[XXL]

(10-30-2015 06:28 AM)H1N1 Wrote:  

I think most people fail to realise at the start of a cut just how long and unsatisfying-a-process (in terms of how you'll feel restricted) it is likely to be. To me, this is where IF is so good, because you can, if you eat cleanly, eat a shitload of food 2x daily, and still come in under 2000 calories whilst hitting your protein requirements, if you do it right. That means you're only really struggling with hunger for 5-6 hours daily, then after that you're generally pretty comfortable. This is the main advantage of the IF style diet, because it allows you to eat big, tasty meals when you do eat, without really worrying about overeating (caveat obviously that your calories cannot all come from ice cream, crisps and fast food).

Very true.

When I started IF I did classic "2 meals a day, no breakfast" and I expected major hormonal turbulences. I was ready to fight with hunger and lack of energy in the morning. No such thing happened. None. That "hunger" I felt sometimes wasn't even real hunger it was just stupid cravings for a few plums or some kind of snack between main meals. This is not hunger. This is bullshit to avoid.

Second thing was that lack of breakfast made me super focused and alert in the morning which only benefited me at my work. I was like a machine. I had crystal clear focus and get-shit-done attitude on steroids [had 1st meal around noon].

Third bonus was that I could eat big meals just like men usually like. And because I had main meal after workout it doesn't even matter if it's at noon or in the evening. I could eat the biggest meal at 9pm and had no problems as long as you kept other things in check, like not eating between meals, avoiding crap food [IIFYM my ass], maintaining 7-8 hour feeding window, etc. Besides, it feels much more natural to eat less but bigger meals, it makes me feel more like an animal

This literally feels like a real life hack. Which is pathetic to be honest cause that should be the norm from day one really.

So yeah OP, whether you bulk or cut it's always about your menu at first. If you bulk and don't get bigger, review your diet. If you cut and abs don't show, review your diet. I was shocked at first how much impact things we eat have on everything related to shaping body. It's brutal one fast food lunch can ruin the whole workout effort.

Last thing, if you can workout in the morning on empty stomach it would be the best for cutting. So.. early morning workout [6-7am]-> big breakfast right after it [8-9am] -> lunch in the afternoon [3-4pm]. That's it. Some coffee in between and lots of water throughout a day. Those abs will come out.

[RedPillUK]

I know what you mean about feeling more like an animal. Since I realised I need to put on weight, not lose it. I've tried to start eating three meals a day and find it difficult, I rarely manage that, let alone a full on bulking diet. I feel stuck in my intermittent fasting ways and feel more energetic because of it as well.

Also cutting most sugar out of my diet has made me dislike the taste. Someone recommended I try this Belvita 'healthy' biscuit today, I bit a tiny piece and spat it out. Way too sweet. I then looked on the back of the package. 27g of sugar per 100 g. Thats 27% sugar. What the fuck.

Do the same man. Pastries are for the fat, weak, mediocre, stupid and brainwashed masses. You'll never get a six pack eating pastries. Anyway, once you fix your tastebuds by eating clean for a while, you'll realise they taste like shit. If you get cravings for that shit, just eat fruit instead.

[Kcoby]

Deep squats with increasingly heavy weight's every other day you will notice the difference within a few weeks.

[XXL]

(11-06-2015 04:32 AM)Kcoby Wrote:  

Deep squats with increasingly heavy weight's every other day you will notice the difference within a few weeks.

True.

Deep squats and properly done deadlift attack core muscles and abs very well. Unfortunately it's very easy to ruin all that effort with bad eating habits or simple inconsistency.

[Dalaran1991]

Digging this up because it's been a long time since I lift seriously again, re-reading all of this was very refreshing. Now I have a new roommate who is a fighter-minded guy so we're motivating each other to train. Good to roll with a squad.

He's a French-Vietnamese boxer guy. And let me tell you damn this guy is fucking lean, like there's not an ounce of fat to squeeze out of him. His abs are extremely visible as well as the pec lines. His entire life he does boxing 3 x weeks + street workout during the weekend, ya'll niggas know how hard his cardio is.

His problem? No fucking mass whatsoever. My man here be shooting straight punches knocking niggas out cold in mortal combat, actually look like a Jew in a concentration camp with his shirt on. At 184cm he be weighing 62 kg, his BMI is at 18 so damn near underweight. Bruh bodyfat level at negative zero. Nigga be so lean yet so stick-like, it's like some lightskin girls just draw an Adonis on a flat board. Aint no one think he is the sportive type with a shirt on, until my man goes to a water party and showcase dem abs.

