Dieting for Cutting

Dieting for Cutting-  Where people go wrong.

Dieting is simply where people go wrong. The problem is peoples urge to see 'quick results fast!' with absolutely everything. This usually leads to people making irrational decisions such as going on crash diets where if they can eat a celery stick they're lucky, going on all liquid diets or trying to guzzle every fat burner they can get their hands on and expecting to wake up skinny.

The other is persistance, a lot of bodybuilders and such out there will shy away from sticking through their entire cut out of worry that they will end up too skinny. They simply can not comprehend that even if they end up 30lbs lighter than when they started that any persons physique will look immaculate if they cut down. Deeper seperations between your muscle groups, striations start becoming visible, vascularity increases, these are the kind of results that a good cut should give to make you look more muscular than when you started. 

So let's get started, the right way

The name of the game is calories, eat too much you'll gain weight, eat too little you'll lose weight - a simple science. Calories are made from macronutrients: Protein, Carbohydrates and Fat. If you've read our Bulking Article you'll already have a grasp on what macronutrients are and what they do. However since this is cutting, we will go into the alternative purposes for each.

The 3 Macronutrients -

Protein - Mainly used for recovery and repair of tissue and muscles, whilst cutting it will be important to keep this high to stop your body going catabolic (using your own muscle tissue as fuel). Our best selling Whey Protein for dieting is PHD Diet Whey.

Carbohydrates - Although used in bulking for size, carbohydrates are just as effective for weight loss. Low GI Carbohydrates provide long lasting sources of energy and most carbohydrate based foods can be eaten in huge quantities with little impact on your overall caloric intake. A good source of complex carbohydrates is Atlas Carbo Charge.

Fats - Mainly used for quick release energy. However monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats also help lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (a number you want to keep low), as well as helping the body transport fats around in general. Some diets such as The Anabolic Diet have a good reputation for giving people good fat loss results whilst they only consume fats and protein. A good source of good fats is Natures Aid Fish Oil.

However, there is one more secret weapon food group we will be using to aid our fat loss. What else but...

Fibre - Fibre is part of the carbohydrates family but get confused a lot of the time. Carbohydrates come in such a wide variety, this particular one is your best friend in fat loss. You don't absorb the calories from fibre based foods such as cabbage, spinach, broccoli, carrots, sweetcorn and sweet potatoe. In fact most vegetables are fine to eat, just stay away from heavily starchy vegetables such as White Potatoes, although these are good sources of fibre they're quite high GI which is no good for weight loss. So in short you can fill your plates with these to satify hunger without worrying about your weight.

 

Now like I said, calories are made from these things. So as you can imagine each one of these holds a certain amount of calories. Per single gram the following table shows how many calories each contains;

Macronutrient	Calories per gram
Protein	4
Carbs	4
Fats	9

So calories are made from protein, carbs and fats, but you need to know how much of each you should eat, whilst still knowing that you're eating low enough calories to lose weight. Which brings me to my next point...

How do I know how little I should eat?

Simple. First you must weigh yourself, then for 3 days straight write down all the calories you eat (look at the back of food packets), after 3 days divide them by 3 for an average E.G day 1 2000 calories, day 2 2200 calories, day 3 1800 = (2000+2200+1800)/3 = 2000 calories. Weigh yourself again on the morning of the 4th day.

- If you have remained the same weight, decrease your average daily caloric intake by 500. So our example would go from 2000 to 1500. This should start you losing 1-2lbs per week by itself.

- If you have lost weight, things already seem to be going well for you, try eating your average calories for another 3 days. If you have still lost weight then keep at it as long as it's no more than about 2-3lbs per week. If it is anymore then on a bright note you can eat a little more food each day. Things should be done in moderation.

Most people when cutting will use a 40/40/20 Carbohydrate - Protein - Fat ratio. This means 40% of your total calories from carbs, 40% from protein, 20% from fats. In our 1500 calorie example, this would work out at this (but it's up to you to work out your own);

Carbohydrates - 600 Calories / 4 = 150g carbohydrates

Protein - 600 Calories / 4 = 150g protein

Fats - 300 Calories / 9 = 33g fat

For your carbohydrates you will always want to use complex carbs. Get from things like oats, brown rice, wholemeal pasta, brown bread - these will give you the slow releases of energy you will need throughout the day and you'll be able to use heaps of them without worrying about your belly. Trust me 100g of cooked rice is quite the portion and will be around 400 calories . As we mentioned use fibre to your advantage, it'll fill you up without making you regret it.

Since the protein content is high but the fat content is low, you want to be getting in only lean meats. Fending off red meats is a good idea on this kind of diet, keeping in chicken and any kinds of fish. Your fat content should really only be consumed in your last meal, so maybe treat yourself to that steak last thing at night.

Fat burning supplements, what they do and how to use them best.

Fat burners come in an array of different forms. Unlike protein powder, which is generally limited to whey and casein, fat burners have endless lists of ingredients that have been used over time. There are two main types of fat burner;

Lipotropic Fat Burners - These fat burners help with the breakdown of all the fats you consume. With an improved digestion of fats, your body can process them more efficiently and get them out of you quicker. These are mild in nature, but serve their purpose. PHD CLA is the most popular of our lipotropic fat burners.

Thermogenic Fat Burners - These fat burners increase the bodies core temperature by accellerating the heart rate. Your body burns fat as a fuel much more efficiently when it's warm. These fat burners are made with stimulant based ingredients, such as caffeine, synepherine, citrus auruntium, 1,3 dimethylamylamine and many many more.* Grenades, Yellow Bullets and BPI Roxylean are our most popular thermogenic fat burners. If you have never used any before however I would recommend starting on Reflex Sida Cordifolia or Maximuscle Thermobol, good fat burners but made with only mild stimulants, much easier for a first time user.

Thermogenic fat burners work more efficiently than lipotropic fat burners, and the stronger you buy the better results you will get. It's worth starting off at the low end of the scale though and assessing your tolerance levels before jumping in with any fat burner. Lipotropic fat burners should not be discarded however, during a cutting cycle they should be used in conjunction with a thermogenic fat burner. Ideally, you will use a thermogenic for up to 4 weeks, then switch to a lipotropic for 3-4 weeks, thus allowing your body to become sensitive to stimulant based products again and get the most out of the fat burner each time you use it.

Thermogenic fat burners will work handily as a pre-workout boost, due to them being made from stimulants they will increase your energy levels and focus in the gym. Allowing you to crank out a few more reps or stay on the treadmill for longer, quite useful really.

However when at the stage where you're using your lipotropic fat burner, your energy levels may feel a little low when it comes to the gym. In order to boost this, some liquid motivation may be what you need. BSN N.O Xplode is our most popular selling pre-workout product, it's Nitric Oxide based and with only 25 calories per serving with virtually no sugars, it is a product we more than encourage to use to your advantage on a cutting cycle. It will also put your body in a positive nitrogen balance allowing you to absorb protein more efficiently. How nice.

Once your cut is finished, in order to maintain low bodyfat you can't afford to just jump back on the bulking wagon. Ease into your calories, try upping your intake by as little as 300 first and see how things go for the first week or two. However if you want to bulk, we have articles for that too.

*If you suffer with heart issues, breathing difficulties, blood pressure issues or anything of the sort, you must consult your doctor before taking these products.