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Cutting and bulking are terms originating from bodybuilding. They refer to alternating eating patterns with opposing objectives. The cutting phase is aimed at reducing body fat but retaining muscle mass through reduced calories and increased exercise. The bulking phase aims to build more muscle by increasing calorie intake combined with intense weight training.
But cutting and bulking are not only for bodybuilders. Rather, other athletes can also employ the strategy. Many rugby players, boxers, gymnasts, and rock climbers, among other competitive athletes, do cutting and bulking to give them an edge in their sport.
This article explores the role of superfoods, fiber, and protein in cutting and bulking goals, and whether these can add additional benefits.
For bulking, you need high-calorie and highly nutritious food that helps to increase weight and muscle mass. For cutting, you need low-calorie, nutrient-dense food to support fat loss and muscle maintenance.
But to bulk effectively, you still need targeted strength training that stimulates muscle growth.
Nutrient-dense foods that are also high in calories include:
Healthy fats from nuts, seeds, olive oil, and avocado
Oily fish like salmon
Wholegrains like brown rice, bulgur wheat, oats, and quinoa
Starchy vegetables, like carrots and sweet potatoes
Lean protein meats, including chicken
Legumes, such as lentils, chickpeas, kidney, navy, and black beans
Sweet fruits, such as banana, papaya, grapes, and pineapple, as well as 100% fruit juice
The regimen also includes cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, as well as leafy greens like spinach, Swiss chard, and kale for their nutrients — even though these are not high in calories.
Because you are aiming to gain weight, you can occasionally indulge in comfort foods like pizza, pasta, and bread. But highly processed foods, such as processed meats, deep-fried anything, or fast food, are a definite no-no.
The secret to successful bulking is not to aim for too much too soon. Experts suggest aiming for adding 0.2–1kg per week.
When you’re cutting, you need to cut your calorie intake to lose weight. You need to eat nutrient-dense foods that are low in calories. But cutting can be tricky because you want to lose weight but not muscle mass.
When cutting, you basically eat the same healthy foods, but avoid the high-calorie choices.
Here is a list of suggested foods:
Limited healthy fats from nuts, seeds, olive oil, and avocado
Lean protein meats, including chicken, beef, fish, tofu, plant-based proteins, low-fat cheese, and eggs
Legumes, such as lentils, chickpeas, kidney, navy, and black beans
Wholegrains like brown rice, bulgur wheat, oats, and quinoa
Non-starchy vegetables, like asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green beans, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, cabbage, zucchini, peppers, and celery
Dark leafy greens: spinach, Swiss chard, collard greens, and kale
Low-sugar fruits like grapefruit, guava, strawberries, and kiwi
Stay away from, or strictly limit, high-calorie foods like pizza, deep-fried foods, and high-fat meat cuts, fast food, and all convenience foods.
As with bulking, it's best to aim for gradual weight loss – no more than 0.2–1kg per week.
“To lose weight, we should not cut carbohydrates out of our diets; we should eat them in their original fiber packaging instead.”
-Christopher Damman,
Associate Professor, University of Washington.
Natural carbohydrates in whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables come in about 10 to 1ratios of total carbohydrate to fiber. Eating mostly whole foods like these is a simple way to ensure you’re ingesting just the right ratios of fiber and carbohydrates.
Bottom line: You don't have to cut out carbs to lose weight; you have to cut out processed carbs stripped of their fiber.
Fiber acts as food for the gut microbiome, and this triggers certain gut hormones that help regulate how fast the stomach empties. This influences hunger.
In other words, eating high-fiber foods helps to control your hunger and how much you eat.
In practice, foods like whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables make you feel full faster – naturally curbing your appetite. So, a focus on fiber intake will help you cut your weight by helping you feel satisfied with fewer calories.
During a cutting phase, you want to lose weight without losing muscle, so it's crucial not to cut your protein intake. After all, protein is what builds muscle.High-protein diet helps with weight loss, increases satiety, and increases energy expenditure.
Research recommendsprotein intake of 2.2–3.0 g per kilogram of bodyweight taken throughout 3–6 meals for cutting. Meals should be scheduled at least 2–3 hours before and after training.
