If you did cardio before eating, that is fasted.
Kindred spirits! I’ve also done pretty well splitting it in two, so I do 10-15 minutes before and after I lift. I end up actually doing it, my heart rate stays a little higher the whole session, and it’s never a lot at a time. For context, I’ve never been trying to get show ready, so I haven’t had to be perfect.
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Yes, correct. Remember: if you start throwing everything except the kitchen sink at an attempt lose fat, you’ll play all your cards at once and come to a grinding halt after about a month. My best advice is to start cardio, LISS, 20-30 minutes, 3x/week. Reassess in two weeks. Also consider slowly removing carbs from the diet. Not too fast though - maybe 1/2 cup of rice at a time for example. Reassess again. Perhaps up the cardio for 5-10 minutes. Slowly removing carbs may eliminate the need for cardio, but it’s all based upon the individual and goals. In the end, it’s basically trial and error to see how your body responds.
Sorry. “Fasting” has a Biblical meaning for me, and not so much a scientific meaning. If I don’t miss any meal times, I don’t consider that fasting.
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I think ill start the cardio then. Should i throw it on my rest days before i add sessions post workout? I have a feeling adding them on rest days benefit metabolism better than post workout because my body thinks its active daily. The drawback is that im not burning direct fat since my glycogen stores arent lower.
Pretty solid information here:
300 cals made you go from satiated>starving? What is your estimated TDEE and how many calories are you eating daily after the 300cal reduction? What macronutrient(s) did you cut out to reduce another 300 cals?
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I would recommend doing it directly after you’re done lifting. That’s what I did when I was leaning out hard because your glycogen stores are damn near depleted and you’ll be tapping into fat stores during that window.
As far as other days, you could always do “active recovery” and just take a mile walk around the neighborhood or something. Nothing too taxing.
Exactly. Im carb cycling and was losing about 2lbs a month eating what i did before. I was tired of cutting so i wanted to be done already. I was eating 3300cals on high carb days(500g) twice a week, 3200cals on medium carb days(360g) three times a week, and 2900 cals on low carb days(140g) twice a week. My fatloss would always stall for weeks and then i would drop weight.
I now eat 3000 cals on high carb days, 2900 on medium carb days, and 2600 cals on low carb days. I notice libido took a hit, and im always hungry. I also look stringier. I should be losing 1lb per week but of course, my fat loss stalled again and i look fatter but i know itll drop off.
Thats why i considered just adding cardio instead of dropping calories. My weekly total was 22,000 cals which is already low since my maintenance is 25,000. I dropped my weekly cals to 20,000. And yes, i accounted for weight loss the entire time during my cut.
I cut out a mix of all macros in order to keep the effectiveness of the carb cycle.
Why the intense desire to cut? Is there a look you are attempting to achieve? If so, how far out are you from that look? That is, describe what level of muscle separation and/or definition (detail) are you aiming toward?
Do you also have a goal of putting on more muscle and/or strength? If so, how much?
Well yeah, you were eating at maintenance and only losing the weight garnished by extra calories burned via exercise…
This is hardly even a deficit, dude. IDK what foods you’re eating, but they have to be super nutrient dense for you to be starving at these numbers.
- Protein to at least 1g/lb BW
- Fats no less than 0.3g/lb BW
- Fill carbs/fats for the remainder (until at deficit goal, should be 500cal/day deficit minimum)
- If still hungry, add in veggies
I’m hoping you’re not saying you prioritized carb cycling over protein intake.
I usually don’t go this route if it’s not in the Pharma/TRT forum, but I feel compelled to ask you to post an anonymous physique picture. I was going to just take you for your word on sub-15%BF, but some of the stuff in your post made me think this might be inaccurate… mostly because most people under 15%BF know what to do to get there and continue forward.
Can you post an anonymous physique pic to set my mind at ease? I’d imagine someone trained and sub-15% has a few of these on hand at any given time.
I want to hit 10% bf. Im at 13% right now and have decent myscle separation. Ky abs pop a bit in the morning but not enough to fully show. Its just the outline of the 6 pack. I want to get 10% because thats the best place to start a bulk.
I dont have any current pics. Ive gotten to 10% a couple years back but i carb cycled differently back then and felt like shit. It was effective though. Im trying to cut down without those nasty side effects. Its worked so far but its been slow once i got under 15%
And no. Dont be one of those guys. Just because my maintenance is 3600 cals a day doesnt mean 3k cals isnt a deficit. It may not be a deficit for YOU, but that doesnt mean i havent been losing weight. Theres quite a few people in the 200lb range eating in my caloric range.
If you’re averaging 3,142 (based on your 22k cal/wk number) calories per day, and not losing 1lb/wk, then your maintenance is not 3600 calories.
Don’t be one of those guys, bro. Just because YOU can’t be in a deficit and still somehow stall your weight loss doesn’t mean I can’t.
Dunning and Kruger would enjoy this thread.
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I’m just trying to imagine getting sub-15% BF while eating 3000cals per day and being “starving”.
I don’t know what multiverse I popped out into, but it’s not the one where basic math stays logical.
I had never heard of that before.
But I was probably doing that the 3 decades I was competing in bodybuilding.
Cut until 10%, bulk until 15%, rinse and repeat.
Helps keep insulin sensitivity up, which is needed for both bulking and cutting. Pretty common around reddit and other forums.
How much do you want to wager he’s really 20+% bodyfat?
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I’d actually put a good bit of money that he’s in the 20% range, but I don’t think there’d be anyone to bet against 
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