OFFICIAL Cutting Support Thread (Oh noez, not the evil C word!) (no emo)

[Fiction2Fitness]

Good luck with the tanning. Pretty sure my mom has used the jergens stuff before. I might try spray tan some day but probably not any time soon.


Still don't like the scale.

[madamsamuel]

Hey ladies,

Hope it's ok for me to jump on this thread.

I currently do powerlifting and want to drop a weight category. Need to lose 8lbs (3.6kgs) minimum. But I don't want to lose strength.

I'm confused about training, should I still continue to use my normal training plan whilst reducing calories, or should I be doing a different routine? My previous diet was awful, I just ate what I wanted. Now I'm concentrating on getting my protein intake up and looking at reducing my daily calories by about 200 a day (10% roughly of my TDEE).

Google contradicts itself some saying train as normal with a calorie deficit and the weight will take care of itself, whilst others suggest a specific program.

I'm a newbie to powerlifting; been training for 6 months and been to two meets.

Currently in the 80kg category and want to drop to the 70kg category as I'm only 72.6kgs. (5"2' tall)

Any help or suggestions would be great.

[anandagirl]

Good luck with the tanning. Pretty sure my mom has used the jergens stuff before. I might try spray tan some day but probably not any time soon.


Still don't like the scale.

I'm gonna post a more in depth review in my log, but I hate the jergens stuff. It smells.

Hey ladies,

Hope it's ok for me to jump on this thread.

I currently do powerlifting and want to drop a weight category. Need to lose 8lbs (3.6kgs) minimum. But I don't want to lose strength.

I'm confused about training, should I still continue to use my normal training plan whilst reducing calories, or should I be doing a different routine? My previous diet was awful, I just ate what I wanted. Now I'm concentrating on getting my protein intake up and looking at reducing my daily calories by about 200 a day (10% roughly of my TDEE).

Google contradicts itself some saying train as normal with a calorie deficit and the weight will take care of itself, whilst others suggest a specific program.

I'm a newbie to powerlifting; been training for 6 months and been to two meets.

Currently in the 80kg category and want to drop to the 70kg category as I'm only 72.6kgs. (5"2' tall)

Any help or suggestions would be great.

Of course! The more, the merrier! I say keep doing what you're doing workout wise but be kind to yourself if you miss lifts. If your calories aren't crazy low or carbs crazy low, then you should be fine. Protein is key to keeping muscle mass. Not sure if you've been lifting 6 months total or if you were lifting before you started powerlifting, but if it's the former, you should still have some good noob gainz But you aren't going crazy with the cut, so I think it's a good plan. You may want to ensure you're getting 10K steps a day so your keep your TDEE up which would mean you won't need to drop calories lower. Good luck and keep us posted!!!

[Fiction2Fitness]

Hey ladies,

Hope it's ok for me to jump on this thread.

I currently do powerlifting and want to drop a weight category. Need to lose 8lbs (3.6kgs) minimum. But I don't want to lose strength.

I'm confused about training, should I still continue to use my normal training plan whilst reducing calories, or should I be doing a different routine? My previous diet was awful, I just ate what I wanted. Now I'm concentrating on getting my protein intake up and looking at reducing my daily calories by about 200 a day (10% roughly of my TDEE).

Google contradicts itself some saying train as normal with a calorie deficit and the weight will take care of itself, whilst others suggest a specific program.

I'm a newbie to powerlifting; been training for 6 months and been to two meets.

Currently in the 80kg category and want to drop to the 70kg category as I'm only 72.6kgs. (5"2' tall)

Any help or suggestions would be great.

Join in! Welcome!

I've done peak cycles for meets on cuts. In fact, it's the only prep for meets I've done even though they usually don't recommend cutting weight before the first meet since it's more about getting the experience. I had already been in the cut when decided to throw in the meet so it just happened that way. That said, I'm preparing for my third meet currently. Following Sheiko and no issue so far. Last cycle in the fall I did Sheiko too on a deficit and increased my maxes still on deadlift and squat, not so much on bench. That's going to be the hardest and might risk struggling to increase. Or at least bench is tough for me to increase.

I weigh in on the 29th so we'll see what the scale shows then.

