Decided to end my cutting phase: a few questions

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hello Jordan.

First of all, thank you and all the BBM crew for the content you put for free on the internet. You guys are my go-to source for no silly BS infos when it comes to lifting and pain science.
I also really enjoyed all the BBM programs I did (The Bridge, Endurance, Hypertrophy, and the old 4 day strength program).

Now, some context: I’m a BJJ practitioner (and competitor sometimes): ~4 training sessions/week. I do strength training mostly for fun on top of that, I’m not planning to compete in powerlifting (yet). I guess you could say my main focus is BJJ for now.
I’ve been vegan since 2014 and I am currently doing the GS&C program.

I’ve been cutting since January while recovering from a AC sprain injury (bad fall in BJJ). I went from 187 lbs to 165 lbs, and I am 6’ tall. I still find myself kind of fluffy on some areas but I lost the drive to loose more weight for now (6 month of caloric deficit got me a little crazy :roll_eyes:). My waist is ~31". When I compete in BJJ I do it in the middle weight class (-181lbs) but I’d like to fight in Light next time (-167lbs) now that my shoulder is okay.

Here are my questions:

  1. I saw on your IG feed that you recommend at least 1,6g of protein/kg of bodyweight. I’m going to be honest: I don’t really enjoy eating protein…but I can eat ~120g per day.
    Do you think this bare minimum amount if enough or should I force myself to eat a little more to optimize muscle gain ? I already consume protein powder.
    This is not a lack of information regarding vegan sources of protein (I know them). It is more about my dietary preferences (I’m all about carbs…).

2)I’ve never tried to maintain my weight (always cutting or bulking… and bulking without great succes to be honest). Do you think it is a good idea in my situation ? I’m thinking about maintaining for a few month and then try to loose some more fat.

  1. Is there any benefit (aside from psychological reasons) in doing breaks (days? weeks? months?) during cutting phases? I know Layne Norton talks a lot about this but I’ve haven’t seen convicing scientific resources.

Sorry for my poor english, je suis français !

Thank you in advance for your answer.

2

Henaults,

Thanks for the post and sorry to hear about the AC sprain. I trust you’re healing up well :slight_smile:

As far as your questions:

  1. I think that 120g per day is ~1.6g/kg. If you’re gaining weight -requiring calorie surplus- then you’ll be fine. I don’t think I can make a strong argument that you’d do better with more protein.

  2. I think you’re a bit underweight and so yes, gaining weight slowly would be my recommendation.

  3. I do not think there are benefits to breaks outside of those affecting individual preferences that may affect adherence.

-Jordan

1 Like
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Thank you for your answer Jordan.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting a “you’re a bit underweight” kind of answer haha. Not that I want to contradict you, but how do you determine if someone is “underweight” ? I’m genuinely curious.

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You’re 6’ and 165 with a 31" waist. For a strength athlete, you’re underweight based on your height to weight and current norms within the strength sports. Your waist is also well under any cut off for health purposes.