Fat Loss While Maintaining Strength

My 6 Week Cut: Goals, Results, and Lessons Learned Losing Fat While Maintaining Strength

I recently lost 9 lbs of fat, in 6 weeks, while maintaining (and actually improving) my strength.

And as with any cut I’ve followed, I’ve got some more lessons to share if your goal is dropping fat while maintaining strength.

This might not seem like a lot of weight to lose for some, but those 9 lbs put me to the same ending weight as when I reached single digit body fat — and is the lightest I’ve been since high school.

While seeing physical transformation in my body is rewarding — I love the lessons learned that come every time I cut, bulk, or pursue any fitness goal.

No two cuts I’ve done have ever been the same. That’s what I love about chasing the goal.

You can always learn something about the process — what works, what doesn’t, and ways to continually improve.

But more importantly, you’re guaranteed to learn something about yourself — how does this apply to other areas of life and where can I grow or improve individually and as a coach.

If you’re working with a coach who hasn’t lived it, you’ll never see the transformation you desire. That’s why I love being ‘in the trenches’ with my clients — continuing to pursue similar goals, test new methods, and discover what works (and more often, what doesn’t).

This article will cover my goals, results, process, and lessons learned from this recent cut.

My goal for this cut

I learned many lessons the first time I reached ​single digit body fat percentage​, but that goal and the process I followed then was significantly different than my most recent cut.

For that cut…

• I was trying to achieve the goal ‘slow and steady’. It took me 4+ months to achieve
• I was intermittent fasting, eating 2 meals per day
• Strength training 3x/week with an emphasis on full body sessions and reverse pyramid training. I was training fasted at the time.
• I was essentially following a ​leangains protocol​, and I saw great results

For this most recent cut…

• I wanted to go hard and fast. I took a more aggressive calorie deficit and hit my goal in less than 6 weeks
• Over the past year or so, after a decade of ​intermittent fasting​, I’ve been eating breakfast again and having 3-4 meals per day. I kept the same meal frequency this time around, and due to schedule have been training primarily in the afternoon or early evening before dinner
• I’ve been ​adding volume​ to my program over the course of this year, so I’ve been strength training 5x/week on most weeks

As you can see, these two experiences followed radically different processes, yet both got me to roughly the same outcome.

There are lots of ways to run a successful cut, and I’ll explain below under lessons learned why I’ve made some of these changes the more cuts that I’ve run.

My results from this cut

I had a LOT of life changes happening during this cut, which certainly skewed both my results and the amount of data I tracked.

For reference, our son was born about a month prior to starting this cut, so sleep was low and added responsibilities — for my wife and family — were higher.

Because of that, cutting was more of a secondary thing running in the background, compared to other times I’ve been able to fully devote to it.

That’s the cool thing about the more you run successful fat burning cuts — when you know what works you have an easier time jumping right in and getting results.

So here were some results — both good and bad — this time around over the course of my 6 week cut:

The good:

• Bodyweight: 187 lbs —> 178 lbs
• I actually saw increases in my upper body strength, most notable in adding 10 lbs to my 3×5 bench press and 5 lbs to my 3×8 DB shoulder press
• I didn’t lose as much size in my arms and shoulders this time around, probably due to being able to maintain (or build) strength in upper body lifts
• Probably best of all…it only lasted 6 weeks. My hunger was pretty manageable throughout, and I felt like I was done with it about as quick as I started it

The bad:

• My metabolism dropped by about 150 calories over the course of the cut. While a reduction in metabolism is totally normal when cutting, it required more reduction in calories week over week than I would have liked
• Although bodyweight dropped quickly and predictably, I don’t feel like I got as lean this time around — specifically around my midsection. Due to a lot going in life, I didn’t track body composition this time around, so I can’t say how much of the weight lost was actually fat loss
• My energy tanked pretty hard towards the end, and I started to feel some strain on my hormones and mood. Although this is somewhat normal, see the lessons learned below for how I plan to address this for next time

My process for this cut

As mentioned earlier, the process this time around was far different than other times I’ve cut on more of a leangains approach.

As the approach, timeline, and my starting point were all different this time around — it’s impossible to compare which is ‘better’.