During the bulking phase, you need to increase your calorie intake, but do it with the help of whole foods so you don't put on fat.
There are conflicting opinions on the amount and timing of protein intake for bulking. According to the United States Anti-Doping Agency, sports nutrition and exercise experts agree that individuals should aim to consume about 1.6-2.2 grams per kilogram of protein per day to maximize muscle protein synthesis. That comes to about109-150 grams of protein per day for a person of 150 pounds.
The general recommendation is to divide your protein between three meals during the day for bulking, but this is not a hard-and-fast rule, and you can try smaller meals or protein snacks.
Researchers have noticed that muscle protein synthesis increases by 25 percent when equal amounts of protein are eaten at every meal rather than eating the bulk of your protein quota at one sitting.
It's important to ensure you eat plenty of protein at breakfast, as it will curb your appetite for the rest of the morning until lunch. Most people eat the bulk of their protein during dinner, but experts suggest that doing that at breakfast can stimulate muscle protein synthesis to a greater extent.
To sustain energy while cutting calories, you must focus on nutrient-dense foods that provide maximum vitamins and minerals per calorie. Examples include lean meats, fish, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
Complex carbohydrates are needed to fuel intense training sessions while cutting, and these include:
Whole grains, such as whole-wheat, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, and oats.
Pulses, such as beans and lentils, are packed with fiber for slow release of energy.
Fruits and vegetables.
Healthy fats recommended for cutting include oils from avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and oily fish, such as salmon.
Bulking often involves strenuous exercise that taxes the muscles and stimulates them to grow bigger. The growth is the result of muscles repairing microtears that appeared during the exercise. This repair process requires sufficient high-quality protein.
Superfood protein sources such as chicken breasts, salmon, eggs, Greek yogurt, quinoa, spirulina, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and pumpkin seeds provide a complete amino acid profile to aid repair.
These nutrient-dense foods also supply a legion of micronutrients that support energy metabolism, reduce inflammation, and boost recovery.
During the cutting phase,superfood powders are a source of micronutrients and antioxidants to boost immune function when your calorie intake is low.
When you are bulking, superfood powders provide nutrients that support recovery and overall health during intense training.
Most green or superfood powder manufacturers recommend a single scoop of 5–8 grams once a day. When you're bulking, you could increase that to two servings of 8 – 10g daily, taken in the morning and after your workout.
Fiber powder is useful during cutting. It helps curb your appetite and helps you feel full. It also helps stabilize blood sugar and reduce cravings. When you are bulking and eating more food, fiber helps with digestion. It also prevents bloating and feelings of digestive discomfort.
Just make sure not to increase your fiber suddenly rather gradually. Also, taking fiber just before exercise might lead to discomfort.
During both the cutting and bulking phases, you can consider taking 5–10 g per day with meals.
When cutting, lean protein helps maintain muscle mass without adding many calories.
During bulking, protein supports muscle repair and growth after intense exercise.Protein powders are especially useful during this phase, as you can conveniently meet your protein needs.
During intense training, twice the daily intake of1.4 to 2.0 g of protein per kg of body weight is recommended. Note that merely eating more protein won't build muscle – you have to do strength training as well. It is also informative to be aware that after 1.5 to 1.6 g per kg of body weight per day, yourmuscles don't benefit from more protein.
How much protein powder you need will depend on how much protein you're getting in through your diet. If you are bulking, you may need to add protein powder to build muscle.
When you're cutting, the purpose of adding protein powder would be to maintain muscle mass.
To determine how much protein powder you must add during each phase, you must calculate how much protein you are getting in through what you're eating. If it falls short of the recommended grams per serving, you can use protein powder to make up the difference.
Whether you're cutting or bulking, you need fiber, protein, and micronutrients to reach your goal. Protein, fiber, and superfood powders can provide invaluable support in this regard. A high-quality protein powder can supplement your existing protein intake to support muscle growth and maintenance.
A scoop or two of superfood powders will ensure that you stay healthy, and a good fiber powder will help control your appetite, supporting your weight loss goal during cutting.
