What to Expect in a Cutting Phase: Hunger, Energy, Strength

Nikkiey: What's up everybody, Nikkiey here with WarriorBabe, and today we're going to talk about what a cutting phase is, otherwise known, as you may hear within the fitness industry, as losing fat, losing some pounds, decreasing body fat. All of that is the same verbiage as cutting.

What we're going to dive into today is who the cutting phase is for, who the cutting phase is not for, what the ultimate goal of the cutting phase is, the changes that you can expect within your body when you're in a cutting phase, and the length of time recommended to be in a cutting phase.

So by the end of this video you're going to have an understanding of whether this is for you, what kind of goal you're looking to accomplish, what kind of changes you should be looking out for when it comes to the overall results of your body composition, and the ideal time that you will want to be spending in a cutting phase, because that matters the most. So let's get to it.

This is for those who want to lose or have to lose 15, 20 pounds plus. If you're somebody who is overweight and you're looking to lose that weight, to decrease that body fat, this is the phase for you.

This is not for somebody who already has a smaller frame. Let's say you've already gone through the process of losing all of the excess weight that you wanted to, and now you're more of a skinny fat frame and you're somebody who needs to put on and build some muscle. This really isn't the phase for you. And this is not the phase for somebody who is already on a restrictive diet or just not eating enough.

Now, the ultimate goal of a cutting phase is to drop body fat at the same time as preserving or building lean muscle mass, as much as possible.

I like to call this the illusion that happens to your body. As you're decreasing body fat, you're putting your body in a state to be able to expose more muscle that has already previously been built, or that you've been building in the process of being in a cut. If you can preserve the lean muscle mass that you have on your body, from either previously building it or building it while you're in this cut, and you're decreasing the body fat around it, then your muscles look like they're bigger. You look more toned, right?

And I call this the illusion because what's happening is you're decreasing the body fat around it. You may not be losing so much weight on the scale, which is another video for another time as to why the scale isn't the best indicator of your progress, but you're decreasing body fat and you're looking more toned, the result that you want to see with your body. It's more of that figure that you've always wanted.

And then along with this phase, you're going to be increasing your endurance capacity. So the way that you work out is a little bit different than the way that you would be working out in a maintenance and a build, and that's in the following videos.

Let's dive into the changes that you can expect from your body when you are in this cutting phase. You will have the ability to see more muscle development, as I just spoke to with the illusion of decreasing body fat and more muscle tone starting to show from that. More definition, more splits, more striations can also evolve from you being able to see more muscle development.

You're going to have less body fat. A key indicator for your success here is the percentage of body fat that you lose, not the overall weight that you lose. We're talking about something completely different here when I talk about losing weight versus losing fat, and I can share that in another video. But the ultimate goal, and the change that you expect to see in your body, is the decrease in body fat.

The best way to be able to record that is either getting an InBody scan done at a gym or going into one of those DEXA scans. Those two are probably the best ways you're going to be able to figure out what your true body fat is. Another easy way that you could do it is a handheld caliper. They're not as accurate, but if you use that tool and stick with that tool consistently, then you're going to have a number that you can stick with as you progress with seeing results. Or the Amazon Halo. I've used this before and I've seen great success with it. It's pretty accurate in the way that it gives you the results of what your body fat is. So that's another good way to be able to measure your body fat.

But that's something that you definitely want to make sure you are measuring when you are in this phase.

Let me just set the tone here. You are going to be hungry, and you will experience slight hunger. That is normal. That is natural. There are so many women who go into decreasing their calories, or they go into a diet where their calories are a little bit lower, and they're like, I can't finish this because I'm starving. Now, there are levels of starvation. If you're starving and feel like you're going to gnaw your hand off, then you need to reevaluate the diet or the calories that you're following.

But if you just have slight hunger when you're in a cutting phase, that is completely normal to experience. That means your metabolism is working the way that it should be. Your metabolism is firing. It's utilizing the food that you're giving your body, breaking it down and putting it to work where it needs to be, or putting it into recovery from the workouts that you've been doing while you're in this specific phase.

