Finally started cutting…
Well, I finally started to cut the beginning of this week. I enjoyed a long bulking phase in which I ate lots of good/healthy stuff as well as the stuff I love (i.e. pizza, ice cream, etc.) in moderation.
I am currently at 209 lbs. and 14% BF. I would like to retain as much muscle mass as possible while losing fat. I know this is hard to do but I am going to give it my best shot.
My goal at this point is to reduce my BF% to 9% and have good definition and vascularity in my abdominal region. I know the latter part of my goal is more qualitative than quantitative and is hard to measure. However, this is something that I have always wanted so I included it.
I have scaled back on the amounts of food that I am eating and reduced my carb intake significantly. For example, my breakfast used to consist of three scoops of Micell Edge Chocolate Peanut Butter protein (~50g protein) and (2) cups of raw oats. I add ice water and put it in the blender. Now, for breakfast I only use (1) cup of raw oats.
All my other meals (6-7 total daily) have had the usual carb serving removed are protein/fat with the exception of my pre-workout (44g whey and 1/4 cup oats) and my post-workout shake (50g whey, 75g dextrose, 5g BCAA, 10g creatine, and 10g glutamine).
I incorporate as much whole/natural food as possible and stay away from processed/packaged foods.
In addition to changing my diet I have added cardio to my routine (20-30 minutes a day on the eliptical). I know this is a necessary evil to get a lean body.
When not in season (Dragonboating) I do next to no cardio because I hate doing it and like to lift heavy. However, during the season I paddle (canoe) 3-5 miles three days a week at 5:45 AM. I guess you can call this cardio as it kicks your ass and wears you out.
Furthermore, I am giving Lipo6 a shot to see if it helps out the cause.
If anybody reads this and sees something that is amiss in my diet/routine please let me know. I have never tried to cut down and am definitely not an expert. I welcome any and all help you are willing to provide.
That’s it for now. I will try to update this on a regular basis.
-kenji
