Newbie to cutting, please give advice

[mwman]

Hey, I've been reading this forum for a few months now but this is my first post. I am 18 years old, 165lb, 5'11, 11-12% bodyfat. I go to the gym three times a week, with chest/tri's on day one, legs/shoulders on day two, and back/bi's on day three.

I've decided that with the summer coming up (going to the beach), instead of trying to put on more muscle and eating a lot, that I should just get rid of as much fat as possible to try and get a more defined chest and abs. I am in good shape, my abs are strong but I cannot see them, and I think it's a good idea to cut now, and then worry about bulking when I go to college in August.

My question is what is the best way of going about doing this? How many calories should I be eating daily in order to lose as much fat as possible, and how much cardio should I be doing?
I've been staying away from cardio because I did not want to lose muscle in the process. How can I perform cardio successfully without losing muscle? I've read some of the beginner guides to cutting but think I need a more personal guide and suggestions in order to know exactly what I need to do.

 

[Jodi]

Please post your diet and we can make recommendations.

As far as cardio, if you stick with HIIT moreso than traditional there is a lot less chance of muscle loss.

 

[mwman]

To be honest, I really don't have a set diet. Lately I've been conscious of having to eat 5-6 meals a day, and so I've been trying to do that. For breakfast I usually have waffles or something quick like pop-tarts, then after that I have some fruit like bananas, then for lunch I either eat a salad or a hamburger, I take whey protein and creatine on days that I workout, usually eat a yogurt before dinner, and dinner is subject to anything.

I don't drink soda or eat junk foods like candy or chips, and I try to stay away from fast food places; however, my girlfriend likes to go out to eat at pizza restaurants.

So how should I change my diet? What is a good calorie maximum to set? Also, how long should the HIIT sessions be for, and how many times each week?

 

[jaim91]

"then for lunch I either eat a salad or a hamburger, " - there is a big difference between the two. It might help to have a set "cutting" meal plan to start off with. A baseline number for cutting I read on this forum was 17.5 * lbs bodyweight.

 

[GRIFF]

17.5 seems high to me, thatd mean I'd be taking in 4200 cals, which seems like a lot. I think closer to 12 is more realistic.

 

[atherjen]

I agree 17.5 is far too much for cutting. for most that would be near or above maintenance.

start at 12x bw to begin with and adjust from there.
do 3 HIIT cardio sessions per week. 25-30mins each(including warmup).

as for what foods you should be eating-please read the stickies at the top of the forum. I really think that is a good place to get some ideas for you.

 

[ecomcorp]

I don't want to start a new post for this but what does HIIT mean thanks

 

[Premo55]

Personally I start off slow, 13x with no cardio (I maintain at 15x. Subtract 250 calories from daily caloric intake when fat loss stalls, and when I hit around 10-11x I start doing cardio, HIIT twice a week. I'm doing carb cycling this year though, SO much easier than calorie counting.

HIIT= high intensity interval training

Peace.

 

[sentricyphen]

Originally posted by Jodi
Please post your diet and we can make recommendations.

As far as cardio, if you stick with HIIT moreso than traditional there is a lot less chance of muscle loss.

Jodi, would you still suggest doing interval cardio even when going as long as say 30 mins? I don't want to overwork legs.
(And usually I do the eliptical, tread mill is way to slow when it comes to burning calories, and in my case, that is where my entire defecit comes from.)

 

[Vieope]

Originally posted by mwman
11-12% bodyfat.

I should just get rid of as much fat as possible ..

 

[mwman]

Yeah I know I am not fat and really don't need to be cutting... but all of the fat on my body seems to be concentrated on my mid-section, and this summer I want to be proud of my chest when I go to the beach; hopefully I'll be able to see some abs.

So with 12x I would be having 1980 calories a day. Does this seem to be a decent amount? So if I keep my calories low to make a deficit, and I do 30 min of HIIT sessions a week, how much fat can I expect to lose?

 

[jaim91]

Jodi - wouldn't it be helpful if he used the cals he needs for bulking (but not a lot), and then continued to do a combination of weight training AND HIIT to ensure he doesn't lose muscle?