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Home » How to lose weight quickly » Cut Mass, Not Muscle: The Basics of a Cutting Diet – Greatist

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Whether you live at the gym or on a YouTube fitness channel, youve probably heard abs are made in the kitchen at some point. The trope may be overused, but its also very true. If you want a bod like Gal Gadots or Kumail Nanjianis (like, WHAT?), youll need to be as dedicated to your diet as you are to your squats. Enter: the cutting diet.

The objective of a cutting diet is to cut body fat while maintaining your musculature. The technique is popular with bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts who are looking to get as lean as possible without losing muscle mass.

FYI:

Cutting isnt a long-term lifestyle. Its a phase that typically lasts 24 months. Its usually timed around a bodybuilding competition, an athletic event, or any occasion where you want your physique to be *chefs kiss.*

The diet tends to be low in calories, with most of the calories coming from carbs and protein, and it always involves weightlifting. Weightlifting is key: It helps prevent muscle loss when you begin to cut calories.

Bottom line:

Cutting is a low calorie, high protein, temporary diet phase that also includes weightlifting. The goal of cutting is to get as lean as possible without losing muscle mass.

Is the term macros unfamiliar? Dont worry you already know what they are!

Macronutrients aka macros include protein, fat, and carbohydrates. A cutting diet often involves getting a certain amount of calories from fat versus carbs, which is where counting macros comes into play.

To determine your ideal macronutrient breakdown, you must first figure out your caloric needs.

Fat loss occurs when you consistently eat fewer calories than you burn. But a cutting diet isnt just about reducing your caloric intake. The source of your calories matters too.

The number of calories you should consume each day depends on your height, weight, lifestyle, gender, and activity level. Its also important to keep in mind that while a larger calorie deficit could help you lose weight faster, research shows that dropping weight too quickly could result in muscle loss.

A slow, even rate of weight loss often works best for cutting. Studies have found that losing 1 pound (or 0.5 to 1 percent of your body weight) per week may be most effective.

Since youre consuming fewer calories and exercising routinely while cutting, your protein needs will increase. Luckily, studies have found that a high protein diet can reduce appetite, boost metabolism, and even help preserve lean muscle mass.

Pro tip:

To help ensure that youre shedding pounds, not muscles, aim for 0.70.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight (or 1.62 grams per kilogram). Translation: Someone who weighs 155 pounds (or 70 kilograms) should eat 110140 grams of protein a day.

Too much fat will obviously hinder your ability to lose weight. But not consuming enough can impact your bodys ability to produce hormones like testosterone and IGF-1, which help preserve muscle mass.

Pro tip:

Experts recommend 1520% of your calories come from fat while cutting. One gram of fat contains 9 calories, so a person on a 2,000-calorie regimen should aim to consume 3367 grams of fat each day.

If your workouts tend to be intense, stay on the lower end of the fat range this will allow you to get more of your calories from carbs.

Love em or hate em, carbs may help preserve muscle mass while cutting. This is because your body actually prefers to use carbs, not protein, for energy. Also, carbs help fuel your performance. (Hello, carbo-loading.)

Pro tip:

To determine your carb intake, subtract the calories that should come from protein and fat from your overall calorie count. The remaining calories should come from carbs. Divide that number by 4 (because carbs provide 4 calories per gram) to figure out how many carbs you should eat each day.

For example: If the 155-pound (or 70-kilogram) person mentioned above is on a 2,000-calorie cutting diet, they should eat 110 grams of protein and 60 grams of fat. The remaining 1,020 calories can come from carbs (about 255 grams of carbs, to be specific).

Bottom line:

Your caloric and macro needs depend on your height, weight, gender, and activity level. Accurate calculation is crucial to a successful cutting diet, so break out that calculator.

There are pros and cons to cheat meals and refeed days, which are totally optional. If you incorporate either into your diet, be sure to plan them carefully.

Cheat meals, which are occasional deviations from your plan, are meant to ease the strictness of cutting. (After all, you still have a life outside the gym and the kitchen.) But if you have difficulty with moderation, these special meals may sabotage your weight loss efforts or promote unhealthy eating habits.

Refeed days, on the other hand, are meant to boost your carb intake (usually once or twice a week). This increase in carbs can help restore your bodys glucose stores, improve performance, and balance your hormones.

