My friend needs help on his diet.

[serbyte]

He was up to 225 pounds 6 months ago. He used to workout alot and he was big, but then he got a girlfriend and everything went downhill. He dropped to 185 since May by useing a really catabolic, low carb low calorie diet, but he is still pretty high BF, 15-20%. I estimate that he needs to lose another 10 to 15 pounds. We are going to Cancun at the end of March and he wants to get a little bigger and get lean. That isnt much time. He has been working out regularly lately, and he wants to know what to do, bulk first or cut down then bulk.

I advised that he get back to a bulk for about 2 weeks, to get some carbs into him to normalize his body and to maybe gain a little muscle back. Then i told him to do CKD or something simmilar for about 6 weeks to drop about 12 pounds if possible, then go on a clean bulk for another six weeks, and then finish off cutting, right before cancun for about 3 weeks. What do you guys think of this.

He wants to hit some gear, to get him to where he wants in time. I told him just to save it for the last weeks of cutting after his bulk to retain muscle and get ripped. Is all this fluctuation a good idea, He has about 16 weeks in total to achieve his goal.

 

[Mr.X]

He was up to 225 pounds 6 months ago. He used to workout alot and he was big, but then he got a girlfriend and everything went downhill. He dropped to 185 since May by useing a really catabolic, low carb low calorie diet, but he is still pretty high BF, 15-20%. I estimate that he needs to lose another 10 to 15 pounds. We are going to Cancun at the end of March and he wants to get a little bigger and get lean. That isnt much time. He has been working out regularly lately, and he wants to know what to do, bulk first or cut down then bulk.

I advised that he get back to a bulk for about 2 weeks, to get some carbs into him to normalize his body and to maybe gain a little muscle back. Then i told him to do CKD or something simmilar for about 6 weeks to drop about 12 pounds if possible, then go on a clean bulk for another six weeks, and then finish off cutting, right before cancun for about 3 weeks. What do you guys think of this.

He wants to hit some gear, to get him to where he wants in time. I told him just to save it for the last weeks of cutting after his bulk to retain muscle and get ripped. Is all this fluctuation a good idea, He has about 16 weeks in total to achieve his goal.

I think this situation requires, ONE thing at a time. At his current bodyfat level bulking is not an option, not until he can get down to 10-12%. At this point I suggest a cyclical diet for him w/ 1 refeed a week.

Day 1-4: (assume training)
50%protein/30%carbs/20%fat

Day 5-6: (rest)
40%protein/20%carbs/40%fat

day 7: (refeed)
60%carbs/30%protein/10%fat

Mr.X

 

[serbyte]

Thanx, but what about after this, should he go back to something like CKD. How much can he expect to lose per week, muscle is not that important to him now, cuz hes already lost a good ammount. Muscle memory will allow him to gain it back easier, right?

After he gets to between 10-12%, how should his bulk look like, and what would the minimum ammount of time needed to gain a little size?