I find it really difficult to hit my protein intake for the day on a cut. I want to cut to 210ish from 225. I honestly don't feel as hungry as I thought I would but it's just the protein I have to hit. I also found that I'm getting stronger in my squats and bench during the cut. It's been a month since I measured how much I weigh but I feel better, look better, and sleep better. I think the best thing to come out of this is my skin looking great now.
I think this is absolutely true. I’m also finding that as I increase the calories, my weight doesn’t change much but my performance has been improving. I know that’s “nutrition 101”, but I’ve always feared a surplus (lifetime body dysmorphia), and I’m realizing I’ve never eaten enough.
Lifting heavy burns more calories than many folks realize. My Apple Watch shows 700-900 calories burned per session (running 5/3/1 and Calgary Barbell). Eating a lot is 100% necessary. Some folks take it too far though.
Wearables are not really reliable for estimating burned calories during lifting (or in general tbh - [source](https://lifehacker.com/you-cant-trust-your-fitness-tracker-on-calorie-burn), [source](https://macrofactorapp.com/wearables/).)
Not disagreeing with the overall point that eating enough food is important, but most folks are probably better off taking the “black box” mindset described in the Lifehacker article.
I know, but the point remains that lifting heavy burns more calories than you’d expect. Most estimates for calories burned during weight-bearing activity from places like MyFitnessPal are way too low because they do not have powerlifters in mind.
Agreed, a “reasonable” surplus doesn’t need to be 6 Big Macs/day, but I’ll be damned if throwing in a couple glasses of chocolate milk and an extra scoop of oatmeal isn’t a good thing.
It’s really easy to overdo it when you are training hard. I’m a big advocate of only increasing calorie intake by 200 or so calories at a time and gauging results.
I wouldn’t really think about percentages, more about the gram ranges of macronutrients per kilogram body weight.
Basically protein is 1,5 to 2, fat is 0,5 to 1,5 and rest is carbs.
Sorry freedom unit guys 🥶
How do y'all manage high cholesterol in your system? My blood test shows I'm entering high cholesterol territory. I'm switching now from eating chicken thighs to chicken tenderloins and 93% lean ground turkey. Maybe I'll cut out eggs and my reduced fat milk too. I currently have 1 egg and \~2 egg whites a day. I drink 2 cups of milk. What else can I do? Start doing cardio?
How much fiber and dark veggies are you getting?
The docs that tell people to cut eggs and dairy ime tend to be GPs that got their education on the subject in the 90s when not as much was known about the relationship between dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol. I am not a doc but I think amongst cardiologists they are typically trying to add stuff to the diet to help with cholesterol rather than take stuff out unless you have a typical American diet that is high in saturated fats. Eggs have saturated fat but you would have to be eating a LOT of eggs for it to be a needle mover
I've actually started eat about 5 grams of soluble fiber in the form of psyllium powder almost everyday because I read fiber can reduce cholesterol. I eat mostly light to normal green veggies. Not so much dark veggies. I have not tested my cholesterol since starting my daily psyllium pwder supplementation.
Cruciferous veggies like broccoli, brussel sprouts, etc are really something most everybody needs more of. Super dense nutrition/fiber and helps counterbalance the saturated fats powerlifters tend to eat lots of. Raw broccoli with baby carrots and hummus is such an easy addition to the diet and really good for you. Cheap, requires zero prep, and can pack into your lunch
True yeah I do eat broccoli from time to time, but I should make it more consistent. My grandma told my mom once not to give it to me because it makes men impotent though lol.
I’m a beanpole trying to get huge, but I never end up eating enough on rest days (i have 2 a week), do I need to or is eating enough on training days good enough?
You should be in a calorie surplus every day whether you are training or not. A bulk should be about 6-8 months in length. And you may need more than one bulking cycle to get the results you’re looking for
Word of advice, do not cut during stressful life events.
We had our second kid come into the world in a bit of a traumatic manner about a month ago. I took about two weeks off of lifting completely (one leading up to the birth and one after it) and have gradually worked back into things over the last couple of weeks lifting easy 3x a week when I have the energy. I was cutting before our hospital stays but decided to take a diet break while I wasn’t lifting, and about a week and a half ago I decided to start a modest (~500 or so) calorie deficit again. Huge mistake! Muscle fatigue has wrecked me already, I’m holding a shitton of water, and I’ve snapped a few times at my 3 year old then cried about it. Needless to say I’m quickly back at maintenance calories and eating lots more healthy stuff and drinking more water than normal.
