This is our label for one of two cutting strategies.
At a glance:
- Eat at a caloric deficit
- Bodyweight loss of
- Protein levels are 3g per kilo of lean body mass
- Fats will be near
- Carbs will be near 0
- Keep a 90% ratio of minimally processed foods
- Run this for 4-8 weeks
Details
Also known as a protein sparing modified fast, or PSMF for short, there’s no denying this is an aggressive cut. Essentially we want to take advantage of the fact that it’s easier to lose fat when you’re at a higher body fat level.
Some caution and common sense needs to be applied here, there will be population groups where this cannot be run.
- If you’re a guy at 10% body fat or below, or a girl at 20% body fat or below.
- If you’re prenatal or postpartum.
Sequencing
How this works is cut #1 can be run by itself, or cut #1 and #2 are also designed to run sequentially. What you don’t want to do though is flip the order, and run cut #2 into #1.
Calculations
The best way to get an initial idea of weight loss is by estimating your body fat percentage. A dexa scan is of course the most accurate, but a visual check by an experienced eye is fine (in this case, probably add 2-3% to the estimate).
Divide this number by 15.
This figure is the % of your bodyweight that you can aim to lose per week.
We know that we need a decently high level of protein to prevent muscle loss on a severe cut.
Implementation
It’s easiest to conceptualise this on a micro and macro level.
Every week, you can distribute 3 types of eating days:
- 1 day of fasting
- 1 day of a slight cheat day
- 5 days of the standard PSMF days
This will be repeated for 4-8 weeks.
Considerations
Your training program will be impacted with cut #1, as opposed to being on a slight cut with a permamain strategy.
Benefits
Limitations
- This is not