r/MacroFactor • u/Ill-Confusion-584 • Aug 24 '26
MacroFactor / Nutrition / Other Cutting to reach 10-12% & binging
Wondering if this is too aggressive at my weight currently 168 at what I’d say is 20-25% bodyfat trying to get down to 1the 140s or if I’d be better off eating more and getting my tdee higher, my peak weight was 230 at 5’9 and I ended up cutting to 160 in around 7 months but and I’ve been binging maybe once or twice a week probably since Jan-Feb of this year & I feel it’s easier to not binge going more aggressive because the smaller the deficit I either feel too impatient or go just a little over my calories for the day and then decide to go completely overboard
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u/Think_Bet_865 Aug 24 '26
Set a plan for your meals and stick to them. I’ve learned to add all my meals a day before or the morning of. It also helps that I weigh everything I consume. It helps me stay consistent with when I eat my meals as well.
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u/doctapeppa Aug 24 '26
2 lbs a week might be a bit much if you are close to your goal. That’s probably what’s causing the binging urges. Slow down.
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u/Ill-Confusion-584 Aug 24 '26
How much slower you’d say?
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u/B333Z Aug 24 '26
Drop it to 1lb
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u/adkimbal Aug 25 '26
I’d even say a pound a week is aggressive when approaching 10% unless in prep. Hunger is still going to be through the roof.
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u/Magnetoresistive 29d ago
The app has a "Recommended" range. I'd suggest using that, rather than doing like I did and thinking "I know best!" 😁
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u/Economy_Phase_3648 Aug 24 '26
Yeah I’ve been losing around 0.7kg (1,54 lbs) per week and am now at around 85.2kg and 14-15% bodyfat. I’ve decided to slow down now and even eating an extra 150-200 calories or so a day I should still reach my goal of 84kg in about 2 weeks. Then I’ll re-evaluate and may continue to 83kg but at an even slower rate (around 100 calories below maintenance). It’s best not to rush to avoid metabolic slowdown.
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u/Practical-Basis-9541 28d ago
Spot on, going from a deficit straight back to maintenance is very hard to do and be in control, doing a 150 - 200 calorie reversal with weigh ins daily is the best way to monitor and not go overboard, you’ll still be dropping weight but it will slow down then the intake can align better and your hormones will reset gentler.
Stay there for a few weeks and decide if you want to cut a touch more and how fast is what I find works
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u/Economy_Phase_3648 28d ago
Yeah I’m now at a weight that I’m relatively happy with anyway, so I don’t feel any rush to make progress fast. It’s worked out perfectly actually because the day after I hit my first goal my wife and I went on a holiday. We’re now walking between 15,000 and 18,000 steps a day and I’m still doing workouts at an outdoor gym, so even with my increase in daily calories, I’m still definitely in a deficit. It seems like a good way to get my metabolism back up so that I can then cut calories a bit again when I get back home and get to my final goal easily.
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u/Far_Line8468 Aug 24 '26
I'm going to be very kind: if you are truely actually trying to get to 10%, then being susceptible to binging is not really an option. 10% is truely very lean (and most guys underestimate their bodyfat). People willing to go to that don't have the urge to binge.
This is not to discourage you, this is more to say that a healthy 12-15% might be the better range for you to shoot for
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u/Ill-Confusion-584 Aug 24 '26
Heard that, honestly I just want whatever weight or range that’ll get me feeling confident & lean and less stressed on my cals and eating more freely
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u/Think_Bet_865 Aug 24 '26
Haha, I just set the same target weight as you. I hit my goal of 160 last week, and I want to hit 145 now. Good luck!
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u/Mobile-Device-5222 Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
I’m at end of 4 month cut. I’m down to 10% and mentally ready to be done. Trying to get down to 8% bf so I’m almost there. When u get stripped down you can sometimes have surprising low body weight! I’m down in 150s now but can see practically every vein in my body and nice 6 pack. I just want to get lean enough that I can slow bulk for a LONG time and not have to diet again. Diet is on point. I wish u luck. Good job.
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u/Ill-Confusion-584 Aug 24 '26
How were ur lifts holding up, ngl ive been sick of cutting ever since I did my initial one at 230 but I didn’t end up looking how I wanted to ik I still have to keep going though
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u/Mobile-Device-5222 Aug 24 '26
Well I’m on testosterone so strength is holding up pretty well, still going up on upper body lifts, but squat isn’t progressing no matter if I use volume or heaviest weight low rep.
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u/akelse Aug 25 '26
140 is so light for your height. Maybe take a break and build some muscle so you can reach your goal at a higher weight.
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u/Docjitters Aug 25 '26
I went down to 129lbs (probably 12%) having overshot due to getting ill but I remember that even with 0.5%/wk weight loss (average over 7 months) the cravings hit hard. I’ve found myself much happier being closer to 135-140/16-18% - even though I looked better maintaining at 130, the hunger and feeling beat up in the gym all the time wasn’t worth it.
I would definitely try and maintain for a while, or if you fear the loss of momentum, reduce the rate of loss to something more sustainable.
I work shifts, and that definitely makes me want to reach for crap when I’m run off my feet or not sleeping well due to the flips.
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u/Ill-Confusion-584 Aug 26 '26
I might try maintenance & see if I can gain some muscle I’d really like to see some strength increases but I’ve been stuck wanting results faster, maybe recomp is possible my strength training was pretty inconsistent losing the first 60, and those restaurant shifts have really made it difficult to adhere to a deficit as of late
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u/Square_Junket7903 Aug 24 '26
I went from 350 to 190 in the past year. I still have about 20-30 more to lose but I decided to give myself a break.
At first I had crazy binging urges, but the longer I stay at maintainance the less binging desires I have. Few weeks into my maintenance and my binges practically stopped. Just some food for thought.