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Cutting is a common method among strength trainers and fitness enthusiasts to reduce body fat and achieve a tighter, more defined physique. Especially with summer or a photoshoot approaching, many people decide to cut. While the concept seems simple—eat less and exercise more—there's much more to cutting effectively without losing muscle mass. In this blog post, we'll explain what cutting entails, how best to approach it, and why proper nutrition and training are crucial to achieving your goals.
Cutting is a term used in the fitness world to describe the process of consciously reducing your calorie intake to lose body fat and achieve a leaner, more defined physique. This is especially popular among bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts who want to improve their muscle definition after a bulking period. The goal of cutting is to lose fat without sacrificing muscle mass, which requires a careful balance between nutrition, training, and recovery. Therefore, it's crucial to know how many calories you need to lose weight. You can calculate this online using various calorie calculators. Note: this is always an estimate! You'll need to try, evaluate, and adjust to make lasting progress.
The difference between cutting and bulking revolves around your calorie intake and the goal of your fitness program. When bulking, you consume more calories than you burn to build muscle mass, while when cutting, you eat fewer calories to lose fat. These two processes are closely linked and are often alternated to maximize both muscle growth and fat loss. This is also called the "bulk vs. cut" cycle, where you first build muscle (bulking) and then lose fat to improve muscle definition (cutting). You want to show off what you've gained during bulking.
When cutting, it's crucial to keep a close eye on both your macro and micronutrient intake. Macronutrients—protein, carbohydrates, and fats—provide the energy and building blocks your body needs. During a cutting phase, the focus is often on increasing protein intake to prevent muscle loss, while reducing carbohydrates and fats to lower your calorie intake. Protein is important for building and repairing muscle.
Micronutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, play a vital role in your overall health and performance. Ultra-processed foods often contain few micronutrients and can lead to deficiencies that negatively impact your performance and recovery. Therefore, it's important to choose nutritious, unprocessed foods rich in essential nutrients during a cutting phase. So, no cookies, candy, or fast food!
While cutting, you may regularly experience hunger pangs. This is partly caused by ghrelin, a hormone responsible for stimulating your appetite. To suppress this feeling, choose foods rich in fiber and protein, as these will keep you feeling full longer. Drinking enough water and spreading your meals throughout the day can also help control your hunger. Caffeine can also suppress your hunger. You're simply eating less, and feeling hungry is part of the deal. You're not going to die.
It's tempting to cheat every now and then during a cut with a high-calorie meal or snack. While it's important to stick to your meal plan, a planned cheat meal can sometimes even offer benefits. A cheat meal can give your metabolism a temporary boost and help you mentally stick to your strict diet. However, it's important to plan your cheat meal and ensure it doesn't negatively impact your overall progress. And if it does happen? Too bad. Just pick up where you left off the next day.
When cutting, it's important to choose meals that help you control your calorie intake without missing out on essential nutrients. Here's a 2250-kcal meal plan with meals from Prep The Food included to give you an idea of what's possible. Note: for some, this is a perfect plan for weight loss, while for others, it's a plan for weight gain. This, of course, depends heavily on your total calorie needs.
Diet plan: 2250 Kcal
| Meal | Quantity | Product | Calorie | Proteins | Carbohydrate | Fats |
| Breakfast | 3 pieces | Egg | 234 Kcal | 18g | 1.5G | 16.5G |
| 2 slices | Whole grain | 138 kcal | 7g | 24g | 2g | |
| 1 pieces | Avocado | 220 kcal | 3G | 12g | 20g | |
| Lunch | Prep Measure | Chicken wraps | 418 Kcal | 23.3G | 42.6G | 20.2G |
| Dinner | Prep meal | Pasta bolognese | 576 Kcal | 31.5G | 79.2G | 14.8G |
| 1 piece | Prep Brownie | 205 Kcal | 7.4G | 28.2G | 11.5G | |
| Snack | 50 g | Almond | 304 Kcal | 9.3G | 5.2G | 26g |
| 1 piece | Mandarin | 176 Kcal | 1g | 44G | 0G | |
| Total | 2271 Kcal | 100.5G | 235.2G | 94.5G |
This plan allows for three meals, which is manageable for most people. You also have two small snack breaks. You can choose to replace the almonds with something else, as almonds alone contain 300 calories here more examples of food schedules.
To maintain your cut long-term and remain effective, it's important to monitor your progress and adjust your diet as needed. A cut can vary in duration depending on how much fat you want to lose, but typically lasts between 6 and 12 weeks. However, cutting for too long can lead to muscle loss, a slowed metabolism, and hormonal imbalances. Consider techniques like intermittent fasting to manage your calorie intake and minimize hunger pangs.
Simple answer: no. It's not necessary to do cardio while cutting. It's recommended to incorporate some cardio into your training plan, but you can still get super lean without it. If you're only looking at the number of calories you burn during cardio, it's unnecessary. You can also simply not eat the calories you burn during cardio. Cardio can be used to eat more without hindering your progress. For example, you might have eaten 500 calories too much while dining out with friends or family. Because you're so dedicated and want to continue making progress, you can choose to schedule a cardio session where you burn those 500 calories again. That way, it won't hinder your progress.
While cutting, it's essential to maintain your muscle mass, and you do this by continuing to do strength training. While cardio can help burn extra calories, you must ensure your strength training remains the focus to prevent muscle loss. Because your body is in a kind of "survival mode," it burns everything it doesn't need. By doing strength training, you help remind your body that you need those muscles to keep going. This is how you maintain muscle mass during your cut. Compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses are effective for training multiple muscle groups simultaneously, keeping your muscles strong and defined.
With the right balance of nutrition, training, and recovery, you can successfully cut and take your physique to the next level. Use this blog as a guide to create your own cutting plan and integrate Prep The Food's meals for optimal nutrition during your cut.
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