How to Get Stronger While Cutting

One of the most common questions I get is how to cut weight while running my programs. Gaining muscle and strength takes a long time and is not a linear process and adding in a caloric deficit can potentially derail your progress. HOWEVER, many lifters do not have a good handle on their diet and can EASILY lose body fat while increasing mass and performance by following these steps, which I have used multiple times to drop weight while peaking for a contest.

[porqpine]

Thinking of carbs as “veggies first” makes fat loss so much easier for me. From sheer stomach volume required to how much chewing is involved, makes eating less a breeze

[wuhteva]

You legit have the best whiteboard skills of all the fitness channels I follow. It should be a book.

[SLouiss]

Just what I needed right now. I’m one month into a cut. From 275 currently 265 eating 2700 cal/day and losing weight, hitting post injury volume PRs. Even though it’s not close to my all-time best, it still feels good to get stronger while getting leaner. My goal is to 10/20 life it. Ten weeks of deficit, ten weeks of maintenance, repeat.

[hybridramper-futurearmy]

In my past cuts what I've found helpful for me was for example i would binge on weekends so say my calorie budget was 2, 000 on Saturday i would skip breakfast or eat a small snack nothing more than 350 calories then by midday i would eat a moderate lunch about 550 that's 900 calories so by Saturday night I'd have this huge 1, 100 calorie left for the night! I would go eat a burger but i would leave the fries out and have a couple of beers and if i had some calories left I'd have a decent dessert or just skip it all together have another beer and call it a day (I would drink tons of water afterwards though). Next day i would weigh myself and either stay the same or still lose about half a lb.

[geoffkaminski]

Started tracking my calories as a college wrestler because crash cutting from 215 to 197 in a week is not fun. Bulked up to 225 for my first strongman comp, but just got under 220 this week. Slowly working my way down to 200 around October. Biggest things I've noticed in a calorie deficit so far are that I actually get sore now and the same weights feel heavier, but I can still get them.

[Sageater]

Love the video, I've lost around 20 pounds in 10 weeks while maintaining strength or even gaining some strength on certain movements. Hunger has not been an issue and I have enjoyed tracking.

However the part that gets to me is that I've always loved food and cooking, and eating the same food every day feels very mentally draining. I've found that (like you said) taking a day out of the week to remain in deficit but eat something interesting or new has been great for motivation.

Spent last two weeks in maintenance but looking forward to getting back into it, honestly cutting takes less mental energy than maintaining for some reason.

[BrimhallBarbellClub]

shitty eating is better at making you fat than training is at making you lean. So true!

[SpeedyMckeezy]

I think carbs are a better direct fuel for the muscle. Drinking a small gatorade during an intense session; all of those sugars go straight into the muscle and into use. Even in a cut you can still elevate your depleted/fatigued state with carbs temporarily when you need them so you have that energy/strength in the gym while remaining in a deficit.

[JarettHerder]

I’m 6 years untrained and have gained about 80lbs but started lifting again about 2 months ago. Been on 2100 calorie diet tracking everything for 6 weeks. Only down 12lbs but have gained back a lot of my strength. Current maxes 305 bench 465 deadlift. I’m still getting stronger despite nearly a 1500 calorie per day deficient because I have so much stored fat. Making sure I get minimum 200 grams protein per day but try to get 225 grams. Stay around 40 grams fat and 150-175 grams of carbs focused mostly 3 hours before my lifting. Glad to see you have similar insights to the process. Thank you.

[benkissinger]

Bringing the whiteboard back! Love it! Very helpful on my own journey to 231!

[EnigmaticAnamoly]

This is why i love being a furniture mover for an occupation. I am constantly walking and routinely lifting heavy furniture, plus i have a pretty high metabolism. I can eat pretty much as much as i want of anything that i want without worrying about putting on any fat. Only downside is i struggle like a mfer to put on weight and mass.

[richardlegrand]

What kind of psychopath has little Caesar deliver the pizza to their house?

[ricard]

Coming from a cycling background I would do hard session on 100-120g/h of carbs and about 8-10g/kgbw during the day. I am applying the SAME principle for heavy lifting sessions and seeing way better results in physique and performance to regular bros that don’t carb up and fuel properly. Note I have always been around 6-10%body fat and muscular

[HooDRidEWhiteY]

Bromley and Shether both dropping videos today! Let's get it 💪

[Jagunco]

Its the other way for me at the moment. I had a bad run during lockdown so I made a point of getting back into shape and loosing the excess. I went from about 220 225 to 190lb. I was using only kettlebells and kick boxing for that. Then I got a shoulder injury and started to run more but exercise less. I was on about 1200 calories a day, exercising twice a day five days a week and eating a lot of chicken and rice.

This year I started the strength training for a bit of a change. I'm back up to 210, which seems to be my walk about weight but what I notice these days is its harder to run. I lift three times a week and run on the days in-between. I can still do 3 miles easily but my times are slow. I'm honestly considering going back onto heavy cardio and getting my times down then returning to lifting.

Also it occurred to me on Friday, when I was so sore in the morning I had to shift my gym session to the afternoon after work, that maybe I should be eating more not less, since I wasn't doing pure cardio and resistance stuff. I used to fast until lunch time but now I go to the gym before work I'm famished by mid morning so I take peanutbutter and fruit in for breakky.

I dunno maybe I should be content being a fat alcoholic.

[nancyj]

PubMed Ninjas are usually 100 years behind the bros.

[thonolon]

Easiest way to control your calories in is to slow down your eating. Enjoy your food, chew more, take sips of drink between bites, put your fork down instead of loading it up so you can shovel in the next mouthful. Notice when you're full and stop there instead of feeling overstuffed.

[zerrodefex]

It's insane the number of people online who insist that CICO doesn't apply to them and their body somehow violates basic thermodynamics but of course there are charlatan "influencers" who cater to and profit off of these people. Also I made the mistake of going too low on carbs, it worked for about three months but after that I started losing muscle while the fat loss started leveling out so now I keep the carbs at around 200g minimum and cuts are not to go longer than 12 weeks at a time. I also suggest getting your RMR clinically tested if you can, mine turned out to be about 300 cal/day higher than what the calculators predicted so my deficit was too aggressive and therefore even harder to stick to.

[CronosXIIII]

Over the past 3 or so months, I've cut from 88kg - 80kg. And somehow I'm currently the strongest I've ever been.

Really it just comes down to the fact that I'm eating better (more protein), and training more consistently while cutting, because I don't want to lose muscle.

[dessertstorm]

I've been losing about a pound a week for 6 months. Its incredibly slow and steady. I just stopped eating between meals. If I get a craving I eat watermelon, which is my favourite fruit.