There are always periods when we let ourselves go a bit and like to indulge in our favorite foods, not minding how much we eat. Before we know it, we no longer recognize the person we see in the mirror.
Muscle is there, but you can hardly see it underneath those slabs of fat. When this happens, very often, lifters make all kinds of excuses so that they can continue bulking for just another week.
This is how the so-called “permabulkers” are born because the process is highly addictive.
And it’s no wonder when you see yourself building new muscle each week, your strength keeps increasing and you lift heavier weights and your cheat days no longer feel as something sinful, but beneficial.
People being unwilling to start their cut is extremely counterproductive since there are lots of benefits you will experience from the process, which in turn will make you look and feel better in the long term.
So, here are the top 12 reasons why you should start cutting now:
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Your muscles will appear bigger after cutting
If you do your cut correctly, you will see that your muscles appear bigger and more muscular. This may seem a bit counterintuitive at first but even though you’ll see yourself losing size (which is actually fat tissue), your muscles will become more defined.
This will make them look much more impressive. This is exactly why a guy who is shredded and has 16-inch arms looks jacked and powerful while someone who has 18-inch arms can have an ordinary look.
In the end, it’s all about how you look, not what the measuring tape says. Lots of lifters worry that they’re going to lose all of their hard-earned muscle mass, but this will only happen if you severely restrict caloric intake, or starve yourself.
It doesn’t have to be this way. If you cut in a slow, controlled manner, by eating in a small caloric deficit, you will retain your entire muscle mass. And even if you do experience some muscle loss, you will quickly replace it by increasing your calories again.
While cutting, if you’re able to maintain your muscle mass and lose fat around your waist, it will actually look like your muscles are getting bigger. This clever illusion can make a huge difference in how people see you.
Basically, smaller waist equals bigger-looking muscles. Lots of people can be pretty surprised when they see someone who’s gotten “bigger” and then find out that he or she has been on a cut all this time. They think that the only way to get bigger is by being on a constant bulk.
There’s a subtle difference between gaining muscle mass and looking bigger. If your goal is to gain as much muscle as possible, then bulk. If you want your muscles to look bigger to people around you, then cut.
There are people who don’t actually have a lot of muscle mass, but because they’re lean and shredded they look very big. It’s a very nice optical illusion.
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If you’re not lean, you’re fat
The ones who’ve spend lots of years in the gym know that the statement above isn’t true, because they can recognize when someone carries a lot of muscle, even though he may not be shredded.
However, people who don’t work out can’t quite tell the difference. There will be periods when you’re gaining a great amount of quality lean mass, but because your body fat levels increased too, people will think that you’ve simply gotten fat.
Naturally, you may get frustrated if you hear some comments from people who don’t know better, but it may just give you the necessary drive to prove them wrong and start cutting and get shredded.
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Your face will become more attractive
The main motivation for the majority of people when they first start working out is to build an ideal physique and be attractive to other people. There are also those who simply want to look better.
Now this means different things for different people. For some people looking better means putting on lots of muscle mass. Lots of them do this by bulking, which is generally considered a short-term sacrifice for the greater goal of making gains in the near future.
It is deemed a sacrifice because one inevitably gains some fat in the process, which means your face becomes bloated and puffy and your abs disappear beneath the layers of fat.
That’s why, when you’re cutting, you lose the fat on your face, which brings up the cheekbones and makes you look more masculine. Not to mention, that women are more attracted to men with leaner faces, not bloated ones.
You’ll be sure to recognize the improvement by the end of the cut when you start noticing the looks you get from all the women around you.
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Improved health
Once you start to lose weight, blood flow increases and your cholesterol levels improve. Good cholesterol (HDL) levels rise, while bad cholesterol (LDL) levels are reduced. This is good news for the guys out there: it’s common for your male member’s size to increase after losing a significant amount of fat.
This is in part because it gives off the illusion of being bigger because fat is no longer there to cover it, but mainly because blood flow is the main factor which determines its size, and it this case it gets increased.
Also, when you lose weight, your risk of cancer and diabetes is reduced dramatically. Research has shown that people who carry excess weight have a shorter lifespan.
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Higher testosterone levels
The fatter you are, the more testosterone will be converted into estrogen, which is absolutely not good if you’re a man. This process is also known as aromatization, and by cutting and getting leaner, you will decrease its rate and increase your serum testosterone levels.
