8 week cut started on 6/22

[Matthew_M3]

Hey guys, this is my first non-BMW post to this forum. Im 6 foot, 21 year old, 226lb guy. I workout a ton and play Hockey at my college but for years now, it seems I haven't been able to really cut down on my weight. I've tried a lot of different diets like intermittent fasting but nothing really did it for me. I meal prep weekly and my meals were healthy foods but, I felt like my lack of knowledge of macros in the foods I was eating, mixed in with my failure to meet my macro goals in protein and calories etc didn't help. I just dont know enough about what and how much of what to eat to truly cut my weight down and get closer to what I want to look like.

So I bit the bullet and paid a professional to make a personalized diet, cardio, and lifting program for me. The program is an 8 week program and dictates what each meal and how much each meal has, as well as a full cardio and lifting regime for me to follow. Having the program be so structured helps me follow it to the T, added in with the fact the I want to get the most out of the money I spent.

Ill post updates when I have time but if you guys have any questions or any feed back etc, id be happy to respond.

[Rmtt]

Originally Posted by Matthew_M3

Hey guys, this is my first non-BMW post to this forum. Im 6 foot, 21 year old, 226lb guy. I workout a ton and play Hockey at my college but for years now, it seems I haven't been able to really cut down on my weight. I've tried a lot of different diets like intermittent fasting but nothing really did it for me. I meal prep weekly and my meals were healthy foods but, I felt like my lack of knowledge of macros in the foods I was eating, mixed in with my failure to meet my macro goals in protein and calories etc didn't help. I just dont know enough about what and how much of what to eat to truly cut my weight down and get closer to what I want to look like.

So I bit the bullet and paid a professional to make a personalized diet, cardio, and lifting program for me. The program is an 8 week program and dictates what each meal and how much each meal has, as well as a full cardio and lifting regime for me to follow. Having the program be so structured helps me follow it to the T, added in with the fact the I want to get the most out of the money I spent.

Ill post updates when I have time but if you guys have any questions or any feed back etc, id be happy to respond.

Good luck. But in a nutshell...Calories in vs. Calories out. Look in the gym thread. A lot of good people give advice in there. I have outlined my program more times than I can remember.

Find the number of calories per day you body burns to hold your weight. Introduce a deficit of ~500 calories per day. My macros are 50%P, 30%C, and 20%F when cutting. When bulking I use a 40/40/20 approach as carbs are protein sparing and you can drop your protein intake a bit. I do not factor in my cardio or workouts when figuring out my calories. What I burn there is just an added benefit.

Been going from around 12% down to 7% or lower each year for the last 15 years doing this.

As I am getting older.....I like to stay in the 10% range and not have the huge weight swings anymore.

Just takes patience. I advise anyone doing this to get as low a BF as they can at least once in their life. I have been down to 5.6%. After doing that...you tend to learn your body.

Again...Good Luck!

[JP10]

Goodluck brotato. It's all just a mental battle. But having a solid understanding of how your body responds to different macro mixtures is key. Everyone is different, and just because you got a diet from a "pro" doesn't necessarily mean it's the diet for you. Make sure you are providing him with feedback on how your body is responding so he can make changes accordingly.

Took me years to get a grip on what I actually should be eating. At my max weight I was 19 or 20 and around 225lbs - 5' 10". At that weight I was definitely stronger then I am now @ 180lbs. With that said I am far my satisfied with how I look now over then. Still dialing everything in myself, but with the years of lifting I finally understand what I need for intake to cut and the same for bulk. Makes everything a lot easier.

[Matthew_M3]

Originally Posted by Rmtt

Good luck. But in a nutshell...Calories in vs. Calories out. Look in the gym thread. A lot of good people give advice in there. I have outlined my program more times than I can remember.

Find the number of calories per day you body burns to hold your weight. Introduce a deficit of ~500 calories per day. My macros are 50%P, 30%C, and 20%F when cutting. When bulking I use a 40/40/20 approach as carbs are protein sparing and you can drop your protein intake a bit. I do not factor in my cardio or workouts when figuring out my calories. What I burn there is just an added benefit.

Been going from around 12% down to 7% or lower each year for the last 15 years doing this.

As I am getting older.....I like to stay in the 10% range and not have the huge weight swings anymore.

Just takes patience. I advise anyone doing this to get as low a BF as they can at least once in their life. I have been down to 5.6%. After doing that...you tend to learn your body.

Again...Good Luck!

