The Definitive Guide To Leanmaxing/Fat Loss

Introduction-
As we all know leanmaxing is one of the very few softmax methods that will significantly raise your psl but there's way too much inaccuracy and misinformation on this site and others about how to do this optimally whilst ensuring you don't ruin your metabolism, lose lean tissue and waste valuable time that could be spent looksmaxing on fad diets that end up becoming a looksmin. In this guide I will outline the fundamentals of fat loss, the science behind the small details as well as other little methods that will help you to optimally leanmax after you get to the golden range of 12-10%. Being high body fat 25%+ is a complete looksmin that lowers testosterone levels, causes skin issues like acne and hides your potential bone structure. Remember if you're not leanmaxing you're not looksmaxing.

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CICO (Calories in calories out)-
This is the base rule of fat loss, calories in, calories out. Your body requires a certain number of calories (maintenance calories) to maintain its current weight, if you eat significantly more/less calories than your maintenance calories you will gain/lose weight. This number is comprised of your BMR (basal metabolic rate) (the calories your body burns doing nothing) multiplied by your activity multiplier (the calories your body burns while active). As a general rule of thumb you want to subtract 500 calories from your maintenance calories. This is because there are 3500 calories in 1lb/0.5kg of fat, therefore consuming 500 calories below your maintenance calories ensures you lose at least 1lb/0.5kg per week from solely dieting (500x7=3500). You can increase or decrease this deficit depending on how fast you want to lose weight and what your current weight is as well as doing exercise. To find out your maintenance calories you can use this online calculator to estimate your maintenance calories. Maintenance Calculator (you may have to +/- calories as its not an exact science)

Preserving Lean Tissue-
CICO essentially means that you can eat whatever you want as long as it is below your maintenance calories and still lose weight but not all of it is just fat if you do this. Which is how people use this method and then become fat again from eating low volume high calorie foods (fast food) or extremely skinny because they don't get enough protein and micronutrients and end up looking like this by losing all their muscle mass/lean tissue.
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In order to preserve lean tissue, clinical data provided by Eric Helms et al shows that losing more than 1% of your weight significantly increases your risk of losing muscle. For example a 200lbs/91kg male should not lose more than 2lbs/1kg per week in order to retain lean tissue optimally likewise a 300lbs/136kg male should aim to lose a maximum of 3lbs/1.3kg. That being said the higher in body fat you are the less risk there is of losing muscle when dieting aggressively and vice versa with people with lower levels of body fat which is why you should slow down when reaching 20% body fat. Dieting with high deficits however like 800cals or above is a one way stop to ruining your metabolism and in conjunction your leanmaxing journey. The metabolism eventually adjusts to a point where the calories you're eating to lose weight become the calories needed to maintain your weight which is why once you stop losing weight on those calories you decrease them per usual. However if you decrease your calories significantly each time what ends up happening is you'll have to diet on 1200 calories (example) just to lose weight while the person who kept their deficit at a modest 500 calories and slowly decreased is dieting and losing weight on double that. There is one brutal truth to metabolism that depends on genetics which is that the metabolism of some people is higher than others due to genetics and other factors. So one person could be eating 3000 calories and still lose the same amount of weight as someone on 2200 calories or lower. Welcome to the Blackpill.

The next step to ensure muscle retention is to eat adequate protein. Protein comes in many forms as seen on this list however the amount you need depends on both your current bodyweight and your body fat. The general consensus is 1g per pound of bodyweight or 2.2g per kilo of bodyweight, data once again provided by Eric Helms et al shows that eating more protein than this creates an effect of "diminishing returns" in terms of preserving muscle however an increase may improve satiety.
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But an overdose of protein can be harmful to your kidney health so use adequately. Consuming protein like this must also be done consistently to ensure results, there's little point in adhering strictly in the week to blow it all off and eat junk on the weekend and then rinse and repeat. Protein is king when it comes to preserving muscle mass and carbs and fats whilst important play second fiddle to protein. The priority when setting your nutrient ratios and distributing your calories should be Protein>Fats>Carbs. Protein first to preserve muscle and provide energy, fats second to regulate hormones and t-levels and carbs last to provide glycogen and energy to the muscles. A typical ratio is 25% protein, 25% fat and 50% carbs or you can switch carbs and fat percentages depending on your preference and anecdotal results. That being said there is a problem I've found with the above equation which is that its not suitable if you are especially overweight at 270lbs/122kg+. Eating 270g of protein overtime is a surefire way to be left with one kidney, To correct this simply follow this equation by first finding out your body fat percentage-navy body fat calculator. For example if you were a 270lbs male at 35% body fat this method makes you eat the same amount of protein as the weight of your lean tissue. 270lbs x 1= 270g 270 x 0.35= 94.5. 270-94.5= 175.5g of protein.

