Cutting for holiday

stufflol · 11 Mar 2013 at 22:42

Hi all, made a post about HTID in the sun in general a week ago or so, well me and my friends have decided to go to Innovation in the sun which is a week later in the same place.

Now im wondering, I am currently about 12-13% BF and have a decent amount of lean muscle, working out 4 days a week + kickboxing 2 times per week. I want to carry on gaining muscle and doing minimal cardio untill 1 month before I go on holiday.

I am wondering if it is possible to cut 3-4% BF in 1 month with out losing much muscle, top part of my abs are totally visible just the stubborn lower belly fat that stands in my way... is it possible to rid this in 1 month?

mrthingyx · 12 Mar 2013 at 05:55

What is your diet and exercise routine like?

It is theoretically possible, sure, but pretty tough in practise...

DanH84 · 12 Mar 2013 at 07:09

start 6 weeks out and if you get where you want to be early then just transition back into maintenance.

Begbie · 12 Mar 2013 at 08:00

I reckon it's possible.

I'm trying to cut just now, but as I'm used to eating a lot I'm finding it difficult. I'm not 'hungry' but I always want to eat.

Tenzo · 12 Mar 2013 at 08:50

I need to cut soon as well, carrying waay to much body fat.

Holiday in July, about 10% BF to lose, so very interested to see any ideas, pointers etc that may crop up in this thread

Begbie · 12 Mar 2013 at 09:00

Eat less, workout harder.

Steedie · 12 Mar 2013 at 09:02

Not a chance. If you were around 16% bodyfat, I'd say it's do'able but you'd still have to crash diet and risk losing muscle

But to get below 10% bodyfat takes a lot longer than a month, so not a chance. You could still lose a decent amount of weight and look much better. But no way would you get to 10% or below. If you absolutely must try it, be prepared to lose a lot of strength and size, and feel like absolute turd all day every day

'Wes · 12 Mar 2013 at 09:14

3-4%?! No need for you to go that low, even pro's doing contests stay that lean for a small amount of time as it's unhealthy, Steve Cook being one of them.

Steedie · 12 Mar 2013 at 09:16

He wanted to lose 3-4%, not go down to 3-4%

'Wes · 12 Mar 2013 at 09:17

Steedie said:
He wanted to lose 3-4%, not go down to 3-4%

Bah, beat me to my edit.

Freefaller · 12 Mar 2013 at 11:36

If you really are at 12-13% you're already very lean (i.e. all 8 abs visible, serratus visible as well as quad definition, and deltoid striations). Stripping much more off will start to be difficult if you're trying to spare muscle mass in such a short period of time. Certainly start working towards it, but don't expect more than a little fat loss. If your'e interested in just getting lean no matter what cost - then sure it is possible.

Tenzo · 12 Mar 2013 at 11:55

Begbie said:
Eat less, workout harder.

Yep, I guess that's the easy part. Low carbs, high fats and eat to a slight deficit against your normal resting rate? Eat less on rest days?

But are there any particular tips or methods (such as intermittent fasting) that people find work well for them?

Sorry stufflol, not meaning to thread hijack but I guess it is all relevant?

Begbie · 12 Mar 2013 at 13:28

Tenzo said:
Yep, I guess that's the easy part. Low carbs, high fats and eat to a slight deficit against your normal resting rate? Eat less on rest days?

But are there any particular tips or methods (such as intermittent fasting) that people find work well for them?

Sorry stufflol, not meaning to thread hijack but I guess it is all relevant?

I've always understood that aslong as you eat less calories than you burn everyday. I.E if your body uses 2500 calories everyday, you want to eat less than that and you will lose weight.

There may be other ways to do it, but in a nutshell that's it.

Eating less on rest days is just because your body is using less calories than a working day, so you need to take on less calories.

That's how I've always looked at it, I may be a bit off though.

BennyC · 12 Mar 2013 at 13:40

With IF, more so the explanation Kiefer (CBL) gives, a morning fast leaves your body in a primed state for fat burning .

You could find IF helps. It's pretty easy to adjust to.

Begbie · 12 Mar 2013 at 13:51

BennyC said:
With IF, more so the explanation Kiefer (CBL) gives, a morning fast leaves your body in a primed state for fat burning .

You could find IF helps. It's pretty easy to adjust to.

What time does it take your body to fast?

I've been trying this lately, last meal at 5-6 and doing some training in the morning at 6-7.

So 12 hours without eating, execpt a coffee in the morning and the odd nibble of nuts/drink of milk.

BennyC · 12 Mar 2013 at 14:03

The recomended fast is 16 hours with an 8 hour eat window. You can change this up or down to suit but that's what's recommended.

I normally do 8PM to 12noon/midday. Some days this might move 15/30 minutes up or down depending on a few variables but generally thats what I try to stick to.

I might increase the length of the fast, decrease the feed window to 7 hours, depending how I feel once I have my first CBL day (CBL is just modified IF).

Tenzo · 12 Mar 2013 at 14:41

Ok, I'm going to go and have to read up a little more on IF and CBL then.

The difficulty I have is only being able to train at lunchtime at the moment, but I guess I would just move the fasting window to accomodate that?

BennyC · 12 Mar 2013 at 15:45

There are a few different protocols outlined on the leangains website depending on when you train which cover an early, mid morning, lunch/afternoon and evening training time.