# How to end my cut



## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Hello all,

I am after some advice about the best way to transition out of my current cutting plan.

This is my 2nd 'proper' cut (both natural), however this is shaping up to be the more successful of the two, having had better adherence and a longer amount of time to get ripped.

I have been cutting since the start of January and have gone from around 25% bf to something around 12-14% at a pure guess. Abs are clearly visible is good daylight conditions and absolutely popping in gym/down lighting conditions.

My question really is, considering I am going to Mexico (All inclusive) on 14th May, what is the best way for me to transition out of my cut? I plan on enjoying myself with food and not worrying too much, however I want to avoid a massive bloat after 1 day of filling my face.

I understand going straight from a big deficit to a massive surplus is a sure fire way to put fat on fast?

I have attached some pics for reference. Cheers.

View attachment IMG_6097.JPG


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Good work :thumbup1: .

I'd aim for a couple of weeks at approx. maintenance before you go. How much to increase calories by will depend how fast you're losing fat at the end but something like 400 kcal more for a week and then a further 200 kcal rise in the next week would probably be in the right ballpark I think.


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Ultrasonic said:


> Good work :thumbup1: .
> 
> I'd aim for a couple of weeks at approx. maintenance before you go. How much to increase calories by will depend how fast you're losing fat at the end but something like 400 kcal more for a week and then a further 200 kcal rise in the next week would probably be in the right ballpark I think.


 Thanks for your input, is it better to go straight up by 400 or maybe ramp it up over a number of days before hand? or no difference?

Also, would you recommend mainly getting the extra calories from carbs?


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

dmsknk said:


> Thanks for your input, is it better to go straight up by 400 or maybe ramp it up over a number of days before hand? or no difference?


 If you could go straight to your new maintenance calorie intake then by definition it won't lead to fat gain but the tricky part is knowing what this value actually is. If you're still losing fat at an appreciable rate you know you're in a deficit of a few hundred kcal. Maybe 300 kcal rather than 400 kcal would be a little more conservative though.

I have done things like increase calories by 50 kcal every day or two but I don't think it actually adds anything over just wiping out the calorie deficit in one go. A more gradual increase after this initial bump probably has merit though if you don't mind the extra hassle.



> Also, would you recommend mainly getting the extra calories from carbs?


 It depends what your current diet is like - you want to get back to a more normal macro split. If your current diet is low carb this will mostly be carbs.


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Ultrasonic said:


> If you could go straight to your new maintenance calorie intake then by definition it won't lead to fat gain but the tricky part is knowing what this value actually is. If you're still losing fat at an appreciable rate you know you're in a deficit of a few hundred kcal. Maybe 300 kcal rather than 400 kcal would be a little more conservative though.
> 
> I have done things like increase calories by 50 kcal every day or two but I don't think it actually adds anything over just wiping out the calorie deficit in one go. A more gradual increase after this initial bump probably has merit though if you don't mind the extra hassle.
> 
> It depends what your current diet is like - you want to get back to a more normal macro split. If your current diet is low carb this will mostly be carbs.


 I may have to go back to weighing myself maybe twice a week, currently I do it daily and take a weekly average, this obviously goes up and down through the week but daily it would be too difficult to know if you're going too high on calories or not.

I tend to have carbs around 120g, I would probably knock them up by around 30-40% on top with the rest from fats, how can one differentiate between the extra water weight and gaining weight from having accidentally gone above maintenance?


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

dmsknk said:


> I may have to go back to weighing myself maybe twice a week, currently I do it daily and take a weekly average, this obviously goes up and down through the week but daily it would be too difficult to know if you're going too high on calories or not.


 Daily weighing will still give you more info. but you can't really use weight as a good guide because...



> I tend to have carbs around 120g, I would probably knock them up by around 30-40% on top with the rest from fats, how can one differentiate between the extra water weight and gaining weight from having accidentally gone above maintenance?


 You can't. The only way you could would be if you suddenly gained loads of fat, but you won't.

How many calories are you eating at the moment and how much cardio are you doing?


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

I used to be of the camp that said build up calories gradually over a few weeks, but for most people now I'd simply advise to jump straight up.

