Getting back to maintenance

Tylerclee

Tylerclee

Active member
Alright fellas, I finished my cutting phase and starting to ramp my calories back to maintenance assuming I have about 500-600 calories to add.
I am impatient, so is there any supplementation I can use to avoid storing fat by adding calories back too fast?
I have lean xtreme, but I'm not sure if cortisol is the reason not to add calories too fast.
 
Cortisol usually isn't a big factor when adding calories back in, it's more of an issue while dropping calories during a diet.

I wouldn't add back in 500-600 immediately, but you could split it into two 200-300 calorie increases over a few weeks to give your body time to adjust to the extra calorie intake. Adding in calories too fast can cause unwanted fat gain.

I would suggest looking into a nutrient partitioner or GDA supplement. A product like SlinMax would be a great option. It contains Na-R-Ala and berberine, which can help your body utilize nutrients (especially carbohydrates) better. I always incorporate Slinmax on my reverse diets to keep me looking leaner and more vascular
 
I know you said your impatient, but you took the time to cut...so...

If you haven't done a slow reverse back to maintenance before (e.g., adding 50-100 cal per day per week), I'd take your time. Some people respond exceptionally well to it.

And a 1+ for slinmax. Loving it.
 
Like has been said, nothing will completely prevent fat gain if you add too much too fast. A good gda can certainly help, especially if your calorie bumps are coming mostly from carbs. SNS glycophase is about the most cost effective on the market at under $20 and has many of the same ingredients as the more pricey options.

For a more comprehensive nutrient partitioner/muscle builder myokem magnitropin or anabeta elite (I always pair this with Xgels for strength and pumps ha) are great choices.
 
Tylerclee said:
Alright fellas, I finished my cutting phase and starting to ramp my calories back to maintenance assuming I have about 500-600 calories to add.
I am impatient, so is there any supplementation I can use to avoid storing fat by adding calories back too fast?
I have lean xtreme, but I'm not sure if cortisol is the reason not to add calories too fast.
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As previously mentioned both SlinMax and GlycoPhase are two viable GDA's that you can use. Two main ingredients that you should look for in a GDA (imo) is Na-R-Ala which is an antioxidant that helps lower blood glucose levels and increase muscle glycogen storage. This means less of an insulin spike which leads to less fat gain. The second ingredient would be berberine. Berberine has solid human evidence proving its efficiency and ability to increase glucose disposal. Once again these are two ingredients that always work for me and are found in many GDA's like SlinMax, and the good ole Recompadrol (older version, but the newer one worked really well too)

These won't prevent fat gain but help prevent some. Unfortunately being patient is the only way. You are correct in that cortisol is not a reason to add calories too fast, but it could be raised from a prolonged period of dieting. Raised cortisol increases VAT (fat under the muscle) if I remember correctly.
 
john.patterson said:
Cortisol usually isn't a big factor when adding calories back in, it's more of an issue while dropping calories during a diet.

I wouldn't add back in 500-600 immediately, but you could split it into two 200-300 calorie increases over a few weeks to give your body time to adjust to the extra calorie intake. Adding in calories too fast can cause unwanted fat gain.

I would suggest looking into a nutrient partitioner or GDA supplement. A product like SlinMax would be a great option. It contains Na-R-Ala and berberine, which can help your body utilize nutrients (especially carbohydrates) better. I always incorporate Slinmax on my reverse diets to keep me looking leaner and more vascular
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I agree here, slinmax looks like a well rounded gda which will be important to keep you lean/full especially if you start incorporating more carbs
 
Tylerclee said:
Ok thanks. I know it's a supplement forum but is 200 calories/ week advised?
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You're welcome. When it comes to adding calories back in, the slower the better. I would say 100-200 every two weeks, and monitory body weight to make sure you aren't putting on a lot of weight. Everyone responds differently to calorie increase, and if you were dieting on very low calories even small jumps in calories can have a large impact
 
Yea my patience got the best of me during my cut as I dropped calories pretty hard. I know my weight is going to increase some, due to glycogen.
 
Tylerclee said:
1735. Maintenance should be 2200-2300
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If your calories are that low, then I would highly suggest taking the reverse diet slowly. Making a quick jump back to your estimated maintenance will take away from the hard work you spent getting lean. I would slowly add in calories, about 100 or so each week. Using a GDA like Slinmax will help keep your insulin levels and blood sugar balanced to prevent anything too drastic in weight change. The slower you take the reverse diet, the leaner you'll stay and the better you'll look. Is there a reason for the rush to get back to 2200?
 
Just very impatient. I know that if I rush it, I'll be up the creek without a paddle. So I'll try to take it slow
 
Tylerclee said:
Just very impatient. I know that if I rush it, I'll be up the creek without a paddle. So I'll try to take it slow
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If you're in that much of a hurry, you also may want to consider doing a refeed just to help keep you sane. You could do a high carb refeed to give yourself a little break, and then go back to your cutting calories at 1735 and increase slowly from there.

Is it a psychological thing? Like are you hungry all day? Or are you just looking to start gaining weight quickly?
 
Just want to gain more weight. I want to be the big guy, but I like having abs. I know it's just a waiting game.
 
Tylerclee said:
Just want to gain more weight. I want to be the big guy, but I like having abs. I know it's just a waiting game.
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That's never an easy battle to win, especially if you're natural. For me, I usually feel scrawny and small when I'm lean and wish I had more mass. But then when I add calories and try to put on size I feel like a fatass haha. I try to stay lean year round, and make slow progress in the fall and winter. Spring and summer I focus on staying very lean and maintaining strength. You can't have your cake and eat it too
 
Solid advice ITT, although id do 100-300kcals per day rather than per week. Because thats only like 2 extra peanuts per week
 
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