Cut: Week 2 & 3

Macros

• 1700 calories
• 130g protein
• 160g carbs
• 58g fat

I am currently tracking calories in my head. I am trying to focus more on intuitive eating (eating when I'm hungry and stopping when I'm satisfied). I find this works best for me when I'm trying to lose weight, especially as my calories get lower as it stops the feeling that I'm on a 'diet'. I make sure I get at least 1650 calories per day with a minimum of 100g protein per day (aiming for 130g) which I calculate in my head. I will still be tracking macros a few times per week to make sure I am staying on track. Since I have been counting calories for around 8 years, I am pretty good at knowing how much is in all the foods I eat, which does help.

Stats

Last weigh in weight: 64.7 kg

Current weight: 63.7kg
Weight loss: 1kg
Current Body Fat: 23.7%

Supplements

• Creatine 5g per day mixed in pre/post workout shake
• NLA for Her Shred Her 2x per day
• Pea Protein Isolate - 50g per day in my morning shake
• Probiotics 1x per day
• Multivitamin 1x per day
• Fish Oil/Cod Liver Oil 1x per day

Workouts

I am going to be changing my workouts so an upper/lower split next week, so I am hitting each body part twice per week. I always seem to have the best results with this.

How am I feeling?

Week 2 of my cut went great. The past week however I came down with the flu which has prevented me from exercising this past week. I am starting to feel better although I am now getting a lot of muscle pain in my lower legs which is going to prevent me from exercising until it goes away. Apparently it is a side effect of the B strain of influenza and will go away within a week.

I am missing exercising, but I am just trying to stay as active as possible so have been finding jobs to do around the house. Hopefully next week I will be back into it!

Bulk - Week 2

Macros

This week

• 2300 calories
• 258g carbs
• 146g protein
• 76g fat

Stats

Starting weight: 63kg

Current weight: 64.1kg

Supplements

• Halotropin Testosterone Booster 1 tablet 2-3x per day
• Creatine 5g per day mixed in pre/post workout shake
• Cellucor C4 Pre Workout before training
• Glutamine 2 tablets post workout
• Probiotics 1x per day
• Multivitamin 1x per day
• Fish Oil/Cod Liver Oil 1x per day

Workouts

Monday 10th Dec: Rest

Tuesday 9th Dec: Upper Body

All exercises are 4 x 8-10 reps with 90 seconds rest between sets.

1. Assisted Band Pull Ups (2 x 6) *

2. Wide Grip Lat Pull Down

3. Barbell Overhead Press

4. T Bar Row
5. Single Arm Linear Jammer
6a. Triceps Push Down
6b. Cable Rope Hammer Curl

* I injured my elbow badly two years ago doing chin ups and I haven't done them since. I still suffer with pain in my elbow if I lift over 45kg with my arms. Due to this I am easing slowly back into pull ups.

Wednesday 10th Dec: Rest - Sick

Thursday 11th Dec: Rest - Sick

Friday 12th Dec: Sick

Saturday 13th Dec: Lower Body
All exercises are 3 sets of 8-10 reps
1. Squats
2. Romanian Deadlift
3. Walking Lunges
4. Leg Extension
5. Lying Leg Curl
6. Seated Calf Raise

Sunday 14th Dec: Upper Body
1. Band Assisted Pull Ups  3 x 6
2. Reverse Grip Lat Pull Down  4 x 12
3. Barbell Overhead Press  4 x 12
4a. Single Arm Dumbbell Lateral Raise  4 x 8
4b. Single Arm Dumbbell Front Raise  4 x 8
5. Straight Arm Pull Down  3 x 10
6a. Triceps Push Down
6b. Cable Biceps Curl

How am I feeling?

I am still feeling great. I think I may have overdone it a bit last week and I wasn't feeling very good half way through my Monday upper body workout, so I decided to take a few days off until the muscle soreness, aches and sore chest/cough went away.

My weight is up 1kg since I started increasing calories 4 weeks ago, which is about on schedule.
I have 3 weeks left of my mini bulk until I start cutting for my friends wedding at the end of March.   My cutting phase will last 10 weeks. Then I will ease into a 3 month bulk starting the beginning of April.

I definitely feel like the testosterone booster [Halotropin] is making a difference. I have been sleeping like a baby and I am seeing some gains being made. Creatine on the other hand is going to take some getting used to. The 'pump' that it gives you feels very strange - like your muscles are going to burst. Definitely not a feeling I'm used to.

I love bulking, but the further into my bulk I go, I can see why people can struggle with it. It's definitely not fun feeling 'fluffier' than usual. You feel a bit chubby and your clothes don't fit as well as they used to. It's not something that bothers me enough to struggle with it - but I can definitely see why girls would.

Plan for next week

• Keep my calories and macros the same
• Do two upper body, two lower body and one ab workout with reps between 8-12.
• Drink 3+ litres of water per day
• Add more vegetables to my diet

IIFYM/Flexible Dieting & Refeeds

 

No doubt by now you have probably heard of the term IIFYM, otherwise known as if it fits your macros. It is becoming extremely popular in the fitness world because of its ability to help you get lean while being able to eat 'bad' or 'off limits' foods. I have been following IIFYM for a few weeks now and I wanted to answer some questions I have had about IIFYM to help you to better understand what it's about, and if it is something you would be interested in trying.

What is IIFYM?

IIFYM or flexible dieting as it is otherwise known is a method of dieting that revolves around meeting daily macronutritional intake targets (protein, carbs & fats) while being able to eat a wide variety of different foods. You plan out your daily meals to provide you with the right amount of calories, protein, carbohydrates and fats that your body needs based on your specific goals (fat loss, maintenance or muscle building). For example, I am currently 'cutting' and losing body fat and my macros look something like this: 135 grams of protein per day 168 grams of carbohydrate per day 56 grams of fat per day (About 1700 calories per day) According to IIFYM, so long as I hit these numbers every day, the foods I eat to get there will not negatively affect my body composition.

Reverse Dieting

See my previous posts on Metabolic Damage and IIFYM.

What is reverse dieting?

Reverse dieting is a very slow increase in calories after extended periods of caloric restriction, essentially you have reached your goal and and want to maintain it. The goal of reverse dieting is to slowly add as many calories as possible (mainly from carbohydrates) without gaining any weight or whilst gaining as little weight as possible. The slow increase of calories allows your body to adapt to the increases each week and prevent any significant fat gain.

Why reverse diet?

If you have been on a calorie restricted diet for a long period of time, especially when combined with excessive cardio, your metabolism will start to slow down and weight loss will become difficult. If you have been dieting on say 1400 calories for a while and have noticed no weight loss so decided to jump back up to maintenance calories (which would likely be around 2000 calories) you would most likely gain a significant amount of body fat.  This is because your metabolism has been somewhat damaged and is therefore sluggish and is not equipped to handle the large increase in calories. Reverse dieting aims to prevent this from happening by maximizing your metabolic capacity so that when you reach the maximum amount of calories you can eat without weight gain, you will start to lose fat far more efficiently.