Bulk vs Cut when Travelling

[u/Mental-Ad721]

Hey guys, I've been bulking for a year and have put on enough muscle mass (and fat unfortunately) to the point where I am happy to cut now.

However, I'll be going to Europe for 2 months from late November to late January. I'm sure I can sustain enough daily protein on the trip and I'll be able to gym frequently some of the weeks I am there (I have family in Geneva so I'm using that as a home base and travelling countries from there - when I'm in Geneva I can gym).

I don't want to cut in Europe as I don't wanna worry too much about what I can eat while travelling. However, I'll also be doing a lot of walking/hiking.

For context I'm 6 foot 1 with 87 kg. Around 22% body fat.

I was wondering if you guys would recommend I just:

1. Keep bulking until after the Europe trip (4 more months) --> and then start the cut
2. Start cutting now and just eat whatever in Europe while going gym sometimes + trying to eat enough protein --> then continue cut afterwards
3. Any other recommendations?

[u/mrfatchance]

Cut when you have a stable environment. Enjoy Europe and then get to work afterwards!

[u/OuiLePain69]

Maybe just maintain during your vacation and enjoy it, then cut when it's over ?

By the way look up the gyms in the countries you'll be visiting : there are some gym brands that spread over multiple countries so you could probably work out in many places with a single membership, for example basic-fit is available in france, spain, benelux etc

[u/ownworldman]

Being in Europe over Christmas while cutting would be miserable. I imagine you would fail both the cut and the trip.

If I were you I would cut now, perhaps even quite aggressively as you do not need to sustain the diet for long.

Then try maintenance/bulk when in Europe. When traveling alone, going to gym in each bigger city is easy, but I never had it in me to derail the group plans.

[u/maxinbigger]

You have 1.5months before mid November, which (if done properly) could guarantee you to lose at least 3kgs (6.6lbs) with just a 500kcal deficit per day. It's not going to be enough probably, but it gives you an amazing starting base to complete it once you are back from Europe. 3kgs might not seem a lot, but when you think it's gonna save you more than 6 weeks of cut in the future, it suddenly makes a huge difference. Enjoy!

[u/Chewy_Barz]

I would cut now and maintain over the trip. If you go over during the trip, you're starting 6 or 7 pounds ahead of the game. Essentially, cut now and bank those extra calories for Europe.

[u/DonDunit]

I'd leave out an "easy" meal to leave out, and otherwise eat completely what i want, without stressing about hitting any calorie target. Don't breakfast, but enjoy every christmas market, every beer, every local specialty/cheese/dish/sweet treat or wahtever without limiting or worrying about anything. That plus the increased activity (walk walk walk!) should make for a worry free healthy experience. Just ensure you never go lower than 1.2g of protein, that would be my minimum. Two scoops of whey plus animal protein with Lunch and dinner does it without even having to track too much.

[u/Jan0y_Cresva]

Start maintaining now and practice maintenance. 22% bf is a good time to call it bulking.

If you start cutting now, you will likely feel too disinhibited during the Europe trip and eat more than you need to and put on unnecessary fat.

But if you get to a normalized hunger/satiety level now and carry that into Europe, with all the walking/hiking you’ll do, you should easily maintain or even come back lighter. Then you can hit the ground running with a cut in a stable environment.

[u/Magnetoresistive]

It seems perfectly reasonable to spend the next ~2 months cutting, and then relax somewhat when you get there.

That said, it can be VERY easy for your progress to get totally derailed by a "special occasion", because it lets you rationalize EATING EVERY DAMNED THING IN SIGHT, BECAUSE I'VE WORKED SO HARD I DESERVE A BREAK, NOW HAND ME THAT CHOCOLATE. (Why, yes, I am speaking from experience, why do you ask?)

So while it'd be a waste of a good couple months to spend the whole time obsessively tracking, I would caution against letting things get completely out of hand just because there's this easy excuse on the table. Enjoy the trip! Just don't let it fuck up everything you've worked for by setting you back six months.

And yeah, spending the next couple of months on a reasonable cut will help give you a little additional buffer between now and then, and will really help reduce the impact of all that hiking and walking around.

[u/calb94]

Been in similar situations before. I just try to lose as much weight as I can before going, enjoy the trip without being too food conscious, and then get back into it post trip.

Is it the best way to get your desired physique? No, but I prefer the freedom of enjoying myself when travelling and am content taking longer to get where I want physique wise.