cutting cycle

J

jwbond

New Member
i have been doing cutting cycle for a couple of months now. i have gone from 207lbs @ 15.5% (measured) to 194lbs @ ~12%.

This means I have lost 13lbs total. According to the above, it is only 7.2lbs of fat loss, which I feel is accurate. I am assuming some of the weight loss is glycogen, water, fecal matter, and muscle. Obviously I am hoping most of it is from sources other than muscle.

the reason i am posting is bc i am getting discouraged and need some advice and possibly a pep talk, hah! i feel great when i am bulking in winter and keep telling myself that "next summer you will have enough lbm that you wont mind sacrificing some for a lower bf %". unfortunately, i feel i am never happy when it comes summer time. cutting makes me feel like my arms are toothpicks. They have gone from 16" to 15.5" with the recent cutting, which is drivig me nuts.


sorry for the rant, but i am just really down about it all and wanted to hear others thoughts.


does anyone know how to more accurately judge muscle loss? my strength has dropped little so that is good.
 
You're not alone. From what I've read, it seems this is the case with everyone (including myself). Bulk=happy, Cut=Discouraged and grumpy. I've even contemplated swearing off cutting and going on an "eternal bulk". In the end, though, I don't think I'd be too happy =P

Not trying to give a plug to Lyle McDonalds stuff, but I"ve been testing it out lately. Supposedly his programs allow you to cut with minimal to no muscle loss.

I tried his UD 2.0. While I really didn't lose much fat (my own fault - add more cardio next time), I did get stronger. Now I'm on day 5 of his Rapid Fat Loss program. We'll see how this goes......
 
15.5" guns is 2.5" bigger than the average. What are you afraid of? It's easier to keep the fat off once its off too. Cut Cut Cut and then slow bulk. You'll be ripped dude, RIPPED!!!
 
When cutting is getting discouraging, take a week or so off and eat at maintenance. Allow yourself to eat all those foods you have been craving, but don't go too nuts. You'll want to keep relatively close to maintenance. This can have a positive effect in that it will bump your metabolism back up, as well as the psychological benefits.

I know what you mean about the size losses though. I'm sick of shrinking so much when I cut. It's funny because when I'm bulking and I start to get around 15% bodyfat, my wife will say 'honey, you're getting fat, you should start cutting' but when I cut for a while, she'll complain that my arms are getting too small. So... I totally know where you are coming from.
I'm sure taking a week off from the cut, or even just a few days off, will help your attitude though. It always works well for me.
 
cutting is 10% workout 20% diet and 70% psychological debate.

ive recently went through my 1st real cut so i can relate. it can be an daily, even hourly, reevaluation of your progress/goals. a few ideas that helped me get through.

1. honest eval. of your goals. if overall big size/strength is a priority then dont worry about cutting. if going for a more "aesthetic" look then cutting at times is a necessity you have to accept.

2.as a general rule. you are your harshest critic. 90% of the people you come across will not notice the 1/2 inch you lost in arm size but will notice the bf% loss and most likely will think you look better. this of course is lost on you (all of us) b/c you are fixated on the 1/2 inch it took so long to gain.

3. the cutting doldrums. from my expr. this middle part is the worst. in the begin. you feel fat but psyched b/c your finally doing something about it. when the weight really starts coming off finally all you feel is skinny/fat. you no longer have the size you once had yet you havent lost enough fat to feel tight. if you do stick with it eventually your abs show more as well as other body parts and although you still feel smaller the "new" definition you gain does make a difference.

4. planning. have a definite start and finish time and stick to them.  this will be the best way to eval. your results and the best way to avoid giving up too soon on a plan with no specific end.

of all these the most important is #1. get right in your mind what your shooting for and then do all you can to get there.

good luck
 
good posts everyone. im glad to see i am not the only one being tormented by cutting. i dont mind the change in diet. what drives me nuts is my skinny guy with a small gut look.

i havent done a true cut in so long and cant rememeber. will i see a good increase in glycogen in my muscles when i go back to maintance? i am not doing zero carbs, but they certainly have been cut down.
 
I've been surfing aroung on the net, and there are numerous studies showing fat loss and muscle gain simutaneously. Primarily due to exercise and diet. The problem is, those studies are conducted on obese or overweight individuals who have obviously been sedintary for quite a while.