[Fiction2Fitness]

The all fitting struggle with the scale person/image: Kristie Alley




The struggle continues. This month I'm at no loss so need to rework some things after the meet.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Me last weekend during the meet and day after but with oreo cookies (had around a whole pack over the weekend to myself) among other things.




Back to lower calories and moving more.

[anandagirl]

Me too. I haven't been eating that bad really in the grand scheme, but I'm definitely not losing.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Me too. I haven't been eating that bad really in the grand scheme, but I'm definitely not losing.

Yeah. My June was a diet fail. Not that I ate poor or anything but up and down to the point that the numbers didn't go as I wanted. Hoping July goes better and trying out some things in order to be more consistent in a deficit without losing more sanity. Vegas dates are set now so need to get things going to reach goal in time.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Scale has been showing around 127, so tiny progress. Though my mind still has issues with the numbers at times. I think about going to add it into the app and my mind jumps to numbers like 168 instead of 126.8. Tad off there. Easier correction as it's just a quick moment thought but still.

Clothes are a hassle still. Got to order more uniforms but didn't feel ready for x-s so got the small pants and they are big enough that I can wear jean shorts under them.

[anandagirl]

Funny that you go from 126.8 to 168 and I got from 192 to 129 LOL

[Fiction2Fitness]

Still 127...

[cat10595]

Ugh I'm getting so frustrated. 4 weeks into my cut and averaging out my weigh ins I've lost a whopping 1lb. Can't quite figure out what's going on. I've been very slowly bulking for 4 years now, and this is my first cut.

I'm on 1600cal atm, and as I normally need at least 2200 to bulk there's no way I'm not in a deficit. I'm meticulous with weighing and tracking so I know exactly how much I'm eating. I've been trying to avoid adding cardio for as long as possible due to time constraints. Currently on a 6 day PPL routine which I'm thoroughly enjoying and no reductions in strength yet.

I'm 5'3", currently 111lbs and 24%bf. Only trying to drop about 6lbs just to shed a little bit of fat and getting a better idea of where my muscle is at and what needs working on. And yes, I know I'm tiny already, no I don't have an eating disorder and never have ha. I was 94lbs before I started lifting, and honest to god am just one of those really small people and have been my whole life.

[Opalflame]

Hi! Im not sure if this is the right place to post, i am new to the forum and to fitness/ bodybuilding, and I need help!
Last year I did BBG for a month, then heavy weights (well, heavy for me!) and counting macros. Then there was a death in the family, and for the 6 months I was dealing with everything, and traveling internationally, I fell off everything!

Since a month and a half I have been back tracking calories and macros, doing a combination of lifting and BBG, some cardio, at least 45 minutes for 5 days per week, sometimes longer.
I am sedentary otherwise, my job has no activity and I work from home alot.

I had seen some progress before but now i was back where i started. My body fat i am estimating to be 27-28... (;. .
I am 39, 5'4", weight 134, down from 140.

In six weeks I have lost 5 pounds and 1-2 inches off my main measurements. I am doing my calories via FitnessPal and according to the app I should be taking in 1200 cals to lose 2 pounds a week. (i do not subtract calories burned, i only eat the 1200) But why have I only lost less than a pound a week? For a few days I did only 800 cals, felt fine, then back to 1000-1300. This week I was doing 1400 cals for a few days, because im premenstrual and suddenly starving.


The reason I want to lose fat fast is I am going on my first Caribbean trip/cruise, in my life! I always wanted to go back when I was 20 and skinny (cardio+starvation), and now I am running out of my 30's, newly married, and the fattest ive ever been. I know I should go slow but I am desparate for results, and the only time I have ever lost 10 pounds in a month was when I only ate 600-800 calories a day for a month. And I kept it off for years, until I started eating the whole country.

But I see these girls saying they are eating 1700-1800 cals a day, with cheat days of 8,000 cals, and they are like 13% bodyfat.
I dont want to not eat enough and lose muscle, actually i would love to bulk and gain muscle, if feels so satisfying to eat alot and train the muscles hard. But since i dont have a good base of lean mass, and im not that strong yet....and i have a high body fat, im concerned that trying to bulk will just make me fatty-er.
and also, I cant fit into bathing suits or my dresses and I would rather just be smaller, in the meantime, at this time. My bust is a particular problem area as I can wear nothing cute when they are big!