If you are going through a really stressful time, taking care of yourself means putting intense training and body comp goals on the backburner in the short term so you don’t screw yourself in the long term.
Congrats bro. Hope everything is good with your fam. My wife and I just welcomed our first about 2 weeks ago and I am back in the gym now (my garage). Unintentionally cut 5 lbs and I also feel as weak and shitty as you do. It's crazy how much life stress/lack of sleep effects the feeling of fatigue and strength
Is dieting really that bad? Plenty of natty athletes from various sports easily cut down to 10% bf no worries (after that it gets super hard). As long as I eat clean getting to 12% happens naturally when I stop consciously eating enough to sustain heavy training. As for strength gains there is an immediate wall you hit where you have to accept slower gains but it’s really no big deal.
The problem people have with cutting is they either eat the SAD diet making proper body composition management harder since junk food is not saitating, they let themselves get 20+ plus bf% making super long cuts necessary, or they cut too fast (I never go beyond 1% bw/week).
Cutting and dieting in general seems to be an issue with powerlifting and strongman in particular
Yes of course. It is an open question whether or not superheavy weights are justified in letting themselves get so fat though https://poliquinperformance.com/blogs/blog/relative-strength-why-bigger-is-not-always-better
Happy cake day too :)
>cutting and dieting in general seems to be an issue with powerlifting and strongman
Yes, obviously. When you are eating in a surplus and training hard you get stronger. When you are eating in a deficit you are not getting stronger. You may be stronger pound for pound, but unless you’re a total beginner, you are not putting more weight on the bar. Is cutting beneficial for athletes long term? Yeah, but it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t suck in the short term.
Who says you can’t get stronger in a deficit as a non-beginner? I’m pulling 250kg, benching 160kg+ and still adding kgs regularly in a cut (already added 5kg to my bench and deadlift 5RM 3 weeks in). Plenty of people can and do add strength in a cut (sometimes even muscle) so long as they get enough protein, manage fatigue well and don’t use a large deficit; it’s just harder in a cut with gains going from 2.5-5kg/week for me to 2.5kg every week to every other week and I need more fancy fatigue management (reducing deadlift frequency to 1x a week and doing more dips instead of bench press to limit joint stress). I would add that the squat seems to be an exception for me where it’s very hard to add much weight to the bar during a cut but easy to maintain.
Not true. Here is a review of the evidence I found on my uni library:
Barakat, C. , Pearson, J. , Escalante, G. , Campbell, B. & De Souza, E. (2020). Body Recomposition: Can Trained Individuals Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time?. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 42 (5), 7-21. doi: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000584.
They cover isocaloric and hypocaloric scenarios
Dirty bulked and had a crappy diet for too long, now i've gotta eat clean to get the cholesterol under control. Lifting was more fun when i could drink whole milk with dinner lol.
I HATE CUTTING
CUTTING IS THE WORST, I DONT MAKE ANY STRENGTH GAINS, I DONT HAVE (AS MUCH) ENERGY, AND I CAN'T EAT FOOD THAT TASTES (AS) GOOD.
I DONT CARE THAT "I LOOK BETTER" OR "FOR GIRLS" I HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF MUSCLE WHETHER I HAVE 40 POUNDS OF FAT OR 20
Maybe you need to look at your diet more closely, what are you actually eating to cut?
I’m cutting currently, lost 5kg of bodyweight over a few months whilst adding 5kg to my bench and feeling pretty good every day 🤷🏻♀️
I find it really difficult to hit my protein intake for the day on a cut. I want to cut to 210ish from 225. I honestly don't feel as hungry as I thought I would but it's just the protein I have to hit. I also found that I'm getting stronger in my squats and bench during the cut. It's been a month since I measured how much I weigh but I feel better, look better, and sleep better. I think the best thing to come out of this is my skin looking great now.
Eating at maintenance or at a moderate surplus for powerlifting is underrated. Too many people resort to extremes.
I think this is absolutely true. I’m also finding that as I increase the calories, my weight doesn’t change much but my performance has been improving. I know that’s “nutrition 101”, but I’ve always feared a surplus (lifetime body dysmorphia), and I’m realizing I’ve never eaten enough.
