Key takeaways
- Set the deficit by body fat: smaller when you are lean, larger when you have more to lose.
- A lean-mass formula such as Katch-McArdle often estimates a lifter’s TDEE better than a weight-based one.
- Adjust only from two- to four-week weight trends, in steps of 100 to 150 kcal or 2,000 daily steps.
- End the cut at maintenance for at least two weeks before bulking or cutting again.
On this page
- Before you start: is now a good time to cut?
- Set your starting numbers
- Cutting example: a 28-year-old man at 84 kg
- The 12-week cut, block by block
- Training while cutting
- Do you need cardio to cut?
- Refeeds and diet breaks
- When loss stalls
- Ending the cut
- How do you know when to stop?
- Questions about cutting with TDEE
Before you start: is now a good time to cut?
A cut works best when you can commit to at least eight weeks of steady eating and training. Exams, a new baby, a heavy work project or an injury are all good reasons to wait, or to eat at maintenance instead. Also ask what you are cutting for. If you are fairly lean and new to lifting, a few months of building at maintenance or a small surplus may change your physique more than a cut would.
Set your starting numbers
1. Your TDEE. Use the cutting calculator or the TDEE calculator. If you lift and know your body fat, enter it: lean-mass formulas tend to fit muscular people better. Choose your activity level from your whole week, not your training alone.
2. Your deficit, by body fat.
| Body fat at the start | Deficit | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| Men over 25%, women over 35% | 20 to 25% | Up to about 1% of body weight a week |
| Men 15 to 25%, women 25 to 35% | 15 to 20% | About 0.5 to 0.8% a week |
| Men 10 to 15%, women 20 to 25% | 10 to 15% | About 0.4 to 0.6% a week |
| Men under 10%, women under 20% | 10% or less | Slow; consider whether you need to cut |
These bands are coaching rules of thumb, built on research showing that leaner people lose a bigger share of muscle when they diet, and that slower loss protects lean mass in trained people.
3. Protein: 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg of body weight, up to about 2.4 g/kg if you are lean and the deficit is large. Fat: at least about 0.5 to 0.8 g/kg, enough for hormones and fat-soluble vitamins. Carbohydrate: the rest, to fuel training.
Cutting example: a 28-year-old man at 84 kg
A 28-year-old man, 180 cm (5′11″) and 84 kg (185 lb), 18% body fat, lifts four times a week and walks about 9,000 steps a day.
Lean mass = 84 × 0.82 = 68.9 kg BMR (Katch) = 370 + 21.6 × 68.9 = 1,858 kcal TDEE = 1,858 × 1.55 = 2,880 kcal Cut (−20%) = about 2,300 kcal a day, about 0.5 kg (1.1 lb) a week Protein 168 g (2.0 g/kg) · Fat 67 g (0.8 g/kg) · Carbs about 257 g
For comparison, Mifflin-St Jeor would put his TDEE at about 2,837 kcal, close in this case. For a leaner or more muscular lifter, the gap would be bigger.
The 12-week cut, block by block
| Weeks | Focus | What to expect and do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Set up | Hit calories and protein daily, weigh every morning, keep training as normal. Expect a quick drop of 1 to 2 kg, mostly water. Don’t change anything yet. |
| 3 to 4 | First review | Compare weekly averages from week 2 to week 4. On pace (about 0.4 to 0.6 kg a week)? Keep going. Slower? Check logging and steps, then take 100 to 150 kcal off. |
| 5 to 8 | Steady progress | Keep lifting heavy. Watch your daily steps, which often drift down. Measure your waist every two weeks. |
| 8 to 9 | Recalculate | After 4 to 5 kg, recalculate your TDEE. Consider a one-week diet break at maintenance if hunger, sleep or training are suffering. |
| 10 to 12 | Finish | Expect a slower pace. Keep protein high and training heavy. Decide whether to stop at week 12 or continue after a break. |
| 13 to 14 | Maintenance | Step up to your new maintenance. The scale will rise slightly as glycogen returns. Hold steady. |
Training while cutting
Keep the heavy lifts that built your muscle in the first place. Your aim is to hold your strength: if your main lifts stay roughly the same for 12 weeks while you lose 5 to 6 kg, you have almost certainly kept your muscle. If recovery suffers late in the cut, reduce the number of sets a little rather than the weight on the bar.
