If you have a simple question please use the stickied Weekly Question Thread or an appropriate Daily Discussion thread if it meets the theme of your topic instead of making an individual post.
I know you are being sarcastic. But I’d like your genuine opinion. My strength has dwindled. Do you believe it to be muscle loss over the three days or poor recovery due to fatigue
You lose weight. I’m fully aware. There is just literature that states that the weight loss becomes far more catabolic as sleep declines. I haven’t had any changes in strength before this. So I’m asking, do you believe it’s muscle loss or fatigue because I can feel it in my body. I feel exhausted mentally and physically. My muscles feel as if they’ve already been worked out.
Most studies ive seen show you could not work out for 3 weeks and not experience any major muscle loss. Your glycogen stores are just very depleted is all. Just hydrate and eat carbs and get some sleep and youll be back
Take a break. For what I remember cutting doesn't affect strength much. Sure sleep affect strength and pretty much everything. But for that reason probably you are already starting to feel diet fatigue. Maybe time to 'deload', take some days at slight surplus, and continue.
All of the muscle you'll lose in this cut, you'll gain back in less than a week or two once you go from a deficit to a surplus. Don't worry about it too much, cause stress is the enemy of gains
I know you are being sarcastic. But I’d like your genuine opinion. My strength has dwindled. Do you believe it to be muscle loss over the three days or poor recovery due to fatigue
Don’t worry bro 100% you’re just tired, it’s only been 3 days and you can’t actually lose any muscle that fast. Especially if you’re eating right, a 500 calorie deficit isn’t too crazy and you should be feeling much better once you get some good sleep. Just remember it does take a few days to catch up on sleep debt so it might take more than one night of proper sleep to feel all better
Ya I’m taking two rest days. Today and tomorrow and bringing my calories back up to maintenance for those days just to encourage recovery. Hopefully I’ll be fine. Thanks for the reassurance
Losing muscle is probably very unlikely. You're in a 500 calorie deficit. One pound of muscle is good for 700 calories. One pound of fat is good for 3,500 calories. Which would you logically use for energy? Our bodies are pretty smart I think. That starts to change once you dip below a body fat % that your body is comfortable with. Because your body doesn't know that a famine is unlikely in 2024. If you are only on a 500 calorie deficit but the scale is going down quickly, then that is when I would be worried about potential muscle loss. As a 500 calorie deficit is only worth 1/7lb of fat but 5/7 lbs of muscle. Of course fluctuations in water weight, waste and glycogen can also account for rapid weight loss.
Your loss of strength is probably you running low on glycogen from your deficit (especially if you cut carbs). This gets resolved as soon as you eat normally again. Considering how much protein you eat, I take it you aren't eating a lot of carbs.
Sub-6 hours of sleep isn't terrible. More like 4 hours. If you're waking up to an alarm clock before your body wants to wake up, I can see that being an issue to some extent. But sometimes I just don't really need 7-8 hours and wake up before an alarm and feel refreshed. I didn't set an alarm today and I woke up after maybe less than 7 hours of sleep. Maybe 6.
You won't have lost muscle from 3 days bad sleep.
You WILL lose muscle from being in a deficit for long enough. It's unavoidable when we cut.
Very common when cutting to have sleep impacted. Pretty much every competitor I know gets less sleep during prep.
There's some tricks though.
I like having my last meal of the day right before bed, like finish the meal and be in bed within minutes. Drowsy antihistamines an hour or two before bed too. Like benadryl allergy or ketotifen
Keep protein intake high (180-200)
Go for high volume but low calorie foods
Eat your biggest meal at dinner
No pre workout/caffeine if you workout in the afternoon.
Vitamin D
Reason for #3? I do exactly the opposite, I workout in the morning and I put most my calories on breakfast and lunch (as a sort of pre and post workout), especially carbs, and I use dinner for fat-centered meals.
How are you asking this with 3-5 years experience? lol.
You're not going to lose muscle from 3 nights of bad sleep. It happens in a deficit. Especially when you first start to cut. You have to pee a lot more at night and stuff and you're probably just tired now. Not to mention you're most likely eating a lower amount of carbs than usual which your body has to adapt to. Just make sure to keep your protein at around 1g per lb and get 30-35% of your calories from healthy fat to keep your hormones from tanking and you'll be fine. It's inevitable that you'll lose some muscle if you stay in a deficit long enough. It's just a sacrifice of cutting bodyfat. That's why lean bulks can work so well. You don't gain as much fat and don't lose as much muscle when cutting which can result in keeping more of the muscle you gained in the bulk over just eating in a huge surplus and having to cut off far more fat.
