Its weigh-in day for you at the gym and the scale has gone up favorably—hitting your target weight goal. After ingesting 3,000-plus calories a day and pouring your energy and sweat into the gym, you can now say that you’ve successfully gotten through the bulking phase. You’re eager to start cutting to get that lean, ripped physique so you can confidently flex on Fridays.
For many people, cutting is more difficult than bulking up—you have to count your calories, give up that sweet tooth, and stay motivated. The cravings fairy may be whispering in your ear, but you can’t give in—it’s all mental from here on out. The cutting phase entails dropping almost 400 calories a day, and meals are every two to three hours due to the smaller portion sizes.
Slow and steady is the name of the game for cutting. Cutting too fast can diminish those hard-earned muscles—maintaining proper nutrition is essential. But if you feel like you need that extra jolt of nutrition, then consider taking certain supplements that can assist in supporting fat loss while preserving muscle mass.
1. Glutamine
Sixty-one percent of your skeletal muscle contains the amino acid glutamine. After a strenuous workout, levels of it will significantly drop. This amino acid is crucial in maintaining muscle mass and fostering muscle protein synthesis. As for fat loss purposes, glutamine can offset fat storage, making it a beneficial supplement for weight loss. Let’s not also forget that as we get older, levels of human growth hormone (HGH) start to decrease. Well, glutamine increases your body’s ability to secrete the fountain of youth hormone; HGH helps burn fat and build muscle.
2. Arginine
As the precursor to nitric oxide (NO), arginine can produce more muscle pumps during an intense workout. It works by widening your blood vessels during workouts, so that more oxygen and nutrients are hitting your muscles. Besides giving you more muscle pumps and growth, arginine is also a quality fat burner. As mentioned above that glutamine prevents the storage of fat, arginine will then use that freed fat as fuel (lipolysis).
3. Carnitine
Carnitine is also another valuable amino acid that can be an aid during the cutting phase. It functions by moving triglycerides (TG) into the mitochondria of your cells. Once TGs enter the mitochondria, they get broken down for energy. With carnitine, your body will further prevent fat storage while increasing your aerobic threshold to burn calories.
4. Coenzyme Q-10
Similar to the function of L-carnitine, Coenzyme Q-10 heightens metabolism, giving you more energy. CoQ10 accelerates the rate at which food gets used for fuel; this helps stabilize the amount of fat in the blood. This antioxidant also helps support basic cell function in the body. Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) can also increases your body’s ability to turn food into energy.
While dropping 300 or more calories a day, it’s a necessity that your body is still getting proper nutrition. Your goal is to effectively lose weight while preserving muscle mass. Incorporating these supplements along with a multivitamin will help get you the results that you’ve been wanting.
