Should I go with an aggressive cut or a normal cut — what's your advice?

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casprow

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I'm on 2 MG of reta each week and hit the gym at least 4-5 times, plus 3-4 runs that are mostly long-distance sessions covering 10-30 km, along with some interval work. Right now my intake sits at 1800 Cals, split as 180g protein, 60 fat, and the remainder from carbs — which typically lands somewhere around 80-120g.

My weight is 80kg, I've already built a solid amount of muscle, and I'm lean with a visible 4 pack.
 
From what I can tell, the combination of how active you are and what you're eating already puts you in aggressive territory. How does all that activity leave you feeling day to day? What's your age? And your BF%?
 
Hitting the gym alone burns 300-500+ calories. Add runs of 10-30km on top of that and you're looking at another (500-900)-(1500-2700). At that stage, 1800 would really be the floor for intake lol. For lighter activity, folks often drop to 1200, but your level is far beyond that
 
If you're pairing an aggressive cut with that volume of cardio, you're basically setting yourself up for a binge. I say this from experience — I do cardio daily.
 
Given how lean you already are, going beyond a 500 calorie deficit will destroy your muscle. Being any more aggressive than that serves no purpose. Some muscle loss is unavoidable regardless, so why sacrifice more than necessary?
 
MTSpace said:

From what I can tell, the combination of how active you are and what you're eating already puts you in aggressive territory. How does all that activity leave you feeling day to day? What's your age? And your BF%?
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to be honest, this isn't my first aggressive cut, and usually I feel awful the entire day when I run one. this time, though, I feel great even though my activity has doubled, and that's because of reta... honestly speaking, reta has turned this aggressive cut — 1800 calories plus gym work and long-distance running — into something very manageable. the hunger cues are still present, but nowhere near as severe as they were during my last aggressive cut, when I did at most maybe an hour of incline cardio 3-5 times a week and nothing else, and the hunger was through the roof.

as for your question, I'd put myself somewhere around 11-15% bf, since my upper 2 abs are clearly visible and there are some veins around my shoulders. age 21
 
casprow said:


tbh its not the first time doing an aggressive cut and usally when I do it I feel bad all day long but this time even with double more activity I feel great since i'm on reta... like with all honesty reta had made this aggressive cut of 1800 calories and gym and running long distance very manageable and hunger noises are there but not as extreme as they were on my last aggressive cut where I only did maybe an hour of incline cardio 3-5 a week at max and nothing more with hunger feeling to the roof.

as of your question I would guess myself around 11-15% bf since my upper 2 abs are very visible and have somewhat of veins around my shoulders. age 21

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Put another way — having gone through everything above — there's no reason at all for you to drop weight, and probably there never was until now? Correct? I'm just asking.
 
casprow said:

MTSpace said:

From what I can tell, the combination of how active you are and what you're eating already puts you in aggressive territory. How does all that activity leave you feeling day to day? What's your age? And your BF%?
Click to expand...
to be honest, this isn't my first aggressive cut, and usually I feel awful the entire day when I run one. this time, though, I feel great even though my activity has doubled, and that's because of reta... honestly speaking, reta has turned this aggressive cut — 1800 calories plus gym work and long-distance running — into something very manageable. the hunger cues are still present, but nowhere near as severe as they were during my last aggressive cut, when I did at most maybe an hour of incline cardio 3-5 times a week and nothing else, and the hunger was through the roof.

as for your question, I'd put myself somewhere around 11-15% bf, since my upper 2 abs are clearly visible and there are some veins around my shoulders. age 21
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Usually, going slower works out better. The harder you push the calorie deficit, the more muscle mass you give up. Since you're young, there are times when adding muscle makes more sense than stripping away fat — it's the healthier route, especially if your goal is to be a hybrid athlete. If your body fat sits around 12%, dropping maybe 5 more pounds to reach 10% is reasonable, but past that point... the cut starts causing more problems than it solves. Raising your calories gradually lets you build more muscle and gives you far more energy, and your physique will end up looking better too. Cutting depletes glycogen (the water stored in your muscle), which is why muscles tend to look flatter. Just don't stretch a cut out too long or push it too hard, otherwise you'll wipe out all the progress you made at the gym.
 
Last week I went hard on the training, then stepped on the scale on monday. Most days my intake landed somewhere in the 1400 to 1800 calorie range, which likely put me around a 1500 calorie deficit on most days. Protein was high.

Monday's weigh-in showed a drop of four whole pounds, exactly what I was aiming for. During week one I also dropped four pounds by starving myself, and that approach probably cost me muscle mass.

So cutting hard does work. Go as aggressive as you want.
 
birdwhacker said:

gimmeshelter said:

Is feeling sick the goal here?
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Compared to him, my running volume was much higher, and I never felt ill.
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I get what you're saying — a large increase can trigger that, and then you're basically trapped for 7 days. From what I can see, he's already extremely active, so there's no reason to raise it. The guy is a workout machine. He already has visible abs!
 
A more gradual cut also leaves you with extra fuel to push harder during lifting sessions. That way you add muscle rather than shedding it. Take advantage of your age and natural hormone levels by dialing in nutritious eating, a solid training plan, and enough rest. Right now you're at your peak, and it would be awesome to learn you went beyond what you thought possible 💪.
 
The primary reason I began taking reta was to silence the constant food noise. I work a full-time job at a bakery, so food is on my mind 24h a day and it's impossible to avoid, which leads to daily binge eating. After a binge, I typically get mad at myself and make myself run farther as a form of punishment. To be honest, I'm not all that concerned with carrying excess muscle. My goal is simply to get leaner than I am right now and push my bf% to new lows, so I can see what I'm capable of and how attractive I could look.
 
casprow said:

The primary reason I began taking reta was to silence the constant food noise. I work a full-time job at a bakery, so food is on my mind 24h a day and it's impossible to avoid, which leads to daily binge eating. After a binge, I typically get mad at myself and make myself run farther as a form of punishment. To be honest, I'm not all that concerned with carrying excess muscle. My goal is simply to get leaner than I am right now and push my bf% to new lows, so I can see what I'm capable of and how attractive I could look.
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Working at a bakery would be the end of me!
 
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