The Cutting Primer - The Unofficial How to Cut Thread and Sample Diet

[Blown_SC]

The Cutting Primer
By: rambo @anabolicreview.com

It’s about time we had a decent full length post on cutting…

Let’s get a few things straight…
1. All of the insights I’m about to provide are not person-specific. What that means is that it is a general guideline, not a bible.
2. I truly do believe that bodybuilding is 80% diet. You can lift your ass off daily, and still look horrible if you aren’t eating right.
3. You are what you eat. It’s just that simple.

The BASICS-
1.Postworkout Nutrition- I’m a firm believer that PWO nutrition is hands down the most important aspect of dieting. It is within the 15 minutes after a workout that your body is in dire need of nutrients. It is a completely anabolic state, and what you take in can be optimized to ensure maximum results. A general rule of thumb is 40-60 grams whey protein, and double the amount of whey in carbohydrates (50% dextrose/50% maltodextrin).

2. Carbs- You are damn right, carbs. In a strict cutting diet the majority of your carbs should come in the form of PWO nutrition, and the remainder in breakfast. Fibrous veggies are a staple, but keep in mind that they don’t count towards intake, as they have negligible impacts on blood sugar levels. (Exceptions: Carrots, Peas) All high glycemic carbs outside of PWO should be avoided. The best sources of low GI carbs can be found in oatmeal and brown rice, as well as yams.

3. Protein- You need tons. 1.5-2.0 grams per pound of lean bodyweight is a good general rule of thumb. You should take in a good portion of your protein in the source of real meals, avoid intaking too many shakes, as real food comes to a better benefit. The list foods with high protein bioavailability is extensive, and I will only cover a few, (Egg whites, Lean steak, Chicken breast, the list goes on forever….).

4. Fats- Guess what? You need fat to lose fat. We are talking about the granddaddy of fats, the EFA (Essential Fatty Acid). Good sources of fat are ( Flax Oil, Nuts, Salmon, Olive Oil).

5. The separation of Carbs and Fats- This is a hotly debated issue, but again, in my opinion, an important aspect nonetheless. Remember that it is often when you eat items and with what you eat them that is more important than what you are eating. A mouthful, I know, but stay with me. Remember that when you take in certain carbs, you can spike your insulin levels. If you are taking in fats when your insulin has been spiked, you are allowing the basic laws of physiology to act out, and you allow for a higher propensity for fat storage. Separation is key. The sample diet will give a good example of how to separate them.

6. Supplements-

Glutamine: Helps prevent catabolism when cutting. Best used in dosages of 10grams daily, 5 grams before cardio, 5 grams at another interval, but not after workout as it fights for absorption with the glutamine peptides in whey.
ALA/R-ALA: Gets my supplement of the day award. R-ALA is effective in lowering the spike of insulin when certain carbs are consumed. I could give you a dissertation on the stereoentisomeric properties of the R, but all you need to know is that it has been found to shuttle carbohydrates away from adipose and into myocytes. Translation: Away from fat cells, into muscle cells. It’s a supplement, however, not a miracle worker. It’s not a crutch, and won’t do anything about fat intake. ALA and R-ALA can also aid in the expedition of the ketogenic state. Remember that if you buy R-ALA that you supplement it with Biotin. Glucorell-R is prepackaged with it. If you can afford it, go for it. As far as dosage, with the R, you are looking at 1-2 pills of Glucorell R for each 30-40grams of carb intake.
Protein and Carb Shakes: I’m not going to cover protein, because even if you can’t afford it, you should sell a kidney to get some. Carb drinks are rather convenient, and companies offer pre mixed dosages, (CarboHit, Glycoload, UltraFuel). Dextrose and Maltodextrin can be bought from most supplement stores or online.

7. Cheating- Cheating is essential. Why? Remember, the body runs on homeostasis, it likes to keep balance. After eating so well after a week, your body begins to adjust, and fat loss over time will not be as rapid. The other extremely important aspect is mental sanity. So many diets crash and fail because people don’t give themselves a chance to breath. Remember, cheating is not an opportunity for you to pillage the entire mall food court. Shoot for a cheat meal, not an all out binge. A fast food value meal can be 2,000 calories. Eat that 3 times on one day, and you’ve consumed 6,000 calories. And that’s not good in any case.

