when cutting, what's more important to watch? calories, fat, carbs?

[BlahBlahYouToo]

i've been cutting for a couple of months now. i've completely changed my diet - cut out all the morning bagels and danish, fries, anything unhealthy. only had a couple of cheat days.
in all, i've lost about 10 pounds, lost the layer of fat over my gut and am much slimmer now... well i was skinny to begin with.

i can see the top 4 packs, although they aren't very well defined. the bottom 2 (or 4) is just ridiculously hard to get.

my abs workout is weight decline with a 75 pound dumbbell x 3 or 4 depending how drained i am, side crunches on a machine and hanging leg raises.

that's pretty much as i can do without killing myself, so i can only tweak my diet now.
how should i eat?
should i be avoiding carbs or fat, or both?
should i still be on a caloric deficit? i'm not exactly trying to lose weight, just that layer of fat on the lower abs.

 

[purbeast0]

yea the lower abs are probably the hardest to get to show up for me. i think it's just genetics where you lose your fat first/last, and a lot of people lose the fat right above their waste last

 

[brikis98]

calories are the key. track your diet (use a site like fitday.com) and make sure you eat less calories than you burn. that will help you lose weight. To lose only fat and maintain/increase muscle, you'll need to do a bit more. Namely, resistance training, high protein intake, etc. See the sticky at the top of the forum for more info.

 

[Deeko]

Calories - you are still trying to cut even if it's not many pounds. Keep the calories low, and if you just want to lose fat, lift & keep the protein high.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

so after calories, do i have to watch fats, saturated fat, carbs?

regardless, i've been keeping my eye out on fat content and keeping sat fats as low as possible.

 

[Deeko]

Burned calories are burned calories...as long as you're keeping protein high, it isn't going to make a huge difference where the others come from, as they should be fairly low as it is.

 

[TecHNooB]

I think its time to give up on the cut and bulk again How much weight did you lose so far and what's your current weight/height?

 

[Walzber813]

the key to weight loss is having a deficit in calories, eating 5-6 small meals a day vs. the standard 3 big meals a day, eating a lot of protein, and a good mix of cardio and weight training. your lower abs will come through, trust me!

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: TecHNooB
I think its time to give up on the cut and bulk again How much weight did you lose so far and what's your current weight/height?

5'10" went from about 175 to low 160's now.

 

[StageLeft]

Calories BY FAR. Calories are king. The rest is minutiae.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Well, it really depends on how carb-sensitive you are. Some people just retain carbs as fat much more readily than others. I would keep high GI carbs in check. Also keep carbs at ~30-40% of dietary caloric intake. Calories are extremely important, but if your calories are in check, your fat intake doesn't have any negative effect. Like I've said before when referring to cutting - fats don't make you fat. Often times, carbs do (if you're eating too many in one sitting or eating the high GI ones).

 

[spamsk8r]

Eat more fat, including saturated fat (it increases testosterone levels, which helps you lean out). Eat less carbs, especially grains. Keep grains to maybe 1 serving per day, and get the rest from fruit and veggies. Eat lots of meat and nuts. Give it a week or two and I can almost guarantee you'll lean out more.

 

[KoolDrew]

If you're still losing weight, don't chance anything. Just be patient. Most men lose fat there last.

how should i eat?

A slight calorie deficit, 1g of protein per pound bw, EFA's (fish oil), 20-25% fat, the rest carbs, and plenty of water.

should i be avoiding carbs or fat, or both?

No.

should i still be on a caloric deficit? i'm not exactly trying to lose weight, just that layer of fat on the lower abs.

It's incredibly hard to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. So in order to lose fat, yes you need to be in a calorie deficit and lose weight.

Often times, carbs do (if you're eating too many in one sitting or eating the high GI ones).

Yes, because we all know if i ate 500 calories in grains a day I would put on so much fat, despite being in a massive calorie deficit...

Calories in versus calories out determines whether you lose or gain.

 

[Czar]

Make sure you eat at least every 3 hours, and eat only enough to get you by 3 hours, never get hungry

You want to make sure the body has enough energy to burn the fat and not too little because then the body will start to burn the muscles.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Often times, carbs do (if you're eating too many in one sitting or eating the high GI ones).

Yes, because we all know if i ate 500 calories in grains a day I would put on so much fat, despite being in a massive calorie deficit...

Calories in versus calories out determines whether you lose or gain.

You're taking that completely out of context. When you're trying to lose the last bit of weight, the extra carbs, especially if high GI, will play with your hormones. In doing so, you may affect your body negatively. Taking in high amounts of carbs also forces your body to retain water, which hinders someone's "scale progress." On top of that, it's a bad idea overall to consume many carbs while cutting since your body does convert it to fat. Obviously, your body will use it as needed, but if you ask me, I'd like to keep the fat in the digestive system and utilized as needed rather than formed on me. Since you can't get rid of adipocytes (fat cells - you can only drain them of their fat content), my logic is that I'd rather not create more.

There's more to the story than solely calorie intake on the health of the individual. Obviously caloric deficit is king in cutting, but the type of things you ingest can dictate your inner health, your hormone regulation, and the formation of your body. These things must be taken into account if you really want an overall progression. It's black and white only if you're concerned with loss of fat weight. If you're concerned with health, which many are if they're losing weight, other things must be considered.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: Czar
Make sure you eat at least every 3 hours, and eat only enough to get you by 3 hours, never get hungry

You want to make sure the body has enough energy to burn the fat and not too little because then the body will start to burn the muscles.

You don't HAVE to do this. If you regulate what you're eating well enough and your %s of intake for each group is fairly balanced, you'll be fine. I just wanted to repeat that this is NOT necessary. However, it's nice if you have time.