Exercise-
Exercise is a tool to supplement your diet and increase your energy expenditure thus decreasing your bodyweight. I recommend lifting weights with a balance of hypertrophy and strength to initially increase your deficit and then once you get to lower levels of body fat you can introduce cardio. Too much cardio can be metabolic (muscle loss) and lead to the aforementioned problem regarding metabolism so use wisely and sparingly. A weight lifting routine I'd recommend for beginners is the Starting Strength 5x5 full body routine by Mark Rippetoe where you hit the major muscle groups of your body 3x a week by using compound lifts such as the bench press, squat and deadlift. Compound lifts hit multiple muscles of the same group, for example the bench press works the chest, shoulders, triceps and lats whilst the deadlift works the major back muscles, biceps and legs. This routine is superior for beginners because frequency of training is key at the start as opposed to volume or intensity. Furthermore in a full body routine you work your muscles 3x a week as opposed to a body part split that only works your muscles once a week or push pull legs split which only works your muscles 2x a week. A generic full body routine looks like this-
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There are many different forms of cardio like boxing or sprinting or other outdoor activities however when using strictly gym equipment there are two main types of cardio forms that can be used on machines like the treadmill or the elliptical. These are LISS (low intensity steady state cardio) and HIIT (high intensity interval training). If you are 25% body fat or higher I would recommend LISS cardio, this is because it is easier on your joints and will not tax your nervous system as highly as HIIT training would. To perform LISS cardio set your treadmill speed at a slow/medium walking pace and increase the incline highly, to burn a decent amount of calories via this method you'd want to keep at it for a longer period of time depending on your level of fitness. If you are 20% body fat or below I would recommend HIIT cardio not only because your level of fitness should be able to handle it but also because its less time consuming and more effective at burning calories than LISS. As well as this HIIT burns calories even after you have finished doing it due to the elongated elevated heart rate as opposed to LISS which only burns calories during the session and a small window afterwards. To do HIIT training, switch between a walking pace and sprinting pace at 3-1 minute intervals. Ideally you'd want to reach a fitness level capable of switching from LISS to HIIT as soon as you are able as its more effective in achieving your goals.

Daily steps is also another underrated way to increase the calories you burn, personally my goal is to complete 7500 steps daily however I scaled up from 2500 steps. By doing this I burnt more calories and used it eat more calories which makes the process easier. For example to lose body fat you could eat 3000 calories at this point in time however had if you're not doing daily steps you would only eat 2700/2800 calories. These can easily be tracked by your smartphone or a fitness watch, the calories you burn by doing so can also be estimated using this chart.

Fasting, Intermittent Fasting, Ketogenic Diet
The dieting methods listed above are not fads but are sometimes portrayed as this holy grail of weight loss that will solve all your problems, you've probably seen them scattered across this site and others with people claiming absurd things. These diets are simply manipulations of CICO and have their benefits and disadvantages, for example intermittent fasting is great at regulating insulin sensitivity which is directly correlated with your fat cells however if you're eating more than your maintenance calories within that window you will gain weight not lose weight. Another example is the ketogenic diet which I only recommend for mini-cuts and even then its not a favourite of mine. Carbs are vital to how you perform when you exercise and so by taking away that energy source you are taking away from hypertrophy/strength feats you could be achieving. Remember these methods supplement CICO not the other way around.

The Golden %
Once you reach what I believe is the optimal body fat percentage for facial/body aesthetics (12/10%) the law of diminishing returns also appears here. This is because at this point you have reaped the benefits of losing body fat and anything lower starts to reach those levels of gauntness that isn't desirable and the risk of losing muscle is too high if you go any lower (if natural). There is very little you can do at this point and if you are at this point then you have truly reached your max potential as a a natural softmaxer at least in terms of leanmaxxing. I would advise you to keep hydrated and regulate your sodium levels to avoid facial bloat and eat volume foods and foods high in fibre to keep satiated in order to maintain this level of body fat because it is by no means easy but that is the cost of leanmaxxing.

This is my first post so if there are any mistakes or things you'd like to add lmk and if you found this insightful or helpful by any means then leave a reaction or feedback. I will make more posts like this in other areas because I'm trying to get to 100 reputation to see what's in the best of the best section so help me out if you can and keep a lookout.
 
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Dn read but put it on Best of the Best for the effort.
 
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Good thread but....
Africa/concentration camp maxing mogs
 

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Good thread but you could summarize just eat below maintenance workout and eat high protein
 
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How do you know what your bodyfat percentage is?
 
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How do you know what your bodyfat percentage is?
I’ve linked a calculator in the post, it’s the navy body fat calculator. It’s pretty good has a small error margin too
 
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I’ve linked a calculator in the post, it’s the navy body fat calculator. It’s pretty good has a small error margin too
The most accurate way is the mirror or underwater. Greg diucette idk if you know him he estimates bodyfat pretty well.
 
The most accurate way is the mirror or underwater. Greg diucette idk if you know him he estimates bodyfat pretty well.
yeah I follow him from time to time but this is the most accurate at home method
 
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Amazing thread
 
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I disagree that you should lift while trying to lose BF, it's a waste of time
 
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I disagree that you should lift while trying to lose BF, it's a waste of time
If you don't lift while losing bf% at that point you're just begging for your lean tissue to waste away, frankly speaking it's possible that if you're untrained, very high body fat percentage or returning to training after a long period of time that you can even build muscle while on a deficit so its anything but a waste of time.
 
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If you don't lift while losing bf% at that point you're just begging for your lean tissue to waste away, frankly speaking it's possible that if you're untrained, very high body fat percentage or returning to training after a long period of time that you can even build muscle while on a deficit so its anything but a waste of time.
What lean tissue?
Fat people and skinnyfat reading your thread will surely not have any to lose
You need caloric surplus to build muscle, it's just what it is
 
Fat people and skinny fat people will gain muscle on a caloric deficit, its a proven fact. This notion of bulk to gain muscle and cut to lose fat being separate doesn't apply straight away to people who have just started training because they can build muscle and lose fat simultaneously because they are beginners. Would you rather lose weight and be skinny or lose weight and actually have some degree of muscle tissue? Naturally how much you will build will depend on your genetics and adherence to what I explained in the post but its very much a possibility. I'd highly recommend reading the summary of this research review.
 
