how much protein when cutting?

[snagglepuss]

How much protein do you need when cutting?

I read on another post that some people eat 350-400 grams/day when bulking, but I am wondering if you need as much when cutting. Especially, if you are on a mild cycle.

I'm 210, 11-14%bf and right now I'm eating about 200 g protein/day.

thanks.

 

[bran987]

general rule is 1 to 1.5 grams per pound of LBM (lean body mass)

for you, that would be a range of 184-276 to be ok, somewhere in there.

some people like to push it to 2 grams per pound but... I don't really think the benefits increase much beyond 1.5

 

[snagglepuss]

is that 1-1.5 ratio for cutting, bulking or both?
thanks.

 

[Tom Treutlein]

Well, DC says not to change your diet at all when cutting, and to let the cardio take off fat for you. Maybe drop one meal, but that's it.

Though, most people probably don't want to hear that. So, yeah, you can probably only use 1.5xBW in protein. The excess from there is to just add more calories. Carbs can do the same, but you're more likely to store them and get fat than with protein.

To cut, just get in 1xBW in protein. That'll be enough to make sure you maintain your muscle mass. 0.8x is probably okay too, but a little more won't hurt. Long as you have a caloric defecit, you'll be losing weight. How much depends on, well, how much.

 

[snagglepuss]

Well, DC says not to change your diet at all when cutting, and to let the cardio take off fat for you. Maybe drop one meal, but that's it.

Though, most people probably don't want to hear that. So, yeah, you can probably only use 1.5xBW in protein. The excess from there is to just add more calories. Carbs can do the same, but you're more likely to store them and get fat than with protein.

To cut, just get in 1xBW in protein. That'll be enough to make sure you maintain your muscle mass. 0.8x is probably okay too, but a little more won't hurt. Long as you have a caloric defecit, you'll be losing weight. How much depends on, well, how much.

thanks for your input. I have a couple of questions about what you said:
First, who is DC?
Second, I tried just doing cardio without changing my diet, but I just plateaued after a few weeks. Then I cut calories and started to lose more fat, but now I've plateaued again. That's why I'm wondering if I should continue to cut calories, or what. I'm already doing 60 minutes of cardio 3-4 days/week.

 

[Tom Treutlein]

Well, how much did you cut calories? Cutting them too much could result in disaster.

How cut do you want to be, exactly?

What type of cardio were you doing? Was it on an empty stomach?

DC is the founder of the DC (DoggCrapp) Training method, which is stickied at the top of the training board. Without getting headlong into that, he turns people into monsters. Mass monsters. He seems to do his job pretty well, and I'm on his program right now. It's solid. I feel satisfied every day after I train. Anyway, he's pretty knowledgable (though some would disagree) and supposedly his method of "cutting" has worked well. It may just be enough to get you a flat stomach, but not shredded, abs and all, but I don't know.

 

[snagglepuss]

thanks much!
to answer your questions:

Well, how much did you cut calories? Cutting them too much could result in disaster.

I eat around 2400 calories/day now. Not sure if that's too much, but since I am 210, 11-13%, I thought this was OK.

How cut do you want to be, exactly?

Honestly, I'd like to have abs showing. I don't need to get down to 4%, but I would definitley like to be below 10%. Ideally, I want to get to the point where I end up at 12% at the END of my bulking cycle, not at the beginning.

What type of cardio were you doing? Was it on an empty stomach?

60minutes on the elliptical or treadmill. Heart rate between 120-140 beats per minute. If I can't do it first thing in the AM, I usually do it about 1-2 hours after a meal.

DC is the founder of the DC (DoggCrapp) Training method, which is stickied at the top of the training board. Without getting headlong into that, he turns people into monsters. Mass monsters.

That sounds good to me! I'll definitely check it out.

Thanks again. Karma for you

 

[Slyder190]

50 grmas per mael every 2 and half - 3hours.