8. Cardio- Cardio and cutting usually go hand in hand. I won't go into specifics about length, other than cardio shouldn't be excessive. 45 minutes to one hour daily should be sufficient, and should be performed on an empty stomach.

Sample Diet:
Note: This is a sample diet for a 200 pound gentleman who is wishing to cut. We can assume his BF to be around 15%. This diet will NOT work for you if those criteria don’t apply to you; however it is easy to customize the below diet to take in account your own statistics. It is the principles that are applicable.. I am not going to post the total amount of calories, only the carb, protein and fat macros for the whole day.

Meal 1:
Lean Protein, 1/2 cup oatmeal

Meal 2:
Protein shake/Lean Protein (2 tbsp flax

Meal 3:
Veggies, Lean Protein

Workout

Meal 4:
PWO Nutrition

Meal 5:
Veggies, Lean Protein, 1/2 cup rice or oatmeal.

Meal 6:
Shake with Flax

That turns into approximately 300 grams protein, 130 grams Carbs, and 50 grams of fat.

*Reminder: This is a PRIMER. It’s not mean to be comprehensive.

Here comes the fun part: Question and Answer….

Q: What about dairy?
A: If you don’t mind a soft look, fat free cottage cheese is an excellent caseinate source, but as for milks- way too much processed sugar. NO.

Q: Should I do a keto diet?
A: Unless you are morbidly obese, or would like to drag your wilted muscles behind you, stay away from keto. Again, that’s my opinion. You can see my previous posts for my anti-keto ranting.

Q: What about cycling carb intake?
A: Obviously on non workout days you will be without a shake, so you will be auto-cycling. It works well that way.

Q: Is sodium an issue?
A: Outside of the bloating issue, or if you have high cholesterol, no.

Q. How do I make my meals not taste like cardboard?
A. Be creative. Mix in some sugar free jam or splenda in your oats, some hot sauce or soy sauce on your meats, or pick up some sugar free ketchup.

Q. I don’t like old fashioned oats. Can I eat the pre mixed oats with fruit?
A. No. Be a man. Those mixes have ridiculous amounts of sugar.

Q. What about fruit?
A: Fruit replenishes glycogen stores in the liver, and in my opinion, is not to be a staple of a strict cutting diet, with a few exceptions.

Q: Can I eat steak while cutting?
A: Definitely. Make sure it’s a leaner cut.

And with this post I take a sabbatical. I’d like to thank ~Swolecat~ for his influence, and to thank all of you who may have indirectly annoyed me enough to result in this elongated post. If I missed anything, or am horribly wrong on anything, feel free to PM me, and I will edit it in. Best of luck, and remember…

“Obsessed is a the word that lazy people use for dedicated.”

Happy Holidays,

Rambo

* This was edited to reflect a few changes, and change the title to UN official, as was my original intent.

[Vegas]

Ah, an oldie but a goodie.

[Blown_SC]

Originally Posted by *****

Ah, an oldie but a goodie.

Yup, someone asked what basic diet I used to cut, so I fig'd I show him...

Hope Rambo doesn't mind.....

[LeanMeOut]

Great thread, I'm going to sticky it for now and any input or arguments are a welcome addition. Thanks for bringing it over Blown

[caladin]

Thanks for the article! Excellant referance tool!

hey Blown, i'm starting on my first cutting cycle after 2 HARD years of bulking. overall i have lost fat and put on 35lbs. i was last measured at 11-13%b.f. (callipers)... so i went and bought some dextrose and malt... but i'm unsure how much to take. i read the post and you wrote "40-60 grams whey protein, and double the amount of whey in carbohydrates (50% dextrose/50% maltodextrin)." what do you mean by 50% ,,, i take in 45g of protien pwo,, so i need about 90g carbs,, is that 45 dex and 45 malt? .. if so ,, man ,, there is only 4g carbs per tblspn in dextrose for example... thats like 10tblspns ???? could that be right?

[Tafman]

good read

[Blown_SC]

I replied to your PM Lil Boy.