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Fat people and skinny fat people will gain muscle on a caloric deficit, its a proven fact. This notion of bulk to gain muscle and cut to lose fat being separate doesn't apply straight away to people who have just started training because they can build muscle and lose fat simultaneously because they are beginners. Would you rather lose weight and be skinny or lose weight and actually have some degree of muscle tissue? Naturally how much you will build will depend on your genetics and adherence to what I explained in the post but its very much a possibility. I'd highly recommend reading the summary of this research review.
Yeah, I know that, scientifically, you can do this, but it practice, it's not that simple
I'll make this my argument https://thefitness.wiki/faq/should-i-bulk-or-cut/#But_what_about_a_recomp
I recommend to anyone reading this that you do everything in the OP except for the exercise thing, it will only result in false expectations and frustration
Only think about lifting when you reach like 12% BF by dieting
 
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Yeah, I know that, scientifically, you can do this, but it practice, it's not that simple
I'll make this my argument https://thefitness.wiki/faq/should-i-bulk-or-cut/#But_what_about_a_recomp
I recommend to anyone reading this that you do everything in the OP except for the exercise thing, it will only result in false expectations and frustration
Only think about lifting when you reach like 12% BF by dieting
Your own evidence proves my point
“If you can describe yourself with terms like fat, chubby, pudgy, “a little extra”, and so on, your best option will be to focus on losing weight. You will get the best results in terms of looking better, feeling better, and your overall health. If you start doing resistance training (and you should), you may also be able to add a little bit of muscle during your weight loss” quoted from your source
 
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i wouldnt eat carbs or very less. They are the biggest cause of water retention and the fact that the body can survive without carbs is a reason not to eat it
 
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Yeah, I know that, scientifically, you can do this, but it practice, it's not that simple
I'll make this my argument https://thefitness.wiki/faq/should-i-bulk-or-cut/#But_what_about_a_recomp
I recommend to anyone reading this that you do everything in the OP except for the exercise thing, it will only result in false expectations and frustration
Only think about lifting when you reach like 12% BF by dieting
I agree that if you are skinny fat that bulking could be a viable option but it depends on if you want to be skinny or fat for a period of time
 
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i wouldnt eat carbs or very less. They are the biggest cause of water retention and the fact that the body can survive without carbs is a reason not to eat it
Water retention isn’t inherently a bad thing, it just means the number on the scale goes up and even then that’s only temporary. The benefits of eating carbs far outweigh the disadvantages which are very few.
 
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Water retention isn’t inherently a bad thing, it just means the number on the scale goes up and even then that’s only temporary. The benefits of eating carbs far outweigh the disadvantages which are very few.
I think 50g is already enough per day. Healthy carbs tho. Imagine eating sugar if you are looksmaxxing
 
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Your own evidence proves my point
“If you can describe yourself with terms like fat, chubby, pudgy, “a little extra”, and so on, your best option will be to focus on losing weight. You will get the best results in terms of looking better, feeling better, and your overall health. If you start doing resistance training (and you should), you may also be able to add a little bit of muscle during your weight loss” quoted from your source
you MAY, it's heavily ambiguous, the author wants you to train but he doesn't guarantee (as you do) that you'll gain noticeable muscle while doing it
I have criticized them for this statement already btw
I agree that if you are skinny fat that bulking could be a viable option but it depends on if you want to be skinny or fat for a period of time
As a lookist site that values face, it's obvious to me that being skinny for a period is the option most will choose, unfortunately, later you'll have to bulk anyway and temporarily sacrifice your face gains, it's fucked
 
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I think 50g is already enough per day. Healthy carbs tho. Imagine eating sugar if you are looksmaxxing
Yeah I agree that sugary carbs should be had in limitation but not all carbs are sugary. Typical carb sources like pasta, white potatoes and rice which are clean are very bio available.
 
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Yeah I agree that sugary carbs should be had in limitation but not all carbs are sugary. Typical carb sources like pasta, white potatoes and rice which are clean are very bio available.
How much grams of carb would you recommend?
 
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How much grams of carb would you recommend?
It depends on how you’ve allocated your proteins and fats first and what your bodyweight is but as a general rule of thumb anything below 150g is entering ketogenic territory and personally I’ve never had an issue with keeping my carbs above 200g at all times. Any lower and some may find that they feel lethargic and can’t train as well as opposed to if they higher carbs.
 
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It depends on how you’ve allocated your proteins and fats first and what your bodyweight is but as a general rule of thumb anything below 150g is entering ketogenic territory and personally I’ve never had an issue with keeping my carbs above 200g at all times. Any lower and some may find that they feel lethargic and can’t train as well as opposed to if they higher carbs.
150g is too much man. Why do you think water retention isnt bad it makes you look bloated or not
 
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you MAY, it's heavily ambiguous, the author wants you to train but he doesn't guarantee (as you do) that you'll gain noticeable muscle while doing it
I have criticized them for this statement already btw

As a lookist site that values face, it's obvious to me that being skinny for a period is the option most will choose, unfortunately, later you'll have to bulk anyway and temporarily sacrifice your face gains, it's fucked
yeah I completely agree with your second point. In terms of your first point about the probability of re comp success even if I agreed that there’s a low chance. Everyone benefits from resistance training. At its core it is another tool to increase your energy expenditure therefore making fat loss that much easier.
 
