What is Cutting?

Apart from bulking, there is another method of building muscle which is usually called cutting.

Cutting is a way to regulate your diet with a calorie intake that is less than your daily needs.

The main goal in cutting is to eliminate fat in the body while maintaining muscle mass.

During this phase, we should focus on a calorie deficit, where the number of calories consumed is less than the number of calories burned.

A low fat and high protein diet is a priority. Meanwhile, cardio and fat burning exercises help reduce layers of fat, so that the muscle that has been gained can still be seen.

Food For Cutting Program

Food for cutting should be chosen carefully so that you can lose weight healthily.

Calorie intake into the body needs to be considered to support the success of the cutting program.

The Cutting Program ensures that your calorie intake is no more than the total calories burned and you exercise regularly, especially lifting weights.

The recommended types of food for cutting are:

1. Eggs

Eggs are a source of protein which is one of the main choices for building muscle.

Eggs contain leucine, an amino acid which has an important role in protein synthesis.

Eggs also contain good fats and several types of vitamins that are beneficial for the body.

Therefore, consuming eggs can help maintain muscle mass while increasing the body’s metabolism.

2. Chicken Breast

Another source of protein that is recommended for consumption during the Cutting program is Chicken Breast.

When you consume chicken breast, the protein content in it will be processed into amino acids.

This content is then used by the body to form cells and body tissue, including muscle tissue.

That is why chicken breast is often consumed by people who are building muscle mass and strength.

However, apart from consuming chicken breast which is high in protein, exercise and strength training are also important to build and maintain muscle mass.

3. Lean Beef

Beef is rich in nutrients such as iron, B vitamins and creatine.

Creatine itself is useful for increasing the production of ATP, a substance that functions to store and transfer energy for metabolic processes.

With ATP, the body will have additional energy resources to support intense physical activity.

Animal protein in beef is also known to play a role in muscle growth and repair after weight training.

4. Salmon

The next recommended food for cutting is salmon because it is low in saturated fat, high in protein, and rich in omega 3 such as DHA and EPA.

These nutrients can help reduce fat, stabilize insulin, and increase energy production.

5. Green Vegetables

Green vegetables are one of the recommended foods for cutting which can help reduce fat in the body because they contain high fiber and other important nutrients such as vitamins and minerals.

Some examples of green leafy vegetables that are very good as food for cutting include spinach, cabbage, lettuce, mustard greens and broccoli.

6. Wheat Bread

Bread, especially made from wheat, is a recommended food for cutting because it contains complex carbohydrates which can make you feel full longer.

This is because the body’s absorption of complex carbohydrates tends to be slower so that these nutrients can be converted into maximum energy.

7. Fruits

Fruits such as apples, strawberries and blueberries contain high levels of fiber and other important nutrients such as vitamins and antioxidants.

Consuming fruit can help control appetite and reduce fat in the body.

These fruits can be used as a healthy diet snack option between meals to reduce hunger, reduce body fat absorption, and prevent fat accumulation, especially in the stomach area.

8. Nuts

Nuts such as almonds, cashews and other nuts contain protein, fiber and healthy fats which can help maintain muscle mass and reduce fat in the body.

How to Cutting

To achieve cutting goals, it is not only a matter of a calorie deficit but there are other things that make this successful.

Here’s how to reduce fat while maintaining as much muscle as possible.

1. Calculating calorie intake

A decrease in fat mass will occur when you are consistently able to consume fewer calories than you burn, or what is called a calorie deficit.

The number of calories you should consume in a day to lose fat mass depends on your weight, height, lifestyle, gender and exercise level.

2. Determine Protein Intake

Increasing protein intake is very important in a cutting program.

By determining a high protein intake, it will help you reduce fat mass by increasing the body’s metabolic system, reducing appetite, and maintaining lean muscle mass.

3. Determine Fat Intake

It is important to know the amount of fat we consume while undergoing the Cutting program.

Cutting does reduce fat, but we still need fat because of its role in producing the testosterone hormone which can maintain muscle mass.

Nutrition experts recommend that on average, cutting dieters should consume 20%-30% of their calorie sources as fat.

If your needs are 2,000 calories per day, you should eat around 44-67 grams of fat per day.

4. Determine Carbohydrate Intake

Carbohydrates are needed by the body to get energy. Determining carbohydrate intake during cutting also helps individuals not lose muscle.

Experts recommend consuming between 2 – 5 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight during the cutting process.

So, if someone weighs 70 kilograms, then he needs a carbohydrate intake of 200 – 215 grams.

5. Determine the Right Exercise

The goal of cutting exercise is to burn as much fat as possible and lose as little muscle as possible.

This is the reason why choosing sports activities during cutting needs to be given careful attention.

Focus your training on muscles that are still covered in fat. Apart from that, complete it with cardio exercises such as running, swimming and aerobics to speed up the cutting process.

Exercises for the Cutting Program

The cutting exercises often recommended by fitness professionals are cardio and weight training.

So, what are the exercises for cutting?

Cardio exercises that are popular for bodybuilders when cutting are running, going up and down stairs, jumping rope, cycling, and so on.

However, cardio exercise cannot be the main exercise during cutting because it is feared that it can reduce muscle mass. Therefore, cardio needs to be done well without overdoing it.

On the other hand, weight training or lifting weights is more recommended by experts. Weight training helps the body burn fat while maintaining muscle mass.

Not only that, the calorie burning effect of lifting weights is also longer lasting even after the individual is at rest.