Higher testosterone levels result in greater strength, increased energy and improved confidence in your everyday life. This will spill over in all areas of your life and will inevitably improve your general sense of well-being.
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You’ll get better in the sack
Not only will women find you more attractive when you get leaner, but you will also be able to endure longer and perform better in bed. As previously mentioned, the blood flow to your p***s will be increased, which will enable better er*ctions.
You will also have a lot more stamina and endurance which will allow you to increase the intensity and go for marathon sessions. Simply put, your girlfriend/wife will notice a huge difference, pun intended.
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It’s great having a six-pack
Anyone who’s managed to get below 10% body fat knows the feeling. It’s the look of awe that girls give once you take your shirt off. If you have a chiseled midsection it will most certainly get noticed in today’s society.
When you get to the beach you won’t be shy anymore to take your top off and the girls won’t be shy to take a glance either. Even when it’s cold, uploading a picture of your six-pack on social media will get people talking about your awesome physique.
Girls will find you more attractive and men will want to be you.
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Get sponsored
Long gone are the days when one had to win Mr. Olympia to get sponsored. Nowadays, you don’t even have to compete. If you get yourself in good enough shape and manage to gain large enough following on any social media platform, very soon supplement companies will start to offer their sponsorships and will be willing to pay you a hefty sum of money or give you free supplements as an alternative.
However, for you to get this type of offer you need to in top-notch shape, meaning you need to be as lean and shredded as possible. The first thing you should aim for is getting down to 6% body fat and you should also have a decent amount of muscle mass on your frame.
Very often, it will be you who will have to approach these companies and sell yourself as a “product”.
Bottom line, the more shredded and muscled you are, the more prestigious companies will want to work with you. That means, start cutting now.
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You will save more money
Bodybuilding and lifting weights sometimes cost a lot of money because of all the food you have to eat to keep building more muscle. When cutting, you restrict your caloric intake, so you’re less likely to spend money on buying huge amounts of food, not to mention expensive supplements. Your wallet will thank you for this.
Another positive thing is that by spending less time eating every two hours, you free up time to do other things during the day. So, you’re saving both time and money. It’s a win-win situation.
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Improved skin health
The leaner you get the healthier your skin will be. This doesn’t mean that overweight people can’t have healthy skin, of course, they can.
However, if they made the decision to lose the extra weight their skin would improve significantly because of increased blood flow and production of collagen.
There’s a reason why you should take care of your skin if you’re a bodybuilder or fitness enthusiast. It’s a lifestyle and it’s about having a good-looking physique and being healthy.
The appearance of your skin is a major factor in your overall look. It is pointless to be lean and shredded if your skin looks bad. Look at your skin as the finishing touch on the canvas which highlights the masterpiece which is your body.
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Visible vascularity
Every bodybuilder wants to have big veins popping out of his muscles and forming spirals all around them. There are basically two main factors which determine how vascular a person can be: skin thickness which depends on genetics and body fat percentage.
The first factor is something beyond your control. You can’t really change how thick or thin your skin is. Those who have thicker skin will have a hard time making their veins visible. Those who do have thinner skin, on the other hand, will achieve this with little effort.
The second factor is something you can control though. If you lose weight, your veins will get closer to the surface of your skin. This will result in greater vascularity. Another thing to note is that as you get older your skin will become thinner naturally, which is the main reason why older bodybuilders are often a lot more vascular than younger ones.
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You’re allowed to have huge cheat meals
One of the great things about bodybuilding is that after eating clean for long periods of time you’re allowed to have epic cheat meals. When bulking they are not so much of a special occasion since you’re already eating huge quantities of food.
Guys who are having trouble with their body fat levels don’t feel so great after having a cheat meal.
However, if you’ve been in a state of caloric deficit for quite some time, working out regularly and intensely and you’ve already started losing fat, cheat meals are a great way to indulge in your favorite foods without feeling any guilt whatsoever.
What’s more, they are a great dietary tool which will make it much more likely for you to follow through with your diet. It’s like a control mechanism where you designate the exact time when you’ll be having some junk food, instead of doing it sporadically and eventually falling out of your diet completely.
And that’s not all. When you’re cutting, cheat meals actually help you increase the rate at which you lose fat. Sudden influx of calories increases leptin levels, a fat-burning hormone which usually decreases when a person doesn’t eat enough. This means you can have epic cheat meals without feeling guilty afterward.
