Summer shredding: Three-month cut
Week 2
More stories from Ryan Allen
Shelby Foster and Rilee Stapleton
Thinking about the most important things when on a clean cutting diet. I will be executing a healthy, three-month cut losing fat while retaining as much muscle as possible. It’s important in the cutting cycle not to crash diet (cut too many calories) and sacrifice all of the hard-earned muscle from the gym.
Week 2
202.0 lbs – 201.6 lbs
The second week was much easier for me, and I’ve narrowed it down to a couple reasons. First, I just got tired of being tired. Second, I found motivating factors, and I missed thriving in the gym.
When you go from eating super healthy to all junk food, you physically and mentally change. I went from being energetic to wanting to sleep on the couch as soon as I get home. I went from cheekbones to chubby cheeks and abs to flabs. All of this made me feel demotivated and guilty which led me to eat more for comfort. That’s exactly why I became obese to begin with and besides, who doesn’t like to eat?
I then went back and looked at old pictures and videos of when I was at tip top shape and confident with myself. I also watched a couple of military special ops movies and “John Wick” to build up some motivation.
After building up some mental motivation, I started looking for physical events I could train for. First thing that came to mind was prom and not looking obese in the pictures I’ll be looking back on for the rest of my life. Second thing was prepping for the beach body for when I go down to Sarasota and the lake for the summer.
Self-control and dedication is everything when it comes down to a cut.
— Staff Writer Ryan Allen
After setting myself straight and really amping myself up, hitting the gym and sticking to my diet plan has been a breeze. I see results as early as two days, because I’m dedicated when it comes to something I want. My face is slimming down from the water weight (candy and sweets) and my core is beginning to poke through.
I’ve been using a couple of tips that have been helping me get back into the swing of things. On the days that I’m starving before lunch, I’ll drink a Coke Zero or a diet soda. I know soda isn’t the best for you, but its zero calories, doesn’t trigger an insulin spike, and prolongs the fast. Another tip is forcing myself to drink at least one bottle of water before I eat a snack or meal. Our bodies easily mistake thirst for hunger, and that’s where most of us fall short.
My diet has stayed the same as week one but this week I haven’t cheated. After about four days of not cheating is when it starts to get easier to resist the sweets. I also started whipping myself when I got home from school to not eat a full course meal before the gym. It’s harder to workout with a lot of food in your stomach and it’s harder to get warm.
Self-control and dedication is everything when it comes down to a cut. It’s also extremely important to know exactly what you’re eating that way you can track it and expect results. Before I had my food scale I was easily eating 1,000+ calories without even knowing it, because I thought I could guesstimate the serving sizes, I was wrong. On to week three.