Cutting and bulking are terms originating from bodybuilding. They refer to alternating eating patterns with opposing objectives. The cutting phase is aimed at reducing body fat but retaining muscle mass through reduced calories and increased exercise. The bulking phase aims to build more muscle by increasing calorie intake combined with intense weight training.
But cutting and bulking are not only for bodybuilders. Rather, other athletes can also employ the strategy. Many rugby players, boxers, gymnasts, and rock climbers, among other competitive athletes, do cutting and bulking to give them an edge in their sport.
This article explores the role of superfoods, fiber, and protein in cutting and bulking goals, and whether these can add additional benefits.
For bulking, you need high-calorie and highly nutritious food that helps to increase weight and muscle mass. For cutting, you need low-calorie, nutrient-dense food to support fat loss and muscle maintenance.
But to bulk effectively, you still need targeted strength training that stimulates muscle growth.
Nutrient-dense foods that are also high in calories include:
Healthy fats from nuts, seeds, olive oil, and avocado
Oily fish like salmon
Wholegrains like brown rice, bulgur wheat, oats, and quinoa
Starchy vegetables, like carrots and sweet potatoes
Lean protein meats, including chicken
Legumes, such as lentils, chickpeas, kidney, navy, and black beans
Sweet fruits, such as banana, papaya, grapes, and pineapple, as well as 100% fruit juice
The regimen also includes cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, as well as leafy greens like spinach, Swiss chard, and kale for their nutrients — even though these are not high in calories.
Because you are aiming to gain weight, you can occasionally indulge in comfort foods like pizza, pasta, and bread. But highly processed foods, such as processed meats, deep-fried anything, or fast food, are a definite no-no.
The secret to successful bulking is not to aim for too much too soon. Experts suggest aiming for adding 0.2–1kg per week.
When you’re cutting, you need to cut your calorie intake to lose weight. You need to eat nutrient-dense foods that are low in calories. But cutting can be tricky because you want to lose weight but not muscle mass.
When cutting, you basically eat the same healthy foods, but avoid the high-calorie choices.
Here is a list of suggested foods:
Limited healthy fats from nuts, seeds, olive oil, and avocado
Lean protein meats, including chicken, beef, fish, tofu, plant-based proteins, low-fat cheese, and eggs
Legumes, such as lentils, chickpeas, kidney, navy, and black beans
Wholegrains like brown rice, bulgur wheat, oats, and quinoa
Non-starchy vegetables, like asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green beans, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, cabbage, zucchini, peppers, and celery
Dark leafy greens: spinach, Swiss chard, collard greens, and kale
Low-sugar fruits like grapefruit, guava, strawberries, and kiwi
Stay away from, or strictly limit, high-calorie foods like pizza, deep-fried foods, and high-fat meat cuts, fast food, and all convenience foods.
As with bulking, it's best to aim for gradual weight loss – no more than 0.2–1kg per week.
“To lose weight, we should not cut carbohydrates out of our diets; we should eat them in their original fiber packaging instead.”
-Christopher Damman,
Associate Professor, University of Washington.
Natural carbohydrates in whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables come in about 10 to 1ratios of total carbohydrate to fiber. Eating mostly whole foods like these is a simple way to ensure you’re ingesting just the right ratios of fiber and carbohydrates.
Bottom line: You don't have to cut out carbs to lose weight; you have to cut out processed carbs stripped of their fiber.
Fiber acts as food for the gut microbiome, and this triggers certain gut hormones that help regulate how fast the stomach empties. This influences hunger.
In other words, eating high-fiber foods helps to control your hunger and how much you eat.
In practice, foods like whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables make you feel full faster – naturally curbing your appetite. So, a focus on fiber intake will help you cut your weight by helping you feel satisfied with fewer calories.
During a cutting phase, you want to lose weight without losing muscle, so it's crucial not to cut your protein intake. After all, protein is what builds muscle.High-protein diet helps with weight loss, increases satiety, and increases energy expenditure.
Research recommendsprotein intake of 2.2–3.0 g per kilogram of bodyweight taken throughout 3–6 meals for cutting. Meals should be scheduled at least 2–3 hours before and after training.
