Cutting diet:
Again, it strongly depends on the individual.
What is different here from the bulking diet, which we (as bodybuilders) eat most of the time?
Mainly, the amount of calories Wink Surprise! Very Happy
When you start a cutting cycle, decrease the calories slowly. First, cut out all the crap you usually eat sometimes, which is okay when you’re bulking, but now you’re not, remember that!
Cut out all sugar, except fruits, first. No sweets, no cakes, no cookies. After a while, cut the white flour stuff, too: pasta and bread.
If you want to, or have to, lose quite a large amount of fat, slowly decrease your calories by decreasing the amount of carbs and fat you eat. That really depends on your normal diet – i only decrease the carbs, for i always eat low fat. Do not decrease the protein! It’s not so easy to keep the protein high and get the fat low, though.
Eat lots of veggies, replace the carb-loaded foods by them. Salads and veggies replace pasta, potatoes and rice. Don’t go too low with the carbs, though, they’re still your fuel.
Later in the day, reduce the carbs. Eat your carbs early, and don’’t eat them in the evening or at night. That’s the time for salads, veggies and protein.
I recommend doing a “refeed day” once per week. That means, one day per week you are allowed to eat anything that, and as much as you want.
This day will prevent your metabolism switching to hibernation mode.
When cutting, the same golden rule as for bulking applies: BE PATIENT!
When you cut down your calories etc, too fast, you’ll lose too much muscle in the process. Not a good exchange in the long run.
Another point that comes to my mind: don’t use “light” products! They are usually unhealthy, processed, artificial, industrial “food”, designed to copy a special taste without delivering the calories. Therefore, they contain lots of artificial substances, such as sweeteners. Beside that these substances are unnatural and unhealthy, artificial sweeteners actually can make you GAIN weight! They work as appetizers, not a good thing on your diet!
Don’t weigh yourself every day and get excited about the outcome. Once or twice a week is better, always on the same day and time, under the same circumstances (in the morning, before breakfast, after toilet, naked). If you’re mentally strong enough Wink to deal with the fluctuations, you can weigh yourself everyday and make a cross in a system of coordinates. Then, every three days take the average and make a cross in a different color. Draw a line between crosses of the same color. It’s a way to make your way visible.
- Cutting program
In order to lose fat and at the same time maintain your muscles, you have to lift heavy. That means, do NOT go for high reps in order to burn more calories, but stick with the heavy weights.
In general, i wouldn’t recommend that you try to increase the weights during your cutting cycle. Take a heavy weight and try to increase the number of reps instead (say, starting with 5 reps). If you’re making good process (which i doubt, when you’re on a calory-rectricted diet Wink ), it’s okay to increase the weight, though (when you reach 12 reps).
In general, the same principles as for bulking cycles apply, with the following differences:
- Work out more often. Heavy weights with a reasonable volume every day burn lots of calories and at the same time increase your metabolism. Moreover, it will prevent losing your muscles.
- Obviously you can’t simply work out more often without changing anything else. Go for a slightly lower intensity (no muscle failure!) and a slightly higher volume.
- Add some cardio. Cardio training is a great way to burn some calories more. I recommend to do that in the morning, just after getting up. Kick your ass out of the bed an hour early and burn some before breakfast.
Important is that that you don’t do the weights and the cardio in one session! Never! If you don't have time in the day for two separate workouts, then choose either cardio or weights, and only do one workout, rather than combine them into one workout.
That’s all.
Yes, it IS that simple. It’s still the same exercises. Wink
Forget the high rep bla bla – muscle growth is induced by heavy weights, and that is especially important on a cutting diet!!
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