I am so determined to do this and I have alot of willpower, but Im just inexperienced and dont know what Im doing. I spend all my extra time watching endless Youtube videos and fitstagram about workouts, fat loss, booty gains (lol) and Im just experimenting to find what out of all of that works for me. Im sure I should see a personal trainer or something, but I dont know where to start.

So my question is, I have 6 weeks or so left until my cruise... there is a little voice in my head back from my skinny days that is saying "Just stop eating!" its very tempting because I know I can drop weight that way by cutting drastically. Maybe my metabolism is bad or because I dont have enough muscle mass, but my body seems to hardly need any food- even when i was a landscaper, basically working out 8 hours a day, I didnt eat that much. And i wasnt skinny. So im really scared to do something like up my calories.

I also have problems with macros, every macro calculator gives me different results and i dont know what to trust. Some of them dont take into account exactly how much exercise you are doing. I just never know how much, as there are so many variations.
I am eating vegan, so because my plant based meats and powders, the only way to get my protein, have carbs in them too, in order to keep my carb intake low enough, I have to not eat any grains or 'carbs' whatsoever. I get carbs from my vegan protein, my powders, fruits and veggies. So its kind of like a vegan paleo diet. I was eating egg whites last year but want to try full vegan.
I still end up going over my carbs unless i eat nothing but protein shakes and my meatless Quorn beef- but i dont think thats healthy.
I am only able to get maybe 60-90 g of protein unless i up my calorie intake.

Sorry for all this information but if some kind bodybuilding angel here is willing to take a moment and give me some advice, i want them to be informed.

I am so excited to have found weightlifting and hope to become a part of this online community. My uncle was a bodybuilder and my female cousin has been competing. She used to be very overweight and so when I saw her transformation I thought I could do it too. I am not close to them so i havent asked them for advice. I would buy muscle mags when I was in high school and admire the women... but i guess i thought they were magical unicorns and there was no way i could ever do that, so I never tried. Now Im trying, and I know I can achieve this dream! Just dont know how long it will take, i have to work on my patience.
Thank you so much.

[Fiction2Fitness]

So my question is, I have 6 weeks or so left until my cruise... there is a little voice in my head back from my skinny days that is saying "Just stop eating!" its very tempting because I know I can drop weight that way by cutting drastically. Maybe my metabolism is bad or because I dont have enough muscle mass, but my body seems to hardly need any food- even when i was a landscaper, basically working out 8 hours a day, I didnt eat that much. And i wasnt skinny. So im really scared to do something like up my calories.

I also have problems with macros, every macro calculator gives me different results and i dont know what to trust. Some of them dont take into account exactly how much exercise you are doing. I just never know how much, as there are so many variations.
I am eating vegan, so because my plant based meats and powders, the only way to get my protein, have carbs in them too, in order to keep my carb intake low enough, I have to not eat any grains or 'carbs' whatsoever. I get carbs from my vegan protein, my powders, fruits and veggies. So its kind of like a vegan paleo diet. I was eating egg whites last year but want to try full vegan.
I still end up going over my carbs unless i eat nothing but protein shakes and my meatless Quorn beef- but i dont think thats healthy.
I am only able to get maybe 60-90 g of protein unless i up my calorie intake..

Wow, thought this thread had disappeared. Hi there. I'm not the expert but here are my thoughts. Myfitnesspal can be helpful but remember the database is not 100% accurate. Weighing gives the most accurate measurements then have to find the right entries on the site for tracking. The site also has recommendations for rate of weight loss. You're not very overweight so 2 lbs a week is considered a little too aggressive. 1lb might be a better goal in the long run though know it can be tough when have a vacation but most changes aren't drasticaly done in a few weeks. There are some videos that show how some of those before/after ones are really created.

As for protein, that range seems okay. I'm 4'11 and not vegan but also tend to struggle to get 70 or more a day. So, I focus on getting 70 grams a day and on occasion check up on my fat grams because it's helpful for hormone health. I am not big on tracking carbs and never limit them. On occasion they mean I miss the mark on a day for protein but eh, it's not the end of the world or diet when that happens.

Great to do weight training. I'm glad I did. Started weighing over 200 lbs and while I'm still overweight for my height, there have been so many benefits both physical and mental from getting into powerlifting.



