6-week mini cut results

johnacola

New member
I’ve been weightlifting for the better part of a decade but always had spurts of a a few weeks of consistency followed by months of being lazy. I’ve always had it in my mind that I wanted to be in super good shape for my 30th birthday, so when I realized it was coming up 6 weeks ago I started a short “summer shred” to see how lean I could get. My bday is on Tuesday so here are the results!

Stats: 5’ 3” (160 cm) 110lbs (50kg)

Beginning weight was 112.4 so not even a 3lb difference.

Vids & Pics (NSFW)

What I did

Routine – Went from half-assing a modified version of Ice Cream Fitness on Tues, Thurs, Sat with NO cardio (I’m talkin’ none. Zip.) to an aesthetic split on MWF with running or jump rope/cardio interval training on Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun with no missed workouts during the cut. I am VERY LUCKY and have an entire basement gym set up so the COVID gym closures didn’t affect me too much (although I did miss my gym for things like cables and getting tf out of the house)

Nutrition – For the past 8 or so years I’ve followed intermittent fasting (16/8 window) and IIFYM. For this cut I went on a slight deficit. WARNING: I am small and have a desk job, so besides my workouts I am on my butt all day until my Apple Watch yells at me to stand up. These numbers reflect that.

My calories and macro split for this cut is 1299 cals 98P/43F/130C. This is only about a 250cal deficit from my maintenance, which is proven by my steady ~.5lb loss per week of the cut. I eat a lot of whole eggs, Greek yogurt, chicken breast, lean turkey, cheese, potatoes, whey protein powder, fruits and veg. Due to IIFYM I also have chocolate, rice krispie treats, or cosmic brownies every night depending on my mood and what fits haha. I haven’t gone over my calories in the entirety of the cut except on the day I donated blood where I upped my intake a bit to compensate. I don’t feel hungry, I feel fueled for my workouts, no fatigue.

Other tidbits - I completely cut out alcohol. I hate to say it but I think this was a MAJOR factor into the progress I made during the 6 weeks. I went from drinking a ton of beer and wine (and tequila, and whiskey, and… you get the point) to completely dry. I also upped my water intake from "barely any" to at min 64oz/day and cut down coffee to 2/day instead of my usual 4-5.

Where to go from here – I’m having an epic food fest on my bday, took the day off and everything to basically stuff my face. After that, I’ll be upping my calories back to maintenance and will work on recomping to develop weaker areas (back, hamstrings, would like to get dem capped shoulders a la Sarah Connor in T2). Will probably drop my cardio down to 2 days a week vs my current 4.

Thanks for reading!
 
@johnacola You look phenomenal!! If you took your cals to 1300 (down only 250) does this mean your maintenance is 1550 cals? That seems really low. I also do IF so this is encouraging that you were able to achieve these results with 16/8. I've never been able to lose weight with anything less than 18/6.
 
@johnacola You look amazing! I’m 5’3” and 117lbs. Your bod is essentially my goal! I would love to have a flat stomach as that is where I carry most of my fat, I’ve been lifting 3x a week for a month now and it seems to be helping. What I’m really struggling with is diet. I’m going to try out your macros and see if that helps me
 
@2tired2floss Necessary? No. Beneficial for your heart health, yes. Also personal preference. Taking into consideration that weight loss is just CiCo, some people are cool with eating a bit less and doing no cardio to be in a deficit. I’d rather not cut out any more food (since my cals are already so low on a cut) and add in some cardio. Make sense?
 
@johnacola You look amazing and interested in your calorie cut!! It seems like everyone says “EAT HIGH PROTEIN” to include professionals (I’ve worked with a few fitness trainers in the past). While I do lean more on the side of low carb, lean protein, lots of veggies... high protein in the 140 g - 170 g for me seems high. I just feel gross after eating that much protein...

I do weight training (arms: dumbells, legs: squats+machines), but wouldnt I also gain muscle by getting 80g - 100 G protein per day?? For reference I’m F/140/5’7. I’d like to get down to 130.
 
@jbs2512 OP was eating 98g of protein at 110-112lbs. That’s considered high for active people, mostly bodybuilders aim for a significantly higher ratio. The same protein to body weight ratio would be 124g at 140lbs.
 
@darcylbridge Yep. I’ve cut my protein down to a normal range, prob around 100g/daily and upped my cardio. I’m seeing some weight loss finally. Thanks for your reply, I completely agree!! I thought weight training would give me a smaller, leaner body but it just made me thicker with muscle growth. I’ve read it’s easier to lose the weight and then bulk to gain muscle, so it seems there’s a lot of strategy involved and I need to first lose some body fat. Thicker is Great for some ppl, but I’d like to stay more on the leaner side
 
@jbs2512 Building muscle does make you leaner though. Like this woman ate more and started lifting to build muscle. Bulk and cut is how bodybuilders sculpt their physiques because it’s optimal for building well defined muscles. Michelle has done bulk and cut cycles to change her body composition.

I think Casey Ho’s weight loss results show the results of fat loss with an average amount of muscle. I wouldn’t say normal weight women ever look thick to me personally, that brings to mind an overweight build. But if you’re aiming to be smaller more than looking to be well defined and starting at a normal weight like Casey then that comes down to fat loss.
 
@johnacola That is darn amazing? In 6 weeks??! Can you please tell me about the cardio you did? Did you do any, did you increase as time went?
 
@johnacola I'm also 5'3 but I have been constantly hovering at around 130 despite losing inches ( I've accepted my body is going to recomp and then just do a cut later) and just turned 30 in late April! Happy early birthday and thanks for the inspiration :)
 
@johnacola You look great, but I know you know that, obviously, from your amazing results and positive feedback.

I can;t imagine being satisfied on so few calories! What did a daily menu look like for you?
 
@leoser
Hi love, here's an example of some typical days, keeping in mind that I follow intermittent fasting.

Morning - Black coffee

Noon - I break my fast with chicken salad (100g chicken breast, 30g light mayo, 15g greek yogurt, seasoning) with crackers, babybel gouda, 150g of watermelon.

Afternoon - 30g of whey protein concentrate mixed with 125g 0% greek yogurt

During Workout - serving of BCAAs

Dinner - Turkey meatballs with mashed potatoes and asparagus OR chicken breast with roasted yellow potatoes

Snacks - sugar free jello cups, crispy mini rice cakes, rice krispie treats, mini chocolate bars (beauty of IIFYM)

Weekends Morning - Black coffee

Noon - break my fast with 2 whole eggs baked, with half of an everything bagel with light garlic and herb cream cheese, mango, arugula salad

Dinner - Chicken with a serving of pasta

Snacks - Some cheese or Protein pudding (the powder & greek yogurt combo) would normally skip my brownie or rice krispie on a day like this because the pasta would've taken up a lot of my carbs. Etc etc.

The best 'diet' for you is whatever is sustainable. I like IIFYM because I fit in the things that I enjoy. Also, staying hydrated has made a huge difference for me as I realized a lot of the time my body was confusing thirst for hunger. Lastly, you're on a deficit. You gon' be hungry sometimes.

^answered this in a previous comment :)
 
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@johnacola I’m also doing a mini 6 week cut! We have similar stats too, I’m 31, 5’2.5 and currently at 124.4. My goal is to lose around 5lbs. I’m one week in and also aiming for 1300 calls max a day and upped protein. My arch nemesis was bread. Amazing how just strict diet can have such a big affect if your doing everything else right. Thanks for sharing, I needed this!
 
@johnacola Awesome results!
I can confidently say I would be a hateful cow if I cut my calories that low. I’m 5’1 and 115 and refuse to drop below 1500. My gym performance suffers way too much.
 
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