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150g is too much man. Why do you think water retention isnt bad it makes you look bloated or not
Water retention can make you look bloated but it’s too insignificant and temporary too sacrifice the benefits of carbs. Trust me have a high carb day the day before a strenuous training session, you will have better performance despite it being cardio or resistance training. Again it depends on how much you weigh, someone who weighs 150 pounds will need less carbs than someone who weighs 200 pounds.
 
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Water retention can make you look bloated but it’s too insignificant and temporary too sacrifice the benefits of carbs. Trust me have a high carb day the day before a strenuous training session, you will have better performance despite it being cardio or resistance training. Again it depends on how much you weigh, someone who weighs 150 pounds will need less carbs than someone who weighs 200 pounds.
So the advantages of carbs are basically more energy and power for lifting right?
 
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So the advantages of carbs are basically more energy and power for lifting right?
In layman’s terms yes but also it greatly aids recovery which is the most important thing when trying to build muscle. If you don’t recover you won’t build muscle and might in fact lose some.
 
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In layman’s terms yes but also it greatly aids recovery which is the most important thing when trying to build muscle. If you don’t recover you won’t build muscle and might in fact lose some.
Aids?
 
At its core it is another tool to increase your energy expenditure therefore making fat loss that much easier.
Do you know how many calories you burn from 30 min lifting?
 
Do you know how many calories you burn from 30 min lifting?
It varies from person to person but if someone is only training for 30 minutes then there's a deeper issue to discuss. If you do train 30 minutes then you're probably not going to burn enough calories. Now if we're talking about 60 or 90 minute training session with heavy compound lifts and isolation movements then you're going to burn a significant amount of calories and even you can't disregard that.
 
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It varies from person to person but if someone is only training for 30 minutes then there's a deeper issue to discuss. If you do train 30 minutes then you're probably not going to burn enough calories. Now if we're talking about 60 or 90 minute training session with heavy compound lifts and isolation movements then you're going to burn a significant amount of calories and even you can't disregard that.
SS will last 30 min daily, no way you're gonna recommend a novice to do more than that
If it's for the sake of losing weight, one should run
The only advantage of lifting as a skinnyfat in caloric deficit is getting used to the exercises and form, so when he starts to bulk again, he already knows what to do, that's it
That's my final post in it, I only want to warn skinnyfatties and fatties that they're in for a road of disappointment if they purse the recomp holy grail
 
SS will last 30 min daily, no way you're gonna recommend a novice to do more than that
If it's for the sake of losing weight, one should run
The only advantage of lifting as a skinnyfat in caloric deficit is getting used to the exercises and form, so when he starts to bulk again, he already knows what to do, that's it
That's my final post in it, I only want to warn skinnyfatties and fatties that they're in for a road
 
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SS will last 30 min daily, no way you're gonna recommend a novice to do more than that
If it's for the sake of losing weight, one should run
The only advantage of lifting as a skinnyfat in caloric deficit is getting used to the exercises and form, so when he starts to bulk again, he already knows what to do, that's it
That's my final post in it, I only want to warn skinnyfatties and fatties that they're in for a road of disappointment if they purse the recomp holy grail
5x5 on three compound lifts with 3 minute rest times at minimum between each set although the recommended is 3-5 minute. SS lasts an hour minimum not 30 minutes, do the math. You're supposed to do it 3x a week as mentioned in my post not daily, you would atrophy as a beginner trying to do that but 3x a week? This program was tailored to beginners. I'll say this if you are untrained and skinny fat/overweight you will gain muscle whilst on a caloric deficit, the literature and anecdotal evidence supports this. If you don't believe me check out the anecdotes on YouTube and the literature I linked earlier comprised of over 60 studies on the matter.
 
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Introduction-
As we all know leanmaxing is one of the very few softmax methods that will significantly raise your psl but there's way too much inaccuracy and misinformation on this site and others about how to do this optimally whilst ensuring you don't ruin your metabolism, lose lean tissue and waste valuable time that could be spent looksmaxing on fad diets that end up becoming a looksmin. In this guide I will outline the fundamentals of fat loss, the science behind the small details as well as other little methods that will help you to optimally leanmax after you get to the golden range of 12-10%. Being high body fat 25%+ is a complete looksmin that lowers testosterone levels, causes skin issues like acne and hides your potential bone structure. Remember if you're not leanmaxing you're not looksmaxing.

