question for all the hardcore lifters

[3rdCoast]

i was just wondering when yall are on a cycle,(not bulk) but just lean muscle or maybe even a weak cutting cycle,do yall eat all clean foods?like everyday do you eat your chicken and such and no pizza or chinese or food you know wont benefit you. Is it alot harder to still get lean and cut while eating a bad meal every now and then (not a cheat meal,but like a bad meal 3-4 times a week kinda thing) and doing minimal cardio?just something i was pondering,thanx guys




sorry if it is confusing,hard for me to explain what i mean by typing..thanx again

[beefcake]

You can cheat every so often, but 3-4 times a week is no good if you're trying to stay lean. Especially if you're only doing minimal cardio. I might say once a week is ok but try to keep it under control.

[3rdCoast]

thanx for the reply,but this is not for me,i was just curious about it because i know it takes a lot of dedication for all the serious guys out there and was just wondering how extreme they go..i by no means is "serious",just wondering about those who are

[Shibby]

if you are cycling, you are either bulking or cutting. So it goes one way or the other. What you are talking about I guess would be like gaining a little naturally but pretty much happy with where you are.

[Stonecold54]

I would be serious but with real life sometimes it is just impossible. I fall off the wagon so much it hurts. But it does take a LOT of dedication...I don't know how some of these guys do it...I applaud them though for their dedication.

[mcalo4]

the more strict and consistent you stay on your diet, the faster you'll see results. So yes eating bad foods will slow your progress.

[3rdCoast]

the more strict and consistent you stay on your diet, the faster you'll see results. So yes eating bad foods will slow your progress.

well clearly it will impede the progress,i just wonder if the real serious guys ever find themselves falling off the wagon as stonecold put it.i know eating clean will help you get results quicker,but the question is,do you have to eat clean all the time in order to gain muscle and not a lot of fat(again,sorry if the wording is confusing)

[beefcake]

well clearly it will impede the progress,i just wonder if the real serious guys ever find themselves falling off the wagon as stonecold put it.i know eating clean will help you get results quicker,but the question is,do you have to eat clean all the time in order to gain muscle and not a lot of fat(again,sorry if the wording is confusing)

The goal is to try not to, but we all fall off the wagon. That's what seperates the pro's, the dedication. If you do fuck up, which we all do, it's not the end of the world. It's not going to be detrimental to the ultimate goal. Just means you're going to have to work a little bit harder to get where you want to be. I find myself cheating, but I don't see it hurting me that bad.

[3rdCoast]

The goal is to try not to, but we all fall off the wagon. That's what seperates the pro's, the dedication. If you do fuck up, which we all do, it's not the end of the world. It's not going to be detrimental to the ultimate goal. Just means you're going to have to work a little bit harder to get where you want to be. I find myself cheating, but I don't see it hurting me that bad.

thanx man,i appreciate the response

[Shibby]

So yes eating bad foods will slow your progress.

to kind of add to this. As long as you are giving your muscles what they need to build, this part of your progress won't be slowed. But staying lean will be harder.

[wnabeabeast]

It depends on your goal if you are trying to stay or get lean it is important to be sitrict.I know we don't always count calories but here is a simple fact by numbers.
To lose an actual pound of body fat you have to burn 3500 calories.So say you cut your daily calorie intake down to 2500 calories.Now say with your daily cardio and training and clean eating habits you burn 3000 cals a day that puts you in 500 cal deficit a day.I know it sounds high but this is only an example.So in 7 days that means in one week you burned 3500 cals.hey you just lost a pound of body fat.:)
Now say you had only 2 cheat meals in that week,say you went to some nice restaurant for a dinner

Starters:Bread basket.

Next: You had salad with some light dressing and some appetaisers(could be wrong spelling.)

Then:Comes the main course with couple of side dishes.

And then you say WHAT THA HECK I WANT SOME DESERT.

OK I didn't even add a drink to it yet.
Well what do you think?I didn't even count the calories but I am guessing almost couple of thousand is it?
Now you asked is it OK to cheat 3-4 times a week?
That was one meal.So next day you went to MC Donalds for a combo meal deal now that I am just guessing here again,contains say 1000 cals probably more with fries and a drink.

Now lets get to the point by having two cheat meal you went back one week,if you have four cheat meals that week you gonna go back two weeks.So next time you are about to have you cheat meal think about this. :)

[redneck99]

it's always gonna be best to stay dicipline and stick to a strict diet but life is life.... if ur not a pro and doing this for a living then u do have ur life outside of bodybuilding to worry about. Sometimes other things may arise and you can't stick to ur diet, as much as I hate it, happens to me all the time..... I just try my best to keep it clean and not torture myself when I slip up

[Shibby]

It depends on your goal if you are trying to stay or get lean it is important to be sitrict.I know we don't always count calories but here is a simple fact by numbers.
To lose an actual pound of body fat you have to burn 3500 calories.So say you cut your daily calorie intake down to 2500 calories.Now say with your daily cardio and training and clean eating habits you burn 3000 cals a day that puts you in 500 cal deficit a day.I know it sounds high but this is only an example.So in 7 days that means in one week you burned 3500 cals.hey you just lost a pound of body fat.:)
Now say you had only 2 cheat meals in that week,say you went to some nice restaurant for a dinner

Starters:Bread basket.

Next: You had salad with some light dressing and some appetaisers(could be wrong spelling.)

Then:Comes the main course with couple of side dishes.

And then you say WHAT THA HECK I WANT SOME DESERT.

OK I didn't even add a drink to it yet.
Well what do you think?I didn't even count the calories but I am guessing almost couple of thousand is it?
Now you asked is it OK to cheat 3-4 times a week?
That was one meal.So next day you went to MC Donalds for a combo meal deal now that I am just guessing here again,contains say 1000 cals probably more with fries and a drink.

Now lets get to the point by having two cheat meal you went back one week,if you have four cheat meals that week you gonna go back two weeks.So next time you are about to have you cheat meal think about this. :)

That's why it's also good to find your BMR. So you know how this kind of numbers would apply to you.

[lxorl]

i try to stay as strict as possible during the week, then slack off on the weekends..

my biggest setback is beer.

[Lmg2701]

Off season.....I go crazy, make sure i get enough protein, eat everything in site.....But this also makes it harder and makes you have to start dieting earlier if you're competing. If you eat clean year round then hardcore dieting wouldn't have to start as early cuz you would already be fairly lean.

As for now I've been dieting strictly for a competition. It kind of becomes habit to eat really clean. I guess you come to figure if you've been doing it for this long there is no point in cheating because you really are only cheating yourself.

If you get into good eating habits that will become just that.....HABITS. Cheating once in a while can be beneficial to speed up metabolism, but you must control it and not let it get out of control.