Do you jump calories?

[Qonix]

I was always wondering if I'm doing it the right way..

My maintainance is about 2500 kcal.
Right now at the top of my bulking I've reached 3200kcal (I went up slowly).

Usually when I decide to start cutting I slowly reduce my intake, let's say 200kcal then when I stuck with my weight I drop 200kcal more and so on.
are you doing the same or you just start dropping 500+kcals?

 

[The Solution]

I was always wondering if I'm doing it the right way..

My maintainance is about 2600 kcal.
Right now at the top of my bulking I've reached 3200kcal (I went up slowly).

Usually when I decide to start cutting I slowly reduce my intake, let's say 200kcal then when I stuck with my weight I drop 200kcal more and so on.
are you doing the same or you just start dropping 500+kcals?

Slow and Steady wins the race. Keep your metabolism as high as possible while cutting. Sometimes a small caloric drop of 10-15g of carba may get the trick to get the body moving. Or even a drop of 3-5g of fat.

Some people will find with larger kcal swings it will be 1) worse for their mood 2) worse for hunger 3) Bigger drops in energy and 4) big swings in workout performance.

Just like building the foundation, to cut it down you need to race the marathon, it is not a sprint.

 

[Qonix]

Guess I'm doing it right then

 

[paul56778]

Endurance, due to limits on how much energy your body can pull from fat stores, i also find it better to start with a smaller reduction and then keep lowering by 200-300 Kcals per week, I also find it effective to zig - zag alternating calories on different days of the week e.g. by eating more calories on heavy leg days and less on rest days.

I am also running a Ketogenic diet which i feel works well and allows for me to maintain more muscle mass than if i use a low carb low fat high protein diet which i have used in the past.

 

[grinnell27]

Little by little... I personally drop to a level that I can't go any lower... Such as 2300cals.

Then I just add in 10mins cardio per day or 1-2times a week and adjust that accordingly as opposed to dropping cals.

I like to eat haha

 

[paul56778]

I just keep lowering without the need for cardio, but then and again if i did include it i could eat more but would also be hungrier.

 

[The Solution]

I just keep lowering without the need for cardio, but then and again if i did include it i could eat more but would also be hungrier.

Same here
The least amount of cardio and highest kcals while possible when dieting = lots of room for change and keeping the metabolism high

 

[Qonix]

My maintainance is around 2500kcal but due to metabolic adaptation I've reached top of my bulking at 3200kcals, slowly increasing by 200kcals every time I been stuck going up with weight.

Lot of people would recommend going straight back at 2500kcals but I think it's insane a 4900kcal weekly deficit from now. I might have little room for metabolic adaptation from there.. Expecially considering a 20weeks cut.
Guess I'll keep the same as lean bulking by dropping 200kcals just when I stuck with weight loss.

 

[The Solution]

If you would lose at 3000 no point in dropping any lower because your still making progress

Keep
Kcals as high as possible and cardio as low as possible for lots of room for change

 

[paul56778]

If you would lose at 3000 no point in dropping any lower because your still making progress

Keep
Kcals as high as possible and cardio as low as possible for lots of room for change

Agree this will make it easier and prevent metabolism from slowing too quickly and be easier psychologically.

 

[Qonix]

How long does usually takes you to adapt to a certain calorie intake?

For me even at higher intakes usually after 2/3 weeks I have to increase again.. Hope it's a good sign lol

 

[paul56778]

It is good because metabolism is increasing, i normally leave it 2 weeks in a row with no change then make adjustments so that i have a change for the third.

 

[john.patterson]

I go with the two weeks rule as well, for bulking or cutting. If my weight stalls for more than 1.5 weeks, I'll make a 200 calorie adjustment and see how things go. I find that to be the best method, especially for bulking. I can stay fairly lean with small increases, and it takes the guesswork out of it

 

[paul56778]

I go with the two weeks rule as well, for bulking or cutting. If my weight stalls for more than 1.5 weeks, I'll make a 200 calorie adjustment and see how things go. I find that to be the best method, especially for bulking. I can stay fairly lean with small increases, and it takes the guesswork out of it

Makes it much easier when you have to cut, plus i find if a gain too much fat from a bulk it has a psychological effect especially if there is no strength increase and numbers stop going up.

 

[john.patterson]

Makes it much easier when you have to cut, plus i find if a gain too much fat from a bulk it has a psychological effect especially if there is no strength increase and numbers stop going up.

Couldn't agree more. My mind screws with me all the time while I'm bulking, so its nice to have a consistent calorie number to adhere to so I know I'm not overdoing it. I feel like a whale when I'm not lean

 

[The Solution]

How long does usually takes you to adapt to a certain calorie intake?

For me even at higher intakes usually after 2/3 weeks I have to increase again.. Hope it's a good sign lol

There is no set answer
Some weeks I can lose weight on the same kcals for a month sometimes a week and i stall

Same for bulking I can gain for one week or for 4-6 weeks on the same
Kcal allotment. No real set answer to this it would vary on the individual, metabolism, volume, cardio etc they are doing