View attachment 538866 View attachment 538876

CICO (Calories in calories out)-
This is the base rule of fat loss, calories in, calories out. Your body requires a certain number of calories (maintenance calories) to maintain its current weight, if you eat significantly more/less calories than your maintenance calories you will gain/lose weight. This number is comprised of your BMR (basal metabolic rate) (the calories your body burns doing nothing) multiplied by your activity multiplier (the calories your body burns while active). As a general rule of thumb you want to subtract 500 calories from your maintenance calories. This is because there are 3500 calories in 1lb/0.5kg of fat, therefore consuming 500 calories below your maintenance calories ensures you lose at least 1lb/0.5kg per week from solely dieting (500x7=3500). You can increase or decrease this deficit depending on how fast you want to lose weight and what your current weight is as well as doing exercise. To find out your maintenance calories you can use this online calculator to estimate your maintenance calories. Maintenance Calculator (you may have to +/- calories as its not an exact science)

Preserving Lean Tissue-
CICO essentially means that you can eat whatever you want as long as it is below your maintenance calories and still lose weight but not all of it is just fat if you do this. Which is how people use this method and then become fat again from eating low volume high calorie foods (fast food) or extremely skinny because they don't get enough protein and micronutrients and end up looking like this by losing all their muscle mass/lean tissue.
View attachment 538973
In order to preserve lean tissue, clinical data provided by Eric Helms et al shows that losing more than 1% of your weight significantly increases your risk of losing muscle. For example a 200lbs/91kg male should not lose more than 2lbs/1kg per week in order to retain lean tissue optimally likewise a 300lbs/136kg male should aim to lose a maximum of 3lbs/1.3kg. That being said the higher in body fat you are the less risk there is of losing muscle when dieting aggressively and vice versa with people with lower levels of body fat which is why you should slow down when reaching 20% body fat. Dieting with high deficits however like 800cals or above is a one way stop to ruining your metabolism and in conjunction your leanmaxing journey. The metabolism eventually adjusts to a point where the calories you're eating to lose weight become the calories needed to maintain your weight which is why once you stop losing weight on those calories you decrease them per usual. However if you decrease your calories significantly each time what ends up happening is you'll have to diet on 1200 calories (example) just to lose weight while the person who kept their deficit at a modest 500 calories and slowly decreased is dieting and losing weight on double that. There is one brutal truth to metabolism that depends on genetics which is that the metabolism of some people is higher than others due to genetics and other factors. So one person could be eating 3000 calories and still lose the same amount of weight as someone on 2200 calories or lower. Welcome to the Blackpill.

The next step to ensure muscle retention is to eat adequate protein. Protein comes in many forms as seen on this list however the amount you need depends on both your current bodyweight and your body fat. The general consensus is 1g per pound of bodyweight or 2.2g per kilo of bodyweight, data once again provided by Eric Helms et al shows that eating more protein than this creates an effect of "diminishing returns" in terms of preserving muscle however an increase may improve satiety.View attachment 539050
But an overdose of protein can be harmful to your kidney health so use adequately. Consuming protein like this must also be done consistently to ensure results, there's little point in adhering strictly in the week to blow it all off and eat junk on the weekend and then rinse and repeat. Protein is king when it comes to preserving muscle mass and carbs and fats whilst important play second fiddle to protein. The priority when setting your nutrient ratios and distributing your calories should be Protein>Fats>Carbs. Protein first to preserve muscle and provide energy, fats second to regulate hormones and t-levels and carbs last to provide glycogen and energy to the muscles. A typical ratio is 25% protein, 25% fat and 50% carbs or you can switch carbs and fat percentages depending on your preference and anecdotal results. That being said there is a problem I've found with the above equation which is that its not suitable if you are especially overweight at 270lbs/122kg+. Eating 270g of protein overtime is a surefire way to be left with one kidney, To correct this simply follow this equation by first finding out your body fat percentage-navy body fat calculator. For example if you were a 270lbs male at 35% body fat this method makes you eat the same amount of protein as the weight of your lean tissue. 270lbs x 1= 270g 270 x 0.35= 94.5. 270-94.5= 175.5g of protein.

Exercise-
Exercise is a tool to supplement your diet and increase your energy expenditure thus decreasing your bodyweight. I recommend lifting weights with a balance of hypertrophy and strength to initially increase your deficit and then once you get to lower levels of body fat you can introduce cardio. Too much cardio can be metabolic (muscle loss) and lead to the aforementioned problem regarding metabolism so use wisely and sparingly. A weight lifting routine I'd recommend for beginners is the Starting Strength 5x5 full body routine by Mark Rippetoe where you hit the major muscle groups of your body 3x a week by using compound lifts such as the bench press, squat and deadlift. Compound lifts hit multiple muscles of the same group, for example the bench press works the chest, shoulders, triceps and lats whilst the deadlift works the major back muscles, biceps and legs. This routine is superior for beginners because frequency of training is key at the start as opposed to volume or intensity. Furthermore in a full body routine you work your muscles 3x a week as opposed to a body part split that only works your muscles once a week or push pull legs split which only works your muscles 2x a week. A generic full body routine looks like this-
View attachment 539164

There are many different forms of cardio like boxing or sprinting or other outdoor activities however when using strictly gym equipment there are two main types of cardio forms that can be used on machines like the treadmill or the elliptical. These are LISS (low intensity steady state cardio) and HIIT (high intensity interval training). If you are 25% body fat or higher I would recommend LISS cardio, this is because it is easier on your joints and will not tax your nervous system as highly as HIIT training would. To perform LISS cardio set your treadmill speed at a slow/medium walking pace and increase the incline highly, to burn a decent amount of calories via this method you'd want to keep at it for a longer period of time depending on your level of fitness. If you are 20% body fat or below I would recommend HIIT cardio not only because your level of fitness should be able to handle it but also because its less time consuming and more effective at burning calories than LISS. As well as this HIIT burns calories even after you have finished doing it due to the elongated elevated heart rate as opposed to LISS which only burns calories during the session and a small window afterwards. To do HIIT training, switch between a walking pace and sprinting pace at 3-1 minute intervals. Ideally you'd want to reach a fitness level capable of switching from LISS to HIIT as soon as you are able as its more effective in achieving your goals.

