Dieting: cut calories immediately or gradually?

[ProudVirgin69]

Fair is fair, childish "post a picture or I call bs" comments deserve childish responses.

That's what I thought.... the 4% shredded beast "chooses" not to post pictures

[Rambone]

As I said it depends. For example, a very obese person can drop calories very aggressively from the start of diet to get the fat loss going and to create a positive momentum (=they get motivated when they start seeing results quickly) then later on they can reduce the caloric deficit and use a more moderate approach.

Or someone who is lean can for a short time use an aggressive approach if he for whatever reason needs to drop fat quickly. Will there be a higher risk of a rebound? Yes, but if for example the person is dieting for a wedding/specific date it might be worth it anyways. The goal might not be long term fat loss.

I can mention several more scenarios but the point is that you have to consider a bunch of factors (time frame/starting point/psychology/contest prep or not etc etc) so the answer will be: it depends.

I agree with most of what you said although I was talking about it from a bodybuilding point of view of keeping the most muscle like the OP stated. I couldn't imagine the average Joe would aggressively cut calories if they knew in the long run they had a better chance of gaining it back. I guess that's just not my style since I'm in it for the long haul, but I guess people nowadays are impatient and want results now instead of later. It reminds me of the average overweight american trying to trim down so he can squeeze into his 40" waist husky fit Dockers before his Christmas party for work but once it's over, he won't give a fuck and most likely gain it back plus more with a now slower metabolism.

[Tennisballz]

That's what I thought.... the 4% shredded beast "chooses" not to post pictures

I understand not wanting to post your face, but if you're gonna claim you were 4% then you should at least post a pic to back it up.  Blur out your face or whatever.  Having thousands of posts on here doesn't mean anything to anyone and nobody is just gonna take your word for it if you claim to be that fit.

[Method101]

It helps tremendously if you understand what happens to your body when you suddenly cut calories.

It sees an upset homeostasis and it immediately realizes that the new deficit that has been taken has to be replaced immediately.

The easiest way for your body to do this is to grab hold of the nearest food it can find, which is muscle tissue. Readily available, hot to the touch, and expendable.
(METHOD101 SAYS: HAHAHA THIS IS FUCKING ULTIMATE BRO-SCIENCE GARBAGE PROBABLY FROM T-NATION OR SOME PALEO DIET FORUM.)
[/b]
Think about it.


You lower your metabolism and slow your body by 1000 calories, it's gonna find them somewhere.


Gradual is the answer.


Start out by cutting the garbage first, the the types of carbs, which are usually included in the 'garbage'


Your body isn't going to just automatically adjust to a lower fuel intake. This is why extremely fat people can say "I eat like a bird and I still gain fat"

Yes, they do, and they will. Their bodies have become fat-storing machines. They are still gonna store fat regardless of the intake associated.

If you worked hard for the muscle you've gained, you'd better work just as hard to try and save it while you try to get your body to burn off excess fat.

It's not an easy task. This is why there aren't that many people who are extremely fit. High muscle content and low bodyfat levels.


More often we see either "thin-fatties" or Perma-Bulkers.

Your post is so full of bro-science and unscientific garbage it's laughable.

First of all your body does not first look to muscle tissue in the event of an extended caloric deficit no matter how large, the first port of call will be the glycogen reserves, followed by the fat reserves. Out of those 3 fuel sources muscle tissue is the least efficient and the last priority for the body. Yes you will lose a very small amount of muscle tissue but this will always be dwarfed by the fat tissue which the body prefers to burn.

Numerous studies have shown that you do not become a "fat storing machine" after a long caloric deficit. Your metabolism returns to it's normal state within 1-2 months of returning calories to maintenance level no matter how long your 1000 caloric deficit per day has lasted.

METABOLIC DAMAGE IS BULLSHIT THAT HAS ONLY ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT IT.

IF YOU DON'T DROP YOUR CALORIES BY 1000 ON THE FIRST DAY OF YOUR DIET THEN YOU ARE JUST WASTING YOUR TIME AND THERE IS NO NEED TO GRADUALLY INCREASE THEM AFTERWARDS EITHER.

[ProudVirgin69]

I understand not wanting to post your face, but if you're gonna claim you were 4% then you should at least post a pic to back it up.  Blur out your face or whatever.  Having thousands of posts on here doesn't mean anything to anyone and nobody is just gonna take your word for it if you claim to be that fit.

