Cutting Diet

[hard_2_gain]

My TDEE is around 2500 calories.

If I am eating 1800-2000 calories, is that a good amount for cutting?

I would say weekends I could get around 1800 without feeling like I've over eaten (less because I sleep longer, do less physically). Week days I could get around 2000 calories without feeling like I've been over eating.

I hit the gym as many days a week as I can.

[Khazima]

Yeah that's sufficient for cutting, is it working for you? I'd say not to go past a 500 deficit unless you're in a hurry to cut, as to save muscle.

As for hitting the gym as many days as you can, it's ideal to have a set routine or program to run, and stick to it. This will yield the best results.

[hard_2_gain]

Thanks again for reply. When I say I hit it is many days as I can, that means 5-6 times/wk.

I do a lot of compound lifts in my workouts, lots of higher rep isolations and I try to always do cardio. Work core as well couple times/wk.

Going to add in more body weight exercises, right now I am just doing a pushup program. Going to ad pull ups because they are my weak point.

Seems to be working so far, I look leaner with more definition. The electronic BF% scale at the gym also shows me going down, but I'm not sure how reliable they are. I take a couple measurements each week and average it out.

[Khazima]

Thanks again for reply. When I say I hit it is many days as I can, that means 5-6 times/wk.

I do a lot of compound lifts in my workouts, lots of higher rep isolations and I try to always do cardio. Work core as well couple times/wk.

Going to add in more body weight exercises, right now I am just doing a pushup program. Going to ad pull ups because they are my weak point.

Seems to be working so far, I look leaner with more definition. The electronic BF% scale at the gym also shows me going down, but I'm not sure how reliable they are. I take a couple measurements each week and average it out.

Sounds like a lot of volume including cardio to be doing on a cut, I'm about to cut and I'll be doing 4-5 proper lifting days, and if it's 5 the last workout will be quite low intensity. Then cardio 2 times a week to start, probably get up to 4 in the depths of the cut.

As long as you're using the same scales/measurements every time, it's a good indicator of progress, maybe not accurate, but it's consistent which is most important.

[hard_2_gain]

What are the downsides to training too much while eating low calories? Other than muscle loss. I want to keep the intensity and volume up so when I start to lean bulk (and run gear) I will be disciplined to train hard, will have strong ligaments/tendons, joints, etc.

[Khazima]

One aspect of discipline for dedicated athletes is to force yourself to take days off, I for one would train 7 days a week 3 hours a day if I could continue to progress doing so.

Your body needs time to recover to grow, recovery is one of the biggest factors for progress. With less caloric intake your body has less nutrients to utilize for recovery making your recovery time (eg. Sleep, days off) all the more important.

[hard_2_gain]

Okay. But from a fat loss perspective, is it going to hurt if I "overtrain"?

[Khazima]

Okay. But from a fat loss perspective, is it going to hurt if I "overtrain"?

Yes, it can lead to overuse injuries, digression and plateaus.