First Cut...

blackhawks87

New member
Hello all im brand new to the site... Have used Bodybuilding.com for a while and thought id try this site out to see if it was maybe a little more helpful place...

I am starting my first cut since starting lifting a year and a half ago...

I started at 161lb and now weigh in at 191lb...

I am trying to figure out my maitenance req so i can start lowering the calories from there... I have seen a lot of different estimations on what i should be consuming and i figure the best bet is just to start experimenting..

I am terrified of muscle loss and hope to stave that off!

-Thanks for reading and if you have any advice for a first time cutter please let me know :)
 
IMO, going off calculators online is pointless. I like to eat a certain amount of calories a week and see if I lose or gain and then base it off that. How many calories did you end you bulk on?
 
I never really counted calories i just made sure i ate a lot and consistently... this is was probably a huge mistake....
 
The online calculators give you a starting point .. Try it for two week .. See how you feel .. Drop a couple hundred (or raise) depending on what you want for results .. Keeping a relatively accurate macro count is probably more important than anything IMHO .. I ( alot here also) use My Fitness Pal .. Works on pc and mobile
 
Just did an online calculator out of curiosity .. Told me 2914/day for maintainance.. I feel best and maintain my weight at 2600-2700 per day .. So not too far off ..
 
Yeah the biggest issue i had with online calcs are that its hard to describe my activity level with the prompts..... I have an office job so im sitting... However i lift 4 days a week intense and do hiit 2-3 times a week..
 
1,320 cals 24.6F 93.8C 136.0P

Wow these are my totals so far in the day.. at 5:15 pm.... i think im going to be consuming way too much protein today....

Should i skip some protein in my evening meal... i plan to do some hiit tonight..
 
blackhawks87 said:
1,320 cals 24.6F 93.8C 136.0P

Wow these are my totals so far in the day.. at 5:15 pm.... i think im going to be consuming way too much protein today....

Should i skip some protein in my evening meal... i plan to do some hiit tonight..
Click to expand...

In my opinion you never skip on protein especially if you want to maintain muscle. I live by this quote: "protein is muscle, muscle is protein." I've read tons of articles where they show high protein will aid in weight loss. I try to get 1-1.5 grabs of protein even when I cut.
 
^^^ what he said bro 136 actually seems a lil low to me u should try and hit about 200 a day and see how that works
 
First off, welcome to AM.

1. How fast did you go from 161 to 191
2. What's your goal weight again?
3. Protein (as suggested) & health fats are key to losing fat weight.

Starts in the kitchen and ends with cardio.
 
Eliminate junk food, drink lots and lots and lots of water, up protein, up cardio.
 
Thanks... I went from 161-191 took about a year but i did it real slow and diddnt monitor how many cals in vs out at all.. just ate healthy and lifted hard.... I think that for most of that time I wasnt eating enough.. I stepped up the eating about 5 months ago and that is where I think i gained a lot of the fat I have now...

I ended up with like 240g yesterday.... I diddnt realize that every food that I eat basically has a high protein count... Besides the oats and brown rice....

I have no problems with junk food i dont eat fast food and dont really crave anything besides the occasional chipotle bowl....
I will do my 2500 cals a day for a week and see if i drop any LBs and adjust from there.... I appreciate all the help guys....

Also ive heard that HIIT is best for reducing muscle loss and increasing fat loss? I was thinking of doing HIIT mon and fri and a low intensity cardio day wed...
 
Oh and my goal weight was 200.... but i want to cut this fat and then rebulk to 200 clean.... im hoping that after losing the body fat i can be at around 175-180?
 
I also see alot of other people who weight alot more then me cutting with 2500 cals which kind of makes me think mine is way too high... I guess i will see after the week.... lol
 
How tall are you?
 
Im going to check the scale where i weigh in at for accuracy today.. cant believe i forgot about that.. however ive checked two scales and they both read the same... i just dont see how i could weigh 191 i dont look it... Or maybe my mind is just f*in with me..... i think i look tiny now since i started this cut...
 
coming up on a week of the cut at 2500 cals... when i weigh in on the 7th day if my weight is the same or slightly lower like 1-2 lbs... should i reduce cals to say 2000? or 2200? I assume if there is a small change of lbs its most likely water weight... any insights?
 
blackhawks87 said:
coming up on a week of the cut at 2500 cals... when i weigh in on the 7th day if my weight is the same or slightly lower like 1-2 lbs... should i reduce cals to say 2000? or 2200? I assume if there is a small change of lbs its most likely water weight... any insights?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't try to lose more than a pound a week, maybe 1.5 MAX. Do it slow, if you're losing weight too quickly you will lose more muscle. Slow and steady is better. If you lose a pound, keep your cals the same. I would only lower them when you stop the weight loss. And when you drop them don't be drastic. If you drop to 2000 cals a few weeks in, you will be eating damn near nothing in two months.
 
quick update its been almost 2 weeks and im at 187-188 lbs so a drop of 3lbs about....

so far so good... may start incorporating a carb refeed once a week... some days im feeling kind of sluggish and i think its because my carbs tend to stay pretty low.
 
Too be honest...I like the counting. I started a cut, for my first time a few months ago. Tons of help on this site.

It really helped me to understand what I was eating, what calories it was worth and to keep me on track.
I am 5'9" age 35
Started at 176 and currently about 159-160.
Shooting for about 155 to get to about 13% body fat and then will do clean bulk.

Myfitnesspal program was great for keeping track of the basics. someone earlier stated about watching the protein.
I did discover that for some days when I achieved by 500 calorie deficit but sometimes it was too much (because of cardio), I simply added on a extra ON gold whey shake to ensure protein stayed high.

Of course, BCAA's during cardio as well.

I like using the calculators like myfitnesspal. I have learned so much about what foods give me what as far as nutrition. Probably wouldn't do it during a bulk, since i'll just eat healthy (now that I learned what that means) and just add more protein.
 
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