Low carb, calorie counting or Intermittent fasting for a cut?

[Jariel]

What has given you the best results for cutting?

I tried low carb (atkins) a few times before and got some great results for dropping bodyfat, but unfortunately it comes with a consequence and always makes me feel drained, my workouts suffer and my sex drive suffers.

Calorie counting doesn't work too well for me as I always hit a plateau and I end up resorting to cutting my carbs to get my definition.

I tried intermittent fasting before and even though it was good for shedding body fat, I found that I lost a lot of my muscle gains too. I did feel better than I did during my low carb diets though. Perhaps I just needed more calories/protein in my eating window to sustain my lean mass.

Anyway, I'm just looking for opinions on what worked best for you. I'm in pretty good shape after a lean bulk, but really need to shed more bodyfat in a way that preserves my gains and doesn't suck the life out of me.

 

[DanZy]

Do a combination of the lot. Start with intermittent fasting, start counting cals when your fat loss stalls and then start cutting carbs once you stall again

 

[Jariel]

Great idea mate. Sounds like a good way to break through those plateaus.

 

[Who Dares Win]

Did intermittent fasting and worked great to get rid of lot of fat but as you experienced, the performances decrease and so the sex drive, I guess out body get it as food starvation annd decrease hormones production despite what IF gurus say.

I find the best solution for me is simply keep doing what Im doing but try to clean the diet and add some high paced cardio at the end of the gym sessions, I mean fast push ups or abs/low back body weight circuits that leave you with a fast beating heart and a low oxygen need.

Sure its slower but you dont lose anything in terms of muscles and performances, anyway I suggest some cortisol control supplement, they help great in terms of losing bodyfat while keeping muscle.

 

[Jariel]

Did intermittent fasting and worked great to get rid of lot of fat but as you experienced, the performances decrease and so the sex drive, I guess out body get it as food starvation annd decrease hormones production despite what IF gurus say.

I find the best solution for me is simply keep doing what Im doing but try to clean the diet and add some high paced cardio at the end of the gym sessions, I mean fast push ups or abs/low back body weight circuits that leave you with a fast beating heart and a low oxygen need.

Sure its slower but you dont lose anything in terms of muscles and performances, anyway I suggest some cortisol control supplement, they help great in terms of losing bodyfat while keeping muscle.

Thanks mate. I've been adding cardio to my workout sessions and I'm getting great results both in terms of fat loss and my fitness (and my leg muscle tone).

I'm very intrigued about these cortisol control supplements. I've not heard of them before. Can you recommend anything specific?

 

[SoSuave666]

I'm loading right now so I'm eating mad calories. When I get into my cut phase a plan that has always worked pretty well for me was this:

Monday-Friday

2,000 cals max per day. Split this into four meals so you aren't going hungry throughout the day. That's 500 cals per meal. Try and stay low on carbs as this will benefit your look immensely. Lots of Salad, fish, chicken, and eggs. Broccoli, carrots, and sweet potatoes for carbs. No alcohol.

Saturday

Semi-cheat day. I cook with butter and oil, splurge on some red meat, and try and stay below 3,000 cals. I do work out on this day. Generally I eat 3 meals a day on this day. No alcohol.

Sunday

I will load on some carbs here. This is generally my worst day of eating and I don't really care much to count calories. I'd estimate about 3,500. If I want Chipotle, I'll go. That's usually what I do for my big meal. No workout on Sunday, and no alcohol.

I'm no registered nutritionist...I just do what works for me. I tried fasting but much like you it just exhausts me. Low carb isn't so bad if you eat a low of protein. I don't think I could ever do NO carbs. I wouldn't be able to function.

Depending on how big you are you can tailor this to suit you better. Just for reference I'm 6'1 about 190-195. I work out about 1.5 hours a day except Sunday. Probably burning about 3,000-3,500 cals per day (not including Sundays). Losing weight is ALL about diet, really. People like shortcuts, but there aren't any when it comes to matters of fat loss. Raise your heart rate through exercise, and lower your caloric intake. That's really all there is to it.

 

[Krista68]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Jariel]

Thank you for the detailed reply SoSuave666 and for all the input here.

Well, I've been doing a combination of all 3 methods this past week.

I've been intermittent fasting (8 hour eating window per day), restricting my calories to 2500-2800 and keeping my carbs moderate and avoiding all simple carbs.

I'm also adding 20 minutes of cardio after most of my workouts.

I've already dropped 4lbs and although I'm pretty sure most/all of it is water, this is something I've always had a problem with and have been looking to solve.

My energy and sex drive is still very high and my workouts are great.

I'll keep you posted as I continue.

 

[Who Dares Win]

Thanks mate. I've been adding cardio to my workout sessions and I'm getting great results both in terms of fat loss and my fitness (and my leg muscle tone).

I'm very intrigued about these cortisol control supplements. I've not heard of them before. Can you recommend anything specific?

Lean xtreme is one of the most reliable and used, it control cortisol according to the dosage, can be taken for 4 weeks safely and most users report to see result already from a couple of weeks.
http://reviews.bodybuilding.com/Driven_Sports/Lean_Xtreme/

If you are fine using PH, 11-oxo at low dosages has the same effect but focused on muscle and fat cells.
Its not dangerous to your liver, does not aromatize and does not require a pct if used in dosages for cortisol control only.

It take as pct only if used at higher dosage for anabolic reasons.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=106428581

Tried lean xtreme and can say it works, 11 oxo cannot really tell since I've never completed a cycle with it.

 

[ProDJ26]

http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=114618

 

[marmel75]

Carb cycling works awesome...don't get the "flat" feeling or strength loss due to glycogen loss in the muscle either but still get as good or better fat loss results...

I ran a carb cycling program by Shawn Hadsall called the 4 cycle solution which worked awesome...

Calorie counting is irrelevant to a degree...the effects of what foods you eat on your hormonal levels play a far greater role in what you look like than its calorie count...

Everything comes down to hormones in the end which is why things like gluten, dairy and processed foods are so bad in many people...they create low level chronic inflammation that wreaks havoc with your hormonal balance and adrenals

And IF is simply a style of eating so you can always do that along with any program you are running...I personally have had great results with running a 16/8 IF program LeanGains style along with carb cycling

Add some Ostarine and GH501516 with it and you will get some phenomenal results in 8 weeks

 

[SingleMalt]

I've been lifting and running for about four months now and down about 20lbs. I have been watching my intake and carbs closely. Today my energy level crashed. The scale told me I had lost 1lb today while at work.

I then choked down a beer and some bread.

Recalibrating......