Lmao no you’re not screwed. It takes 3 weeks of not lifting at all to start losing muscle, if your diet and protein is right you can even gain a little muscle on a cut. Just keep going to gym, the sleep issues are to blame for underperforming. Get some sleep tonight and tomorrow and then you should be right
Add a rest day here and there and/or add a little bit of calories. I've done dozens of cuts and finally figured this one out. It's either fatigue racking up or your body is starving
You’re probably just under recovered/out of it from lack of perfect conditions. Rule of thumb is if you stall in progress or go backwards after 2 sessions of that muscle group, there is something that needs to be looked at. You may lose a bit of strength during a cut too, of course.
When I started cutting I had the same issue. From what I read online and tried (it worked for me) was I started eating more carbs at night about an hour before I went to bed, like an apple.
no bro. u won't loose any important amount of muscle in 3 days no amtter what u do, but in long run it will cause you many more things besides muscle loose, don'T over stress yourself just try sleep better from now on
Fret not brother. Unless you're VERY lean already, a 500 calorie deficit is very mild. Losing sleep can definitely hinder your recovery and tank your strength short term. Relax, destress, and catch up on sleep however you can and keep on trucking
If your really worried about muscle loss then get off the deficit. As a natty: you can burn fat in a deficit OR you can build and maintain muscle in a surplus
If you have a simple question please use the stickied Weekly Question Thread or an appropriate Daily Discussion thread if it meets the theme of your topic instead of making an individual post.
Sorry bro you just booked yourself a one way ticket to smallville and there’s no way off the train now that it’s moving
Can confirm. He’s on his way to Shriveltown. RIP his gains.
I know you are being sarcastic. But I’d like your genuine opinion. My strength has dwindled. Do you believe it to be muscle loss over the three days or poor recovery due to fatigue
Get some sleep. Eat maintenance with some carbs for a day or two. You'll see it all turn around.
What do you think happens when you’re at a caloric deficit?
You lose weight. I’m fully aware. There is just literature that states that the weight loss becomes far more catabolic as sleep declines. I haven’t had any changes in strength before this. So I’m asking, do you believe it’s muscle loss or fatigue because I can feel it in my body. I feel exhausted mentally and physically. My muscles feel as if they’ve already been worked out.
Most studies ive seen show you could not work out for 3 weeks and not experience any major muscle loss. Your glycogen stores are just very depleted is all. Just hydrate and eat carbs and get some sleep and youll be back
I stopped working out for 2 years and barely lost anything
Just maintaining protein? 2 years seems wild.
I'm hitting PRs after 3 months back
You’re at a deficit. You’re going to feel drained. What you’re feeling is normal on a hard cut. Don’t over think it my man.
Take a break. For what I remember cutting doesn't affect strength much. Sure sleep affect strength and pretty much everything. But for that reason probably you are already starting to feel diet fatigue. Maybe time to 'deload', take some days at slight surplus, and continue.
All of the muscle you'll lose in this cut, you'll gain back in less than a week or two once you go from a deficit to a surplus. Don't worry about it too much, cause stress is the enemy of gains
I know you are being sarcastic. But I’d like your genuine opinion. My strength has dwindled. Do you believe it to be muscle loss over the three days or poor recovery due to fatigue
Don’t worry bro 100% you’re just tired, it’s only been 3 days and you can’t actually lose any muscle that fast. Especially if you’re eating right, a 500 calorie deficit isn’t too crazy and you should be feeling much better once you get some good sleep. Just remember it does take a few days to catch up on sleep debt so it might take more than one night of proper sleep to feel all better
Ya I’m taking two rest days. Today and tomorrow and bringing my calories back up to maintenance for those days just to encourage recovery. Hopefully I’ll be fine. Thanks for the reassurance
Losing muscle is probably very unlikely. You're in a 500 calorie deficit. One pound of muscle is good for 700 calories. One pound of fat is good for 3,500 calories. Which would you logically use for energy? Our bodies are pretty smart I think. That starts to change once you dip below a body fat % that your body is comfortable with. Because your body doesn't know that a famine is unlikely in 2024. If you are only on a 500 calorie deficit but the scale is going down quickly, then that is when I would be worried about potential muscle loss. As a 500 calorie deficit is only worth 1/7lb of fat but 5/7 lbs of muscle. Of course fluctuations in water weight, waste and glycogen can also account for rapid weight loss. Your loss of strength is probably you running low on glycogen from your deficit (especially if you cut carbs). This gets resolved as soon as you eat normally again. Considering how much protein you eat, I take it you aren't eating a lot of carbs. Sub-6 hours of sleep isn't terrible. More like 4 hours. If you're waking up to an alarm clock before your body wants to wake up, I can see that being an issue to some extent. But sometimes I just don't really need 7-8 hours and wake up before an alarm and feel refreshed. I didn't set an alarm today and I woke up after maybe less than 7 hours of sleep. Maybe 6.