From a body builder's experience, simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain is impossible. That has to be due to the significant amount of hypertrophy a body builder is trying to maintain or add too.

For a relative newbie with little hypertrophy, loosing fat and gaining muscle may still be possible, I suppose. Perhaps bulking with a fat decrease is possible too.
 
jw, I had promised not to write  but only be an observer....... but, this topic just made me break my promise...... I have had the same problem and was a kind of disappointed..... only marginal gains did I have after cutting..... I believe that there are too many stories about the promised land by bulking like hell and then cutting violently.... but to be honest it did not work for me.... I felt walking like a crab, 2 steps forward and 2 backs....so, I decided to have a new approach, a more modest, not aggressive..... I decided to have a 150-200 surplus in calories and once a week 300. It was something empirical,  I just felt that if I avoided to be in catabolic state and with just a mild calorie surplus I could keep the fat at bay and hope to get some muscle, slowly but steady..... and I tell you... this is exactly what is happening...... I started this regime at 12% bodyfat and 176 lbs..... now, I am in my 5's and bodyfat has gone down to 10.5% and my weight has gone up to 180 lbs...... modest gain in weight but I can see a difference in muscles and I am more defined, for sure my chest, legs, arms have gone up (I'll measure only at the end)..... so, from now on I will stick to this.... something modest but steady and anticatabolic..... I feel I tend to be an ectomorph..... so, perhaps this is the way for an ectomorph, that is, to avoid being in starvation mode.
 
I've been surfing aroung on the net, and there are numerous studies showing fat loss and muscle gain simutaneously. Primarily due to exercise and diet. The problem is, those studies are conducted on obese or overweight individuals who have obviously been sedintary for quite a while.

From a body builder's experience, simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain is impossible. That (I'm guessing) has to be due to the significant amount of hypertrophy a body builder is trying to maintain or add too.

For a relative newbie with little hypertrophy, loosing fat and gaining muscle may still be possible, I suppose. Perhaps bulking with a fat decrease is possible too.
 
<div>
(etothepii @ May 05 2006,14:44)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I've been surfing aroung on the net, and there are numerous studies showing fat loss and muscle gain simutaneously. Primarily due to exercise and diet. The problem is, those studies are conducted on obese or overweight individuals who have obviously been sedintary for quite a while.

From a body builder's experience, simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain is impossible. That (I'm guessing) has to be due to the significant amount of hypertrophy a body builder is trying to maintain or add too.

For a relative newbie with little hypertrophy, loosing fat and gaining muscle may still be possible, I suppose. Perhaps bulking with a fat decrease is possible too.</div>
Etothepii,

You are right... the higher one's bf% is, the easier it is to lose fat and put on muscle. It can be done at lower bf... I did it last year when I first started HST. However, when you approach the point of oh say - 12-13%, then the fat loss / muscle growth is minimal. If you try and keep up with that, you are just wasting time being at maintenance levels.
 
Well...I don't know how &quot;good&quot; this advice is, but a few years ago, when I was about to get married, I wanted to get in real good shape. So I got on Xenadrine RFA (before it was banned), went on a pretty strict Atkin's diet (less then 30-40 carbs per day) and worked out 6 days a week, working each body part every other day (2 routines). I went from 195 to 188 in about 3 weeks, but I got bigger and toner...however I may have just &quot;thought&quot; I got bigger because I was more tone...if you know what I mean.

I've been considering doing an Atkins type diet again (probably stay below 40 carbs a day) and take an EC stack (I currently take an EC stack occasionallly in the morning and before every workout, mostly for energy).
But it's easier said than done. Seems like this HST is making me hungrier than ever and I am eating like crazy...and everyting in sight. I'm getting bigger, no doubt, but I'm also probably gaining some body fat as well...which is not good.
 
i am starting to see my second set of abs! i have a 4-pack if the lighting is just right
biggrin.gif
does this mean i am maybe approaching 11% bf?

this week i am starting to notice chages for the better. someone posted earlier about how the begining of a cut is awful, as you lose your size and feel fat. well my arms are smaller, but dont look like they lost as much size as they actually did due to a lower bf.

this recent progress has reinvigerated me to keep cutting below 10%!

keep at it everyone!
 
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