Daily steps is also another underrated way to increase the calories you burn, personally my goal is to complete 7500 steps daily however I scaled up from 2500 steps. By doing this I burnt more calories and used it eat more calories which makes the process easier. For example to lose body fat you could eat 3000 calories at this point in time however had if you're not doing daily steps you would only eat 2700/2800 calories. These can easily be tracked by your smartphone or a fitness watch, the calories you burn by doing so can also be estimated using this chart.

Fasting, Intermittent Fasting, Ketogenic Diet
The dieting methods listed above are not fads but are sometimes portrayed as this holy grail of weight loss that will solve all your problems, you've probably seen them scattered across this site and others with people claiming absurd things. These diets are simply manipulations of CICO and have their benefits and disadvantages, for example intermittent fasting is great at regulating insulin sensitivity which is directly correlated with your fat cells however if you're eating more than your maintenance calories within that window you will gain weight not lose weight. Another example is the ketogenic diet which I only recommend for mini-cuts and even then its not a favourite of mine. Carbs are vital to how you perform when you exercise and so by taking away that energy source you are taking away from hypertrophy/strength feats you could be achieving. Remember these methods supplement CICO not the other way around.

The Golden %
Once you reach what I believe is the optimal body fat percentage for facial/body aesthetics (12/10%) the law of diminishing returns also appears here. This is because at this point you have reaped the benefits of losing body fat and anything lower starts to reach those levels of gauntness that isn't desirable and the risk of losing muscle is too high if you go any lower (if natural). There is very little you can do at this point and if you are at this point then you have truly reached your max potential as a a natural softmaxer at least in terms of leanmaxxing. I would advise you to keep hydrated and regulate your sodium levels to avoid facial bloat and eat volume foods and foods high in fibre to keep satiated in order to maintain this level of body fat because it is by no means easy but that is the cost of leanmaxxing.

This is my first post so if there are any mistakes or things you'd like to add lmk and if you found this insightful or helpful by any means then leave a reaction or feedback. I will make more posts like this in other areas because I'm trying to get to 100 reputation to see what's in the best of the best section so help me out if you can and keep a lookout.
i was going to say stop over complicating shit but i see you’re trying to get reps so i gotchu
 
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i was going to say stop over complicating shit but i see you’re trying to get reps so i gotchu
I thought about simplifying it but I wanted to get into the why rather than just go and do it you know
 
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I thought about simplifying it but I wanted to get into the why rather than just go and do it you know
i just like to keep shit simple because there’s no need to overthink and over complicate. weight loss and weight gain is a relatively simple process but I’m sure it’ll help out someone who’s genuinely lost
 
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Introduction-
As we all know leanmaxing is one of the very few softmax methods that will significantly raise your psl but there's way too much inaccuracy and misinformation on this site and others about how to do this optimally whilst ensuring you don't ruin your metabolism, lose lean tissue and waste valuable time that could be spent looksmaxing on fad diets that end up becoming a looksmin. In this guide I will outline the fundamentals of fat loss, the science behind the small details as well as other little methods that will help you to optimally leanmax after you get to the golden range of 12-10%. Being high body fat 25%+ is a complete looksmin that lowers testosterone levels, causes skin issues like acne and hides your potential bone structure. Remember if you're not leanmaxing you're not looksmaxing.

View attachment 538866 View attachment 538876

CICO (Calories in calories out)-
This is the base rule of fat loss, calories in, calories out. Your body requires a certain number of calories (maintenance calories) to maintain its current weight, if you eat significantly more/less calories than your maintenance calories you will gain/lose weight. This number is comprised of your BMR (basal metabolic rate) (the calories your body burns doing nothing) multiplied by your activity multiplier (the calories your body burns while active). As a general rule of thumb you want to subtract 500 calories from your maintenance calories. This is because there are 3500 calories in 1lb/0.5kg of fat, therefore consuming 500 calories below your maintenance calories ensures you lose at least 1lb/0.5kg per week from solely dieting (500x7=3500). You can increase or decrease this deficit depending on how fast you want to lose weight and what your current weight is as well as doing exercise. To find out your maintenance calories you can use this online calculator to estimate your maintenance calories. Maintenance Calculator (you may have to +/- calories as its not an exact science)

Preserving Lean Tissue-
CICO essentially means that you can eat whatever you want as long as it is below your maintenance calories and still lose weight but not all of it is just fat if you do this. Which is how people use this method and then become fat again from eating low volume high calorie foods (fast food) or extremely skinny because they don't get enough protein and micronutrients and end up looking like this by losing all their muscle mass/lean tissue.
View attachment 538973
In order to preserve lean tissue, clinical data provided by Eric Helms et al shows that losing more than 1% of your weight significantly increases your risk of losing muscle. For example a 200lbs/91kg male should not lose more than 2lbs/1kg per week in order to retain lean tissue optimally likewise a 300lbs/136kg male should aim to lose a maximum of 3lbs/1.3kg. That being said the higher in body fat you are the less risk there is of losing muscle when dieting aggressively and vice versa with people with lower levels of body fat which is why you should slow down when reaching 20% body fat. Dieting with high deficits however like 800cals or above is a one way stop to ruining your metabolism and in conjunction your leanmaxing journey. The metabolism eventually adjusts to a point where the calories you're eating to lose weight become the calories needed to maintain your weight which is why once you stop losing weight on those calories you decrease them per usual. However if you decrease your calories significantly each time what ends up happening is you'll have to diet on 1200 calories (example) just to lose weight while the person who kept their deficit at a modest 500 calories and slowly decreased is dieting and losing weight on double that. There is one brutal truth to metabolism that depends on genetics which is that the metabolism of some people is higher than others due to genetics and other factors. So one person could be eating 3000 calories and still lose the same amount of weight as someone on 2200 calories or lower. Welcome to the Blackpill.

