Am I cutting too fast?

[FH93]

If I was natty, I'd 100% say yes, but I'm currently running 500mg test.

At a peak of 93.9kg on August 28th, I started a cut. Today on Sept 26, about 4 weeks later, I weighed in at 87.2kg. so that's 6.7kg(14-15lbs) in 4 weeks.

Am I cutting too fat to retain muscle or is it fine on my cycle? I would've taken tren on top but this was an unplanned cut and the first one I've ever been able to stick to.

I also train 6-7 days a week, doing an alternate PPL split, and get at least 0.8-1g protein per lb a day.

I've been cutting using a combination of simple calorie reduction (through fewer portions, lower calorie dense foods, and also having a high fibre breakfast every day) plus increased walking. Started just doing 12/3/30 every day, but now do that, plus make sure I hit 20k steps a day. About half the days last week I hit over 25k.

 

[lukiss96]

I think it depends what was your initial body fat and body composition at the starting weight and now.

When I used to blast and all out bulk, I usually dropped a lot of weight like you initially and leaned out. For example from 115kg (250lbs) to 105kg (230lbs) in three weeks. Of course the higher body fat was the more I lost.

 

[FH93]

I think it depends what was your initial body fat and body composition at the starting weight and now.

When I used to blast and all out bulk, I usually dropped a lot of weight like you initially and leaned out. For example from 115kg (250lbs) to 105kg (230lbs) in three weeks. Of course the higher body fat was the more I lost.

Well I'd say I was roughly 16% body fat to start with, but that's eyeballing it.

 

[Evom1]

Totally fine especially if you were that fat to start with. The initial drop of water and food volume accounts for some of it

 

[FH93]

Totally fine especially if you were that fat to start with. The initial drop of water and food volume accounts for some of it

This is my most recent physique pic, taken 4 days ago when I was 88.5kg

 

[Evom1]

Just dial in your diet precisely, everything measured and weighed of course, track progress weekly and adjust calories and cardio based off your bodies response

Personally I'd say to bump your protein up to 1.5g/lb of body weight. You're pretty low on your intake and you want to preserve muscle

 

[FH93]

Just dial in your diet precisely, everything measured and weighed of course, track progress weekly and adjust calories and cardio based off your bodies response

Personally I'd say to bump your protein up to 1.5g/lb of body weight. You're pretty low on your intake and you want to preserve muscle

The only reason it's that low is cause I'm a broke boi tryna save money. I guess considering my weight loss is so fast, I can afford to eat the full 500g of protein yogurt I made with fat free Greek yogurt and chocolate protein powder a day. That's bring me to 1.23x bodyweight in g of protein (237g protein) with my current diet, at 2400 calories.

 

[Evom1]

You're broke but you're telling me you have money to spend on gear but not chicken?

 

[FH93]

I bought gear raw and brewed it myself as it's cheaper by far.and I eat chicken breast now to minimize calories and maximize protein.

Current daily food intake is:
Protein oats 681 cal, 55g protein
2x chicken, veg, potatoes, eggs, 872 cal, 92g protein
1x bran cereal w/protein powder, 314cal 25g protein
1x 500g Greek yogurt w/ protein powder, 422 cal, 65g protein.

Seasoning isn't included in that.

But when I say I'm a broke boi, I mean I want to minimize spending as much as possible, as I don't make much money at all and don't have much left over, so I could spend more on more protein sources but it'd cut out more of my excess, and I figured 1.2g per lb is enough

 

[Evom1]

Swap out the protein powder for whole food. Chicken, ground beef, steak etc

Also divide your protein up more evenly.

Save money? Get basic. Chicken, rice, olive oil

 

[FH93]

Swap out the protein powder for whole food. Chicken, ground beef, steak etc

Also divide your protein up more evenly.

Save money? Get basic. Chicken, rice, olive oil

Why? Protein powder stimulates MPS much better than whole foods, and it's the cheapest source of protein there is, plus it's what allows me to have protein oats and the extra protein in the Greek yogurt and bran cereal. Not to mention steak is expensive. I'd eat it every day if I had the cash.

My protein division is relatively even, 25, 46, 55, 46, 65. I could split the yogurt into two servings for 32g each however to get it a bit more even.

I used to eat plenty of rice, but I switched to potatoes as they're more satiating and higher in nutrition. As for olive oil, my wife makes butter herself and I use that in cooking.

 

[Evom1]

Whole food is better

Focus on chicken, ground beef, rice and potatoes. Not yogurt

I'm not talking about what you use in cooking, I'm talking about once you weigh out your meat and carbs, measuring out the olive oil you add on top.

 

[FH93]

Whole food is better

Focus on chicken, ground beef, rice and potatoes. Not yogurt

I'm not talking about what you use in cooking, I'm talking about once you weigh out your meat and carbs, measuring out the olive oil you add on top.

