HOW TO EAT FOR MAXIMUM FAT LOSS

HOW TO EAT FOR MAXIMUM FAT LOSS

Cutting requires a bit more dietary precision and compliance than bulking and maintaining because if you overeat a bit on a bulk or maintenance diet, you still gain muscle and weight. Overeat on a cut, though, and you can quickly get stuck in a rut.

You’re looking to lose between 0.5 and 1 pound per week when cutting, and if that sounds low to you, remember that weight loss that is too rapid is undesirable as it means you’re losing a fair amount of muscle as well as fat.

If you have quite a bit of fat to lose, you may find you lose upward of 2 to 3 pounds per week for the first few weeks, and that’s fine. As time goes on, though, you should see it slow down to a rate of 0.5 to 1 pound lost per week.


CALCULATING YOUR CUTTING DIET

When you cut, you will first calculate a starting point and adjust as needed. Here’s where you start:

• 1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day,



• 1 gram of carbs per pound of body weight per day, and



• 0.2 grams of fat per pound of body weight per day.



For a 200-pound male, it would look like this:

• 240 grams of protein per day,



• 200 grams of carbs per day, and



• 40 grams of fat per day,



This would be about 2,120 calories per day, which is a good starting point for a 200-pound guy looking to lose weight.

If you’re over 25 percent body fat, your formula is slightly different:

• 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day,



• 0.6 grams of carbs per pound of body weight per day, and



• 0.3 grams of fat per pound of body weight per day.



For a 250-pound guy, it would look like this:

• 200 grams of protein per day,



• 150 grams of carbs per day, and



• 80 grams of fat per day.



This also comes to about 2,120 calories per day, which is where a 250-pound man with a body fat percentage greater than 25 percent would want to start. (Remember that the more body fat you have to lose, the larger of a deficit you can safely place yourself in.)

If you’re extremely obese—over 30 percent body fat—then I recommend that you work out your BMR as discussed earlier in this book and do the following:

1. Multiply it by 1.2. This will be your daily calorie intake.



2. Get 40 percent of those calories from protein, 30 percent from carbohydrates, and 30 percent from dietary fat.



Here’s how you figure this out:

a. Multiply your total daily calorie intake by 0.4, and divide the resulting number by 4. This is how many grams of protein you will eat every day.





b. Multiply your total daily calorie intake by 0.3, and divide the resulting number by 4. This is how many grams of carbohydrate you will eat every day.





c. Multiply your total daily calorie intake by 0.3, and divide the resulting number by 9. This is how many grams of dietary fat you will eat every day.





For example, if your total daily calorie intake is 2,200, here’s how this looks:


(2200 × 0.4) / 4 = 200 grams of protein per day

(2200 × 0.3) / 4 = 165 grams of carbohydrate per day

(2200 × 0.3) / 9 = 73 grams of dietary fat per day


GENERAL CUTTING RECOMMENDATIONS

While overeating is the more common mistake when cutting, some people tend to undereat. If taken too far, this can be worse than overeating because it can cause significant muscle loss.

During your first week or two of cutting, you can expect to be a little hungry at times and to run into some cravings. This doesn’t mean that you’re losing muscle or that anything else is wrong. It just comes with the territory, but it passes after a few weeks. A proper cut is not supposed to be a grueling test of your will.

When I’m cutting, I try to be within 50 calories of my daily target. Some days I’m a little higher and some a little lower, but I don’t have any major swings in my intake.

Stick to lean sources of protein, and you won’t have trouble putting together a meal plan that works. If your protein sources contain too much fat, you’re going to find it hard to keep your calories where they need to be with proper macronutrient ratios.

After seven to ten days of sticking to your cutting diet, you should assess how it’s going. Weight loss isn’t the only criterion to consider when deciding if your diet is right or wrong, however.

You should judge your progress based on the following criteria:

• your weight (did it go down, go up, or stay the same?),



• your clothes (do they feel looser, tighter, or the same?),



• the mirror (do you look thinner, fatter, or the same?),



• your energy levels (do you feel energized, tired, or somewhere in between?),



• your strength (is it going up, going down, or staying about the same?), and



• your sleep (are you exhausted by the end of the night, do you have trouble winding down, or has nothing changed?).



Let’s talk about each point briefly.


Your Weight

Generally speaking, if your weight is going up on a cut, you’re eating too much or moving too little.

The exception, however, is when someone is new to weightlifting as he not only builds muscle while losing fat, which adds weight, but his muscles also suck up quite a bit of glycogen and water, which can easily add a few pounds in the first month.

Considering that you generally lose about 1 pound of fat per week, you can see how the fat loss can be obscured on the scale.

So, if you’re new to weightlifting and starting with a cut, I recommend tracking your waist measurement along with your weight for the first four to six weeks. If your waist is shrinking, you’re losing fat, regardless of what the scale shows.

In time, your muscles’ glycogen and water levels will stabilize. While you can continue building muscle while losing fat, you’ll eventually lose more fat (in pounds) each week than you gain in muscle, resulting in net weight loss over time.

If you’re a more experienced weightlifter, however, and your weight is remaining the same after several weeks of cutting, you’re likely just eating too much or moving too little.


Your Clothes

Your waist measurement (at the navel) shrinking is a reliable sign that you’re losing fat, so if your jeans are loosening, that’s a reliable indicator of fat loss.


Your Mirror

Although it can be tough to observe changes in our bodies when we see them every day, you should definitely notice a visual difference after several weeks of cutting. You should look leaner and less puffy.

If you don’t, chances are your weight hasn’t changed either or has gone up, and your jeans aren’t feeling looser. This is a clear sign that something is off, and it’s time to reassess your food intake or exercise schedule.


Your Energy Levels

You should never feel starved and running on empty when cutting. Depending on how you ate before starting the cut, you may feel a little hungry for the first week or two, but after that, you should feel comfortable throughout the day.

We all have high- and low-energy days, but if you’re having more lows than usual, then chances are you’re not eating enough or are relying on too many high-glycemic carbohydrates.


Your Strength

If you’re new to weight training and start with cutting, you can expect to make strength gains.

If you’re an experienced weightlifter, however, it’s normal to lose a few reps across the board when cutting, but you shouldn’t be squatting 30 pounds less by the end of the first week. If your strength drops by a considerable amount, chances are, you’re undereating and need to increase your food intake.


Your Sleep

If you’re dead tired by bedtime, that’s not necessarily a bad sign. It’s common when people start training correctly.

What’s important, however, is that you sleep long and deeply. If your heart is beating quickly at night and you’re anxious, tossing and turning in bed, and if you wake up more often at night, you might be overtraining or undereating.