Weight gain is possible after cheat meals or refeeding, but dont sweat it too much. The extra pounds tend to be water weight thats lost after a few days of cutting.

Cutting is just one element of a bodybuilders in-season eating plan. Before they start cutting fat, they go through a bulking phase that can last for months (or even years whoa).

During the bulking phase, bodybuilders follow a high calorie, protein-rich diet and an intense weightlifting regimen to build as much muscle as possible. Once they reach their muscle mass goal, they often transition to the cutting phase. This can last from 12 to 26 weeks.

Competitive bodybuilders are judged purely on their physical appearance, but there are a few health benefits associated with the lifestyle.

For one thing, they often practice resistance and aerobic training, which can help reduce the risk of dying from cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, and other critical illnesses.

They also tend to consume lots of nutrient-dense foods from all different food groups, which may also help reduce the risk of chronic disease.

Calculating macros for bodybuilding requires a little more precision than, say, calculating macros for regular weight loss. The first step: Find out your maintenance calories.

The simplest way to determine your maintenance calories is to:

If, by the end of the week, your weight has stayed the same, the number of calories youve consumed per day is your maintenance calories (its helping you maintain your weight, not gain or lose).

During the bulking phase, you should aim to increase your maintenance calories by at least 15 percent. This means that if your maintenance number is 3,000 calories a day, you should try to consume 3,450 calories a day.

As you gain weight, continue to evaluate and increase your caloric intake (preferably on a monthly basis).

Once youve met your muscle mass goal and your weight is stable, the next step is to reduce your calorie intake by 15 percent of the amount youve been eating while your weight has been stable.

You should also continue to adjust your calories as you lose weight, like you did in the bulking phase.

During both phases, try not to lose or gain more than 0.5 to 1 percent of your body weight each week. Itll help ensure you dont gain too much body fat or lose too much muscle.

Time for more math!

Now that youve calculated your calories, you need to determine your macronutrient ratio. (If you need a refresher, macros are your protein, carb, and fat intake.) Luckily, your macronutrient ratio wont change based on the phase youre in.

The following ratios are general guidelines for a bodybuilders needs, but its best to consult a registered dietitian to ensure your goals (and nutritional needs) are being met:

For the general population, the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR) according to the Institute of Medicine suggests:

Heres a breakdown of the macro ratios for both bulking and cutting if your maintenance calorie total is 3,000:

The carb and fat ratios are a bit flexible if these exact numbers dont fit into your lifestyle.

What you eat and dont eat is just as important as your training. Consuming the right foods in the right amounts will give your muscles what they need to recover and grow stronger post-workout.

Similarly, consuming the wrong foods (or not eating enough of the correct ones) will negatively affect your results.

FYI: You dont need to change the kinds of foods you eat depending on whether youre bulking or cutting, but the amounts will vary.

The following foods are great for both phases:

while its best to limit or avoid the following foods:

Certain foods can slow digestion or upset your stomach if you eat them before a workout. Try to avoid the following foods before hitting the gym:

The makeup of your meals can stay the same during each phase, but portions will obviously change depending on whether youre bulking or cutting.

If the thought of eating chicken and broccoli for months on end makes you want to throw a barbell out a window, take a moment. Counting macros doesnt have to involve eating bland, boring food.

In fact, bodybuilders should focus on eating a variety of foods and food groups throughout the day to ensure their nutritional needs are being met.

Bottom line:

Make sure every meal and snack contains 2030 grams of protein to support muscle-building.

Heres some #inspo for your meals:

Eating the right foods, watching your macros, and working out consistently are most important to a successful cutting diet, but the following tips will help support your weight loss:

The goal of cutting is to maximize fat loss without losing muscle mass. Its a phase meant to last only a few months, typically before an occasion when you want to look lean and mean. You should also follow an exercise regimen that emphasizes weightlifting.

The diet is based on reducing calorie intake and following certain macronutrient ratios, which depend on your weight and lifestyle. If youre an athlete or bodybuilder, consider talking to a trainer or medical professional to see if cutting is the right weight loss method for you.

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Cut Mass, Not Muscle: The Basics of a Cutting Diet - Greatist

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Home » How to lose weight quickly » Cut Mass, Not Muscle: The Basics of a Cutting Diet – Greatist