My Bulking Phase is Over. Some Advice as I try to Cut?

[Snarling Force]

Well in the past 3 months, I have gained 30 lbs and a lot of strength by using a combo of Creatine, 1-AD, 4-AD, N Large 2, and assloads of protein. My diet was high in calories as I ate constantly. Well I'm now at the point where I would like to start cutting up. During my bulking phase, I had removed all cardio. Also, although I ate like a monster, my diet was not always the best and part of that 30 lbs I gained is clearly fat. As I look into the mirror, I see mass but I also see blubber which has me depressed. Not a lot of fat, but mainly around the love handles and stomach.

So one of my questions is, now that I'm done bulking up and I'm off the 1-AD and 4-AD and the N Large 2, I'll just be using Creatine and lots of protein so what is best diet I can be on to acheieve my goal of cutting up but at the same time, keeping the muscle I did gain in the past 3 months? I am kind of stuck in my mind at being scared to stop all the crazy eating I have been doing because I like the size I have gotten but at the same time I want to cut up. Where I have a little confusion is how do calories play into the big picture when talking about muscle? To cut up, I will need to reduce my calorie intake right? Well since I am taking in fewer calories and doing cardio, will my new muscle mass be maintained or will it wither away? I guess the number one question is will a diet high in protein and low in calories be enough to sustain my strength and newly built muscle mass?

Right now I'm 6'2" 230lbs and I would say my BF is 18% but that is just a guess as I have never had it measured.

Thanks for any advice and sorry for the long post.

 

[CobraUTAH]

Snarling, I'm in the same boat almost completely. I'm 6'3" I'm currently 220 pounds, I've put on almost 20 in the past seven weeks after changing my routine to 5x5 and eating like crazy. When ever I go out to eat I get the biggest thing on the menu, I eat out fast food almost every night and snack and snack and snack all day long. It's become a bit of a pain in the ass but the gains are worth it. Anyway I started out about 11% BF, at my best I was 8 or 9%. At the end of last week, week seven I had the BF checked and it was 13%. This means I'm 190.2 or so lean mass right now. I'm with you in worrying about the cutting phase and loosing the lean weight. I'm up for dropping weight but not the lean weight. I'm hoping to get to 200 pounds lean before cutting and I hope to maintain that lean mass while cutting. I've heard everything from changing the routine to not changine it and from cutting carbs to not cutting carbs and running and not running. I guess it's like everything else in the sport, different things work for different people. I just don't want to waste a lot of time in learning what works for me. So you find out for the both of us, thanks!

 

[Snarling Force]

Thanks for the reply Cobra! Right now my plan is that I'm going to cut out all the junk food, especially sugars, and then add some midrange intensity cardio 4-5 times per week. I'll stay on the Creatine and shitloads of protein so hopefully I'll keep my new found strength while losing some of this fat. I also thought of throwing in a fat burner to assist although I would like to stay away from anything that has ephedra in it. I was on Hydroxycut last year and I freaked out on it. I was thinking maybe some Thyrolean or the new Hydroxy without stimulants might be beneficial. Thoughts or comments anyone? Thanks!

 

[Dirty Workout]

SOme of the stuff that says its "ephedrine free" contains something called bitter orange (I might have name wrong) which does same thing to heart/bp as ephedra

 

[lamp24]

i would say to try and slowly cut your calories along with your carbohdrates and keep that protein sky high for muscle preservation.... one of my problems when dieting is yeah i notice that fat and it makes me anxious to get cut up quick so i get too aggressive and lose the fat quickly but lose a lot of the hard earned muscle along with it... so be patient with your diet and cardio and take it slowly to best reap the benefits of your bulking ....Good Luck

 

[slinky]

Just remember this saying: first on, last off.

In other words, the fat that you've had around the longest will be the last to leave your bod. If you have recently gained the fat that you have now, you shouldn't be too worried. Especially with the added LBM, which will maintain your metabolism as you peel the BF away.

But as lamp24 said, keep the protein high, watch the carbs; you shouldn't be too worried.

I would also suggest a few added sessions of HIIT in the form of sprints, jump rope or even on some type of cardio equipment. I would try this before you resort to fat burners. I think you'll find HIIT more beneficial than midrange intensity cardio. It'll help you maintain LBM while burning that fat more efficiently.

 

[Lord_Suston]

I suggest changing your lifting routinee. This helps me not think of any strength I will lose. I usaly change the lifts and the rep ranges. Second I recommend sprinting the weather is getting nice outside and sprint are very anarobic but also help burn a lot of fat. Slowly decrease you cals, like lamp said. Remember to drink a lot of water and take multi-vitamins as well to help your body utilize allof its nutrients.

 

[WODIN]

Look into a CKD diet. Check the Nutrition board for detail.

Lord_suston's advice on the sprints is dead on. Read up on HIIT training. High Intensity Interval Training.