Trying to Cut After a Long Bulk

[thetopdog]

I've been bulking ever since I started working out in February and I'm very pleased with my progress. I've gained over 30 lbs (from 170 to a little over 200 at 5'10") and most of it has been LBM. I've almost doubled (sometimes more than doubled, my bench has gone from 115 to 255) my maxes in nearly every single lift, although I'm sure a lot of that progress was beginners gains, I've still been making good gains on a regular basis even now.

The bodyfat % has been creeping up on me though, so I think it's time for a cut. I'm estimating my bodyfat at about 15% right now, although I could be off. My bulking has basically been me eating everything I can, along with taking 2 servings of NLarge2 a day.

I live in a dorm without a kitchen, stove, microwave or sink, my food choices are basically limited to whatever they put out in the buffet. I don't have a scale and I'm no good at estimating so I haven't been tracking calories. I know it would be much better for me to count cals and make exact adjustments to my diet, but I think it would just be too much trouble given the circumstances so instead of making precise changes to my diet, I'm trying to make more general changes.

I'm thinking of only taking the NLarge2 post workout and just taking a plain protein shake at other times during the day if I need more protein. This should elminate about 400 calories a day from my diet. I'm also going to stop eating any junk I see. I've really needed to pack in the calories, so I've been able to get away with eating pizza, hamburgers, ice cream, cake etc. I'm going to try to cut most of this crap out and see how it goes.

I'm wondering if these changes will be enough. I was thinking about adding in cardio, but I'm also a little confused about that. Does cardio help burn fat simply because you're burning more calories? Or is there something special about cardio (particularly HIIT cardio) that targets fat specifically. I can easily eat less, and it would be much easier on me and my busy schedule to eat 500 less cals than to burn 500 cals doing cardio. I had the same question about thermogenics, does the increase in metabolic rate burn fat by making your body burn more calories while resting, or is do they target fat more specifically? I was looking into doing an EC stack, but I'm worried about Ephedra's effect on prostate health

I'm also looking for advice on how long to cut for and what weight you guys think I should get down to before I start bulking again (I weighed 202lbs today). I was thinking of getting down to about 10% before starting to bulk again.

One last question, is it possible for my lifts to stay the same or perhaps even increase if I cut slowly? Progression is what motivates me to go to the gym, and nothing makes me happier than lifting more than I did the previous week. I would hate to have to lose some of the strength I've worked so hard to build. Sorry about the long post, and thanks in advance

[bradley]

Originally posted by thetopdog
I'm thinking of only taking the NLarge2 post workout and just taking a plain protein shake at other times during the day if I need more protein. This should elminate about 400 calories a day from my diet. I'm also going to stop eating any junk I see. I've really needed to pack in the calories, so I've been able to get away with eating pizza, hamburgers, ice cream, cake etc. I'm going to try to cut most of this crap out and see how it goes.


Since you are not tracking cals, what you have outlined above will work just fine. I would just start out making small changes to your diet, because you do not want to decrease cals too quickly.

You might start by just decreasing the amount of empty cals that you are consuming, and see what kind of results you get. Just continue removing cals from your daily calorie intake in small amounts each week, and shoot to lose a small amount of weight each week (~1lb.).



I'm wondering if these changes will be enough. I was thinking about adding in cardio, but I'm also a little confused about that. Does cardio help burn fat simply because you're burning more calories? Or is there something special about cardio (particularly HIIT cardio) that targets fat specifically. I can easily eat less, and it would be much easier on me and my busy schedule to eat 500 less cals than to burn 500 cals doing cardio.

Low/moderate intensity cardio will burn cals while you are perfoming the cardio, but will do little to increase overall metabolic rate. HIIT cardio will not burn as many calories during the actual exercise, but will increase energy expenditure through increased metabolic rate, which is similar to weight training (anaerobic exercise).

The study below is interesting, as it demonstrates a relationship between calorie restriction and a loss of visceral adipose tissue, and also shows increased loss of subcutaneous adipose tissue when performing aerobic exercise.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9432085&dopt=Abstract


[b]
I had the same question about thermogenics, does the increase in metabolic rate burn fat by making your body burn more calories while resting, or is do they target fat more specifically? I was looking into doing an EC stack, but I'm worried about Ephedra's effect on prostate health

The ephedra in EC/ECA stacks will increase the release of noradrenaline and adrenaline which can stimulate fat burning (lipolysis), and caffeine will prevent the negative feedback associated with the increase in noradrenaline. Aspirin has not shown to be of much benefit, unless you are obese, and I would recommend leaving out the aspirin due to the effects it can have on protein synthesis.

So to answer your question, an EC can be protein sparing while increasing lipolysis.



I'm also looking for advice on how long to cut for and what weight you guys think I should get down to before I start bulking again (I weighed 202lbs today). I was thinking of getting down to about 10% before starting to bulk again.

This would really depend on your goals.:)



One last question, is it possible for my lifts to stay the same or perhaps even increase if I cut slowly? Progression is what motivates me to go to the gym, and nothing makes me happier than lifting more than I did the previous week. I would hate to have to lose some of the strength I've worked so hard to build. Sorry about the long post, and thanks in advance

Yes it is quite possible, and it is not uncommon to still see strength increases in the gym while in a calorie deficit.