As of now, I dont have a way to accurately count my calories burned throughout an entire day. Might pickup an apple watch soon so that shouldn't be a problem after that. However, im more using this 8 week plan as a start because lack of motivation and knowledge has held me back up until now. So far, im 2 pounds down and im attributing it to my cut in calorie intake and increase in cardio so we'll see how it is at the 2 week check in mark.

If your curious, my daily meal plan averages 2600 calories, 268g carbs, 69-88g fat (69 w/ 3 meals and 1 shake, 88 w/ 2 meals and 2 shakes) and 216-232g protein (232 w? 3 meals and 1 shake, 216 w/ 2 meals and 2 shakes). Before, I probably averaged between 3300-3600 calories a day as I only ate one meal that was prepped and the rest of the day, I ate whatever I pleased or what was available while at work.

[soopa]

Good luck! Stuck @ 14.5% bodyfat myself.

[Matthew_M3]

Originally Posted by JP10

Goodluck brotato. It's all just a mental battle. But having a solid understanding of how your body responds to different macro mixtures is key. Everyone is different, and just because you got a diet from a "pro" doesn't necessarily mean it's the diet for you. Make sure you are providing him with feedback on how your body is responding so he can make changes accordingly.

Took me years to get a grip on what I actually should be eating. At my max weight I was 19 or 20 and around 225lbs - 5' 10". At that weight I was definitely stronger then I am now @ 180lbs. With that said I am far my satisfied with how I look now over then. Still dialing everything in myself, but with the years of lifting I finally understand what I need for intake to cut and the same for bulk. Makes everything a lot easier.

I used to be around 180/185 and Id love to get back there but its baby steps, I know it wont happen over night or in a month. Im using this as a start to get myself on track and start to learn what I need and what calorie intake I should look to consume to cut down. If the program works, then fantastic. If it doesn't, Ill use what im learning to continue trying to cut on my own. I bought it because there are alot of people who have had success on this guys' programs so I though to give it a try.

Mind expanding on what you've done to cut down to 180 and what you're doing to maintain your weight?

[Matthew_M3]

Originally Posted by soopa

Good luck! Stuck @ 14.5% bodyfat myself.

Thanks Brotha, I have high hopes about it. I need to figure out my Body Fat % but if I were to guess, im around mid 20s but thats a straight up guess

[Rmtt]

Originally Posted by Matthew_M3

As of now, I dont have a way to accurately count my calories burned throughout an entire day. Might pickup an apple watch soon so that shouldn't be a problem after that. However, im more using this 8 week plan as a start because lack of motivation and knowledge has held me back up until now. So far, im 2 pounds down and im attributing it to my cut in calorie intake and increase in cardio so we'll see how it is at the 2 week check in mark.

If your curious, my daily meal plan averages 2600 calories, 268g carbs, 69-88g fat (69 w/ 3 meals and 1 shake, 88 w/ 2 meals and 2 shakes) and 216-232g protein (232 w? 3 meals and 1 shake, 216 w/ 2 meals and 2 shakes). Before, I probably averaged between 3300-3600 calories a day as I only ate one meal that was prepped and the rest of the day, I ate whatever I pleased or what was available while at work.

Don't worry so much about counting right now. When I used to be a personal trainer, I would tell people to "log" what they ate for two weeks (only calories at the time as that was all I needed to know) along with what they weighed at the end.

I would average a daily number...and that would give me a "dirty" estimate of what their TDEE was. You are used to meal prepping....so I assume you have a scale.

I would then take that number....subtract 500 calories per day from it and tell them to eat at the new number and according to the Macros I listed earlier and let's see where they were in two weeks time so that we could start dialing things in.

I can say just following that approach at you current BF levels can get you to down to 12-14% pretty easy if you do this day in and day out. Diet is 80%+ of all this. The gym is the easy part. And 12% is an easy level to hold pretty much indefinitely if you want to.

Also don't guess at what you eat. I have heard it all from I eat like crazy and can't gain...to I barely eat and can't lose. Most people have no idea the amount of calories they are truly taking in until they see it on paper.

Getting below 10% is where it gets a little trickier. I have hired a coach one time in my life...and it was when I wanted to get as lean as I could. And it wasn't because I needed to know what to do...I needed a second pair of eyes to guide me as a "seasoned' coach will see where you are at when you may feel like second-guessing yourself and that will ultimately sabotage your efforts.

Once you do it the first time....it gets easier after that. I got very lean that time (<6%)...and I held it for as long as I could until my body adapted to it.