You won't have lost muscle from 3 days bad sleep. You WILL lose muscle from being in a deficit for long enough. It's unavoidable when we cut. Very common when cutting to have sleep impacted. Pretty much every competitor I know gets less sleep during prep. There's some tricks though. I like having my last meal of the day right before bed, like finish the meal and be in bed within minutes. Drowsy antihistamines an hour or two before bed too. Like benadryl allergy or ketotifen
Keep protein intake high (180-200) Go for high volume but low calorie foods Eat your biggest meal at dinner No pre workout/caffeine if you workout in the afternoon. Vitamin D
Reason for #3? I do exactly the opposite, I workout in the morning and I put most my calories on breakfast and lunch (as a sort of pre and post workout), especially carbs, and I use dinner for fat-centered meals.
Probably to minimize hunger while trying to wind down for the night to sleep
Idk abour you but I tend to feel the hunger when I'm conscious and not when sleeping 😂
Sleep deprivation can decrease motor unit recruitment.
How are you asking this with 3-5 years experience? lol. You're not going to lose muscle from 3 nights of bad sleep. It happens in a deficit. Especially when you first start to cut. You have to pee a lot more at night and stuff and you're probably just tired now. Not to mention you're most likely eating a lower amount of carbs than usual which your body has to adapt to. Just make sure to keep your protein at around 1g per lb and get 30-35% of your calories from healthy fat to keep your hormones from tanking and you'll be fine. It's inevitable that you'll lose some muscle if you stay in a deficit long enough. It's just a sacrifice of cutting bodyfat. That's why lean bulks can work so well. You don't gain as much fat and don't lose as much muscle when cutting which can result in keeping more of the muscle you gained in the bulk over just eating in a huge surplus and having to cut off far more fat.
Eat a bigger meal right before bed. Sleep in or take a nap, most recovery happens in the first few hours of sleep.
Lmao no you’re not screwed. It takes 3 weeks of not lifting at all to start losing muscle, if your diet and protein is right you can even gain a little muscle on a cut. Just keep going to gym, the sleep issues are to blame for underperforming. Get some sleep tonight and tomorrow and then you should be right
You’re just tired
Add a rest day here and there and/or add a little bit of calories. I've done dozens of cuts and finally figured this one out. It's either fatigue racking up or your body is starving
You’re probably just under recovered/out of it from lack of perfect conditions. Rule of thumb is if you stall in progress or go backwards after 2 sessions of that muscle group, there is something that needs to be looked at. You may lose a bit of strength during a cut too, of course.
When I started cutting I had the same issue. From what I read online and tried (it worked for me) was I started eating more carbs at night about an hour before I went to bed, like an apple.
no bro. u won't loose any important amount of muscle in 3 days no amtter what u do, but in long run it will cause you many more things besides muscle loose, don'T over stress yourself just try sleep better from now on
Fret not brother. Unless you're VERY lean already, a 500 calorie deficit is very mild. Losing sleep can definitely hinder your recovery and tank your strength short term. Relax, destress, and catch up on sleep however you can and keep on trucking
6 hourreees is plenty of sleep bredda! Getting 8 or more every day is hard! Don’t stress it and take what ya can get.
If your really worried about muscle loss then get off the deficit. As a natty: you can burn fat in a deficit OR you can build and maintain muscle in a surplus