Ugh, cutting

[BlackTigers]

...it got boring.

Two weeks into my cut, I actually was hitting my goals just like I had wanted to. Actually, according to the BodPod, I'm ahead of my planned schedule.

But then I realized I wasn't getting any bigger...just getting more defined. Which pissed me off.

So today, I said fuck it and consumed approximately 4k calories and about 290g of protein. hahahah. Back to lifting big.

There is a point to all of this though....can anyone here help me get a diet put together? I want to keep my diet clean...A lot of calories, but clean calories. I'd rather not tack on too much body fat again.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

...it got boring.

Two weeks into my cut, I actually was hitting my goals just like I had wanted to. Actually, according to the BodPod, I'm ahead of my planned schedule.

But then I realized I wasn't getting any bigger...just getting more defined. Which pissed me off.

So today, I said fuck it and consumed approximately 4k calories and about 290g of protein. hahahah. Back to lifting big.

There is a point to all of this though....can anyone here help me get a diet put together? I want to keep my diet clean...A lot of calories, but clean calories. I'd rather not tack on too much body fat again.

Well, to get the highest muscle to fat proportion gains, you'll have to maintain only a moderate surplus in calories - usually about 500-700. Eating clean entails eating nothing that comes from a package IMO - lean chicken, ground beef, turkey, beans, oats, milk, veggies, nuts, seeds, etc. Eat normal and add half a gallon of milk per day and you'll gain some pretty nice mass. You can also easily shift the calorie skew one way or another depending on how you like the effects. How big are you now (height/weight)? How about your main lifts (squat/DL/bench/OH press)?

 

[Koing]

At 4000 calories per day you will get fat unless your already 120kg or so...

Koing

 

[Koing]

A lot of protein man! Stagger it throughout the day man!

Koing

 

[BlackTigers]

At 4000 calories per day you will get fat unless your already 120kg or so...

Koing

I've been on a caloric deficit for two weeks - today was just me getting fed up and demolishing everything in sight.


Right now:

5'9" 160ish
Bench 155x5
Squat 260x5
Deadlift 325x5
Press 120?x5

I figure I'll start at about 3-3.3k calories a day. Considering I do some form of cardio three times a week....I'll probably need it. I'll be going to the grocery store later, hoping to pick some of that stuff up. Just gets expensive...18 and in college, and planning on spending a lot of money on food...haha.

 

[Whisper]

Well, to get the highest muscle to fat proportion gains, you'll have to maintain only a moderate surplus in calories - usually about 500-700. Eating clean entails eating nothing that comes from a package IMO - lean chicken, ground beef, turkey, beans, oats, milk, veggies, nuts, seeds, etc. Eat normal and add half a gallon of milk per day and you'll gain some pretty nice mass. You can also easily shift the calorie skew one way or another depending on how you like the effects. How big are you now (height/weight)? How about your main lifts (squat/DL/bench/OH press)?

Pretty much describes my diet to a "t," sans the milk and caloric surplus, as I'm not currently looking to gain weight. No idea how well it works for other people, but I can vouch that it's helped me stay lean for the past 8-10 years.

However, given that I'm a grad student with both limited resources and time, I do eat things from packages fairly often. I still aim for low-fat, high fiber and protein, etc., but the sodium does a number on my stomach (especially if I don't drink enough water), that's for sure.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I've been on a caloric deficit for two weeks - today was just me getting fed up and demolishing everything in sight.


Right now:

5'9" 160ish
Bench 155x5
Squat 260x5
Deadlift 325x5
Press 120?x5

I figure I'll start at about 3-3.3k calories a day. Considering I do some form of cardio three times a week....I'll probably need it. I'll be going to the grocery store later, hoping to pick some of that stuff up. Just gets expensive...18 and in college, and planning on spending a lot of money on food...haha.

So why were you cutting at 5'9', 160? What do you estimate your body fat % as? I would either set an aesthetic or strength goal at which point I would promise to cut. That's a caloric good range to start with. I started with 3k and didn't gain crap for 2-3 weeks. I upped it to 3500 and I had massive gains. Btw, this process doesn't have to be expensive. Utilizing milk is the cheapest, simplest, and easiest way to choke calories down. Buy a few gallons at a time on top of your normal food intake - that's only $10-15 extra per week. I know it's not easy on a student's budget (trust me, I ate a bland can of tuna after every workout for a few weeks 'cause I couldn't afford whey), but you can do it. Btw, when did you start lifting?

 

[BlackTigers]

So why were you cutting at 5'9', 160? What do you estimate your body fat % as? I would either set an aesthetic or strength goal at which point I would promise to cut. That's a caloric good range to start with. I started with 3k and didn't gain crap for 2-3 weeks. I upped it to 3500 and I had massive gains. Btw, this process doesn't have to be expensive. Utilizing milk is the cheapest, simplest, and easiest way to choke calories down. Buy a few gallons at a time on top of your normal food intake - that's only $10-15 extra per week. I know it's not easy on a student's budget (trust me, I ate a bland can of tuna after every workout for a few weeks 'cause I couldn't afford whey), but you can do it. Btw, when did you start lifting?

Why? I had to stop lifting for a little while (school and work tripled), and I didn't change eating habits - which means I hit...shit about 172 and lost muscle mass. I'm trying *not* to gain body fat, as my goals are both aesthetic and physical. (Mile in under 6:00, body fat under 14%, deadlift 450, squat 350, bench 225, all with varying timeframes).

So I gained weight, lost muscle. I was getting my body fat back down before I started bulking again. As of two days ago, like...14.2% according to the bod pod. Good enough. Luckily my lifts stayed within about 5% or so of where they were.

I started lifting around Thanksgiving of 2009, so....3-4 months.

I'll aim for about 3.3ishk, and after a couple weeks if I notice I start adding on too much BF, cut back to about 3k.