Setting up your first cut

Before you start: are you ready?

The most common first-cut mistake is starting one when a different phase would serve better.

A cut makes sense if:

• You have been training consistently for at least two or three months and have a routine.
• You have a reasonable idea of what you currently eat.
• You have 8–16 weeks without a major life disruption in them.
• You have a specific reason and a target, not just a general wish to be leaner.

Do something else first if:

• You are new to lifting. Your first six months will improve your body composition at maintenance — see why the first six months matter.
• You are already lean and want to be bigger. You want a surplus — see setting up your first bulk.
• Life is unusually stressful right now. Dieting is a stressor — see stress, cortisol and stalled progress.
• You have a history of disordered eating. Work with a professional rather than a calorie target.

Step one: two weeks of baseline

Do not skip this. It is the difference between a diet you can steer and one you guess at.

1. Track everything you eat for two weeks without changing anything. Weigh food. Include oil, drinks, and the things you eat standing at the fridge.
2. Weigh yourself daily, same conditions, and record it.
3. Note your average daily steps, so you can tell later if activity has dropped.
4. At the end, compare week one's average weight with week two's. Stable means your average intake over those two weeks is your maintenance.

You now have a real number rather than an equation's guess — see calories: how to estimate your maintenance.

Step two: set the numbers

A worked example for an 80 kg person whose measured maintenance is 2,600 kcal:

• Calories: 2,600 − 400 = 2,200 kcal
• Protein: 2.2 g/kg = 176 g (704 kcal)
• Fat: 0.8 g/kg = 64 g (576 kcal)
• Carbohydrate: remainder = 230 g (920 kcal)
• Fibre: aim for 30 g+
• Target rate: 0.6% of body weight per week ≈ 480 g

Scale to your own weight and maintenance. Round to convenient numbers — precision beyond this is false precision given label tolerances.

Step three: measure the right things

Take these before you start. Almost everyone regrets not having a proper baseline.

• Photos. Front, side, back. Same lighting, same spot, same time of day, minimal clothing. The single most useful record you will have, and the one people skip.
• Waist circumference at the navel. The most informative single measurement for fat loss, and more reliable than the scale week to week.
• Two or three other sites — hips, chest, thigh, arm.
• Body weight, daily. Used as a weekly average, never as single readings.
• Your key lifts. Your logbook is the muscle-retention check. If your lifts hold, the weight you are losing is mostly fat.
• A subjective note weekly: hunger, energy, sleep, mood. This is what tells you when to take a diet break.

Repeat measurements every two weeks, photos every four. MyFitsy tracks weight, measurements and progress photos alongside your sessions, which means the training and the body data sit in the same place rather than in three apps.

Step four: run it

A 16-week structure that works:

• Weeks 1–8: the deficit as set. Check the weekly average each Sunday.
• Weeks 9–10: diet break at maintenance. Weight loss pauses; training and mood usually improve — see diet breaks and refeeds.
• Weeks 11–16: return to the deficit, recalculating maintenance for your new lower weight — usually 100–150 kcal lower than at the start.
• Weeks 17+: maintenance, deliberately, for at least as long as the cut ran. See reverse dieting after a cut.

Adjustments during the run:

• Losing faster than 1% a week? Add 100–150 kcal. Too fast costs muscle.
• Losing slower than 0.4% for three consecutive weeks? Check tracking and step count first, then reduce by 100–150 kcal.
• Never adjust on a single week's data.

Step five: know when to stop

Ending a cut well is as important as running it, and it is where most first attempts fail — people either quit abruptly and regain, or push on past the point of diminishing returns.

Stop when:

• You hit your target.
• You have run 16–20 weeks. Longer needs a real break.
• Your lifts have been declining for three or more weeks despite a deload.
• Sleep is consistently disrupted, or your cycle becomes irregular.
• Food is occupying a disproportionate amount of your thinking.
• Life has changed such that the diet is now the wrong priority.

Then go to maintenance deliberately, over one to two weeks, and stay there. The gap between a cut that lasts and one that does not is almost entirely what happens in the eight weeks after it ends.

Common questions

How much can I lose in twelve weeks?

At 0.6% per week for an 80 kg person, roughly 5–6 kg. Faster is possible and costs more muscle.

Will I lose muscle?

Some, usually. Heavy training, high protein and a moderate rate keep it minimal — see recovery in a calorie deficit.

Should I cut carbs or fat?

Set protein and a fat floor, then reduce carbohydrate. Total calories determine the outcome.

Do I need to weigh my food?

For your first cut, yes, at least for the baseline and the first few weeks. Eyeballing gets easier once calibrated.

Can I still drink alcohol?

Yes, budgeted. It is calorie-dense and disinhibiting — see alcohol and training adaptation.

Why do I look worse three weeks in?

Common. Water retention, less glycogen and a flatter appearance before the fat loss becomes visible. It resolves.

How lean should I get?

For a first cut, target a visible change rather than a number. Very low body fat is demanding to reach and harder to hold.

The practical version

• Two weeks of baseline tracking and daily weigh-ins before you change anything.
• Maintenance minus 300–500 kcal; protein 2.0–2.6 g/kg; fat above 0.5 g/kg.
• Take photos and a waist measurement before you start. You will want them.
• Expect a fast week one and an apparent stall in week two. Both are normal.
• Run 8 weeks, diet break for 1–2, then 6 more, then maintenance deliberately.
• Adjust on three weeks of data, never one, and by 100–150 kcal at a time.