How low do you guys usually take calories before your energy, strength, sleep or mood starts going downhill? Curious where you guys draw the line on an aggressive cut.
Trying to get lean without turning into a damn zombie. 
How low do you guys usually take calories before your energy, strength, sleep or mood starts going downhill? Curious where you guys draw the line on an aggressive cut.
How low do you guys usually take calories before your energy, strength, sleep or mood starts going downhill? Curious where you guys draw the line on an aggressive cut.
Once sleep starts getting wrecked, I know I pushed the cut too damn far.Castro8Parz wrote: ↑Fri Sep 25, 2026 2:15 pm Trying to get lean without turning into a damn zombie.
I’d rather take a slower cut and keep training hard than slash calories and feel like trash 24/7.
For me, the first warning sign would be strength dropping across multiple workouts, not just having one crappy gym day.
Yeah, that’s kinda what I’m trying to figure out. I don’t mind being hungry during a cut, but when training starts feeling miserable and recovery goes to hell, that’s probably a sign to ease up.
I think people get way too obsessed with making the scale move every single week. Sometimes holding steady for a bit and keeping performance up is the smarter play.
Mood is a big one too. If somebody goes from “I’m hungry” to “I hate everybody and everything” , probably time to rethink how aggressive the deficit is.
, probably time to rethink how aggressive the deficit is.
Slow and steady wins for me. Keep protein and lifting consistent, make small adjustments when progress stalls, and don’t turn the last few pounds into some miserable crash diet.