The next step to ensure muscle retention is to eat adequate protein. Protein comes in many forms as seen on this list however the amount you need depends on both your current bodyweight and your body fat. The general consensus is 1g per pound of bodyweight or 2.2g per kilo of bodyweight, data once again provided by Eric Helms et al shows that eating more protein than this creates an effect of "diminishing returns" in terms of preserving muscle however an increase may improve satiety.View attachment 539050
But an overdose of protein can be harmful to your kidney health so use adequately. Consuming protein like this must also be done consistently to ensure results, there's little point in adhering strictly in the week to blow it all off and eat junk on the weekend and then rinse and repeat. Protein is king when it comes to preserving muscle mass and carbs and fats whilst important play second fiddle to protein. The priority when setting your nutrient ratios and distributing your calories should be Protein>Fats>Carbs. Protein first to preserve muscle and provide energy, fats second to regulate hormones and t-levels and carbs last to provide glycogen and energy to the muscles. A typical ratio is 25% protein, 25% fat and 50% carbs or you can switch carbs and fat percentages depending on your preference and anecdotal results. That being said there is a problem I've found with the above equation which is that its not suitable if you are especially overweight at 270lbs/122kg+. Eating 270g of protein overtime is a surefire way to be left with one kidney, To correct this simply follow this equation by first finding out your body fat percentage-navy body fat calculator. For example if you were a 270lbs male at 35% body fat this method makes you eat the same amount of protein as the weight of your lean tissue. 270lbs x 1= 270g 270 x 0.35= 94.5. 270-94.5= 175.5g of protein.

Exercise-
Exercise is a tool to supplement your diet and increase your energy expenditure thus decreasing your bodyweight. I recommend lifting weights with a balance of hypertrophy and strength to initially increase your deficit and then once you get to lower levels of body fat you can introduce cardio. Too much cardio can be metabolic (muscle loss) and lead to the aforementioned problem regarding metabolism so use wisely and sparingly. A weight lifting routine I'd recommend for beginners is the Starting Strength 5x5 full body routine by Mark Rippetoe where you hit the major muscle groups of your body 3x a week by using compound lifts such as the bench press, squat and deadlift. Compound lifts hit multiple muscles of the same group, for example the bench press works the chest, shoulders, triceps and lats whilst the deadlift works the major back muscles, biceps and legs. This routine is superior for beginners because frequency of training is key at the start as opposed to volume or intensity. Furthermore in a full body routine you work your muscles 3x a week as opposed to a body part split that only works your muscles once a week or push pull legs split which only works your muscles 2x a week. A generic full body routine looks like this-
View attachment 539164

There are many different forms of cardio like boxing or sprinting or other outdoor activities however when using strictly gym equipment there are two main types of cardio forms that can be used on machines like the treadmill or the elliptical. These are LISS (low intensity steady state cardio) and HIIT (high intensity interval training). If you are 25% body fat or higher I would recommend LISS cardio, this is because it is easier on your joints and will not tax your nervous system as highly as HIIT training would. To perform LISS cardio set your treadmill speed at a slow/medium walking pace and increase the incline highly, to burn a decent amount of calories via this method you'd want to keep at it for a longer period of time depending on your level of fitness. If you are 20% body fat or below I would recommend HIIT cardio not only because your level of fitness should be able to handle it but also because its less time consuming and more effective at burning calories than LISS. As well as this HIIT burns calories even after you have finished doing it due to the elongated elevated heart rate as opposed to LISS which only burns calories during the session and a small window afterwards. To do HIIT training, switch between a walking pace and sprinting pace at 3-1 minute intervals. Ideally you'd want to reach a fitness level capable of switching from LISS to HIIT as soon as you are able as its more effective in achieving your goals.

Daily steps is also another underrated way to increase the calories you burn, personally my goal is to complete 7500 steps daily however I scaled up from 2500 steps. By doing this I burnt more calories and used it eat more calories which makes the process easier. For example to lose body fat you could eat 3000 calories at this point in time however had if you're not doing daily steps you would only eat 2700/2800 calories. These can easily be tracked by your smartphone or a fitness watch, the calories you burn by doing so can also be estimated using this chart.

Fasting, Intermittent Fasting, Ketogenic Diet
The dieting methods listed above are not fads but are sometimes portrayed as this holy grail of weight loss that will solve all your problems, you've probably seen them scattered across this site and others with people claiming absurd things. These diets are simply manipulations of CICO and have their benefits and disadvantages, for example intermittent fasting is great at regulating insulin sensitivity which is directly correlated with your fat cells however if you're eating more than your maintenance calories within that window you will gain weight not lose weight. Another example is the ketogenic diet which I only recommend for mini-cuts and even then its not a favourite of mine. Carbs are vital to how you perform when you exercise and so by taking away that energy source you are taking away from hypertrophy/strength feats you could be achieving. Remember these methods supplement CICO not the other way around.