Why would I add olive oil? It's wasted calories.

And whole food is better how? In what context? That's a pretty sweeping statement that doesn't give any specifics. I know whole food is generally more nutritious and satiating, but I don't have issues with nutrients or satiation, so there's no need to change to whole food for that. Especially since chicken breast and rice is far from nutritious as is.

The point you made is that I needed a higher amount of protein, so in that context whole food isn't necessarily 'better' than what I currently eat.

 

[Evom1]

I suggest you do some research or hire a legitimate coach if you think olive oil is wasted calories and are under the impression protein powder will be just as effective for building lbm as meat

But hey man, you seem to know better than me so have at it.

 

[malfeasance]

No, you are not losing weight too fast. The first 8-10 pounds were not fat at all, but glycogen and water. A few days of high carbs would put those pounds right back on you (glycogen and water, no fat).

So now. you are into about 4-5 pounds of actual fat loss.

These are the three things that hold onto muscle, because they are signals to the body to retain it.

Hormones - you are injecting them
resistance training - assumed here
protein - eat it.

Like others suggested above, I would increase your protein, and, like others suggested above, I would start eating more real food, chicken breast, fish, lean beef, turkey, eggs and egg whites, and so on. Real food.

You probably are not getting the protein that you think you are getting if you rely upon powder.

Maybe just add another meal with chicken or another real meat source of protein. (I assume 2x means two meals with chicken, right? so make it 3x). Maybe add eggs and egg whites for breakfast. That should be pretty light on your wallet and give you a better body composition at the end of this.

 

[FH93]

I suggest you do some research or hire a legitimate coach if you think olive oil is wasted calories and are under the impression protein powder will be just as effective for building lbm as meat

But hey man, you seem to know better than me so have at it.

You don't seem to know much at all either then as you're incapable of explaining to me your reasoning behind your statements.
Not to mention I never said I knew more than you, I simply asked questions, and if that's enough for you to get defensive then I question if I should listen to anything you said.

No, you are not losing weight too fast. The first 8-10 pounds were not fat at all, but glycogen and water. A few days of high carbs would put those pounds right back on you (glycogen and water, no fat).

So now. you are into about 4-5 pounds of actual fat loss.

These are the three things that hold onto muscle, because they are signals to the body to retain it.

Hormones - you are injecting them
resistance training - assumed here
protein - eat it.

Like others suggested above, I would increase your protein, and, like others suggested above, I would start eating more real food, chicken breast, fish, lean beef, turkey, eggs and egg whites, and so on. Real food.

You probably are not getting the protein that you think you are getting if you rely upon powder.

Maybe just add another meal with chicken or another real meat source of protein. (I assume 2x means two meals with chicken, right? so make it 3x). Maybe add eggs and egg whites for breakfast. That should be pretty light on your wallet and give you a better body composition at the end of this.

I guess I can just either add in an extra serving of my potato chicken egg and veg as it's got a good calorie to protein ratio, or I can bulk it with more meat and veg, and reduce the potatoes some, but considering how consistently I'm losing weight at this speed, I can afford to slow it down with an extra meal.

 

[Evom1]

You don't seem to know much at all either then as you're incapable of explaining to me your reasoning behind your statements.

Lol not incapable, just don't feel like taking the time to explain it to you. But make whatever assumptions you please

 

[theotherguy]

Make sure you're getting adequate sleep during your cut as well...

Sleep loss limits fat loss, study finds

news.uchicago.edu

The article isn't too long, but essentially, there is a massive difference in muscle vs fat loss during a cut, based on the amount of sleep. Too little sleep means you will lose more muscle than fat. So make sure you're getting 7+ hours sleep every night.

 

[FH93]

Make sure you're getting adequate sleep during your cut as well...

Sleep loss limits fat loss, study finds

news.uchicago.edu

The article isn't too long, but essentially, there is a massive difference in muscle vs fat loss during a cut, based on the amount of sleep. Too little sleep means you will lose more muscle than fat. So make sure you're getting 7+ hours sleep every night.

Thank you. I recently dropped my sleep to 6 hours from 8 as I've ran out of time in the day to do things, but maybe I'll need to adjust again.

 

[Type-IIx]

You've almost certainly retained all your muscle up until now (because of the initial loss of water), but if true fat loss had proceeded at > 1 kg/wk (i.e., 1,100+ kg/day deficit) you'd definitely have lost muscle even on gear. This is based on data from IFBB competitors, looking at weekly rates of fat loss during a 16-week prep to reach stage ready b.f. (4% in men after 16 weeks, for you, rounded up to 20% initial b.f. as a middleweight competitor). From here, if you are (rounding down a bit to 12% b.f. and 87.27 kg) to lose weight at > 0.45 kg/wk (i.e., ~500 kg/day deficit), expect some muscle loss.