But here is what I did this time around to cut successfully:

• Calories: I tracked all my calories on ​MacroFactor​, ranging from around 2100-2200 calories per day, on average. For me, this was about a ~700 calorie daily deficit. The great thing with the MacroFactor app is that it tracks metabolism dynamically, and makes adjustments for me along the way
• Weight loss rate: I set weight loss rate at about 1.2 lbs per week, calories were adjusted accordingly to maintain this rate
• Protein: I kept protein on the high end, consuming between 220-230g per day on average (about 1.2g/lb of bodyweight at 180 lbs). While this amount of intake isn’t necessary, it is a personal preference of mine when cutting to be safe and maintain as much muscle as possible
• Carbs/fats: I set fats around 20-25% of my total calories, and filled the rest with carbs. I kept carbs lower in the morning (further away from training) and placed the majority of carbs in my pre and post workout meals to fuel performance and recovery
• Strength training: I trained 5x/weekly, following a modified version of upper/lower/push/pull/legs (ULPPL). If you want to see the similar 5 day program I followed, as well 3 and 4 day programs to fit any schedule — sign up for the ​Body [re]Building Playbook​ for a free template you can download.
• Steps: Maintaining a high level of activity outside of the gym is key to combat a ​decreased NEAT ​(calories burned with non-exercise activities). I averaged 15,000+ steps daily during this cut. That’s a lot of steps for most people — but it allows you to eat more, without ​extensive cardio​, or overtraining.

If you want a full step by step process to both cutting and muscle building goals — ​sign up for my free email course: The Body [re]Building Playbook. ​You’ll get a step by step walkthrough of exactly what you need to do — training, nutrition, lifestyle, and mindset — to transform your body.

My lessons learned from this cut

1. My performance was better

I was able to actually build upper body strength, and I felt a good drive to train despite 5x/weekly higher volume sessions.

I believe my performance was better this time around for a few reasons:

• The length of the cut. The longer the cut, the more it can wear on your hormones, recovery, and performance
• 4 meals daily (vs 2 or 3 meals in previous cuts). These were smaller meals than I was used to when cutting, to meet calorie needs, but I felt it gave me better and more balanced energy
• Higher carbs than previous cuts. On past cuts I had carbs around 100-120g per day. This cut I pushed closer to 200g per day, with most carbs around workouts. I felt like I had to sacrifice some of my overall daily energy and mental focus with the higher carb count, but it helped fuel my higher volume workouts better

2. Your body doesn’t want to reach low levels of body fat

As much as you or I want to get lean and walk around with low levels of body fat, it’s certainly not what your body wants.

There is always a point in my cut where I feel things ‘shift’.

What I mean by that, is a certain level of leanness where I can tell I’m getting into deeper fat stores. If it’s your first time cutting, you’ll probably have no idea what I’m talking about, but if you’ve completed several cuts and reached lower levels of body fat — you probably know the feeling.

It’s best described as just feeling lousy.

• My energy was lower
• My sex drive was lower
• My overall desire to get up and move was lower

As I’ve changed up my process, these have gotten less and less pronounced. But they’re inevitable to some degree, despite what people selling otherwise.

These are things I can never fully prepare myself for, but things you should be aware of if you’re pursuing lower levels of body fat.

3. I should have done a deload week sooner

At the very least, I should have done a ​deload week​ right before getting into my cut. I was slightly stubborn, as I was making great progress in the gym, so I pushed right from a hard training cycle right into my cut.

I felt the need to deload about 4 weeks into my cut, and I should have listened to my body, but I pushed through knowing I only had 1-2 weeks left to cut (and was planning to deload right after).

I think I could have either seen slightly better results or pushed the cut a little longer if I would have deloaded properly.

4. I should have planned better

Planning isn’t always my strong suit. As mentioned above — our son was about 1 month old when starting this cut, and it was right during the middle of summer.

This was more of a reactive cut, due to getting complacent and being lazy with my eating before and after our son was born — leading to excessive fat gain (and thus the need to diet off the fat). If I would have been more disciplined in the months prior, I wouldn’t have had to cut as aggressively (or at all), and my results probably would have been much better.

5. I had to get my mind right

There’s a different mindset you need when you’re cutting. I had tried cutting a couple months earlier, but my mind and heart were only partially in it. Halfhearted effort will get halfhearted results — which was exactly what I experienced a couple months prior.

If your mind isn’t right, you’re better off waiting.

If your mind is right — there is no better time than now.

Which leads me to my final lesson.

6. There is no perfect time to cut

If you have a desire, and your mindset is right, just take action.

Set your start date (or start tomorrow), and let it rip. Hire a coach if you don’t know what you’re doing and you want to guarantee results. Just don’t delay.

As I reflect, it made very little logical sense to do a cut when I did.

My son was born less than a month earlier, and it involved cutting in the middle of summer, through two holidays, and with several visitors coming into town.

But my mind was right, my desire was high, and I was ready.

If I put it off another 2 weeks or 2 months — I probably would have gotten myself into more trouble by staying lazy or complacent.

I could have avoided some of this by being more disciplined earlier in the year, and planning better, but that’s life. It won’t be the last time I fail to plan perfectly. But don’t ignore the desire you have to get lean or the motivation telling you to get started right now.

If you want a proven plan to follow, and want to shortcut your results — fill out a coaching form and let’s transform your body together.

Set the standard,

Dave

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