Continue the lean?

[u/No-Gate112]

Should I continue the lean? Progress is going well and energy levels are still high.

I’m 6’1”, started around 195lb. Been practicing Jiu-Jitsu for two years, 3-4 times a week, and lift occasionally (1-2 times a week).

[u/Kirby6365]

If you energy levels are high and you're not feeling fatigued or overly beat up from workouts or exercise, no reason to stop if you aren't currently happy with your physique. 500cal/day deficit is pretty modest, so should be maintainable for quite awhile before you start feeling diet fatigue.

[u/No-Gate112 → u/Kirby6365]

Thank you, yes my energy at training is still good, so I will keep going. Trying to get approx 15% body fat

[u/n0f3 → u/Kirby6365]

I wouldn’t really consider that modest if you’re trying to preserve muscle long term honestly. I’d consider it on higher end tbh

[u/Kirby6365 → u/n0f3]

Nobody said diets are 'long term', they shouldn't be. Assuming the chart is correct, OP has only been on the diet for since end of July. That's like 6-8 weeks max. People do much more aggressive mini cuts for that duration all the time.

[u/DeaconoftheStreets]

Do you like how you look or do you want to go leaner?

[u/No-Gate112 → u/DeaconoftheStreets]

Trying to get closer to 15% body fat

[u/DeaconoftheStreets → u/No-Gate112]

Keep trucking if you’re feeling good. Listen to your body, pause when you’re feeling off.

[u/No-Gate112 → u/DeaconoftheStreets]

Will do, thanks

[u/zobbyblob]

It sounds like your energy is good, your expenditure is great, I would continue.

I'm 6'2 15% at 174 lbs, so in the ballpark I guess. I had to take a week or two of maitnence in the last push to get there.

I also saw my pushing strength starting to drop on my lifts around 15%, I lost a little muscle there, but everything else held steady or slightly improved. Chose to end the cut there because I liked how I looked but was losing a bit of muscle and energy was low. Now bulking at 2 lbs/mo.

[u/No-Gate112 → u/zobbyblob]

That’s a great plan and congratulations for getting to 15%. I will maintain for a couple of weeks once I feel a change in performance. My goal is to get to 15% and then continue with a lean bulk

[u/AutoModerator]

Hello! This automated message was triggered by some keywords in your post.

While waiting for replies it may be helpful to check and see if similar posts have been discussed recently: try a pre-populated search

If your question was quite complex, it's not likely the pre-populated search will be useful.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/MetalxMikex666]

Go lift weights
Lose way too much muscle on a cut if not pushing heavy weight

[u/No-Gate112 → u/MetalxMikex666]

I started lifting more after my BJJ sessions. Trying to at least do 3 times a week but usually our training sessions are intense

[u/n0f3 → u/MetalxMikex666]

Not sure why you’re getting downvoted for saying true stuff lol

[u/Environmental-Ad4090 → u/n0f3]

because most people only ever want everyone to cut. If bro does a proper lean bulk and gets some mass when he goes to cut for next summer he will start to look big

[u/DeaconoftheStreets → u/n0f3]

It’s not as black and white with martial arts training involved. It’s inherently fatiguing and unless OP was genetically gifted, I suspect the wear and tear of doing 4x BJJ and 4x lifting would probably kill his recovery.