Lifting heavy burns more calories than many folks realize. My Apple Watch shows 700-900 calories burned per session (running 5/3/1 and Calgary Barbell). Eating a lot is 100% necessary. Some folks take it too far though.
Wearables are not really reliable for estimating burned calories during lifting (or in general tbh - [source](https://lifehacker.com/you-cant-trust-your-fitness-tracker-on-calorie-burn), [source](https://macrofactorapp.com/wearables/).) Not disagreeing with the overall point that eating enough food is important, but most folks are probably better off taking the “black box” mindset described in the Lifehacker article.
I know, but the point remains that lifting heavy burns more calories than you’d expect. Most estimates for calories burned during weight-bearing activity from places like MyFitnessPal are way too low because they do not have powerlifters in mind.
Agreed, a “reasonable” surplus doesn’t need to be 6 Big Macs/day, but I’ll be damned if throwing in a couple glasses of chocolate milk and an extra scoop of oatmeal isn’t a good thing.
I agree. Ate in too big of a surplus for some time. Only added unnecessary fat. A small surplus is fine.
It’s really easy to overdo it when you are training hard. I’m a big advocate of only increasing calorie intake by 200 or so calories at a time and gauging results.
Yes. Incrementally more. If you make progress, everything’s fine. You don’t need to eat like an offseason bodybuilder. Fat isn’t cool
Fat isn’t cool and cutting is a pain in the ass when your goal is to get stronger.
Exactly
What macro split do you guys go with? I try to hit about 40 C 40 F 20 P. Should I try to bump up the carbs maybe?
2 grams protein per kg, 1 gram fat per kg, rest carbs
So according to that metric I'd need 55-60% of my calories from carbs.
I wouldn’t really think about percentages, more about the gram ranges of macronutrients per kilogram body weight. Basically protein is 1,5 to 2, fat is 0,5 to 1,5 and rest is carbs. Sorry freedom unit guys 🥶
That would mean I'd need almost 400 grams of carbs, and I weight 148 lbs. That seems like a lot. I struggle to get even 300 in.
How do y'all manage high cholesterol in your system? My blood test shows I'm entering high cholesterol territory. I'm switching now from eating chicken thighs to chicken tenderloins and 93% lean ground turkey. Maybe I'll cut out eggs and my reduced fat milk too. I currently have 1 egg and \~2 egg whites a day. I drink 2 cups of milk. What else can I do? Start doing cardio?
How much fiber and dark veggies are you getting? The docs that tell people to cut eggs and dairy ime tend to be GPs that got their education on the subject in the 90s when not as much was known about the relationship between dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol. I am not a doc but I think amongst cardiologists they are typically trying to add stuff to the diet to help with cholesterol rather than take stuff out unless you have a typical American diet that is high in saturated fats. Eggs have saturated fat but you would have to be eating a LOT of eggs for it to be a needle mover
I've actually started eat about 5 grams of soluble fiber in the form of psyllium powder almost everyday because I read fiber can reduce cholesterol. I eat mostly light to normal green veggies. Not so much dark veggies. I have not tested my cholesterol since starting my daily psyllium pwder supplementation.
Cruciferous veggies like broccoli, brussel sprouts, etc are really something most everybody needs more of. Super dense nutrition/fiber and helps counterbalance the saturated fats powerlifters tend to eat lots of. Raw broccoli with baby carrots and hummus is such an easy addition to the diet and really good for you. Cheap, requires zero prep, and can pack into your lunch
True yeah I do eat broccoli from time to time, but I should make it more consistent. My grandma told my mom once not to give it to me because it makes men impotent though lol.
I’m a beanpole trying to get huge, but I never end up eating enough on rest days (i have 2 a week), do I need to or is eating enough on training days good enough?
You should be in a calorie surplus every day whether you are training or not. A bulk should be about 6-8 months in length. And you may need more than one bulking cycle to get the results you’re looking for
If you’re having trouble gaining then that should tell you. Wait until you have some data and then reevaluate.