The advantage of gradually ramping up over a month is that you don't experience any sudden bloating that comes from a big leap in body fluid balance and food volume in the gut (this is what the bloat is, it's not a sudden gain in fat), and you can most easily settle on a precise figure for what your maintenance calorie intake is without any danger of overshooting and having to work it backwards.

That last point however is only important if you plan to lean bulk with tight macro and calorie counting. If you aren't planning on doing that and want to be a little less prescribed in how you estimate and measure your food then provided the amount of food you add is within a reasonable margin you'll be just fine.

Since the end of your cut coincides with a vacation and a bit of enjoyment then I would suggest not worrying too much and then just going to a sensible estimate for a slight deficit once you return to normal life. If you are worried about fast bloating when you start enjoying your vacation, just don't pig on the first day and remember to drink lots of water.

You may find for the first few days after ending the cut you actually look great and rather than bloat you simply look fuller and a little more vascular - then you may well soften up a little bit and eventually establish equilibrium after a week-ten days.


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Ultrasonic said:


> Daily weighing will still give you more info. but you can't really use weight as a good guide because...
> 
> You can't. The only way you could would be if you suddenly gained loads of fat, but you won't.
> 
> How many calories are you eating at the moment and how much cardio are you doing?


 Currently eating between about 1500-1600, cardio is lots of walking and the occasional treadmill or bike session at the gym.


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

dtlv said:


> I used to be of the camp that said build up calories gradually over a few weeks, but for most people now I'd simply advise to jump straight up.
> 
> The advantage of gradually ramping up over a month is that you don't experience any sudden bloating that comes from a big leap in body fluid balance and food volume in the gut (this is what the bloat is, it's not a sudden gain in fat), and you can most easily settle on a precise figure for what your maintenance calorie intake is without any danger of overshooting and having to work it backwards.
> 
> ...


 Thanks i will take that on board. I was planning a short cut upon return just to lose any extra pounds I'd gained and then moving into a lean gain, however I'm now in a position where I will be away again about 7 weeks after returning, so my thoughts are maybe a 4 week cut followed by a 3 week period of finding maintenance


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

dmsknk said:


> Currently eating between about 1500-1600, cardio is lots of walking and the occasional treadmill or bike session at the gym.


 Are you planning a lazy or active holiday? If it's the latter you need to be factoring in reducing the activity.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

dmsknk said:


> Thanks i will take that on board. I was planning a short cut upon return just to lose any extra pounds I'd gained and then moving into a lean gain, however I'm now in a position where I will be away again about 7 weeks after returning, so my thoughts are maybe a 4 week cut followed by a 3 week period of finding maintenance


 Best see where you're at when you get back and what your priorities are.


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Ultrasonic said:


> Are you planning a lazy or active holiday? If it's the latter you need to be factoring in reducing the activity.


 Something in the middle I think! Going to try my best to hit the gym for a run daily, and definitely smash the swimming, may also take a deload in terms of training. Basically trying my best to offset a likely big surplus!


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

dmsknk said:


> Something in the middle I think! Going to try my best to hit the gym for a run daily, and definitely smash the swimming, may also take a deload in terms of training. Basically trying my best to offset a likely big surplus!


 Running inside a gym when you have a new country to explore seems like a pretty rubbish plan to me. Get out and explore!


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Ultrasonic said:


> Running inside a gym when you have a new country to explore seems like a pretty rubbish plan to me. Get out and explore!


 Haha fair point, I think our resort is in the middle of nowhere but we'll definitely be exploring cancun


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

dmsknk said:


> Thanks i will take that on board. I was planning a short cut upon return just to lose any extra pounds I'd gained and then moving into a lean gain, however I'm now in a position where I will be away again about 7 weeks after returning, so my thoughts are maybe a 4 week cut followed by a 3 week period of finding maintenance


 You sound like someone who already follows a pretty organized and consistent approach to macros and energy balance, and with that being the case you will probably be just fine however you decide to approach things!


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

dtlv said:


> You sound like someone who already follows a pretty organized and consistent approach to macros and energy balance, and with that being the case you will probably be just fine however you decide to approach things!


