% you happen to be, is what it is, and now you're going to have to work exponentially harder for ever lbs of actual fat loss. There's also a cross over point between fat loss and muscle loss and guys that get <5% natural defiantly dip into the cross over. That's why you only want to stay around those levels (if you can get there) for as short a time as possible.

BUt the flip side of the coin is that those that struggle to get that lean also have a better ability to hold the muscle (like myself). I really dont lose much in the way of muscle mass no matter what I do (obviously unless im not eating right and training to be a marathon runner). So, guys who are more meso/endo tend to struggle to get lean, but hold the muscle. I hit that point that youre talking about (cold, tingly toes, lethargic,etc) and my metabolism is grinding to a halt.....but put some carbs in me and im every bit as strong as I was on day 1 of my diet. Thats why I dont believe either body type necessarily has an advantage.

[DanTheManB]

When your body is cold most of the time and you remember that a couple months ago you used to walk around like a furnace .... I would say you're starting to get to that "shut down" point. Whatever BF% you happen to be, is what it is, and now you're going to have to work exponentially harder for ever lbs of actual fat loss. There's also a cross over point between fat loss and muscle loss and guys that get <5% natural defiantly dip into the cross over. That's why you only want to stay around those levels (if you can get there) for as short a time as possible.

interesting view point about the feeling cold all the time

[co1e_train]

dude you gotta post some pics, you looked ridiculous in your pics from the show you did last, ie your avatar, I bet your looking sick right now!

its very individual, but I guess my main point is just that the less you have to lose, the harder it is to lose it because the proportionate amount of fat loss you're looking at weekly gets larger as total fat stores decrease.

And if you truly only have 10-15lbs of bodyfat left on your body...you would look pretty dang lean and you would already be feeling a lot of the effects were talking about.


Its different for different people. Matt (jck4life) and I were talking about this on the way to the Arnold. He was telling me that he didnt hit the "death stage" until he hit the high 180's. He'll be on stage in the mid 180's. So, he seems to have a really low set point. I, on the other hand, feel like death at anything under 10% BF......probably 14-15 lbs over my stage weight. Im more of an endo though and need to carry some bulk. Ecto's can walk around at 8% BF and naturally and not have any issue at all......just depends.


When your body is cold most of the time and you remember that a couple months ago you used to walk around like a furnace .... I would say you're starting to get to that "shut down" point. Whatever BF% you happen to be, is what it is, and now you're going to have to work exponentially harder for ever lbs of actual fat loss. There's also a cross over point between fat loss and muscle loss and guys that get <5% natural defiantly dip into the cross over. That's why you only want to stay around those levels (if you can get there) for as short a time as possible.


Def have a better idea now of where I am at. I think i prob have more then 10-15 lbs to lose then. Im pretty much hanging on to the majority of my excess fat left on my middle, sides, thighs, & lower back.

I have this constant "fear" of hitting another plauteau but I also dont want to cause problems by making drastic changes. Im at 190/191, I was this same weight the week before last. Our spring break was last week in which I took the week from lifiting but still did cardio however I got sick from allergies so my cardio wasnt as intense. I was consistent with diet and macros so I guess im not surprised I have lost more bf (b/c of what I just mentioned) but part of me still panics. I think more of it is just a want to get these last lbs off before doing a clean bulk.

Im going to finally make a thread with my progress pics (cause I keep mentioning it) so you guys can see where i am at.

[robertmmcgrew]

Barn, this will be my first time in true contest prep status i plan on doing an ocb show in July, and maybe a show in the end of may but i think i am too far out to pull it off. Anyhow, Tell me more about this fluctuation in the body temperature. I am usually like a burning mass of fire, I am always hot as hell. But you mentioned not being able to warm up. what is the deal with that, is it because your metabolism is so slow or because you BF%? Also, I have been at the same marcos for some time and just upped my cardio from 3-45 min low intensity to 2x25min hiit sessions a day 4 days a week and I am dropping weight like crazy (3-5lbs a week) should I cut back on the cardio, I really want to do the may show and I do not feel flat or weak. I can really start to see things take place in my body that i have not seen in the whole time i have been on the cut. AM I SACRIFICING MUSCLE?

[SlayerofBaby]

^^^^^^

[AustrianOakJr]

I am usually like a burning mass of fire, I am always hot as hell. But you mentioned not being able to warm up. what is the deal with that, is it because your metabolism is so slow or because you BF%? Also, I have been at the same marcos for some time and just upped my cardio from 3-45 min low intensity to 2x25min hiit sessions a day 4 days a week and I am dropping weight like crazy (3-5lbs a week) should I cut back on the cardio, I really want to do the may show and I do not feel flat or weak. I can really start to see things take place in my body that i have not seen in the whole time i have been on the cut. AM I SACRIFICING MUSCLE?