Bingo.  The only ones who never post a picture are the ones whose physique doesn't match their claims, PERIOD.  4% oh brother

[Galvatron]

I agree with most of what you said although I was talking about it from a bodybuilding point of view of keeping the most muscle like the OP stated. I couldn't imagine the average Joe would aggressively cut calories if they knew in the long run they had a better chance of gaining it back. I guess that's just not my style since I'm in it for the long haul, but I guess people nowadays are impatient and want results now instead of later. It reminds me of the average overweight american trying to trim down so he can squeeze into his 40" waist husky fit Dockers before his Christmas party for work but once it's over, he won't give a fuck and most likely gain it back plus more with a now slower metabolism.

Generally crash dieting sucks if you are already fairly lean because usually people just gain back the weight very quickly (even if it works in the short-term). It's a quick fix. For example if you use an approach such as Lyle Mcdonalds RFL you can run it for maybe 10-14 days if you are leady lean. The fatter you are the longer can you run it without getting into trouble. Done correctly you will lose minimal amount of muscle. But what happens to most people is that they very quickly rebound. But if it's used to kickstart a diet for an obese person, it can work really well.

If you are doing a competition prep then most people will spend like 12-16-20 weeks on the prep and take their time to lose fat. That's the best approach for most people. But you also have guys like Disgusted who cut calories pretty aggressively from the start and from what I understand he has had plenty of success using that approach. Obvsiouly how fat you are at the start of the diet is a factor.

Some competitive bodybuilders also don't care about staying lean when they aren't competing, this may also have an effect on how you diet during the contest prep. That can be compared to for example a recreational bodybuilder who wants to stay lean year around.

Etc etc.

At the end of the day, if you want to diet down and stay lean then you have to make long-term changes to your diet. This is where most people fail, dieting down is fairly basic, just find something you can stick to (with sufficient protein, proper training etc). But what happens after you finish the diet? That is the hard part.

[juicemachine]

Dude is fat.

Every dietician is.

[Rambone]

Generally crash dieting sucks if you are already fairly lean because usually people just gain back the weight very quickly (even if it works in the short-term). It's a quick fix. For example if you use an approach such as Lyle Mcdonalds RFL you can run it for maybe 10-14 days if you are leady lean. The fatter you are the longer can you run it without getting into trouble. Done correctly you will lose minimal amount of muscle. But what happens to most people is that they very quickly rebound. But if it's used to kickstart a diet for an obese person, it can work really well.

If you are doing a competition prep then most people will spend like 12-16-20 weeks on the prep and take their time to lose fat. That's the best approach for most people. But you also have guys like Disgusted who cut calories pretty aggressively from the start and from what I understand he has had plenty of success using that approach. Obvsiouly how fat you are at the start of the diet is a factor.

Some competitive bodybuilders also don't care about staying lean when they aren't competing, this may also have an effect on how you diet during the contest prep. That can be compared to for example a recreational bodybuilder who wants to stay lean year around.

Etc etc.

At the end of the day, if you want to diet down and stay lean then you have to make long-term changes to your diet. This is where most people fail, dieting down is fairly basic, just find something you can stick to (with sufficient protein, proper training etc). But what happens after you finish the diet? That is the hard part.

True dat. After getting down to the bodyfat or weight goals if they even get there, I think the biggest mistake people make is increasing calories too quickly. The wedding's over so it's back to eating Big Macs. That's where I'm sure most crash dieting non-athletes go wrong and become even more discouraged.

[DroppingPlates]

That's what I thought.... the 4% shredded beast "chooses" not to post pictures

You suffer from a midlife crisis?

I understand not wanting to post your face, but if you're gonna claim you were 4% then you should at least post a pic to back it up.  Blur out your face or whatever.  Having thousands of posts on here doesn't mean anything to anyone and nobody is just gonna take your word for it if you claim to be that fit.

This is a discussion thread not Facebook or Instagram. It's up to others to agree or not with my thoughts on this subject.

[Rammstein]

Dude is fat.

He did diet down at some point:

[gracie bjj]

He did diet down at some point:

whoever that is in this pic looks pretty solid imo,pretty balanced and good size to boot,amazing delts

[Rammstein]

whoever that is in this pic looks pretty solid imo,pretty balanced and good size to boot,amazing delts

Mike Israetel; the guy in the youtube vids on p. 2.

http://jtsstrength.com/articles/2014/07/02/laws-optimizing-body-composition/

Doesn't get a good rating from his student(s) though:

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=1884143

[Irongrip400]

He did diet down at some point:

Little bit of gyno there.

[Jizmo]

thats still fat for a wannabe bodybuilder.