After that.....it's just been years of training my body to handle higher amount of calories and process them more efficiently in the off-season.

Years ago...I would have to start a diet in the 2K calorie range to start cutting. Over the years ...I have it now where I have to eat at least 3500+ calories to maintain my current body weight.

Once you are at that point...it's a lot easier to go on a diet when you are still able to eat 3K calories a day. It feels like you aren't dieting at all.

Over the course of my cuts....I typically have to make adjustments twice to get where I want to be. These days it usually just beach season. So I will go down to around 8%. This is more healthy than going too extreme.

My wife doesn't like anything lower than that as I tend to be naturally vascular....and it gets very exaggerated looking once I go below 10%.

[RMNB]

Originally Posted by Rmtt

Don't worry so much about counting right now. When I used to be a personal trainer, I would tell people to "log" what they ate for two weeks (only calories at the time as that was all I needed to know) along with what they weighed at the end.

I would average a daily number...and that would give me a "dirty" estimate of what their TDEE was. You are used to meal prepping....so I assume you have a scale.

I would then take that number....subtract 500 calories per day from it and tell them to eat at the new number and according to the Macros I listed earlier and let's see where they were in two weeks time so that we could start dialing things in.

I can say just following that approach at you current BF levels can get you to down to 12-14% pretty easy if you do this day in and day out. Diet is 80%+ of all this. The gym is the easy part. And 12% is an easy level to hold pretty much indefinitely if you want to.

Also don't guess at what you eat. I have heard it all from I eat like crazy and can't gain...to I barely eat and can't lose. Most people have no idea the amount of calories they are truly taking in until they see it on paper.

Getting below 10% is where it gets a little trickier. I have hired a coach one time in my life...and it was when I wanted to get as lean as I could. And it wasn't because I needed to know what to do...I needed a second pair of eyes to guide me as a "seasoned' coach will see where you are at when you may feel like second-guessing yourself and that will ultimately sabotage your efforts.

Once you do it the first time....it gets easier after that. I got very lean that time (<6%)...and I held it for as long as I could until my body adapted to it.

After that.....it's just been years of training my body to handle higher amount of calories and process them more efficiently in the off-season.

Years ago...I would have to start a diet in the 2K calorie range to start cutting. Over the years ...I have it now where I have to eat at least 3500+ calories to maintain my current body weight.

Once you are at that point...it's a lot easier to go on a diet when you are still able to eat 3K calories a day. It feels like you aren't dieting at all.

Over the course of my cuts....I typically have to make adjustments twice to get where I want to be. These days it usually just beach season. So I will go down to around 8%. This is more healthy than going too extreme.

My wife doesn't like anything lower than that as I tend to be naturally vascular....and it gets very exaggerated looking once I go below 10%.

^ Pretty much what he has been saying. Remember everyone is different based upon genetics and heredity.

Learning how to weigh and measure your food is what most people fail on. Don't guess, be precise! It's easy to fall back to a lazy state and do this. Once I started this process I knew exactly how to dial in my macros and calories. Once you master this then you can progress towards a better looking body. Building muscle takes time so just remember to always progress on your lifts, vary your sets/reps every time you workout. Keep pushing and tricking your body with variation. As long as youre eating enough in protein you will grow. When you get older it's a bitch to lose fat and it takes longer. Drink plenty of water, sleep 8 hours, reduce salt intake, eat tons of veggies (green) which keep you fuller longer. Lifting either heavy or light will work either way as long as you're going to failure on your last couple of sets. I've tried both and both work with increasing muscle mass. it's about intensity and tearing muscle fibers, blood flow to those muscle which makes the difference. Do you think Arnold was a pussy in the gym? Good luck.

[JP10]

Originally Posted by Matthew_M3

I used to be around 180/185 and Id love to get back there but its baby steps, I know it wont happen over night or in a month. Im using this as a start to get myself on track and start to learn what I need and what calorie intake I should look to consume to cut down. If the program works, then fantastic. If it doesn't, Ill use what im learning to continue trying to cut on my own. I bought it because there are alot of people who have had success on this guys' programs so I though to give it a try.

Mind expanding on what you've done to cut down to 180 and what you're doing to maintain your weight?

Hard to explain to an extent but I'll try my best haha. I never had the best results if I was strictly trying to cut for a long period of time, I'll get that out of the way first. After awhile progress would slow to a minimum.