IM not Barn, but I can help you out and he can chime in as well. The lack of body temp he speaks of is very common when you start to dip well below your set point. Your body "thinks" its starving to death so it will start shutting down any unnecessary calorie burning.....heart rate slows down (my resting HR dips into the mid 40's), your body temp drops, circulation diminishes, libido is non-existent, you are very lethargic, etc. When you run into these symptoms, you know the fight has begun and you are just trying to stay one step ahead of your slowing metabolism. FUN!!! :)

As for your weight loss, it depends on how fat you are. If you are a ways up there in BF (like 12-15%) you can afford to lose more weight without sacrificing muscle. 3 lbs is no problem. The problem comes in when you start a cut that hard and plan on dipping well below your set point, you dont want to hurt your metabolism before you get there. So it depends on what your goals are. For instance.....when I started this journey, I entered a transformation contest. I was 23% BF and was losing 3-4 lbs a week with no problem whatsoever. But, by the time the trans contest ended, I was at about 12% BF and my metabolism had taken a pretty big hit. That was fine because all I had in mind was winning the contest. When I got the crazy idea to compete, I had to take 3 mos and do a little metabolism rehab before I started to drop again. Then, I was taking it at 1-2 lbs a week until contest time.

[Quelly]

i personally don't think getting sub 5% or even staying there for an extended period will cause muscle loss, if you can get there with some metabolism intact and then properly begin tapering your calories up, you will get leaner and start adding muscle BACK on that was lost.

Leanest I was in 2009....2 weeks after my last show, food was coming up, but slowly and controlled, lifts were coming up, I was gaining weight....Alberto did the same thing, he just extended it out for about 3 months....same thing...got a bit leaner, got a lot stronger, gained weight, and got his met rate nearly to offseason levels. Phucker was walking around at 3% eating over 3000kcals 3 months post show!

[Barn01]

IM not Barn, but I can help you out and he can chime in as well. The lack of body temp he speaks of is very common when you start to dip well below your set point. Your body "thinks" its starving to death so it will start shutting down any unnecessary calorie burning.....heart rate slows down (my resting HR dips into the mid 40's), your body temp drops, circulation diminishes, libido is non-existent, you are very lethargic, etc. When you run into these symptoms, you know the fight has begun and you are just trying to stay one step ahead of your slowing metabolism. FUN!!! :)


That's basically how I would have answered it as well.



i personally don't think getting sub 5% or even staying there for an extended period will cause muscle loss, if you can get there with some metabolism intact and then properly begin tapering your calories up, you will get leaner and start adding muscle BACK on that was lost.

Leanest I was in 2009....2 weeks after my last show, food was coming up, but slowly and controlled, lifts were coming up, I was gaining weight....Alberto did the same thing, he just extended it out for about 3 months....same thing...got a bit leaner, got a lot stronger, gained weight, and got his met rate nearly to offseason levels. Phucker was walking around at 3% eating over 3000kcals 3 months post show!

You could be right about the maintaining it but I haven't tried that. I'm still in a cut phase so my cals are still below maint. I know just adding 200cal/day in carbs makes me feel like a new man and damn do I get freaky in the gym on those days. This time around I WILL be trying to hold my leaness longer so I'll have a better answer for all this in another few weeks.

Alberto ... damn that guy's a freak! haha

[TheSuccessful1]

Its different for different people. Matt (jck4life) and I were talking about this on the way to the Arnold. He was telling me that he didnt hit the "death stage" until he hit the high 180's. He'll be on stage in the mid 180's. So, he seems to have a really low set point. I, on the other hand, feel like death at anything under 10% BF......probably 14-15 lbs over my stage weight. Im more of an endo though and need to carry some bulk. Ecto's can walk around at 8% BF and naturally and not have any issue at all......just depends.
I have nothing to add to this thread, but I can say that I am 100% certain I have hit the "death stage".

[Quelly]

That's basically how I would have answered it as well.




You could be right about the maintaining it but I haven't tried that. I'm still in a cut phase so my cals are still below maint. I know just adding 200cal/day in carbs makes me feel like a new man and damn do I get freaky in the gym on those days. This time around I WILL be trying to hold my leaness longer so I'll have a better answer for all this in another few weeks.

Alberto ... damn that guy's a freak! haha
best case scenario is do it coming into the show....and mind you neither alberto or I really got back to maintenance....

