5 Tricks to Make Your Cut Easier

Bulking and cutting – it’s a never-ending cycle that most lifters have experimented with at least once. 

While bulking is typically the more enjoyable of the two, cutting, on the other hand, can present a bit of a challenge. It doesn’t necessarily need to be difficult, though.

Whether you’re looking to sculpt your summer body or just hoping to drop a few pounds, here are a few tricks and tips to help you get to your goal weight quickly, easily, and of course, safely.

Give yourself enough time 

Getting lean doesn’t happen overnight, and any person or brand that promises you instant weight loss results should be avoided at all costs. Instead of resorting to dangerous methods like skipping meals, overexercising, and eating extremely restrictive diets, the best way to approach weight loss is to give yourself enough time to safely lean out. It’s recommended that you aim to lose between 1-2 pounds per week but keep in mind that it’ll be easier to lose weight faster at the beginning if your starting weight is higher. 

With that number in mind, you can count backward and get an idea of how long it’ll take you to reach your goal. For example, if you want to lose 10 pounds, assume it’ll take you about 10 weeks. It’s worth noting that everyone loses weight at a different rate, so treat this number more like a guideline and less like a guarantee. 

Keep junk foods out of sight 

Out of sight, out of mind is the best way to approach junk food when you’re cutting. This doesn’t mean you can never have junk food in your house (see the last paragraph on making sure to include cheat meals), but having junk food around 24/7? This is just going to present a challenge that’s really quite unnecessary. 

Instead of constantly testing your willpower, it’s best to eliminate these temptations altogether. If you have junk food that you don’t want to throw away, or live with someone that eats tempting foods, place them in a cupboard or closed area where you won’t have to see them every time you walk into the room. You’ll soon forget they’re even there, making hitting your goals that much easier. 

Eat mints or chew gum

While chewing gum or eating mints isn’t going to help you lose weight by burning calories, it can keep you from mindlessly eating, which, in turn, helps you lose weight. Studies have shown that chewing gum can help you feel fuller sooner, reduce hunger, and stave off cravings. It can also be a great way to cleanse your palate with something sweet or fresh after a meal that doesn’t have a ton of calories. If you’re not a fan of gum or mints, brushing your teeth has also been shown to have a similar effect. 

Drink sparkling water or low-calorie flavored beverages

Much like chewing gum and eating mints, drinking sparkling water or a low-cal beverage doesn’t have any magic weight loss effects, but it does have the potential to help you keep those cravings at bay. 

Options like Bubly, Zevia, and Nixie are great to keep around if you want something flavorful to sip on but don’t want to load up on calories. And since they’re all just carbonated water, they can help you stay hydrated at the same time.  

‍Include cheat meals 

This is one of the most important tips on this list and one that many popular diets frequently fail to acknowledge. If you’re cutting or attempting to lose weight, it’s incredibly important to make sure you’re including cheat meals or cheat days in your diet plan. Completely cutting out certain food groups will only backfire in the long run, resulting in binge eating that’ll send you back to square one. Instead, make sure that you’re routinely incorporating cheat meals into your diet. It can also be helpful to look at these meals as a reward that you’ve earned, not necessarily a “cheat.” 

Not only do these meals help satiate your cravings, but they can even help boost your metabolism. Just make sure that your cheat meals don’t turn into multiple cheat days, as too much of a good thing can quickly reverse the progress you’ve been working hard to make. 

Losing weight isn’t necessarily “easy,” but it doesn’t have to be hard, either. Give yourself enough time, find alternatives to calorie-laden snacks, make sure you’re leaving room for your favorite foods, and you’ll be well on your way to crushing your weight loss goals. 

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