 Thanks! I certainly hope so


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Thought I would add a small update photo, 4 days out from my holiday, things have been tough, I've messed up my diet a few times, and felt like absolute crap for a while, ive bumped cals up the past few weeks and lowered again this week but still a bit higher than before and weight has dropped again this past week. Definitely feeling small and looking forward to getting back on a gaining phase, its been a while!

View attachment IMG_6202.JPG


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## 66983 (May 30, 2016)

dmsknk said:


> Thought I would add a small update photo, 4 days out from my holiday, things have been tough, I've messed up my diet a few times, and felt like absolute crap for a while, ive bumped cals up the past few weeks and lowered again this week but still a bit higher than before and weight has dropped again this past week. Definitely feeling small and looking forward to getting back on a gaining phase, its been a while!
> 
> View attachment 141887


 One thing to remember, you will gain fat super fast as soon as you start to eat in a surplus!

If you want to stay lean stick to protein meals whilst on hols, carbs and alcohol soon pile it back on.

Fat cells don't actually disappear they just shrink, the body is just waiting to fill them all back up again!

However it is your holiday and should be enjoyed to the full, now you know how to get very lean you can do it when you get back.

Go enjoy, eat chips and pizza and get very drunk.


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Sparkey said:


> One thing to remember, you will gain fat super fast as soon as you start to eat in a surplus!
> 
> If you want to stay lean stick to protein meals whilst on hols, carbs and alcohol soon pile it back on.
> 
> ...


 Thanks for your reply, I'm not holding out much hope for my diet on holiday!, I say i will eat well but i have a large appetite coupled with a low ability to resist whats in front of me. Gonna try and keep very active with lots of swimming anyway.


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## 66983 (May 30, 2016)

On the day before you go, have a real good refeed, this will fill you out.

You'll also notice as you start to eat more normally on holiday you will feel better psychologically.

People who have never been really lean like yourself have no idea what mental torture it takes to get there, the fatigue, the insane cravings/binges.

On my last cut about 3 weeks from the end I was having a low day, it started as normal with the same usual boring diet breakfast but then my wife asked me to run her into town and persuaded me to have some lunch with her in Costa, ok I thought maybe some soup or something negligible.

Off she went and came back with a massive all day breakfast type panini and a wedge of coffee cake, I was like for f**ks sake woman.

Anyway ait it then got home about 40 mins later and the carb monster took me by the hand into the kitchen and it started.

This next bit is quoted from my diet journal.

8 slices of buttered brown bread and a full pack of Bernard matthews ham.

1 full unopened box of Krave cereal and a 4 pint milk

4 slices of toast with bovril on

1 full soreen mega malt loaf

3 lots of Ben and jerry's ice cream (full tub) with Oreo biscuits crumbled in, almonds, Skyr Honey yogurt and topped with maple syrup (mixing bowl half full).

I worked it out the day after it was like 11,700 calories or something stupid, as you can imagine I felt terrible, not the food but the guilt!

Got on scales the next morning and I had put on 4.5 lbs in a day.


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Sparkey said:


> On the day before you go, have a real good refeed, this will fill you out.
> 
> You'll also notice as you start to eat more normally on holiday you will feel better psychologically.
> 
> ...


 Ouch! I know exactly how that feels! I think I put on 6 or 7lbs over about 3 day period in April when it was my birthday and then about 5 or 6 over the Easter weekend at the in-laws. You feel terrible mentally afterwards, I had a strict week the week following and managed to end up lower than I'd started before Easter, that made me feel a lot better mentally


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## RexEverthing (Apr 4, 2014)

Great work getting that lean mate.

What was your training / diet like throughout? Did you say this was about 3 months work?


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## 66983 (May 30, 2016)

Forgot to ask did you use any AAS whilst cutting?

T3/Clen etc?


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

RexEverthing said:


> Great work getting that lean mate.
> 
> What was your training / diet like throughout? Did you say this was about 3 months work?


 Thanks, I started at the beginning of January so currently about 4 and half months. My training has been PPL, twice a week, dropping legs occasionally.

I started about 80kg and was eating about 1900 cals if memory serves, the lowest I've been was about 1500 but I did also do two rounds of Lyle McDonald's rapid fat loss which would have seen me eating about 1200 for 11 days. In terms of food mainly chicken, turkey burgers and veg, snacks of bagels, protein pancakes, peanut butter and whey.

currently eating about 1700 a day and still dropping.