Now to put myself back in the "cut" ring. Amazing how much of a struggle it is to get down even close to the healthy weight for my height but it didn't take much to get back up to 140. Now, to try and get down to 125 again. Maybe I can get close by my 35th birthday. Hard to say cause I swear I'm hungrier this time around. Before I didn't often notice hunger much, now I'm hungry often. The struggle is real.

[anandagirl]

Here's where I am...

[Crazee_786]

Would appreciate any input in my own cutting thread thanks

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=177084081

[Fiction2Fitness]

Here's where I am...

Nice one. I've made progress at long last but in part from getting sick. I had a cold for just over a week where I didn't feel like eating much. Went from just over 140 down to 137.6. Haven't been to the gym for over a week but am feeling better so back to the gym it is and a more reasonable set of calories (more than 1200).

[anandagirl]

Nice one. I've made progress at long last but in part from getting sick. I had a cold for just over a week where I didn't feel like eating much. Went from just over 140 down to 137.6. Haven't been to the gym for over a week but am feeling better so back to the gym it is and a more reasonable set of calories (more than 1200).

Nice work!

[Fiction2Fitness]

Must trust the process, must trust the process....

I still hate the scale. lol

Watched the scale fluctuate up to 141 a few days ago, weigh in day for forum challenge was 140 and now this morning back to 137.8. The 141 was before I had one day where I ate too many calories, all the other days have been good. It's not a single day process that's for sure. Have to remember that and just keep going. Cutting life driving me crazy.

[Fiction2Fitness]

The continued efforts of the cut.... Right now the scale is at around 137-138, though not bad considering my cycle started on Saturday. Didn't get much of an increase from bloat or anything though I didn't even bother stepping on the scale Sunday morning. Still hungry quite often but getting through.

I've done the calorie deficit thing so often in the last 5 years, I'm considering some options to spice things up just a little. Not a crazy do this diet all the time type of thing. I might do a day once every two weeks that is just liquid calories. Figure day I have where I don't go to the gym. There are some fruit and veggie drinks I want to try but never do cause don't want to use up calories on liquids. We have so many options in LA that could be fun for smoothies or pressed juices. Even just Jamba, which my coworkers have ordered a couple of times but I haven't had the chance to partake with them. So, just for fun might do the day where I enjoy juices, protein drinks and such. Wouldn't want to do many juices or cleanses or anything but for a day on occasion, it might be interesting.

Still going for around 1400 calories a day. We'll see check back and hope the progress will be getting to competition weight class by end of June even though I have no meets in the near future.

[anandagirl]

I thought you were doing a meet at the end of July? Did I read that wrong?

[mavd]

The continued efforts of the cut.... Right now the scale is at around 137-138, though not bad considering my cycle started on Saturday. Didn't get much of an increase from bloat or anything though I didn't even bother stepping on the scale Sunday morning. Still hungry quite often but getting through.

I've done the calorie deficit thing so often in the last 5 years, I'm considering some options to spice things up just a little. Not a crazy do this diet all the time type of thing. I might do a day once every two weeks that is just liquid calories. Figure day I have where I don't go to the gym. There are some fruit and veggie drinks I want to try but never do cause don't want to use up calories on liquids. We have so many options in LA that could be fun for smoothies or pressed juices. Even just Jamba, which my coworkers have ordered a couple of times but I haven't had the chance to partake with them. So, just for fun might do the day where I enjoy juices, protein drinks and such. Wouldn't want to do many juices or cleanses or anything but for a day on occasion, it might be interesting.

Still going for around 1400 calories a day. We'll see check back and hope the progress will be getting to competition weight class by end of June even though I have no meets in the near future.

I would say just be careful on the day after the all-liquids diet not to overeat just to fill the void. Otherwise, sounds like you'd be able to get a lot of the neglected micro-nutrients in this way. I'm intrigued by the idea of juicing because I am internally a 3 year old who doesn't like most veggies. I've had some fancy juice bar cocktails and they're always delish, but yeah, easily 1000+ calories if you aren't careful.

My cut is not exactly progressing. I've bounced between 149-153 for the last several weeks. Time to suck it up and actually start using the food scale. And stop eating 2 donuts and half a pizza on Sundays because I need comfort food to survive the bad writing of GoT (at least that excuse has officially expired).

[Fiction2Fitness]

I thought you were doing a meet at the end of July? Did I read that wrong?

