Reached my goal, What now?

[Wahdan]

I'm about to reach my goal regarding fat loss and will end my cutting diet soon. I will start bulking for a short period, then what? When I'm satisfied with my body fat and muscle mass, how can I maintain them without changing?

Should I eat at maintenance or above? Do cheat meals/refeeds? Really curious and would like some answers regarding that period.

[KwayZee]

You should eat at maintenance and if you are doing it correctly, you shouldn't fluctuate more than a couple pounds. Just eat what you want and fit it into your macros

[Wahdan]

You should eat at maintenance and if you are doing it correctly, you shouldn't fluctuate more than a couple pounds. Just eat what you want and fit it into your macros

Great. What about cheat meals/refeeds? Can they be more frequent or once a week or never? My cutting diet had a cheat meal once a month.

[HarleyEd805]

Wahdan, the ultimate goal never ends.. you want to keep it up and recognize the hard work it has took you to get where you are now! With your average meal intake, you could actually cheat diet 3 times a month if you please. The only way to actually test it is to try it for one month and monitor your weight, see if there is any changes. Keep your cheat days to something your body can with stand and wont make you want to run to the restroom if you know what I mean.

[Wahdan]

Wahdan, the ultimate goal never ends.. you want to keep it up and recognize the hard work it has took you to get where you are now! With your average meal intake, you could actually cheat diet 3 times a month if you please. The only way to actually test it is to try it for one month and monitor your weight, see if there is any changes. Keep your cheat days to something your body can with stand and wont make you want to run to the restroom if you know what I mean.

Yeah, I get you! Thanks for the reply.

[chillaxbroseph]

Living at maintenance is about building a sustainable diet that will last you for the rest of your life, or at least until you want to bulk or cut. By now, you should have learned the fundamental principle to dieting- moderation.

If you have to incorporate cheat meals into your diet, it means that you find your normal diet unsatisfactory, or else you wouldn't feel the need to deviate from it. You should incorporate the foods you eat on your cheat days into your daily diet and fit them within your macronutrients. There is no need to restrict your diet to the point that you need to deviate from it due to psychological exhaustion.

[xRedfern]

Congrats on reaching your goal! Green eyed here :P

[pyaarawala]

I wonder what it's like to get to the point where you're like, that's it I'm done. I wonder how many people can actually be satisfied w/ their physique like that.

[APipeDream]

I would first say congrats, but also contend that the goal should be to achieve maintenance for an extended period of time. I say that because if you were to gain 2-3% of BF, you would tell yourself "I fell off the wagon", right?