Let's say you're following a macro-based plan or you have set meals that you eat throughout the day. If you are hungry within about two hours of eating your last meal, that's great. That's normal to experience. But if you're somebody who is hungry after 10 minutes or 15 minutes or 30 minutes of eating your meal, and you want to, again, chew your hand off, or you're craving, like you're going down the hallway at work and you're just like, oh my God, I want to stick my hand in the candy jar, then those are things where you want to reevaluate where you're at with your calories.

Let me also touch on this point as well. What you can expect from your body when you're in the cutting phase is a decrease in energy. It is normal. It is natural to have this happen to you. This is another thing where people think, I'm so tired. And there's, again, a difference between being extremely exhausted and just having a decrease in energy, especially inside your workouts, which I'll explain in a second, which is completely normal when you are in this type of phase, cutting some weight and decreasing your body fat.

So there's one extreme where you're just extremely exhausted all the time. It's really hard to get off the couch. It feels like gravity is against you. That's where things should be reassessed. Maybe your caloric intake is just way too low and your body is not able to keep up with the demand of energy that you're putting out.

Now, on the other side of the spectrum, it's normal to feel decreased energy because your caloric intake is in a deficit, and it should be the right deficit for you. That varies for everybody. But since you are in a deficit, you're not eating as much as you were before, so it's natural to feel a decrease in energy.

Most importantly, when you're inside the gym and you're working out, it is completely normal to not be able to push as much weight as you were previously when you were eating more food. For example, let's say you go in and you're chest pressing 130 pounds on a bar. Then a couple of weeks later, you pull back on your calories and you put yourself in a cutting phase.

You won't push that much weight on the bench press. You will decrease the amount of weight that you can push. I say this because I want you to be aware of it. I don't want you to beat yourself up over it, because it's completely normal to feel this way when you are in a cutting phase, in a caloric deficit, losing some weight, whatever verbiage you follow or understand.

So those are the things that you can expect from your body. You can expect to see more muscle development, and to see definition, splits and striations from decreasing that body fat while preserving the lean muscle.

You will experience the body fat dropping, and you may find that your weight really doesn't fluctuate that much, but more physical changes are happening in your composition. You will have slight hunger. But again, gauge yourself on that spectrum. Where are you at? Are you starving, or are you just experiencing slight hunger, which is completely normal? You will have decreased energy, okay? But again, on that spectrum, are you exhausted with gravity against you, or are you just experiencing a slight decrease in energy when you're lifting and working out, which is normal?

The last thing that I want to talk about is the ideal time recommended to stay in this cutting phase. A moderate cut can last between three to five months. But let me throw in right now that the length of the phase depends on your ability to stay consistent with it. If you're inconsistent, results are going to take longer to accomplish. If you are consistent the majority of the time, you can have a pretty solid cut with great results in three to five months.

With a slow cut, like I was just mentioning, if you're not pretty consistent, it can take anywhere up to six to seven months to get results. Now, not only does it lean on consistency, but it also leans on where you are in your journey. Do you have tons of weight to lose, which is going to take you a longer period of time than somebody who has about 30 pounds to lose, which is on the lower spectrum of a cut? So just keep in mind that for the ideal time, those are some hard timeframes that I can reference.

But it solely depends on where you are in your journey. So if this video helped you, please subscribe to this channel. There are going to be more videos around this type of stuff, whether I'm talking about what a maintenance phase is, what a building phase is, or sharing more tips around macros, nutrition and workouts. So make sure to hit the subscribe button. And if you're looking for a more sustainable approach to your nutrition, whether it be understanding what macros and workouts are specifically right for you, your individual body type and the lifestyle that you live, then be sure to check out warriorbabe.com. We have tons of free resources on the website. Definitely stick around for the next video. I'll see you there.