Expect some sessions to feel flat, especially in the last few weeks. Putting most of your carbohydrate in the meals before and after training helps.
Do you need cardio to cut?
No. The calorie deficit does the work. Cardio is a tool to widen the deficit without eating less, and it is good for your heart, but it is optional. The best choice for most lifters is walking: it burns calories with almost no fatigue. If you add harder cardio, keep it away from your heaviest leg days and add it gradually. And count it in your plan; don’t eat the calories back.
Refeeds and diet breaks
Two tools can make a long cut easier:
- Refeed days: one or two days a week at about maintenance, mostly from extra carbohydrate, counted in your weekly total. In one trial in resistance-trained people, dieters with two higher days a week lost similar fat to continuous dieters and kept slightly more lean mass.
- Diet breaks: one or two weeks at maintenance every 6 to 12 weeks. In the MATADOR trial, men with obesity who dieted in blocks with two-week breaks lost more fat and kept more of it off than men who dieted continuously.
When loss stalls
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| One flat week | Water | Nothing. Wait. |
| Two to three flat weeks, waist shrinking | Fat loss hidden by water or muscle glycogen | Keep going for another week |
| Three flat weeks, waist the same | Deficit has shrunk | Check logging and steps, then take off 100 to 150 kcal or add 2,000 steps |
| Losing strength, sleeping badly, very hungry | Deficit too big or too long | Take a diet break at maintenance |
Ending the cut
Finish at maintenance rather than jumping straight into a surplus. Recalculate your TDEE at your new weight, step up to it, and stay there for at least two weeks. The scale will rise by about a kilo as your muscles refill with glycogen and water; that is expected. Once your weight settles, you have a measured maintenance to build your next phase from, whether that is a lean bulk or a longer period of maintenance.
How do you know when to stop?
- You have reached the look or body fat you were aiming for.
- Your strength keeps falling for two to three weeks.
- Hunger, mood or sleep have become hard to manage.
- Your period becomes irregular or stops; in that case, see a doctor.
Stopping a cut is not failing it. Coming back to it after a few weeks at maintenance often works better than grinding on.
Questions about cutting with TDEE
How many calories should I eat when cutting?
About 10 to 25% below your TDEE, depending on how lean you are. A 20% deficit suits most people with some fat to lose; lean lifters do better with 10 to 15%.
Do I need to do cardio to cut?
No. The deficit does the work. Walking is an easy way to burn extra calories without hurting recovery, and harder cardio is optional.
Why am I not losing weight in a deficit?
In the first weeks, water often masks fat loss. After that, the usual causes are under-logged food, fewer daily steps, or a TDEE estimate that was too high. Review after three weeks and adjust by 100 to 150 kcal.
How long should a cut last?
Most cuts last 8 to 16 weeks, followed by at least two weeks at maintenance. Longer cuts work better with diet breaks along the way.
How much protein should I eat when cutting?
About 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg of body weight a day, and up to about 2.4 g/kg if you are lean and the deficit is large. Spread it across three to five meals.
Should I cut or bulk first?
If you carry a fair amount of body fat, cut first. If you are fairly lean and new to lifting, building at maintenance or a small surplus is usually the better first step.
Do I need to count macros on a cut?
Calories and protein matter most. If you hit both most days, the split between carbs and fat is flexible. Many lifters keep a bit more carbohydrate around training for performance.
Is cutting different for women?
The principles are the same. Women often have a lower TDEE, so check that the target stays above about 1,200 kcal, compare weigh-ins at the same point in the cycle, and watch for changes to your period, which mean the deficit is too large.
What if I miss my calories on some days?
Look at the week, not the day. A day over or under target makes little difference if your weekly average is on plan. Get back to your normal meals the next day rather than compensating with a very low day.
Can I cut without losing strength?
Often, yes, especially with a moderate deficit, high protein and heavy lifting. Some strength loss late in a long cut is normal and usually returns quickly at maintenance.
Sources
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