Anybody else here cutting for summer?

I've been lifting weights for almost 8 years. There have been some gaps due to me being a kid with no knowledge and plateauing and then quitting or the last 2 years where I was doing manual labor and was exhausted all the time.

But, for the most part I've lifted and eaten a calorie surplus. It took me from 103lbs at 13 to 200lbs at 21. I've never made a serious attempt to get lean. Now, I have gotten lean as a side effect of doing Ketosis, where I drastically changed my diet to realize what kind of carbs I can digest well (Bread does not mix with me I discovered).

But anyway, I started this year back at school and continued eating my 3500 to 4000 calorie diet while lifting but decided to slowly graduate my calories down and get shredded for the summer because, well, I think it'd be cool to get ripped and go to pool parties. I'm currently at week 5:

........Calories...Carbs
Week 1&2: 3200
Week 3&4: 3000
Week 5&6: 2800......160
Week 7&8: 2600......100
Week 9: 2500........15
Week 10: 2400.......15

So I'm going to reduce my calories by eliminating carbs and a little protein, but I'm going to keep my fat high. At week 9 I'll start my attempt to keto-adapt by consuming only 15 carbs a day all from greens.

Depending on how lean I get by week 10, I'll either continue reducing calories or I'll reverse diet back up a few hundred and drop down a few hundred throughout the summer to maintain leanness. No matter what though, I'm not going to reverse diet by adding carbs. I'll most likely just add more fat. I'm considering doing ketosis long term due to its anti-inflamitory effects on the body; I got hit by a car when crossing a street when I was a teenager and I'm starting to feel the long term effects of the injuries. I also jacked up my neck from boxing and I'm feeling that too.

So what do ya'll think? Should I log this?

 

Well I'm at 2800 currently, only consuming 162 carbs, 200 protein, 150 fat.

I run a modified version of Wendler's 5/3/1. My current lifts are: Bench 270lbs, Overhead Press 175lbs, Back Squat 315lbs, Dead Lift 440lbs.

I don't do HIIT because it raises cortisol. I've begun doing conditioning - just my old boxing circuits to improve my reflexes, power, and core stability.

You do know that it has been studied and 10 sets of 3 reps produces as much or more hypertrophy as 3 x 10... ? How do you think ballistic lifters grow?

Also, I've done Ketosis before with no issues. I've actually set PR's in Ketosis, weighing 181 that I have yet to break. And my brother gets lower than 2400 cals on a cut and doesn't loose muscle and stays strong. He deadlifts 565, Squats over 400, Benches in the mid 300s.

NotSoAverageJoe what are your best lifts at what weight?

And do you think that because ketosis is only glow glycemic carbs I won't get an insulin response from food or what?

 

I think I'm getting to that point the longer I do NoFap. I have too much energy every day. And my aggression is drastically increasing. That being said, after 2 years of manual labor, my body has gotten weaker altogether - I feel hard lifting sessions in my bones. I can't handle that level of training yet. But the way my squat gains are going I'm seriously considering the Bulgarian method.

I used to never track my macros, but that is also when I didn't make gains. I'm a chronically low calorie eater, so I have to log everything just to hit 2800 calories. I was in constant discomfort eating 4000 but I was growing fast as f***. If I didn't force myself to eat, I'd probably only eat 2000 calories a day.

 

It's simple. In Ketosis you're consuming 15 grams of fiber from green vegetables - those are your only carbs. Then divide the rest of your calories in 70-80% fat and 30-20% protein. When you have the right balance of fat and protein you're going to have perfect digestion. So you'll have no bloating after a meal, no gas, and your stool will be consistently the same - with next to no odor, particularly none that is repulsive, more like composted worm castings.

From there, when you've achieved consistent, homeostasis-like digestion, you can add carbs to your diet, one item at a time until you reach a food that mucks up your consistent digestion. So for me, I first added sweet potatoes, then other potatoes, then some fruit, then rice, then bread. Once I added bread I experienced bloating and gas and lesser quality stool. So I tried various types of bread and they all exhibited the negative effects other than rolls (any type of rolls too - it's weird). So I took bread back out of my diet, but kept the other carbs and I was fine.

There is a lot of info on stool and it is very important to know. When the western world had a better medical system doctors usually approached the treatment of illness beginning with the diagnosis of the patient's stool because of how central the digestive system is to the health of the entire body.

 

For one to go from a protein, fat, and carb diet to a protein, fat, fiber diet does not require a calorie cut. You can eat just as many calories, just eat more fat.

 

So, as an update, I've taken some of the advice on this thread.

I increased my frequency because after a few days of NoFap I began feeling more energized. So last week I lifted 6 days a week, doing my regular 4 Wendler's 5/3/1 days but also doing 2 additional ab/conditioning days. I basically just front squat to a 1rm and follow that by doing a boxing circuits of 2 minutes on the bag and 30sec to 1 min off, doing decline sit ups or ab roll outs. The reason I front squat for abs is because the front squat is an excellent ab building lift; I used to do 285lbs for a 1rm and at the time of that routine, I had amazing abs, while doing no direct core work.

I also extended my 2800 calorie week up increased the fats and lowered the carbs because I've been feeling hungry and this is my 1 rep week. I hit a 320lb back squat as a new 1 rep max. I attempted 330lbs, but I was using a s***y rack, where I had to walk out 6 feet just to hit parallel because some other people were lifting in the real power rack. I'm pretty sure if I didn't have to walk it out so far, I would have gotten 330lbs, but there's always another 1 rep week.

I'm going to go for a 460-480lb dead lift on Friday. I pulled high last week, setting my theoretical max at 477, so if I get enough rest a food, and the right mindset, I'll hit 480.

After this week I'm going to drop down to 2700 calories and ride that out until I stall.