Cut: Week 6
We’re past the halfway point. And while it feels a bit culturally insensitive at the moment to be writing a post that’s so ‘self-centered’ / not focused on COVID-19… well, there is comfort in structure and routine. My medical ‘day job’ has certainly been thrown all kinds of curve balls (as has my condo sale…!); however, I’m very fortunate that the training/nutrition part of my life hasn’t really been impacted much (yet). So, for now: onward.
The folks who say it’s ‘harder’ to lose weight after a mass are, in my opinion, both right and wrong. The rate of loss is slower now, so ‘fixed’ numerical goals would certainly be much tougher to attain (relevant for folks in weight class sports — because I can appreciate that with the amount of lean mass I’ve put on at this point, there is objectively no way I could hit 140# again without giving some of that up). But, on the flip side, body composition changes have been more dramatic right from the start (remember, my quads showed up in week 2!) — and in terms of training/movement, the degree of ‘strength relative to size’ is also markedly better than ever before. So while this cut definitely ‘feels different’ from previous ones — in terms of the desired results, I don’t think I can truthfully say it’s ‘more difficult’.
In total, my averages are down just a modest 5# across these first six weeks — which is a very different trajectory from what I experienced during my earlier days with RP (2017-2018) — but overall, I’m already feeling pretty lean, strong, and surprisingly close to ‘myself’ again.
‘Transformation’ photos look different when you’ve been in the game awhile. There isn’t ‘room’ for huge dramatic changes anymore. But I’m not mad at what’s happening here. 😎
Something that felt like a major victory this week is that (max lifts aside) this ‘peak week’ of training demonstrated that my overall strength hasn’t fallen off nearly as much as I recall from previous nutritional adventures. Even in my current (relatively depleted) state, I tackled some heavyish barbell cycling metcons this week (fifty 85# power snatches, some 105# thrusters, and my first-ever RXed ‘DT’) — and was quietly surprised by how much more manageable all of those things were than I had expected! The lighter bodyweight means I’m also continuing to notice a lot less foot pain than I have for the past six months or so, which is really nice. And food is still feeling ‘easy’ — I’m definitely hungry a lot, but in terms of building meals, this current macro level is a paradigm that I internalized long ago and ‘understand’ well, so the logistics do not require a ton of thought.
Having said that, we’ve also definitely reached the point where things are getting a little more ‘consistently uncomfortable’. We’re two days into week seven, meaning this is the ‘third quarter of the metcon’, so to speak — past halfway, feeling the effects of prolonged effort, but not so close to the finish line as to feel that second wind just yet.
The hunger remains mostly manageable, and even my sleep is somehow hanging on — it’s not exactly great, but it’s still sufficient. However, recovery is starting to feel noticeably more ‘tenuous’ — lots more muscle soreness than usual, and I also tweaked a hip this week in a way that I suspect is going to have me seeking out extra bodywork for the remainder of this cut. Certain aspects of training are starting to suffer a little, too (max lifts in particular) — which always happens eventually, but is also always the most psychologically difficult part of this process for me — because the entire reason I’m doing this in the first place is to (ultimately) improve performance… so even though I know, cerebrally, that this is both expected and temporary, I’m so highly invested that even a brief regression is sometimes hard to accept.
I’ve been a little more vocal about all of those effects lately, which has prompted several people to ask me ‘why’ I’m cutting (with varying degrees of curiosity, concern, and skepticism). To answer that, I’d refer back to last week’s post.
What I’m seeking here is a ‘feeling’ — the elusive middle of the Venn diagram, where that ‘relaxed confidence’ inside my body coincides with my most optimal performance place.
I’ll know when I’m there — and once I am, well, then the numerical label for that sweet spot becomes an afterthought at most.
That is worth reiterating — because I want to be consistently clear that this is not actually about aesthetics, and it is certainly not about an arbitrary scale number. It’s because I’ve been (intentionally…) a little too far to one side of the seesaw these past few months in terms of my performance ability. That’s not something that’s necessarily visible to anyone else; the only one who knows exactly ‘where the right place is’ is me. I know how ‘springy’ a burpee should feel, how quick a 400m sprint should be, how much control I should have on a kip swing. That is what I’m looking for. Body composition inherently goes hand in hand with those metrics — because our bodies adapt to what we consistently ask them to do — but that’s the effect of the hard work, not the reason for it.
I’m hopeful that this will be the last ‘real’ (=full-length) cut I’ll ever have to do, because now that we’ve taken the time to truly build some raw strength, I think the pendulum swing is finally narrowing to my long-term sustainable place. These past three years have been a very long and winding road — but I also don’t think it could have gone any other way. I had to spend time at other sizes in order to know what the right one was. As I said last week — 135-145# felt ‘breakable, and 160-175# felt ‘cumbersome’. But 150-155# feels strong and light, powerful and quick.