I went from 25/150/240 (f/c/p) to 50/200/240 the first week, and then 55/250/240 the second week and I gained weight (fullness, lost muscle, water/glycogen) and got tighter. Made me wish there was a show the second week of october!

Berto did it slower, with like 10g jumps of carbs for 3 months and it took christmas parties for him to get above 5% lol

[AustrianOakJr]

That's basically how I would have answered it as well.






Good. Or I would have called you names and put smileys like this on the thread:

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg123/AustrianOakJr/ass3.gif

[Barn01]

Good. Or I would have called you names and put smileys like this on the thread:

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg123/AustrianOakJr/ass3.gif

haha, there's no hate here Oak. I have good days and bad days right now. We both know how that feels and I think you and I both like to use the forums more at times like these to help stay focused and look for support. As you know, not many people understand what it's like to do this and the avg person really doesn't get it.

[Futix76]

one of the most interesting threads i've read here in a long time.....

Question for whomever wants to chime in though; how long after being stage ready should you wait before starting another cut? i ask for the following reason. i finished my prep in the middle of February, and yes, those last few pounds we a biooootch to shed as some of you have mentioned. i resorted to the water pill, yes, i know, i know, but it worked. Anyway, in the month + since i finished, i've been doing a maintenance routine and diet, and have only gained about 7lbs. Now, my buddy is trying to get me to go on stage May 22 and i honestly dont think there is enough time to go in there looking as good as i did in feb because of my work/travel schedule. i can barely commit an hour a day to working out, if that, and my diet would suffer. so, my question is, if i were to do a 4 week cut to try to get ready for a show, would it be feasible to expect to look like i did this last time round, is that too much to expect, or should i just wait and do a fall show?

[Trillios]

So is this really the way to get conditioned/shredded to compete on stage? You basically come off a bulk with x amount of macros...and start dropping carbs/fats adding cardio along the way when progressing beings to slow down? It is such an easy approach yet hard to believe because a lot of us, especially myself, want fast results and hate waiting. Can someone confirm this?

Also, is there a strategic way to know how much to start cutting down along the way? For example say I start stalling for 2 weeks with 0.5lbs lost only...would I cut out from my fat or carb macros, and how much? Or would I increase the cardio? Sorry for the mess of questions everyone I just want to learn this because you don't find this stuff in detail in books :).

[Barn01]

Can someone confirm this?

Confirmed



Also, is there a strategic way to know how much to start cutting down along the way? For example say I start stalling for 2 weeks with 0.5lbs lost only...would I cut out from my fat or carb macros, and how much? Or would I increase the cardio? :).

Depends who you ask and what's worked for them in the past. Usually it's going to come down to a cal in cal used situation ... with exceptions like refeeding with carbs to fire your metabolism back up and keep you filled out as needed.

I would recommend keeping fats 20-25% of your cal intake, protein at 40-50% and fill the rest with carbs. That should get you in a healthy range that you can sustain for the long road ahead of cutting.

When looking at your weight I would avg over 2 weeks. Any given week can be a fluke value so keep an avg going and adjust cals and macros to keep the losses constant without sacrificing too much strength in the gym. If you're all of a sudden weaker than $hit in the gym then I would say there's something wrong with the diet. (or maybe you're in peak week in which case most of what I said gets tossed out the window)

[DanTheManB]

one of the most interesting threads i've read here in a long time.....

Question for whomever wants to chime in though; how long after being stage ready should you wait before starting another cut? i ask for the following reason. i finished my prep in the middle of February, and yes, those last few pounds we a biooootch to shed as some of you have mentioned. i resorted to the water pill, yes, i know, i know, but it worked. Anyway, in the month + since i finished, i've been doing a maintenance routine and diet, and have only gained about 7lbs. Now, my buddy is trying to get me to go on stage May 22 and i honestly dont think there is enough time to go in there looking as good as i did in feb because of my work/travel schedule. i can barely commit an hour a day to working out, if that, and my diet would suffer. so, my question is, if i were to do a 4 week cut to try to get ready for a show, would it be feasible to expect to look like i did this last time round, is that too much to expect, or should i just wait and do a fall show?

Thats tough man. I think if the closer show was in your plans originally it would be more than do-able. And I do not even know how dudes can do like 3 shows in a year so far apart. I'm usually freaking wrecked after a max 6 months eating clean to get shredded. I'm surprised I was able to turn my mind back on to it only 6 months after my last show haha

[jth16]

IMO, if not this entire thread, then most of the information in this thread should be stickied in this forum.

[ATMbank710]

Nice article. By organic one could pop out many things. Best Regards