I was looking into the possibility but turns out it's not an actual meet, just a non-sanctioned deadlift event which while fun isn't worth the travel to Utah. So, no meet at the moment.

I would say just be careful on the day after the all-liquids diet not to overeat just to fill the void. Otherwise, sounds like you'd be able to get a lot of the neglected micro-nutrients in this way. I'm intrigued by the idea of juicing because I am internally a 3 year old who doesn't like most veggies. I've had some fancy juice bar cocktails and they're always delish, but yeah, easily 1000+ calories if you aren't careful.

My cut is not exactly progressing. I've bounced between 149-153 for the last several weeks. Time to suck it up and actually start using the food scale. And stop eating 2 donuts and half a pizza on Sundays because I need comfort food to survive the bad writing of GoT (at least that excuse has officially expired).

Yeah, I wouldn't do anything different the day before an after, just try for the normal deficit with normal food. I really don't get enough fruits and veggies so it's something to mix things up and get both of those within a single day. Some of the juice places and smoothies are really high in calories. I remember enjoying the chocolate or pb ones from Jamba Juice as a teen one summer when I went to a place that had them (we don't have Jamba in Wyoming) but looking back oh so many calories. Thinking of one higher calorie one that has protein and keeping the others low that focus on fruit/veggies and a protein shake. We'll see. Just something to try out on occasion, not to do all of the time. I like food.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Alright, one thing to remember for next time. Plan ahead and hopefully it's not on a day with a 24 hour plus headache and nausea. Took me all shift to drink one little bottle of juice. We did get in the new "half naked" juice so that was nice to try. It mostly tasted like cucumber but I can appreciate that flavor. Took me so long to figure out what I wanted that places closed so ended up just getting jamba for dinner at after 8 pm. I need to plan for the liquid day so can have the juices ahead and if I'm going to order delivery online then pick out the place ahead of time.

So far, things are going okay. Almost weigh in time for the challenge on the fat loss forum.

[mavd]

I've been using the food scale for eeeeeeerrrrrrythaaaaaang since Monday and staying within keto carb limits since the Great Donut and Pizza Binge of 2019. Finally registered mild ketosis last night and was down to 150.3 this morning after a binge-high of 154 on Monday, so the bloat is gone and I can hopefully see real progress.

I've had the half naked coffee flavored things before and they're delish. If it's what I'm thinking it is....

[Fiction2Fitness]

I've been using the food scale for eeeeeeerrrrrrythaaaaaang since Monday and staying within keto carb limits since the Great Donut and Pizza Binge of 2019. Finally registered mild ketosis last night and was down to 150.3 this morning after a binge-high of 154 on Monday, so the bloat is gone and I can hopefully see real progress.

I've had the half naked coffee flavored things before and they're delish. If it's what I'm thinking it is....

Think it's something else. Naked is the brand and they came out with half naked, which is lower sugar/calorie juices. Haven't seen coffees from the company but I could be wrong. I'm trying to weigh things at least on occasion since I didn't before. Even found a place for the scale in the kitchen instead of having to find it and pull it out each time.


Tip: don't drink most of the liquids right before bed. I had to get up a couple of times even when it wasn't that much. oops

[Fiction2Fitness]

On the plus side, I've actually bought some fruit. I buy veggies often enough though could always fit more but I'm really lazy about fruit. I want a mix but don't want to go through the effort of prep. I had strawberries cause they were 99 cents a carton. Then just got the already cut fruit. Still have pineapple and jicama to consume over the next couple of days. And I have days off work so will do my best not to wreck the deficit when I'm at home.

Scale is in the 136-137 range currently.

[Fiction2Fitness]

The daily weigh-in to get a moving average can be grating. It's like I'm waiting every day to see some type of progress. Must be patient. Must trust the process.

Still...

[mavd]

^^^ lol

I miiiiiiiiiiiight be tracking new lows instead of moving average right now. I like lying to myself I guess.

[Fiction2Fitness]

^^^ lol

I miiiiiiiiiiiight be tracking new lows instead of moving average right now. I like lying to myself I guess.

Yeah. I post the low one for the forum instead of doing the weekly average. The moving average is quite sad still with the weight loss being less than a lb a week still even though have plenty to lose. Slow and steady but drive me crazy.