The Golden %
Once you reach what I believe is the optimal body fat percentage for facial/body aesthetics (12/10%) the law of diminishing returns also appears here. This is because at this point you have reaped the benefits of losing body fat and anything lower starts to reach those levels of gauntness that isn't desirable and the risk of losing muscle is too high if you go any lower (if natural). There is very little you can do at this point and if you are at this point then you have truly reached your max potential as a a natural softmaxer at least in terms of leanmaxxing. I would advise you to keep hydrated and regulate your sodium levels to avoid facial bloat and eat volume foods and foods high in fibre to keep satiated in order to maintain this level of body fat because it is by no means easy but that is the cost of leanmaxxing.

This is my first post so if there are any mistakes or things you'd like to add lmk and if you found this insightful or helpful by any means then leave a reaction or feedback. I will make more posts like this in other areas because I'm trying to get to 100 reputation to see what's in the best of the best section so help me out if you can and keep a lookout.
I came back to your thread to read it and I have a question about that metabolism shit. Let’s say I eat 1000 calories to lose 2 pounds a week and then I maintain and bulk up after. When I diet again I have to go lower than 1000?
 
I came back to your thread to read it and I have a question about that metabolism shit. Let’s say I eat 1000 calories to lose 2 pounds a week and then I maintain and bulk up after. When I diet again I have to go lower than 1000?
First of all 1000 calories is way too low, try finding out your maintenance calories using the calculator I linked in the post then subtract 500 or if you want to lose 2lbs subtract 1000 but I’d recommend losing the other pound through exercise.

Hypothetically you’d actually be able to diet on higher calories when you go back because your weight will have gone up due to the bulk and then so will the maintenance calories because it will reset your metabolism.
 
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First of all 1000 calories is way too low, try finding out your maintenance calories using the calculator I linked in the post then subtract 500 or if you want to lose 2lbs subtract 1000 but I’d recommend losing the other pound through exercise.

Hypothetically you’d actually be able to diet on higher calories when you go back because your weight will have gone up due to the bulk and then so will the maintenance calories because it will reset your metabolism.
The thing is I’m 14 years old so my maintenance is around 2000. I estimate I eat around 1200. One big meal with rice, 2 chicken breasts and some air fryed fries and I’m done for the day. I’ve been losing weight consistently doing this. After I get to 12% I plan on maintaining for a few weeks and slowly eat more so that I can bulk up to 15% with calisthenics and cut back to 12%. If I do this my maintenance goes back up to 2000 right?
 
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The thing is I’m 14 years old so my maintenance is around 2000. I estimate I eat around 1200. One big meal with rice, 2 chicken breasts and some air fryed fries and I’m done for the day. I’ve been losing weight consistently doing this. After I get to 12% I plan on maintaining for a few weeks and slowly eat more so that I can bulk up to 15% with calisthenics and cut back to 12%. If I do this my maintenance goes back up to 2000 right?
yeah it might even go back up higher than 2000 you’ll have to experiment with it. But I would bulk to 20% because only bulking up within 3% is pretty inefficient. If you want to bulk and see results you’ll have to do it properly.
 
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yeah it might even go back up higher than 2000 you’ll have to experiment with it. But I would bulk to 20% because only bulking up within 3% is pretty inefficient. If you want to bulk and see results you’ll have to do it properly.
I’ll probably go from 12% to 17% and cut within 5%. Many people do 10-15 but I don’t want to go beyond 15-17 so I can still have a relatively lean face. I can build decent muscle with calisthenics until the gym opens right? My last question is when I’m done with my current cut would I have to add 500 to 2000 to bulk or my current 1200. Appreciate the help buddy boyo
 
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I’ll probably go from 12% to 17% and cut within 5%. Many people do 10-15 but I don’t want to go beyond 15-17 so I can still have a relatively lean face. I can build decent muscle with calisthenics until the gym opens right? My last question is when I’m done with my current cut would I have to add 500 to 2000 to bulk or my current 1200. Appreciate the help buddy boyo
Once you finish your cut you’ll have to scale your calories up slowly in increments of say 150 calories per week because if you jump straight to 2000 you’ll just get fat quickly and not be able to build muscle effectively. For example the week you finish your cut you’ll eat 1350 calories then the next week you’ll eat 1500 calories and slowly go up. During this you’ll gain weight but at a steady enough pace to build muscle and you can stop when you’ve reached 17% bf but I still recommend bulking to 20/22% you have to get slightly fat to effectively bulk. Callisthenics is a good enough substitute until gyms open.
 
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Once you finish your cut you’ll have to scale your calories up slowly in increments of say 150 calories per week because if you jump straight to 2000 you’ll just get fat quickly and not be able to build muscle effectively. For example the week you finish your cut you’ll eat 1350 calories then the next week you’ll eat 1500 calories and slowly go up. During this you’ll gain weight but at a steady enough pace to build muscle and you can stop when you’ve reached 17% bf but I still recommend bulking to 20/22% you have to get slightly fat to effectively bulk. Callisthenics is a good enough substitute until gyms open.
good poster tbh ngl. book marked thread.
 
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Interesting very good. Just eat less that's all there is to it
 
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Interesting very good. Just eat less that's all there is to it
when you break it down yeah but there’s things that can make the process easier and more efficient as opposed to someone who just ate less
 
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