I’m not quite back into that ‘happy’ range yet, but I’m so close — the scale has been bouncing around the 156s all week — and I actually felt brave enough to rejoin #teamsportsbra yesterday for the first time in months. That was useful on two levels: (1) validation of progress / a psychological victory unto itself, but also (2) confirming for me what I already knew, which is that we’ve still got a little ways to go in terms of that visceral feeling of relaxed confidence. I remember what it feels like to be totally ‘at home’ inside my body, and we’re not quite there yet — but almost. It’s a little strange to be able to ‘localize’ the places of psychological comfort — but this week I notice that my hips, legs, arms, and shoulders feel ‘right’ to me now, and even my chest and belly aren’t receiving nearly as much ‘thought’ as they were a few weeks ago. This process is undeniably stressful in lots of ways, but on another level, it’s an odd kind of relief — like slowly ‘dropping’ small unconscious psychological burdens, one piece at a time.
Several people have commented that they appreciate my inclusion of specific numbers, in terms of both bodyweight and macros, so I’ll #showmywork and continue sharing those:
Scale-wise, my average for week six was 156.9. That’s a full pound decrease from week five (thank you, period), which means I’m here in week seven still with the equivalent of my RP ‘base’ macros (hooray!). My prediction, though, is that I’m probably going to have to knock things down another notch this week — daily weights are starting to stagnate in the 156s (and it’s been a full three weeks on this set of macros already, so that’s not entirely surprising — bodies are smart).
I definitely guessed correctly when I said in week two that I didn’t think I’d need to worry about dropping as low as 148#. As above, the rate of loss is slower than in the past, so at this point, I don’t even think 150# is all that likely. AND THAT’S FINE. The scale is not the goal; it’s nothing more than a tool — used to gauge progress, to assess the need for macro adjustments, and to help estimate a realistic endpoint.
Speaking of endpoints — the wise RPer generally overshoots slightly, because there’s always a 2-5# regain at the end of a cut due to water and glycogen. So, for example, if I ‘feel like myself’ at 154# — which is still roughly what I expect — then I’d ideally aim to push to 150-152# before ending things. That ‘perfect world’ scenario could still manifest; there is enough time left for me to get there — but 12 weeks remains my ‘hard stop’ no matter what the scale says, and there is a very real possibility that I will end sooner if my body tells me it’s done.
Macro-wise, I feel like I probably shouldn’t share the simplified RP-style numbers (since I’m down to a level now where they’re a direct reflection of my templates — and I paid good money for those!) — but according to MFP, the true totals on training days right now are coming out to a consistent ~2350 calories, which breaks down into 240-270 carb / 180-200 pro / 60-70 fat. (Rest days are similar, just with ~80-90g fewer carbs.)
I’m well aware that lots of people are looking at those numbers and thinking, “how the hell is that even a deficit?!?” so here’s my predictable plug: (1) many women are ‘maintaining’ at far below what their bodies could actually handle if they gave them the chance to do so, and (2) long maintenance/mass phases are how we ‘earn the right’ to occasionally diet. Biologically, our bodies are still wired exactly the same as in caveman times; our metabolism is designed to keep us alive, and it has to feel very ‘safe’ in order to allow for fat loss. This whole process (not just the few weeks of cutting, but the whole nutritional continuum) is a marathon, not a sprint.
To wrap up — in the interest of transparency, I’ll share that, despite the positive tone of this post, I’m starting to have some doubts about the wisdom/feasibility of sustaining this for twelve full weeks. (And that’s okay!) At this particular moment, I’m actually doing completely fine — but I hit a really, really rough patch (physically) during the first couple days of this past week. I’ve manipulated nutrition enough times to know that it’s like an endurance sport: there is always a second wind if you can just stay steady and wait for it — and I was right; everything immediately got better when my period started, and I fully expect to be relatively okay for a little while now. But knowing that another stretch like that is ‘waiting for me’ in a couple of weeks… and then waiting for me again right at (what would be) the twelve-week endpoint… well, I’m just not sure I want to face down that beast more than one more time. And, training- and recovery-wise, I’m also not sure I’d survive another macro slash past the one that (I suspect) is coming this week… which means I’d likely run into stalled progress before hitting the 12-week mark anyway.
But we’ll see. My body has surprised me before, and it may do so again. Let’s see how the next couple weeks feel and how the hormone timing goes.
But no matter how this plays out, we’re indisputably past the midpoint and on the downslope — and that is incredibly encouraging.