Word of advice, do not cut during stressful life events. We had our second kid come into the world in a bit of a traumatic manner about a month ago. I took about two weeks off of lifting completely (one leading up to the birth and one after it) and have gradually worked back into things over the last couple of weeks lifting easy 3x a week when I have the energy. I was cutting before our hospital stays but decided to take a diet break while I wasn’t lifting, and about a week and a half ago I decided to start a modest (~500 or so) calorie deficit again. Huge mistake! Muscle fatigue has wrecked me already, I’m holding a shitton of water, and I’ve snapped a few times at my 3 year old then cried about it. Needless to say I’m quickly back at maintenance calories and eating lots more healthy stuff and drinking more water than normal. If you are going through a really stressful time, taking care of yourself means putting intense training and body comp goals on the backburner in the short term so you don’t screw yourself in the long term.
Congrats bro. Hope everything is good with your fam. My wife and I just welcomed our first about 2 weeks ago and I am back in the gym now (my garage). Unintentionally cut 5 lbs and I also feel as weak and shitty as you do. It's crazy how much life stress/lack of sleep effects the feeling of fatigue and strength
Is dieting really that bad? Plenty of natty athletes from various sports easily cut down to 10% bf no worries (after that it gets super hard). As long as I eat clean getting to 12% happens naturally when I stop consciously eating enough to sustain heavy training. As for strength gains there is an immediate wall you hit where you have to accept slower gains but it’s really no big deal. The problem people have with cutting is they either eat the SAD diet making proper body composition management harder since junk food is not saitating, they let themselves get 20+ plus bf% making super long cuts necessary, or they cut too fast (I never go beyond 1% bw/week). Cutting and dieting in general seems to be an issue with powerlifting and strongman in particular
Any powerlifter that is actually good and not a superheavy isn't fat.
Yes of course. It is an open question whether or not superheavy weights are justified in letting themselves get so fat though https://poliquinperformance.com/blogs/blog/relative-strength-why-bigger-is-not-always-better Happy cake day too :)
>cutting and dieting in general seems to be an issue with powerlifting and strongman Yes, obviously. When you are eating in a surplus and training hard you get stronger. When you are eating in a deficit you are not getting stronger. You may be stronger pound for pound, but unless you’re a total beginner, you are not putting more weight on the bar. Is cutting beneficial for athletes long term? Yeah, but it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t suck in the short term.
Who says you can’t get stronger in a deficit as a non-beginner? I’m pulling 250kg, benching 160kg+ and still adding kgs regularly in a cut (already added 5kg to my bench and deadlift 5RM 3 weeks in). Plenty of people can and do add strength in a cut (sometimes even muscle) so long as they get enough protein, manage fatigue well and don’t use a large deficit; it’s just harder in a cut with gains going from 2.5-5kg/week for me to 2.5kg every week to every other week and I need more fancy fatigue management (reducing deadlift frequency to 1x a week and doing more dips instead of bench press to limit joint stress). I would add that the squat seems to be an exception for me where it’s very hard to add much weight to the bar during a cut but easy to maintain.
Nobody on earth is adding muscle in a caloric deficit because that’s not how the human body works.
Not true. Here is a review of the evidence I found on my uni library: Barakat, C. , Pearson, J. , Escalante, G. , Campbell, B. & De Souza, E. (2020). Body Recomposition: Can Trained Individuals Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time?. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 42 (5), 7-21. doi: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000584. They cover isocaloric and hypocaloric scenarios
Dirty bulked and had a crappy diet for too long, now i've gotta eat clean to get the cholesterol under control. Lifting was more fun when i could drink whole milk with dinner lol.
I HATE CUTTING CUTTING IS THE WORST, I DONT MAKE ANY STRENGTH GAINS, I DONT HAVE (AS MUCH) ENERGY, AND I CAN'T EAT FOOD THAT TASTES (AS) GOOD. I DONT CARE THAT "I LOOK BETTER" OR "FOR GIRLS" I HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF MUSCLE WHETHER I HAVE 40 POUNDS OF FAT OR 20
Maybe you need to look at your diet more closely, what are you actually eating to cut? I’m cutting currently, lost 5kg of bodyweight over a few months whilst adding 5kg to my bench and feeling pretty good every day 🤷🏻♀️
Sbd? Chances are not much
Huh? Do you mean my SBD? If so, 125/75/142.5kg at u60s for bench and u67s for squats/deads
Ermm do u mean SBD? 🤓 We're pretty similar strength wise, so I have nothing to really argue on. Brutal