Cutting - Basic principals please

[papa bear]

Could you good people help me with a guide line to getting rid of the fat that has come with my gym & eatting over last couple of months please.

 

In my mind it would be something along the lines of , food - diet as in diet to loose weight & training would be crap load of cardio and lots and lots of lite reps ?????

 

Am I anywhere near correct ??????

[Leeroid]

Training has nothing to do with cutting or bulking. Diet alone will dictate whether you lose weight or gain weight. You can cut successfully without any cardio and training heavy low volume if your diet is on track. The reason people do cardio and increase volume when cutting is because this raises your total daily energy expenditure which means that you can eat more. Best way to do it is to count your calories but it is quite a bother admittedly so if you don't want to count calories then just cut out the junk and don't eat until you're full. Basics really

[Pseudonym]

the fat that has come with my gym & eatting over last couple of months

I think the clue is in this sentence. As Leeroid says, whether you gain or lose fat is all down to your diet. And if it's only just come on in the last couple of months, it probably means you're eating more now than before?

[mrgeeky]

the fat that has come with my gym & eatting over last couple of months

I think the clue is in this sentence. As Leeroid says, whether you gain or lose fat is all down to your diet. And if it's only just come on in the last couple of months, it probably means you're eating more now than before?

 or started munching on calorie dense foods..

 

[sextape]

Basics: Calories in vs calories out

Real basics: Reduce fat intake.

There's a lot of stuff now about carb control but at it's essence, the easiest way to reduce calories is to reduce fat intake. They're over twice as calorie dense as any other source so reducing fat intake will make the biggest difference to calorie intake straight away.

It sounds like a 90's train of thought but it's a rule that still applies. Even basic awareness of fat intake (without calorie counting) like watching whole-milk intake and reading nutrional labels makes a huge difference for beginners straight away.

I see modern dieting ideas with the healthy fats buzz and carbs being the devil as over complicating a fairly simple idea.

[Phedder]

Basics: Calories in vs calories out

Real basics: Reduce fat intake.

There's a lot of stuff now about carb control but at it's essence, the easiest way to reduce calories is to reduce fat intake. They're over twice as calorie dense as any other source so reducing fat intake will make the biggest difference to calorie intake straight away.

It sounds like a 90's train of thought but it's a rule that still applies. Even basic awareness of fat intake (without calorie counting) like watching whole-milk intake and reading nutrional labels makes a huge difference for beginners straight away.

I see modern dieting ideas with the healthy fats buzz and carbs being the devil as over complicating a fairly simple idea.

Lowering fat intake can certainly help if it's high, like you said it's an easy way to cut total calories, but it can still be a dangerous approach to take. We need fats, plain and simple. Without them our bodies don't function well at all, hormonal havoc ensues. 

Obviously every person will be different, and I like to look at it based on each persons needs. Everyone needs protein, everyone needs fat. No one really 'needs' carbs. They're nice to have and can do great things, sure, but they're not essential to survival. For most of the general population, carbs are for energy and should be adjusted to their level of activity. If you sit in an office all day, drive or take the bus to work, and then go home and sit on the couch all night, your body really doesn't 'need' that many carbs. Certainly no where near the amount most people consume.

I've had clients report consumptions of maybe 50-60g of protein in a 1800-2000 calorie intake.

• Breakfast: Muesli with sliced fruit, trim milk, and low fat yoghurt.
• Mid morning: Muffin and an apple
• Lunch: Sushi
• Afternoon: Muesli bar
• Dinner: Vegetable curry on rice
• Snack: A few crackers with cheese

Throw in 2-3 coffees a day with sugar to that and that wouldn't be at all uncommon for an office working trying to 'eat healthy' We can probably thank the food pyramid for that. 

Double their protein intake, halve their carb intake, and change where most of their fats are coming from and suddenly everything changes. They have more energy, they feel fuller and snack less, and their body starts changing without drastic weightloss. 

Papa bear, what have you been doing the past month to try and drop the bodyfat? I wouldn't recommend a tonne of cardio and lots of light reps. Keep your weight training similar to how you trained to gain the muscle, that will help maintain it. Add in 20-30 minutes of walking a day (It's summer, get out there and enjoy it!) and throw in maybe 2 or 3 sessions of high intensity interval training for 15-20 minutes. Sprints of some sort, recover and go again. Or intervals on the bike or rower, 2 minutes working damn hard and 1 minute recovery, repeat 5x. Of course diet will have to go along with that, but seeing as we don't know where you're at currently, it's hard to tell you what to do. 

[M.T]

Strong answer Phedder.

[Pseudonym]

M.T wrote:

Strong answer Phedder.

Indeed. Phedder, you've been kudos'd.

[mrgeeky]

kudos also given Phedder.. Brilliant post..

[kiwicannon]

Eat less train more done.