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Sparkey said:


> Forgot to ask did you use any AAS whilst cutting?
> 
> T3/Clen etc?


 No, fully natural.


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## 66983 (May 30, 2016)

dmsknk said:


> No, fully natural.


 Sh1t man your test must be hammered!


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Sparkey said:


> Sh1t man your test must be hammered!


 I've not had it tested but yeah I think so, I have pretty much zero libido


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## 66983 (May 30, 2016)

dmsknk said:


> I've not had it tested but yeah I think so, I have pretty much zero libido


 How do you feel, generally? terrible?


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Sparkey said:


> How do you feel, generally? terrible?


 Erm, day to day okay, get tired towards the end of the day and my sleep pattern isn't great, I'm a light sleeper and I wake up a couple of times a night. Fatigue occasionally but getting better since upping my cals. It's been a slog and I've probably been too extreme, but I'm happy with my results and hope to get libido and test back up to normal levels soon


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

I don't think I could put myself through the same again, it would need to be much less extreme, I messed around with calories too much when it probably wasn't needed, I will follow a linear pattern next time rather than jumping around a lot. I have learnt lessons for the next time though, that's the main thing


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

dmsknk said:


> I don't think I could put myself through the same again, it would need to be much less extreme, I messed around with calories too much when it probably wasn't needed, I will follow a linear pattern next time rather than jumping around a lot. I have learnt lessons for the next time though, that's the main thing


 Some degree of planned 'jumping around' is arguably a good thing. As in diet breaks and refeeds. Although if you're not going to compete it's also worth thinking about how lean you really want to get.


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Ultrasonic said:


> Some degree of planned 'jumping around' is arguably a good thing. As in diet breaks and refeeds. Although if you're not going to compete it's also worth thinking about how lean you really want to get.


 Oh yeah I definitely agree with you, I more just meant changing my calories when I didn't really need to


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## RexEverthing (Apr 4, 2014)

dmsknk said:


> Thanks, I started at the beginning of January so currently about 4 and half months. My training has been PPL, twice a week, dropping legs occasionally.
> 
> I started about 80kg and was eating about 1900 cals if memory serves, the lowest I've been was about 1500 but I did also do two rounds of Lyle McDonald's rapid fat loss which would have seen me eating about 1200 for 11 days. In terms of food mainly chicken, turkey burgers and veg, snacks of bagels, protein pancakes, peanut butter and whey.
> 
> currently eating about 1700 a day and still dropping.


 What do your PPL sessions look like in terms of exercises / sets / reps? Well done for sticking to that calorie deficit! Great effort.


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

RexEverthing said:


> What do your PPL sessions look like in terms of exercises / sets / reps? Well done for sticking to that calorie deficit! Great effort.


 About 2/3 compounds such as Rack pulls, DL's, pull ups, Bench, OHP etc. 3 sets, 6-12 reps. And then about 4/5 isolations like Tri pulldowns, pec fly's, bicep curls, lat raises, back pulley machine, DB incline row's, lat pulldowns etc.

Oh and i forgot to mention I used IF throughout, so I would generally only take a protein shake to work for my lunch, then workout after work, come home and have my PWO snack (bagel with banana PB and shake or protein pancakes with PB and shake) then my tea of chicken, turkey, tuna, I also ate a lot of egg whites and turkey rashers on rapid fat loss.


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## 66983 (May 30, 2016)

dmsknk said:


> About 2/3 compounds such as Rack pulls, DL's, pull ups, Bench, OHP etc. 3 sets, 6-12 reps. And then about 4/5 isolations like Tri pulldowns, pec fly's, bicep curls, lat raises, back pulley machine, DB incline row's, lat pulldowns etc.
> 
> Oh and i forgot to mention I used IF throughout, so I would generally only take a protein shake to work for my lunch, then workout after work, come home and have my PWO snack (bagel with banana PB and shake or protein pancakes with PB and shake) then my tea of chicken, turkey, tuna, I also ate a lot of egg whites and turkey rashers on rapid fat loss.


 Tried IF for 3 weeks on my last cut, 16/8

Got up and did 40 mins fasted cardio then went to work, first meal was 12 noon (last meal was 8pm).