Living with him brings out some very important points that some of you touched upon:

1. Abs are nice but nobody sees them. Muscle mass is better, cause niggas and bitches know you hit the gym.

2. Be careful with abs and cutting. You can hit dangerously low bodyfat level and looks like a walking mummy with your clothes on. And frankly if she’s in your bed seeing your abs then your work is already 90% done, ain’t no need for dem abs anymore.

3. You can feel free to knock down dem’ carbs as long as you hit it in the ring. My man here be downing trash food like a fat chick downing her Ben&Jerry, then he hit the rings and give dem niggas sugar-coated punches still looking like his abs did some self-cloning magik.

4. Game-wise, my man Zelcorpion called it (fuck my man be changing nickname like that just confusing). There’s an attraction threshold for abs and you can’t compensate for bad game with abs. My roommate is young and his game is still shit, can’t fucking pull even at the swimming pool when those bitches drooling over him. Nigga be like “So this girl was impressed with my abs at the gym”. I’m clapping my hands like “so when you be bringing her over?” “I didn’t manage to talk to her after that”.

My smile be dropping like housing market price during the 2007’s depression, was ‘bout to hit him with the nearest breakable object then remember this dude be knocking niggas out cold but won’t be knocking bitches up any time soon.

Now back to hypertrophy regimen again.

[flanders]

(10-30-2015 06:28 AM)H1N1 Wrote:  

Intermittent fasting, to my mind, is the single best way to lose fat and get ripped. The problem with any diet is that everyone seems to start out by underestimating just how much fat they will have to lose. If you're 180lbs, and reasonably lean (around 15% or so - that means visible six pack when flexed in reasonable light), you're probably going to need to lose 12-14lbs or so of fat to really look awesome. If you do everything perfectly, that might 'only' be a 6/7 week cut, but more likely is going to be closer to 10-12 weeks. That is a long time to be in an aggressive calorie deficit - basically 3 months of be hungry most of the time - and that's if you're already in decent shape to start with.

I think most people fail to realise at the start of a cut just how long and unsatisfying-a-process (in terms of how you'll feel restricted) it is likely to be. To me, this is where IF is so good, because you can, if you eat cleanly, eat a shitload of food 2x daily, and still come in under 2000 calories whilst hitting your protein requirements, if you do it right. That means you're only really struggling with hunger for 5-6 hours daily, then after that you're generally pretty comfortable. This is the main advantage of the IF style diet, because it allows you to eat big, tasty meals when you do eat, without really worrying about overeating (caveat obviously that your calories cannot all come from ice cream, crisps and fast food).

Not to mention IF is probably the best way to clean out the blood of extra triglycerides, particularly is you're fairly fast and loose with diet, i.e; doing no cardio while eating sugary low-fat ice cream and bacon on a regular basis.

[Irn Bru Protein]

Good post Dalaran. I burst out laughing reading that shit

[asdfk]

In a deficit I just want to stay in my bedrooom and watch Netflix. Since I have a business to run, I can’t afford it.

Is there anything I can do about this?

[thebassist]

(07-14-2018 07:18 PM)asdfk Wrote:  

In a deficit I just want to stay in my bedrooom and watch Netflix. Since I have a business to run, I can’t afford it.

Is there anything I can do about this?

I'm quite the opposite- I feel much more energetic and mentally alert while cutting, I often feel quite sluggish when I'm forced to eat 3k+ calories daily while trying to gain weight. Only annoying part is obviously managing the hunger pangs, but that's generally doable.

It's possible that you haven't scaled back the intensity of your workouts from while you were bulking- there's no way you can expect to maintain the same kind of intensity in your exercises while on a deficit as when you're bulking. Generally you can be happy if you can maintain or witness only small decreases in strength while cutting, if you're exercising and still trying to push your limits and increase the weights every workout you're going to be really straining the recovery of your body given the limited calories available.

Another possibility is that you're running too big of a deficit- I think more information is needed in any case.

[Fortis]

Mah nigga dalaran be dropping that dope fresh data on threads from back in the day.

Shit hit me like a brick sack of potatoes.

I can confirm that nigadalaran is correct. Just having abs is not going to do it for you in the game, but being a fit, virile, masculine man on top of having game puts you head and shoulders above the flabby guys in suits.

I've noticed that as I've gotten bigger I get a lot more respect from dudes, but girls don't care that much--until they care. It's hard to explain. I feel like now that I'm working around in wifebeaters and shades, I'm preselecting hard on certain types of women. Dem Fit girls, girls with tattoos who smoke cigs (weird, right), older chicks (also weird) and very petite girls all be giving a nigga da eyes as he walks past.

[asdfk]

(07-17-2018 07:04 AM)thebassist Wrote:  

(07-14-2018 07:18 PM)asdfk Wrote:  

In a deficit I just want to stay in my bedrooom and watch Netflix. Since I have a business to run, I can’t afford it.

