How to do a cut/lose body fat without being miserable?

[NewZealandintherain]

How do others do it? And for how long? Whilst still maintaining energy. Thanks!

I wish I knew! A lot of lean protein and vegetables is the way I do it, plus protein powder in Greek 0% yoghurt.

But it's hard.

Thanks! How many calories do you cut and for how long? I’m thinking I’ll only manage a week or two. I can’t be hungry!

An aggressive cut is reducing calories by 30%. Otherwise cut calories by 10% until you stop losing then increase restriction to 15% - from google 😂
So you need to be tracking to see what is maintenance first.

I think your energy levels will drop and performance at weights will drop if you are cutting and that's par for the course.

You could also increase your walking to boost your deficit (I'm presuming you are not in training for a show)

My PT stopped working for the last 2 weeks before his show because he felt so unwell but that was dropping to a completely unsustainable low level of body fat.

On a positive note, I'm not hungry if I hit my protein goal. Sometimes I can barely force myself to finish my chicken at dinner time. If I'm not on top of my program I often forget my protein shake mid to late afternoon because I'm so full from eggs, tuna, Greek yogurt and protein shakes from earlier in the day!
I'm due another 20g now so this thread has at least reminded me lol

I've only ever cut when I'm a bit close to a weight class boundary, so not by much. But I just do it gradually by eating a bit less. More veg less chips. Less extras I don't really need. I'm never hungry and miserable, which makes it sustainable. Quick cuts are often put straight back on.

Gradually, is the answer to your question. But that also means a long time before you see results, so you have to trust in the process.

If you cut drastically then you're basically crash dieting, which will mean feeling deprived, lacking in energy (whether real or psychological) and setting yourself up to put it all back on after you get fed up of it within a couple of weeks.

People talk about protein a lot but the biggest change I made to manage hunger was more fibre, at least 25g a day

Thanks everyone, that’s very helpful. I think I can fairly easily cut 200 calories a day while still having a few treats. So I’ll try that to start with and see how it goes. I’ll try and up my steps a little bit too.

i’ll focus on protein and fibre, thanks for those tips!

I start gradually ie a small deficit and then increase it as I pick up a bit of momentum. I only go hard ie a big deficit for the last few weeks. And I don't diet for more than 10 weeks ish.

Having said that, I am not trying to get stage lean! That's a LOT harder!

@Storybot is that via supplements?

No through food, beans and legumes, chickpeas, more veg, wholewheat pasta, brown rice etc

Thanks all. Well I’ve tried this week but it is hard. The more I feel I have to watch my intake the more I want to eat! I’ve lost 0.4kg and my body fat has gone from 26.7% to 26.4% on the scales. So maybe one more week and I’ll be fine.