I’ve had people asking me what supplements i use for cutting weight so i thought i would write a new blog post about it. (A few of these supplements I actually use most of the time)

These are the supplements that i personally am using at the moment to fit my dietary needs and fitness goals, which of course can be different for everyone. So just because i am using them doesn’t mean you should go out and buy all of the same ones, do a little research first and see which ones also fit your needs.

What a lot of people don’t realise is that supplements are exactly that.. SUPPLEMENTS! Your not going to magically get lean or magically gain muscle or magically correct an unhealthy diet. What they are there for is to SUPPLEMENT an already healthy lifestyle and on point training regime. Always always always make sure your training and diet are up to scratch before going out and buying supplements otherwise your just wasting your money.

Supplements i am taking for cutting are listed below, this is just a very brief overview and reasons why i take these supplements.. i strongly recommend anyone reading to do their own research on each and every supplement before taking them to see if it is suitable for their needs.

1. CLA

– Assists in fat burning and muscle retention, lowers insulin resistance, drives glucose more effectively into the muscle.

2. Alpha Lipoic Acid

– More effective carbohydrate metabolism and helps remove toxins from the body.

3. BCAA

– Increase protein synthesis and aid in muscle retention.

4. L Glutamine

– Increase protein synthesis, aid in muscle retention and to quickly restore glutamine levels after intense exercise.

5. Taurine

– Helps with hydration -> muscles retain more water -> muscles look fuller

6. Chromium Picolinate

– Enhances glucose uptake and insulin efficiency within the body resulting in more regulated blood sugar levels. Increased energy and fat burning.

7. Potassium

– Gotta replace those electrolytes when your drinking a few gallons of water ever day.

8. Cod liver oil

– Antioxidant & anti inflammatory properties which help aid in recovery after exercise.

9. Multivitamin

– I always take an all rounder, just in case i am missing anything!

10. Probiotics

I feel like this one goes without saying. Gotta look after that gut health ! The past few years people are starting to wake up and realise more and more that diet effects EVERYTHING. 90% of our serotonin is produced in the digestive tract. Lack of serotonin is one of the most common known contributions towards depression. By looking after your gut health you are actually looking after your all over physical & mental health as well. So take your probiotics and eat your fermented foods ok?

Since starting my cut my weight training has stayed exactly the same. I am still training 4 days a week and with the same amount of volume as i was when bulking.

I am still on a decent amount of calories at 2000 cals a day and as of yet have saw no need to reduce my calories any further.

In total during my cut i have done 3 sessions of HIIT cardio and that was only because i was pushed for time and wanted to get some very quick cardio in.

So how have i been adapting my diet & training to push past fat loss plateues and continuing to lose over 1lb a week? Walking more.

I think a lot of people are under the impression that if your not absolutely dripping in sweat and out of breath then your not burning fat. However walking is a form of LISS cardio and an underrated one at that.

I am a big hater of cardio in the gym i just can’t motivate myself to do it i get so bored and especially after lifting weights i can’t bring myself to do even 10 minutes on the treadmill or stepper. So for my cardio? I walk to the gym, i walk home from the gym, i walk to the train station for work instead of getting the bus & i do the same on the way home. All in all i walk about 15km a day. This is the only form of cardio i do, if i need more cardio in i just walk more.

When it’s winter and i am bulking and it’s freezing out i will definitely be getting the bus again but right now it’s summer and i am trying to burn fat so walking everywhere instead of getting the bus is definitely working for me and it is actually enjoyable and pleasant. It saves me a fortune in busfares, i don’t feel all sweaty and worn out after and i don’t have to take extra time out of my day to do it, infact if you live in Dublin like me you will know its actually faster to walk than get the bus in the mornings with all of that traffic! I also find that by walking to the dart to get to work in the morning instead of getting the bus i actually arrive at work in a much better mood amd feeling really good, it’s such a great way to start the day.

Now if your very overweight or have a lot of fat to lose you might want to opt for a more intensive form of cardio, but it won’t hurt you to add in some walking as well. For me personally who already has a lower bodyfat and is trying to get leaner, walking along with a caloric deficit and regular weight training sessions has been more than enough for me to lose between 1-2lbs a week. I guess i’m just trying to show that switching the bus for a walk, or walking the longer route home really does make a difference. Plus it’s great to have time to listen to music and podcasts whilst walking and getting some fresh air right?

 

If you read my last post you will know i planned on taking a 4 day break from dieting and the gym while i was on holidays from work for a few days while my Dad visiting me.

My plan was to try and keep on track with maintenance calories instead of in a defecit, but not worry so much about them or my macros so that i could go out and enjoy my meals without having to put to much thought into it.

It’s hard to count your calories when eating out for every meal but when you have been weighing your meals and counting macros for so long it gets easier to ‘eyeball’ your meals and get a general idea of how many calories are on your plate. So this is pretty much what i did for 4 days.

I’m sure i wen’t over my maintenance calories but i didn’t go overboard and totally pig out. However all in all the moto of my weekend was definitely ‘treat yo-self’. Burgers upon burgers upon burgers is all i’m sayin’.

The diet i have been using for cutting is mostly very low carbs, apart from a few higher carb days but even then my carbs are still quite low. Last weekend i ate ALL THE CARBS and have absolutely no regrets because they were amazing.

One thing which i was anticipating about being on a low carb diet and then suddenly eating so many carbs is that for every 1 gram of carbs we digest, our body will store 4 grams of water. So going from feeling like a lean bean to feeling extra fluffy was anticipated but still not welcome. I didn’t worry about that though as like i said i knew that this would happen and i also am aware that a lot of this ‘feeling fluffy’ was a mental thing because i knew i hadn’t been eating clean for a few days i was extra picky.

Tuesday morning i was straight back on track to my regular diet and workouts and i was feeling great. I very rarely take time out from the gym or counting macros so it was nice to have just a few days without that. But thats just it, it was nice FOR A FEW DAYS. Tuesday morning i was ready to rock n roll and dying to get back in the gym and meal prep.

I weighed myself on Thursday before my diet break and weighed myself on Tuesday after and all in all i only gained 4lbs, i was expecting more because of all the carbs i was eating so i was happy with only 4lbs. Most of this will just be water retention so it will only take me a few days to even things back out.

So was it worth taking a 4 day diet break? Absolutely! It was so nice to just enjoy myself without worrying about macros etc for a few days and we had some really amazing and not so healthy food. It won’t take me long to shift the water retention and get my weight back to what it was and to be honest it’s Friday when i’m writing this and my body looks just as lean as it did last week before my diet break and i have already dropped 2 of those 4lbs so no harm done. I also felt extra strong in the gym after a break and carbs and smashed two new PBs. Also my mood is definitely a lot better after a few days break mentally. All round goodness!

This just shows that you can still stay on track and lose weight whilst enjoying yourself. Yes the gym is very important and i for one revolve my life around my gym and eating habits, however what is also important is enjoying yourself and taking care of yourself and learning to allow yourself little breaks now and again. I have always been extremely hard on myself so this kind of thing is definitely a learning curve for me but i have to say i am enjoying the whole self care thing, i have noticed that since i stopped being so hard on myself and started allowing myself a little leeway now and again i have actually started getting better results.

I guess this is what it feels like to have balance.