4 weeks to 8% BF: The furious cutting saga

[furious]

Current Status: Ive gained 10 pounds and I am now at roughly 160lbs. I have made significant strength gains and put on desired size, and a bit of bodyfat in the proccess.

Goals: To lose enough weight to maintain decent size and optimise definition and cuts. I have trips to Miami and NYC coming up to meet with agencies and photoshoots lined up at the end of March. I hope to use this cut to optimise my appearance and look my very best by the end of the proccess.


Meal Plan:


8 am
1 lb Salmon fillet
2 apples

1 pm: (Post workout)
1 1/2 cup of oatmeal
20g protein shake

2:30-4:00 pm (workout)

4:30 pm (Post workout)
Protein shake 30 g protein
2 scoops glutamine

6 pm (dinner)
1 lb salmon fillet or 2 chicken breasts
2 onions


10:30 pm (bedtime)
35 g protein (time realesed)




Any criticism/critiques of my meal plan are welcome. I will be taking "progress" shots of my body to share as well, so stay tuned. As always, thanks for your support and interest.

[furious]

Excuse the bad photography, but here is a digi shot of my upper body currently. I will take proggres pics at the end of every week or so. I would also like to take this opportunity to post my workout/cardio schedule.

Workout/ Cardio:

Mon:
Chest
4 sets incline press/ superset dumbbells
4 sets decline press/ superset dips
4 sets cable crossovers

Cardio:
35 minutes running 7.5 mph

Tues:
Biceps
4 sets straight bar standing curls
3 sets standing dumbbell curls
4 sets 21's

Triceps:
4 sets skull crushers
4 sets roap pulldowns
3 sets dips

Cardio:
35 minutes running 7.5 mph

Wed:
Shoulders
3 sets should press/ superset overhead press
4 sets dumbbell arm raises
4 sets shrugs

Back:
4 sets straight bar pulldowns (8-12 reps)
4 sets upright rows (Alternate with t-bar rows)
4 sets wide grip pullups

Cardio:
35 minutes running 7.5 mph

Thurs:

Rest Day

Repeat Cycle

[ericg]

I would eat something inbetween 8am and 1pm.

How tall are you?

Good luck man!

[furious]

Hey,

thanks for the suggestion bro. To answer your question, I am 5'9.

[Erbas]

I agree with ericg....need something else in there between 8 and 1. Damn dude your waist looks slim...what size is it? Shouldn't take you long to cut up. Good luck!

[ericg]

ah ya, get some mints as well. those onions are gonna kill ya!!

[furious]

haha, they already do., but its a great way to make sure I get quick use of weights in the gym :P

[furious]

Alright, just got home from the gym. Overall, I had a really good workout, in fact I was stronger on incline and decline bench for some reason today. I assume it will take a few days for me to get in to ketosis, so im using the rest of this week to tweek my diet. Eating less sucks!


Workout:

Incline Bench

130- 10 reps
205- 5 reps
225- 3 reps
215- 4 reps
205- 5 reps

Decline Bench:

130- 12
235- 5
225- 5
215- 5
205- 5

Machine Flys:

130- 12
160- 10
200- 6
180- 8
160- 10


Cardio: walking on 15 incline- 45 minutes
700 caolries burned

[furious]

Hey Everyone,

Well, this is the 3rd day of my cut, I have been strong so far and stayed under 30 grams of carbs a day, so hopefulyl ketosis will be happening soon. I bought some cottage cheese today, and I am replacing the fruit in my diet with this is eqivilent amount, I assume it equates to less carbs + sugar, and more protein. At least tommorrow is a rest day, so I can finally sleep in! In any case, so far so good, and I will post any changes to my routine that result in the next cycle.

[Vido]

You cannot get into ketosis eating 1.5 cups of oatmeal. I assume you measure the oats dry because that is what makes sense, so that's close to 100 g of carbs right there.

I'm not sure why you are cutting. You are already fairly lean, but to each his own. Good luck with the goals man!

[furious]

Hey,

Actually my measurement on the oatmeal was incorrect, it is .5 cups, that obviously makes more sense. Well, today was chest day again, I got no sleep last night so I was expecting a terrible workout, yet I was plesantly surprised. So far I am down 2 pounds, and my benching strength has remained constant so far. I replaced the oatmeal with a preworkout protein shake today, 40 grams of protein, with 10 g Glutamine. The less carbs the better in my opinion, but we will see how this affects me. My workout remained the same in all aspects, so I will keep you guys posted.

[Saint Patrick]

Do you plan on doing a carb refeed at some point? I think your glycogen levels will be hurting if you don't.
Ever looked into a TKD? That's where you refeed carbs w/ postworkout sugar with your protein to keep muscle glycogen replenished.
But as long as your lifts aren't going down, then you must be doing something right.

Good luck.

[furious]

Well everyone, its been a week and I am down 3 pounds. It seems this plan is set to be brutally effective, and is just what I need to attain optimum facial and muscular definition. I have replaced the oatmeal with a protein shake (35 g protein, 10 g glutamine), and have so far experienced no ill effects. Today was my shoulder/back day, and I must say, I had quite a strenous workout. I am gradually increasing my cardio, so I am rather fatigued at the moment, but it will all be worthwhile in a month. On a side note, have any of you had any experience with sunless tanners?

