I started another cut with my Renaissance Periodization template on Monday.
I don’t recall ever explaining what Renaissance Periodization is, even though I’ve mentioned them a few times. For those who don’t know, Renaissance Periodization provides training and nutrition coaching for professional athletes and non-competitive individuals alike. They offer one-on-one coaching, provide nutrition templates that you can follow on your own (which is what I do), or you can purchase one of their books and design your nutrition plan by yourself.
The team at Renaissance Periodization is comprised of registered dietitians and fitness professionals, almost all of whom have PhDs. They focus on providing nutrition advice that is based on scientific principles and not just making claims based on the latest fad diet. Rather than promoting the elimination of whole food groups or magic shakes, they focus on portion control and nutrient timing – consuming the right amount of fats, protein, and carbs, based upon when you work out and how hard your workout is.
Here is a sample of what my template looks like (this is a new PDF version that RP just recently released; previously, the templates were in Excel spreadsheets):
This snippet shows only the first couple of meals for an early morning weight training session, which is when I workout about 85% of the time. There are also options to follow for when you work out after 1 meal, 2 meals, 3 meals, or 4 meals. You still end up eating the same amount of food no matter what time of day you workout; the macros are just distributed a little differently.
As you can see, the protein, veggies, and fats all have one number listed underneath them. However, the “Healthy Carbs” tab lists Light, Moderate, and Hard workout options. RP provides guidelines about how to rate your workouts when they send your template. My workouts almost always fall under the Light category, so I eat 50g of carbs right after my workout, 30g of carbs at the next meal, and so on.
The workout carbs all the way to the right refer to quick-digesting carbs that you consume with whey protein before, during and/or after your workout – Gatorade, sugary juices, etc. These carbs are meant to provide your body with quick sources of energy throughout your training session.
The template also comes with three additional fat loss phases, with each phase adjusting carbs and fats accordingly (the protein stays the same). Instructions for how to move through each of the fat loss phases are also provided with the template. Once your weight loss stalls, you move onto the next phase. This doesn’t mean that you immediately move on if your weight stays the same for two or three days. The general rule of thumb is to spend at least two weeks on each phase. Moving too fast can hinder your progress. You don’t want to be eating less if you can continue losing weight with more food!
Additionally, a big part of following the plan is patience and longevity. This isn’t one of those “lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks” types of plans. RP is all about steady, controlled weight loss and setting you up for long-term success.
Finally, the templates also come with maintenance plans that help you maintain your weight once your cut is finished. Per RP, each cut shouldn’t last more than 12 weeks, to give your body and mind a break from the stresses of dieting. The maintenance tabs allow you to slowly increase your daily calorie intake again until your weight stabilizes and you can eat as much food as possible without gaining it back. The goal is to get all the way to your new base.
All of this might sound complicated. I won’t lie – it does take time and effort, especially if you’ve never done any macro counting before. I wasn’t a stranger to counting macros and meal prepping before I started with RP, so the transition wasn’t too bad for me. However, I can see how someone who’s never done anything like this before might find it confusing. But the longer you stick with it, the easier it becomes. In my previous cuts, I had gotten so familiar with my template that I didn’t need to look at it when I planned my meals. I knew exactly what I needed to eat and when. And if you eat the same foods regularly, you become so familiar with the nutritional information that you don’t need to check the labels all the time.
This is my third time doing a cut with RP and I’m eager to see where I end up this time. When I first started back in September 2016, my weight was about 175lbs. I’ve gotten down as low as 161, but I’m now sitting between 168-170. Some of it is still a bit of holiday weight gain. Some of it is because I recently started taking creatine (at least I think it’s water weight from the creatine, anyway). But I’ve lost some of the weight before, and I know I can do it again!
Below are the stats I recorded at the beginning of the week:
- Starting weight: 170lbs
- Chest measurement: 37.5 inches
- Waist measurement: 32.5 inches (measured at the narrowest part)
- Hip measurement: 41.5 inches
It’s been less than a week so far, but I’m feeling pretty good and my workouts have been going well. I hope this strong start will lend itself to some positive changes in 12 weeks!