Only managed 3 weeks before I folded, was just watching the clock all the time.

Finishing fasted cardio then having toast and eggs was the only way forward for me.

Tried it, didn't like it.


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

So it's the second day, absolutely smashed the buffet last night as expected, me and the missus both filled our boots, the food here in Mexico is exquisite. Egg white omelette was on point this morning, they even have fajita chicken and broccoli on at breakfast so made sure I got a cracking post workout meal in this morning after a good push session! The abs won't be around much longer but I'll still be in great shape compared to 99.9% of the other people here.

Might update with a post holiday photo if I'm feeling brave in two weeks!


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## puma (Apr 6, 2017)

Great work on the cut mate, and enjoy your holiday! I go away in 4 weeks to Barcelona so hopefully the abs will be fully visible by then!


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

puma said:


> Great work on the cut mate, and enjoy your holiday! I go away in 4 weeks to Barcelona so hopefully the abs will be fully visible by then!


 Thanks! I've got a job on my hands to get back into that condition when I return, we have scales in our room so I've been occasionally weighing myself, 7lbs in 5 days, hopefully most of this is just water weight! Safe to say I've over indulged so far, I think I'm one of these people who has got into the restriction/binge cycle....work to be done.


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## 66983 (May 30, 2016)

dmsknk said:


> Thanks! I've got a job on my hands to get back into that condition when I return, we have scales in our room so I've been occasionally weighing myself, 7lbs in 5 days, hopefully most of this is just water weight! Safe to say I've over indulged so far, I think I'm one of these people who has got into the restriction/binge cycle....work to be done.


 Don't stress it bud, you know how to cut again.

Like I said it's just the rebound effect, the body was just waiting for excess calories to store, 7lbs was about what I put on in 2 weeks.


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Sparkey said:


> Don't stress it bud, you know how to cut again.
> 
> Like I said it's just the rebound effect, the body was just waiting for excess calories to store, 7lbs was about what I put on in 2 weeks.


 Cheers pal, my aim for next 10 days is to accept 'clean' eating isn't going to happen but to restrict binges of junk food.


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

So first day back at work, weighed in at a massive 167.8lbs this morning. An ~18lb gain in two weeks haha. Obviously a canny bit of it will be the excess water I'm holding. 7 weeks to get back into shape, challenge on!


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## 66983 (May 30, 2016)

dmsknk said:


> So first day back at work, weighed in at a massive 167.8lbs this morning. An ~18lb gain in two weeks haha. Obviously a canny bit of it will be the excess water I'm holding. 7 weeks to get back into shape, challenge on!


 18lbs...nice.

Hope you enjoyed every bit of food bud :thumb


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## dmsknk (Apr 23, 2015)

Sparkey said:


> 18lbs...nice.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed every bit of food bud :thumb


 I did! Wish it was 10 and not 18lb tho haha. Oh well, interesting 7 weeks ahead


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## Dan TT (May 9, 2012)

Sparkey said:


> On the day before you go, have a real good refeed, this will fill you out.
> 
> You'll also notice as you start to eat more normally on holiday you will feel better psychologically.
> 
> ...


 See this makes me question do I hold a serious amount of water after a takeaway or little binge which is nowhere near the 11,700 calories mark......

I go from like 200lb depleted in the morning needing a refeed to 214lb in evening to wake up around 209-210lb. That's from probably a 4-5k calorie day wise and you've doubled me and more :lol:


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## Dan TT (May 9, 2012)

dmsknk said:


> So it's the second day, absolutely smashed the buffet last night as expected, me and the missus both filled our boots, the food here in Mexico is exquisite. Egg white omelette was on point this morning, they even have fajita chicken and broccoli on at breakfast so made sure I got a cracking post workout meal in this morning after a good push session! The abs won't be around much longer but I'll still be in great shape compared to 99.9% of the other people here.
> 
> Might update with a post holiday photo if I'm feeling brave in two weeks!


 See i'd love to get up and train in the morning on my holiday in a few days time but I think i'll be seriously dying from a hangover to even consider it. My thoughts will be on that cooked breakfast...and another bev to sort the head out!!


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