Whenever I saw that the cut would slow I would switch gears. Start upping my calories slowly until I started to see minimal weight gain, I'd probably keep this going for roughly 3-4weeks. During that last week I would up calories further, again wouldn't say I was putting on much fat, but I would definitely be bloated each day from eating so much. Disclaimer: Essentially a clean bulk, eating a lot of food, but the food isn't necessarily "bad" for you. Not like I'm munching on cheeseburgers from Mcdonalds morning noon and night.

The reason I would up my calories further on that last week was to get my body use to taking in a large amount of calories. After that last week I would go into cut mode. Basically like Rmtt mentioned, drop calories by 500 (approximately, I don't count calories or macros). Then continue reducing slowly for the next 3 weeks.

Intensity during training throughout both clean bulk and cutting is high. Always pushing myself to do more. Even when cutting, I'd still strive to hit the same weights as I was bulking.

The way I eat, lift, etc isn't really calculated. I do what my body feels, and what I think will derive the best results. For instance a week ago I was cutting for 2 weeks. I went home for a wedding and ate a shit load of food all weekend, so instead of letting that weight gain go to waste this week I did a small bulk. Have eaten a good bit all week while maintaining high intensity, probably up 5lbs or so. Then going into next week I'll bring the calories back down, and I'm certain that 5lbs and more will be gone by next friday.

The more you do this the easier it becomes. My weight fluctuates like crazy, not abnormal to see plus or minus 10-15lbs in a month. Not sure how helpful this was though, confused myself a few times while typing lol

[Rmtt]

Originally Posted by JP10

Hard to explain to an extent but I'll try my best haha. I never had the best results if I was strictly trying to cut for a long period of time, I'll get that out of the way first. After awhile progress would slow to a minimum.

Whenever I saw that the cut would slow I would switch gears. Start upping my calories slowly until I started to see minimal weight gain, I'd probably keep this going for roughly 3-4weeks. During that last week I would up calories further, again wouldn't say I was putting on much fat, but I would definitely be bloated each day from eating so much. Disclaimer: Essentially a clean bulk, eating a lot of food, but the food isn't necessarily "bad" for you. Not like I'm munching on cheeseburgers from Mcdonalds morning noon and night.

The reason I would up my calories further on that last week was to get my body use to taking in a large amount of calories. After that last week I would go into cut mode. Basically like Rmtt mentioned, drop calories by 500 (approximately, I don't count calories or macros). Then continue reducing slowly for the next 3 weeks.

Intensity during training throughout both clean bulk and cutting is high. Always pushing myself to do more. Even when cutting, I'd still strive to hit the same weights as I was bulking.

The way I eat, lift, etc isn't really calculated. I do what my body feels, and what I think will derive the best results. For instance a week ago I was cutting for 2 weeks. I went home for a wedding and ate a shit load of food all weekend, so instead of letting that weight gain go to waste this week I did a small bulk. Have eaten a good bit all week while maintaining high intensity, probably up 5lbs or so. Then going into next week I'll bring the calories back down, and I'm certain that 5lbs and more will be gone by next friday.

The more you do this the easier it becomes. My weight fluctuates like crazy, not abnormal to see plus or minus 10-15lbs in a month. Not sure how helpful this was though, confused myself a few times while typing lol

Not confusing at all...it's called knowing your body and you nailed it perfectly!

[RMNB]

Originally Posted by Matthew_M3

I used to be around 180/185 and Id love to get back there but its baby steps, I know it wont happen over night or in a month. Im using this as a start to get myself on track and start to learn what I need and what calorie intake I should look to consume to cut down. If the program works, then fantastic. If it doesn't, Ill use what im learning to continue trying to cut on my own. I bought it because there are alot of people who have had success on this guys' programs so I though to give it a try.

Mind expanding on what you've done to cut down to 180 and what you're doing to maintain your weight?

I'll chime in. Figure out your TDEE (daily caloric intake to maintain current weight. Tons of calculators that give you a good idea for that. Once you do that gradually reduce by 100 cals, no weight loss after a week, reduce to 200 until you lose a pound a week. SAFE for a cut and NOT to lose muscle mass as long as your PROTEIN grams equals your body weight if not a little higher (+25%) . Very simple formula. It works 100% of the time.

Eat whole foods, get rid of ALL THE CRAP you've been eating all your life. No junk food, soda, ice cream, chips. NOTHING! Only way! Otherwise you will get frustrated with no progress and quit. You can't OUT EXERCISE A BAD DIET! Losing weight is easy. Building muscle and losing fat is a bit tougher so find a proven workout program, get your diet spot on and change your body. I've put on 20lbs of muscle and I'm 50. It certainly can be done especially at your age. Get in the gym and fuk some shit up and grow!

