BigAndy69's Cutting diet for the summer...

[Nathan]

That looks good BigAndy (not that I doubted that you knew what you were doing). That seems like a reasonable work load. I hope you reach your goals on this one and I'm very interested in how your diet progresses.
What's your opinion on a split of dieting for one week (similar to your diet), followed by a week of bulking (not too excessive but about 400cal above maintenance), etc. repeating the cycle for a couple of months or so. Do you think it has any place in a program designed for gaining muscle while losing fat? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

 

[Liberator]

Hey BigAndy

First of all, thanks for your initial workout help, Ive learnt alot from it there is no doubt about that, mostly from what my body seems to respond to and what it does not

Ive tried building my own program now as Ive been on yours for about 3 months, I wanted the challenge of it and change of pace, plus I think I have a BASIC idea of what exercises I need to do and what will work and what doesnt too well

I have had some replies from other bros and I thank them for that and will use what they have adviced, thanks!!

I would definately recommend your workout to anyone, it has worked very well for me. Thanks again dude

Now diet!!! I was wondering what you thought of cycling diet, not like the guy above has described, but I mean weekly

Say you diet for 3 days, then bulk for four, LOTS of carbs on the four days, around 150g on the first 3. It would be bulking and cutting in the same week.

You'd do this for one cycle, so say 6 weeks or so then go back to a regular diet

In theory you would lose some bodyfat and gain some muscle because of the constant shock to your metabolism

I want to lose abit of bodyfat, but do not want to stop bulking, what do you think?

 

[BigAndy69]

Um... You really had me thinking guys!

Actually going back to back from one week of dieting and 1 week of bulking would be counter productive. I don't think shocking the body is always a good thing. If you design a program make sure it is at least 4-6 weeks long.

You might be interested in Protein cycling however. I have tried it on myself, and IT ACTUALLY WORKS! I thought it was bullshit but it worked. I felt that my muscles were getting harder and fuller(that's from the increased carbs).

My entire diet is based on the time I train. It is so simple, I have enough carbs before training to lift at a 100%, my pumps are still great, and I can reload on carbs post-workout. In the evening, I deplete my glycogen supplies, and I do cardio. I have enough protein in me to prenvent muscle loss.

Liberator, you remind me of a BB in the 80's named John Fuller, he would eat only protein for a few days, only carbs for a few more and 10,000-12,000 calories on the week-ends.

Does this work? No one knows, but research and common sense would suggest that it doesn't. I would tell you to experiment but I don't think you have enough expertise yet. You will be able to eventually.

"Say you diet for 3 days, then bulk for four, LOTS of carbs on the four days, around 150g on the first 3. It would be bulking and cutting in the same week."

You need to consider what you ate during the week and not only during the day. That's the way your body works. That's why I find it funny that ppl weigh themselves everyday.

Let's say you eat 2250 for maintenance, 2000 cals for cutting and 2500 for bulking.

(2000 cals X 3 days) + (2500 cals X 4 days) = 16000 cals for the week

2250 cals X 7 days = 15750 cals for the week

Basically, you would go nowhere with this type of eating; you would stay at your same weight.

 

[Nathan]

I'm not familiar with protein cycling. What is it? I think I'll stick to a 6 week dieting program to shed some fat but hopefully keep my muscle. I really wish I could bulk longer (I'm no where near as big as I want to be) but I'm not sure I can handle it - anything above 10% bodyfat drives me crazy at this point. It actually seems to become counterproductive for me. Thanks for your input BigAndy.

 

[BigAndy69]

Let me just say that this is more effective for bulking and shouldn't really be used for cutting. Well, there are many different ways to do it. Let's say you eat about 1.25 g of protein a day for 5 days, you would reduce your protein intake to 0.5-0.7 g per lb of bodyweight for the following 2 days while still eating the same amount of calories. I used 0.7g of protein per lb of bodyweight, and replace the rest with carbs. I didn't train on the weekends, so obviously my carb intake was lower. I haven't tried this on training days, so I can't comment, but I think it would be a bad idea.

You really have to be willing to get up to 11-13% BF. This is pretty acceptable and is easy to get rid of.

 

[BigAndy69]

WEEK 1: end of week update.

I've lost 3-4 lbs so far, mostly water weight. I woke up on Sunday, and my ass is half the size it was! My legs are harder and they have less bodyfat. I didn't follow my diet very well on the weekend, so I'm feeling very guilty, and I feel like I can easily go for 2 weeks.

I've cut the ground beef out alltogether, It was impossible to get down. I'm also eating 15-20 carbs at the 4pm meal. My carb total is still the same, though.

I'm still getting good workouts.

 

[fiatconspiracy]

keep posting your results

 

[BigAndy69]

Week 2: Mid week update.

SHIT! I separated my shoulder doing, I mean trying to do, dips. It was a light separation, I still finished my workout but had to cut a set of flyes and decrease the weight on cable crossovers. I'm icing it as I'm writing this.

Well the last two days have been a pain in the ass. I've gained 2lbs of water because I only drank 2-3 liters during those two days. I skipped a couple of meals, and ended up eating too much. I didn't do any cardio on weds. It's weird how I haven't lost any definition in the stomach but It is sticking out and hard. Must be all that sodium.

All this because of a few problems with my schedule. So far, I'm following the diet to the letter, again.

 

[Nathan]

Don't worry about your slip-ups. Just keep on track now, I doubt you've hurt your diet any. I'm feeling pretty damn good on my diet. Energy is good and so far all my lifts have gone up, though I'm still in week 1. I'm hoping I've got a good diet and routine here.

 

[BigAndy69]

This shoulder injury is worse than I thought. I can't move my arm. I scheduled a doctor's appointment (that prick better give me some Naproxen!), and I am seeing a physiotherapist on weds.

I'll go to the gym, do a few sets for arms and see how it goes. I'm not making the same mistake I made the first time I got injured: I'm not giving up.

Good to hear about your that your diet is going well. After week 2, don't worry is you aren't as energetic, that's normal, nothing to worry about.