[furious]

Hello Everyone,

Diet: I am beginning to look a bit more vascular in my abs, and can already recognise other small differences. I have also been on a gradual carb refeed for the last two days. I have been taking in an average of 10-20 grams of crabs a day prior to my refeed. Yesterday and today I took in 150 grams yesterday, and 125 grams today in an attempt at a gradual refeed. I plan to cycle 4 days on carb depletion, followed by a 2 day refeed. This should provide the ideal means by which to meet my goals based upon current results.


Workout: I was surprised at the strength I have been able to maintain so far. My lifts have all remained constant, though I am noticing a difference in terms of fatigue. I attribute this to carb depletion, but I am sure my body will adapt. Today was my chest day, and my lifts remained consistant with my initial workout. I view the matinence of my lifts, as a positive sign that I am cutting at the right pace. I am shaking up my arm routine a bit tommorrow, so I will keep everyone informed. Thank you for continuing to follow my struggle with the beast we call physical perfection.

[furious]

Hey everyone,

Alright, its my next off day. Im down about 4 pounds so far, and my lifts have remained constant, so I am quite pleased. This keto diet seems to be working well, I am noticing more vascularity and definition in my abs and face. The only downfall seems to be my farts REEK, though it is useful when trying to clear out the area around a machine I wish to use in the gym. My diet remains fairly constant, though Im considering adding almonds to my diet at night for the fat, any input on this would be appreciated. All in all, I feel I am well on the way to my goals, and I will keep everyone posted!

[furious]

Hey Everyone,

Well today was my chest day once again. I have been a bit lax in updating this journal, as things have been fairly hectic as of late. I changed things up a bit today, I did incline/decline dumbell sets, superset with pushups, rather than incline bench. I felt my chest burn for the first time in a while, so I precieve this to be a positive thing. I have also upped my cardio in intensity, as I will list below. My diet has remained fairly constant, though I have changed salmon in the evening to chicken. I must say, staying in ketosis is a task, I am craving crabs badly. What I wouldnt do for an apple :P I will list my alterations in workout and diet below, and I will keep you posted. Thanks for taking the time to review my journal.


Workout Changes:

Dumbell sets

3 sets of 100lbs- 10 reps per set
3 reps of 95lbs- 8 reps per set
3 sets of 75lbs- 12 reps per set

super set with 25 pushups each

Cardio:

40 minutes running- 7.7 mph

[furious]

Hey All,

Long time, no see! This is my first journal, so give me a bit of slack on the regularity. Now to the good stuff...

Diet: This has remained fairly constant. I added 60 grams of carbs today for my refeed, with cheerios. I wolfed them down with every meal, as I have noticed my cravings becoming stronger with the day. Tommorrow is the last day of my refeed, so I am searching for something appropriate to eat. I passed by a pecan pie today in my fridge, and took it out and stared at it for like 20 minutes. Pathetic, I know, but the point is it stayed whole...for the time being. In any case, I am down another 2 pounds, and looking far more vascular. Given this, I actually feel an increase in calories may be in order, so I have decided to add an extra chicken breast at night. Hopefully this will slow my cut again, and help me preserve more all important muscle, Ill keep you posted.


Work: Great workout today actually. I have continued to stay solid on my lifts, maintaining strength in most aspects, though I am fatiguing quicker, as mentioned previously. Hopefully, this carb infusion should help a bit tommorrow, (shoulder/back day). I am really motivated to look my very best for this trip, so my workouts remain very intense and consistent. My weight lost has increased alot in the last few days, so I skipped cardio today, and I may tommorrow. Im still tweaking that aspect of my cut, and I think some changes might be neccesary. I didnt anticipate my ability to lose this quickly. In any case, I will let you know, and thanks for reading my journal.

[furious]

Hey,

You know, I wonder if anyone has actually continued to follow this? Well in any case, I hope so, because I have. In any case, here are my latest comments/observations, for your viewing pleasure.


Diet: I am quite pleased with my resolve in this aspect of my preparation. I have stayed strong, and have been eating healthy for 3 solid weeks. This is without cheating people, and that is truely a monument to my resolve for this trip. I have lost upwards of 7-8 pounds, and I feel I have been aided greatly as my diet has remained a constant, and unchanging factor. I sometimes watch the food network at night, and just gaze at the Apple Pie's, and Ice cream and imagine the sugary wonderland that I could so easily consume. I am of course, refering to the buffet that is down the road to my house, alas, temptation is so close, yet so far. For the next month, I am a rock of discipline, and I will endevour for my diet to remain constant and consistent, with my diet listed above.




Workout: As with my diet, my workout has remained fairly constant. I am actually doing less now, than I have in a while, and I attribute this to the negative aspect of my weight gain. I have noticed my arms have become a bit smaller, but this is due to the 7-8 pounds of weight loss that have occurred, as opposed to a lack of exercise, in my opinion. Having noted this, my chest and upper body have shown no ill effects, and I am pleased with this. It seems my chest in particular is more resistant to weight gain/loss, and this incurs less noticeable changes. I substituted several sets of incline dumbbells, superset with pushups, for my incline bench on my cycle. This was merely an experiment, coupled with laziness, though it did produce noticeable burn from the change in lifting methods. Perhaps I will cycle these weekly during the rest of my cut on chest day, I will keep you posted. My cardio has been ultra effective, and by increasing the speed of my run slightly, I was easily able to overcome the “hump” of weight loss I was experiencing last week. I have come to the point where I am actually able to miss days all together, as this cardio has been devastatingly efficient in my weight loss. I continue in the belief running is the perfect “leaning” insturment, and will serve me well in the rest of my cut.