T Nation

Critique My Cut Plan

#1

Hey guys, it’s time to shake things up again. I’m planning on starting what I call a “phased cut” on Monday. Not something that I read or even heard of, just an idea I had and wanted to get some opinions from you guys…

My stats…
5’ 8.5"
187lbs
BF ~17%

Current regimen.
Protein - 210g
Carbs - 250g
Fat - 93g
Total Cals - 2677

Heavy workouts 4 days a week. No Cardio. Been doing this for the last 8 weeks or so.

The plan…

Week 1
Cut carbs to 50g / day (Preworkout)
Leave other macros the same. This will put total cals for week 1 at around 1800.
Workout 3-5 days light glycogen depletion sets. Cardio 3 days (20 min sessions HIIT)

Week 2
Bring carbs back up to 100g (Pre and Post Workout) Cals at around 2000
Workout medium weights hypertrophy range 4 days. (Cardio 3 days (20 min sessions HIIT)

Week 3
Carbs up to 150g (Pre and Post workout. Breakfast). Cals at around 2200
Workout same as week 2. (Cardio 5 days (20 min sessions HIIT)

Week 4
Carbs up to 200g. Cals at around 2400
Heavy workouts 4 days. No Cardio.

Then after that I’m back up to where I am now…

What do you guys think? Does this plan have merit or am I just going to be spinning my wheels?

#2

What are you hoping to achieve in such a short time? I find it;

-Too complicated.
-Needs more carbs
-Too much cardio/HIIT training

Personally, if I am going to “cut” I go for it, BWx10 minimum.

#3

I find that I drop water weight, and tons of fat very quickly by drastically reducing carbs short term (few weeks). Just my own observations for my body.

My minimum will be ~1800 cals on Week 1…
187 X 10 = 1870…

Sounds like we are on the same page here?

#4

Most drop water quickly on low carb, nothing special about that. Who cares? You will gain that water back as soon as you start bringing them back in.

I do not see how/why fat would drop quicker there is nothing magical going on. I would only drop them if on lower calories you tend to crave/binge after eating them.

One week at BWx10 is not doing much. I would also not do HIIT training right off the bat on that intake.

#5

Thoughts to consider…Thanks bro for your input!

The water weight drop is the main goal of week 1. A Caloric deficit for 4 weeks with added cardio is the main fat burner. The only thing I’m doing to change calories at all is manipulating carb intake.

#6

Yeah it doesn’t make too much sense to me. It would be more effective to run it in backwards order diet wise.

Your body is used to what you are giving it. Reducing carbs a little each week will stair-step your intake and help you make progress each week.

Also I would recommend steady state cardio over HIIT if fat loss is your goal. 20 -30 minutes at 60-70% of max hr.

2 Likes
#7

Thank you sir! As always, I greatly value your input!

1 Like
#8

Quick question concerning this logic…

If I run it backwards, and phase calories down from where I’m at, instead of a dramatic decrease and phasing back up…then to get back to where I’m at now…

Would you step back up over time or just slam from 1800 to 2600 at once? Reason I’m asking is that…by design, my original idea was a 4-week deal. I can still make that time frame if I just slam back up at the end. If I step back back up gradually, it drags out into at least an 8 week ordeal… I’m a little leery of staying in a deficit for that long.

I’ve had some really really bad experiences in the last couple years with fucking up my metabolism by staying in extended deficits. It’s the reason I can’t above 2600 cals now even when doing HEAVY workouts without putting on a shit ton of fat.

Under normal circumstances, I should be able to go to 3000 cals with my workout schedules and see good results…Just doesn’t work for my body.

#9

After some further research and learning, I think I’m just going to go to 2200 cals for a while to do the cut. Keep the macro ratios where they are now.