[vegas23364462]

Hey, I posted a question and ***** directed me to this post, was just wondering how I would alter this diet to fit me? I'm 20y 5'5 22% body fat

[Bruce Banner]

I think it's wrong to eat almost all the carbs PWO, why?

That "anabolic state" 15 minutes after workout has not been very establish in studies.

And I think the ALA stuff is totaly wrong.

/Bruce

[mranak]

Originally Posted by Bruce Banner

That "anabolic state" 15 minutes after workout has not been very establish in studies.

Are there any studies on this "anabolic state"? Serious question; I have no idea.

[RJH90210]

Originally Posted by mranak

Are there any studies on this "anabolic state"? Serious question; I have no idea.

I don't know about studies i can cite, but i'm pretty sure it is a proven fact that you have an insulin spike AFTER you workout, and like said above, if you take in protein and carbs, the insulin spike will act like a shuttle to the muscles. this is why we take Slin PWO. But watch out for fats, remember, slin doesn't discriminate... no matter what amount of Slin you may be running.

[Bruce Banner]

Originally Posted by mranak

Are there any studies on this "anabolic state"? Serious question; I have no idea.

I'd say it's a myth.

First there was that talk about a nutrition window of 3-4 hours after exercise. From what I have read, this so called "window" is open over 24 hours after exercise. A meal will make just as big anabolic respons 15 minutes after gym workout as 8 hours after a wourkout.

This is what I have read, I will try to dig up the references so it just don't become some rabling moron.

/Bruce

[Bruce Banner]

Originally Posted by KRS-One

so i take it you don't use a PWO shake?

I do, but not in some of those extreme quantitys some guys do.

I'm over 300lbs and doing 50g of protein and 50g of carbs on bulk, about the same on a calorie restricted diet. I do eat a big meal before workout. I have not seen any positive doing more on those PWO shakes, tried well over 100g of carbs and I can't say it anything in the muscle building department for me.

When I was younger, I red all the magazines and all the articles that said that if you don't take your PWO shake it's alomst like the workout will be undone. I was so paranoid a did not train if I forgot it at home.

Now I know that it won't matter much if I do it or not. But I do it anyway (still a little paranoid that I'm going to rob myself on some mucles) and it's a habit. What's far more important in my opinion is the DAILY intake of nutrients, when you take them has not been very crusial to me.

That's my personal experince, take it for what it's worth.

/Bruce

[DirkMoneyshot]

Originally Posted by RJH8541

I don't know about studies i can cite, but i'm pretty sure it is a proven fact that you have an insulin spike AFTER you workout, and like said above, if you take in protein and carbs, the insulin spike will act like a shuttle to the muscles. this is why we take Slin PWO. But watch out for fats, remember, slin doesn't discriminate... no matter what amount of Slin you may be running.

I'm in agreement with bruce again - Why do people spend hours trying to figure out some special Postworkout shake. They don't eat all damn day right but my god if they forget their special Postworkout blend.

Rj i'm not sure what your talking about here - Our bodies don't release insulin after you workout. Only in response to food intake-

What working out does is increase insulin sensitivity - thus making our bodies more responsive to the insulin that is released, after injesting your postworkout meal.

Think of it this way. People with Type II diabetes have a decrease in insulin sensitivity (resistance) thus their bodies compensate by making more and more insulin. Over time all this insulin use leads to over stimulated cells.

Exacltly what we don't want. That is why i have recommend to you to only use insulin 1 - 2x / week (3x that day) After 4 weeks of androgen loading and for no more then 8 total weeks, as you don't want to lead to this decrease in insulin sensitivity. The use of meformin would be used after the use of the insulin as it will make the insulin you do make more effective.

Dirk

[DirkMoneyshot]

I know bruce will probably disagree with wanting to see these studies of insulin resistance being caused by exogeneous insulin use

[Bruce Banner]

He he Dirk, no I won't this time.

But haven't you mixed resistance and sensetivity in your post? Should it not be

What working out does is increase insulin sensetivity - thus making our bodies more responsive to the insulin that is released, after injesting your postworkout meal.

?

/Bruce

[DirkMoneyshot]

You are correct----thanks for catching the oversight: Corrected now