During the bulking phase, you need to increase your calorie intake, but do it with the help of whole foods so you don't put on fat.
There are conflicting opinions on the amount and timing of protein intake for bulking. According to the United States Anti-Doping Agency, sports nutrition and exercise experts agree that individuals should aim to consume about 1.6-2.2 grams per kilogram of protein per day to maximize muscle protein synthesis. That comes to about109-150 grams of protein per day for a person of 150 pounds.
The general recommendation is to divide your protein between three meals during the day for bulking, but this is not a hard-and-fast rule, and you can try smaller meals or protein snacks.
Researchers have noticed that muscle protein synthesis increases by 25 percent when equal amounts of protein are eaten at every meal rather than eating the bulk of your protein quota at one sitting.
It's important to ensure you eat plenty of protein at breakfast, as it will curb your appetite for the rest of the morning until lunch. Most people eat the bulk of their protein during dinner, but experts suggest that doing that at breakfast can stimulate muscle protein synthesis to a greater extent.
To sustain energy while cutting calories, you must focus on nutrient-dense foods that provide maximum vitamins and minerals per calorie. Examples include lean meats, fish, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
Complex carbohydrates are needed to fuel intense training sessions while cutting, and these include:
Whole grains, such as whole-wheat, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, and oats.
Pulses, such as beans and lentils, are packed with fiber for slow release of energy.
Fruits and vegetables.
Healthy fats recommended for cutting include oils from avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and oily fish, such as salmon.
Bulking often involves strenuous exercise that taxes the muscles and stimulates them to grow bigger. The growth is the result of muscles repairing microtears that appeared during the exercise. This repair process requires sufficient high-quality protein.
Superfood protein sources such as chicken breasts, salmon, eggs, Greek yogurt, quinoa, spirulina, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and pumpkin seeds provide a complete amino acid profile to aid repair.
These nutrient-dense foods also supply a legion of micronutrients that support energy metabolism, reduce inflammation, and boost recovery.
During the cutting phase,superfood powders are a source of micronutrients and antioxidants to boost immune function when your calorie intake is low.
When you are bulking, superfood powders provide nutrients that support recovery and overall health during intense training.
Most green or superfood powder manufacturers recommend a single scoop of 5–8 grams once a day. When you're bulking, you could increase that to two servings of 8 – 10g daily, taken in the morning and after your workout.
Fiber powder is useful during cutting. It helps curb your appetite and helps you feel full. It also helps stabilize blood sugar and reduce cravings. When you are bulking and eating more food, fiber helps with digestion. It also prevents bloating and feelings of digestive discomfort.
Just make sure not to increase your fiber suddenly rather gradually. Also, taking fiber just before exercise might lead to discomfort.
During both the cutting and bulking phases, you can consider taking 5–10 g per day with meals.
When cutting, lean protein helps maintain muscle mass without adding many calories.
During bulking, protein supports muscle repair and growth after intense exercise.Protein powders are especially useful during this phase, as you can conveniently meet your protein needs.
During intense training, twice the daily intake of1.4 to 2.0 g of protein per kg of body weight is recommended. Note that merely eating more protein won't build muscle – you have to do strength training as well. It is also informative to be aware that after 1.5 to 1.6 g per kg of body weight per day, yourmuscles don't benefit from more protein.
How much protein powder you need will depend on how much protein you're getting in through your diet. If you are bulking, you may need to add protein powder to build muscle.
When you're cutting, the purpose of adding protein powder would be to maintain muscle mass.
To determine how much protein powder you must add during each phase, you must calculate how much protein you are getting in through what you're eating. If it falls short of the recommended grams per serving, you can use protein powder to make up the difference.
Whether you're cutting or bulking, you need fiber, protein, and micronutrients to reach your goal. Protein, fiber, and superfood powders can provide invaluable support in this regard. A high-quality protein powder can supplement your existing protein intake to support muscle growth and maintenance.
A scoop or two of superfood powders will ensure that you stay healthy, and a good fiber powder will help control your appetite, supporting your weight loss goal during cutting.