Is there anything I can do about this?

It's possible that you haven't scaled back the intensity of your workouts from while you were bulking- there's no way you can expect to maintain the same kind of intensity in your exercises while on a deficit as when you're bulking. Generally you can be happy if you can maintain or witness only small decreases in strength while cutting, if you're exercising and still trying to push your limits and increase the weights every workout you're going to be really straining the recovery of your body given the limited calories available.

Another possibility is that you're running too big of a deficit- I think more information is needed in any case.

Well....

I had mood swings, was constantly tired and had trouble getting anything done (I'm self-employed).

Turns out I was eating about 2.5 kcal a day while my maintenance, without any exercise, lies between 3.5K and 4K.

I added 2 hours of training a month ago. The mood swings became worse.

I've been eating 3.5-4K since this weekend and the mood swings and tiredness are gone. Just like that.

However, since I"m training 2 hours a day, I probably should add another 1K to support what I'm doing in the gym.

To be honest I have trouble gobbling down meals of 1K-1.5K calories. If there's both carbs and fats in a meal my digestion doesn't like it. If there's too much protein in a meal my digestion doesn't like it.

What works well for my digestion is meals with a lot of carbs and some protein. Nuts for snacks.

What would be appropriate fat and carb macro's to lose some BF while keeping protein at around 2 g / kg bodyweight?

Edit: I might have overestimated how much calories I need. Is there a recommended calculator somewhere to calculate energy expenditure during specific exercise?

[thebassist]

(07-18-2018 12:59 AM)asdfk Wrote:  

Well....

I had mood swings, was constantly tired and had trouble getting anything done (I'm self-employed).

Turns out I was eating about 2.5 kcal a day while my maintenance, without any exercise, lies between 3.5K and 4K.

I added 2 hours of training a month ago. The mood swings became worse.

I've been eating 3.5-4K since this weekend and the mood swings and tiredness are gone. Just like that.

However, since I"m training 2 hours a day, I probably should add another 1K to support what I'm doing in the gym.

To be honest I have trouble gobbling down meals of 1K-1.5K calories. If there's both carbs and fats in a meal my digestion doesn't like it. If there's too much protein in a meal my digestion doesn't like it.

What works well for my digestion is meals with a lot of carbs and some protein. Nuts for snacks.

What would be appropriate fat and carb macro's to lose some BF while keeping protein at around 2 g / kg bodyweight?

Edit: I might have overestimated how much calories I need. Is there a recommended calculator somewhere to calculate energy expenditure during specific exercise?

PM

[H1N1]

Don't underestimate walking as a means of leaning out. You don't need to recover from it, it doesn't really make you hungry in the way other conditioning often does, it's low impact on your joints, and it burns a surprising number of calories.

[zatara]

edit: double

[zatara]

Cutting down to very visible abs level is only really worth it if you a) need to carry less weight for a sport or b) are going to location where you're going to be exclusively topless gaming. ie Cancun for Spring Break or similar.

Otherwise for anyone not very very large (ie, pretty much everyone not on steroids) being the sub 12% required for fully defined abs just makes them look too small in clothing for it to be worthwhile. Better to sit at anything up to 15% and look much bigger in clothes. Plus at 13-15% you can have a decent lifestyle, which you just can't while trying to maintain 10% - eating out, drinking alcohol etc.

Dalaran's roommate is a good case in point: on a beach his visible abs would be a big positive. But at 62kg / 184cm hes a walking skeleton in clothes. He'd do much, much better after a lengthy dirty bulk with an extra 15KG on his frame - even if 5KG of that was fat.

[Fortis]

zatara speaks the truth, I'm on medicinal dosages of gear at 77kg and 175cm and I'm still gunning for another 5kg or so. I was chillin with my bros and theyre rugby and hockey guys who are around my height but got a lot more mass from years of contact sports. I am dwarfed by these dudes even though I have an overall stronger physique and body comp. I'm probably about 11% body fat with visible veins on the show muscles, just to paint a pictufe.

[Dalaran1991]

Post beach-season update:

So this is where I am right now. Not really sure how to feel about it because on one hand I've got enough guns to show bitches I work out, on the other hand ain't not much when I have a shirt on.

As said I've ditched the whole abs thing cause dem French food are dope and I'm a sinful nigga. Never skip chest day tho', gotta work on dem side pecs. Reckon I've hit a plateau and not gonna pack on much else unless I go on some heavy bulking.

What do ya'all say I should focus on for maximum effect without significant diet/lifestyle change? I've been working on those shoulders for a while but these homies more stubborn than lightskin girls and simply refuse to pop. Maybe work on biceps a bit more so bitches see those curls?