I think it's time for a "mini cut"

Qonix

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I start my clean bulking almost 16 weeks ago at 166lbs, aiming for 30 weeks at 0.5lbs/week to minimize fat gaining and reach 180lbs.
So far so good right now I'm 178lbs and was thinking to keep bulking until new year then have a "mini-cut".
It would be my first "mini cut" and don't know exactly what to do..
My idea is to lose maybe 4-5lbs of fat dropping 300kcals the first week then 200 more the second and third. Then to back on my bulking increasing by 200kcals until i hit plateau and again..

What you guys think? Any advices?
 
LeanEngineer

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Are you going to take any fat burners while you cut?
 
Qonix

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Usually I like to take EC stack.. not sure I will for a mini cut..
 
LeanEngineer

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Sweet. I think your plan looks good though. its all in the diet when your bulking and cutting.
 
Qonix

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I was asking because I heard about people having a mini-cut and dropping 1000kcal and then jump in to their original kcal.. which I think it's just crazy and maybe even damage your metabolism
 
LeanEngineer

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Yea i agree. i dont really believe in a mini cut. haha I like to kind of a have a cutting season and a bulking season because for me it takes time.
 
hvactech

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Too much fluctuation in calories to make it worth your while, at your small surplus you should continue and then cut when necessary... or use a recomp approach
 
hvactech

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Well youre about a 250cal a day surplus? Then you want to end up at a 500cal a day deficiency... then back to bulking... for that matter try a different approach like maintenance cals or carb cycling
 
jaycuda

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I think carb cycling would be best for you, I would look into it.
 
Qonix

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Well youre about a 250cal a day surplus? Then you want to end up at a 500cal a day deficiency... then back to bulking... for that matter try a different approach like maintenance cals or carb cycling
believe maintenance calories changes whole you diet.. When you hit a plateu that's your maintenance cals.
Right now I'm 6ft, 178lbs eating 3000kcals. My abs relaxed are almost invisible so I guess 13% bf.

What would be your diet suggestion?
 
jaycuda

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Here's the generic approach to carb cycling.

Day 1: 150 grams
Day 2: 100 grams
Day 3: 50 grams
Day 4: 125 grams
Day 5: 200 grams

Day 6 would be the same as day 1 and so on. Generally you line it up with your most active days being your highest carb days(so day 5 would be a leg day) and your off day would be day 3.

I try to consume most of my carbs around my work outs. Usually about 40% before and 30% PWO meal. The hardest part is finding the right numbers for yourself and you really have to track your calories and macros to do it properly.

I trade out most of my carbs and fats as I raise/lower carbs and keep my protein pretty consistent along with my calorie intake.
 
Qonix

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Seems like a lot of "testing" to do.. in 3 weeks I surely cannot do it the right way.. Plus it's more complicated than what I usually do, my diet it's very simple. I just care to reach my protein goal (at the moment 1gr per lbs of bodyweight) then I fill the extra calories with everything. Usually I end up with 170-190gr of protein, 90-110fats, 270-290carbs.

By the way, back on thread.. here is my idea of going on a mini-cut then back on bulking. Eating 3000kcals now.
Week 1: 2600kcals
Week 2-3: 2400kcals
Week 4 (back on bulking): 2800kcals
Then once I'm not gaining more weight, increasing by 200kcals (as I'm doing now).

Here is the question.. is it worth this 3 weeks cut or it's just taking time from muscle gains? Will it make a difference?
 
jaycuda

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Seems like a lot of "testing" to do.. in 3 weeks I surely cannot do it the right way.. Plus it's more complicated than what I usually do, my diet it's very simple. I just care to reach my protein goal (at the moment 1gr per lbs of bodyweight) then I fill the extra calories with everything. Usually I end up with 170-190gr of protein, 90-110fats, 270-290carbs. By the way, back on thread.. here is my idea of going on a mini-cut then back on bulking. Eating 3000kcals now. Week 1: 2600kcals Week 2-3: 2400kcals Week 4 (back on bulking): 2800kcals Then once I'm not gaining more weight, increasing by 200kcals (as I'm doing now). Here is the question.. is it worth this 3 weeks cut or it's just taking time from muscle gains? Will it make a difference?
It's worth it in the long run. You're already used to having high carbs, so cycling should show good results. You're bound to want to cut again in the future.

Tracking macros is something you seem to do already so that's nothing new.

Should all be very simple after a few days.
 
hvactech

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Seems like a lot of "testing" to do.. in 3 weeks I surely cannot do it the right way.. Plus it's more complicated than what I usually do, my diet it's very simple. I just care to reach my protein goal (at the moment 1gr per lbs of bodyweight) then I fill the extra calories with everything. Usually I end up with 170-190gr of protein, 90-110fats, 270-290carbs.

By the way, back on thread.. here is my idea of going on a mini-cut then back on bulking. Eating 3000kcals now.
Week 1: 2600kcals
Week 2-3: 2400kcals
Week 4 (back on bulking): 2800kcals
Then once I'm not gaining more weight, increasing by 200kcals (as I'm doing now).

Here is the question.. is it worth this 3 weeks cut or it's just taking time from muscle gains? Will it make a difference?
Like I stated, 3 weeks will not achieve direct fat loss like youre hoping...
Maintenance calories does not correlate to plateauing, to many factors to consider, if youre gaining fat by monitoring your diet at a .5 lb increase per week then it tells me youre not gaining any lbm... continue the bulk, manipulate your carbs, maybe add some HIIT in the mix and chive on... dont stress about a little fat gain during a bulk...
 
Qonix

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Ok I'll keep bulking then.. After all I'll have almost 20weeks of cut to shred!

Maybe I could try On Wednesday, which is my day off, to be as low in carbs as possible And on saturday I'll keep with my cheat day. Maybe this will help my metabolism, what do you think?
 
Qonix

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Today was thinking.. Even when I'm low in bf (like in my profile), I still have some stubborn fat on my hip area. And now after 15 weeks it's noticable.. If I keep bulking for 30 more weeks maybe I'll reach a point where it will be very hard to hit 8% again
 
RecompMan

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Today was thinking.. Even when I'm low in bf (like in my profile), I still have some stubborn fat on my hip area. And now after 15 weeks it's noticable.. If I keep bulking for 30 more weeks maybe I'll reach a point where it will be very hard to hit 8% again
If I were you I'd add 100 calories every 7-10 days while reducing cardio by 5 minutes a week if you are doing cardio

Metabolic powder and Recompadrol can waste some of those calories and keep you lean even at what your eating now

Think of it this way... Continue bulking like you are, but leaning out slightly
 
Qonix

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I'm not doing any cardio..
What are those 2 supps? And how can I lean out adding constantly more calories?
 
Qonix

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So.. Here's how it's going..
Unfortunately the first week was very sick.. So I couldn't go to the gym. Lost 3lbs (from 3000kcal to 2600kcal.
Second week, I got injured at my right hand plus gym was open just a few days.. I ended up doing full-body workouts just 2 days.. Gained back 0.8lbs even at 2400kcal.
Third (actual) week, almost 100% recovered from injury, 3 days full-body.. We'll see In a few days how's the weight going at 2200kcal.

I was very unlucky during this mini cut.. that's why I've decided to add a 4th week (I still have to decide if I'll keep 2200kcal or drop at 2000kcal).
Plus I was thinking about having a cheat day on this Saturday (I usually have one every week but I didn't during this short cutting), what do you guys suggest?
 

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