[JP10]

Originally Posted by 335xi Beast

I'll chime in. Figure out your TDEE (daily caloric intake to maintain current weight. Tons of calculators that give you a good idea for that. Once you do that gradually reduce by 100 cals, no weight loss after a week, reduce to 200 until you lose a pound a week. SAFE for a cut and NOT to lose muscle mass as long as your PROTEIN grams equals your body weight if not a little higher (+25%) . Very simple formula. It works 100% of the time.

Eat whole foods, get rid of ALL THE CRAP you've been eating all your life. No junk food, soda, ice cream, chips. NOTHING! Only way! Otherwise you will get frustrated with no progress and quit. You can't OUT EXERCISE A BAD DIET! Losing weight is easy. Building muscle and losing fat is a bit tougher so find a proven workout program, get your diet spot on and change your body. I've put on 20lbs of muscle and I'm 50. It certainly can be done especially at your age. Get in the gym and fuk some shit up and grow!

Ice cream is definitely good for you, I don't know what you're talking about.... lol!

[Rmtt]

Originally Posted by JP10

Ice cream is definitely good for you, I don't know what you're talking about.... lol!

Halo top....yum!

I have got to and held 8% before without having to really skip out on most of the treats. Just have to know when to do it and when not to!

[Really_fat_ninja]

Key is to count ur food accurately And do light cardio

This is my 3rd time on a cut... good luck

[chassis]

Good luck with the goal.

Don’t forget to count alcohol calories, this isn’t often mentioned in these types of threads.

Beer, booze and wine are loaded with calories.

Losing weight doesn’t need to cost money (Apple watch, personal trainer, etc), rather it saves money by virtue of lower consumption.

[JP10]

First ice cream and now you guys are saying beer/booze is bad too. About to give up on this whole fitness thing...

[RMNB]

Originally Posted by chassis

Good luck with the goal.

Don’t forget to count alcohol calories, this isn’t mentioned much in these types of threads. Beer, booze, wine are loaded with calories.

Losing weight doesn’t need to cost money (Apple watch, personal trainer, etc), rather it saves money by virtue of lower consumption.

...but remember healthier food costs more in general than fast food.

[chassis]

Originally Posted by 335xi Beast

...but remember healthier food costs more in general than fast food.

Indeed. You are correct.

It's my view that overconsumption of non-healthy food is a higher cost scenario than proper consumption of healthy food.

[Rmtt]

Originally Posted by JP10

First ice cream and now you guys are saying beer/booze is bad too. About to give up on this whole fitness thing...

If they were to see some of the foods I have eaten on a cut and still see the shape I get in....it would surprise them!

In all fairness though...I have been doing this a long time. I know my body extremely well. 90% of the time I am eating correctly but I can get to 10% on junk food if I wanted to.

Only time I have to really tighten up my diet is when going below 10%.

[chassis]

Originally Posted by Rmtt

If they were to see some of the foods I have eaten on a cut and still see the shape I get in....it would surprise them!

In all fairness though...I have been doing this a long time. I know my body extremely well. 90% of the time I am eating correctly but I can get to 10% on junk food if I wanted to.

Only time I have to really tighten up my diet is when going below 10%.

Eating anything, including 100% junk food, is possible while losing weight. As mentioned ad nauseum on this site, losing weight means consuming fewer calories than one burns.

The point about alcohol is simply to remind that these calories need to be counted. How many times does this topic come up on this site, and an OP posts, “I just can’t get it, I can’t lose weight and I work out all the time.” It’s often because the complete caloric intake picture isn’t painted. Ice cream and donuts are vilified in nutritional circles, but craft beer, local wine and fine spirits remain in the shadows, nutritionally speaking.

[JP10]

Originally Posted by Rmtt

If they were to see some of the foods I have eaten on a cut and still see the shape I get in....it would surprise them!

In all fairness though...I have been doing this a long time. I know my body extremely well. 90% of the time I am eating correctly but I can get to 10% on junk food if I wanted to.

Only time I have to really tighten up my diet is when going below 10%.

Haha that was basically the hidden meaning behind my post. As long as you are fairly diligent for majority of the process you will see results. Having a few treats along the way is what it is, and often can be used on re-feed days. This way you don't burn yourself out as well. Everything in moderation (except on leg day!)