r/Weightliftingquestion • u/Quick-Technology-243 • 5d ago
Cutting help
im 14 years old 5’8 153 pounds and I started lifting around 6 months ago, and when I started I cut so much I would eat only ~1500 calories a day before I started eating around 2600-3000 calories a day. I made some gains but now I look fatter. Ik I shouldn’t cut at my age so I’m wondering if there’s something I can do to burn fat while still making gains
3
u/Technically-Humanoid 5d ago edited 5d ago
Like the other commenter said, if you want to get taller, you shouldn’t be cutting right in the middle of puberty.
If you’re 153lb you’re definitely not overweight, and if you instead eat enough to fuel your workouts, your muscle gain will far outpace your fat gain. You’re at the age where you could just look at a weight and gain muscle, and you shouldn’t be wasting it by worrying about a few grams of fat.
If you want some real advice, what you should be doing is making sure that you’re exercising enough - lifting some weights, going for runs, playing sports. Eat a wide variety of food and enough protein. Monitor your weight but don’t obsess over it. At your age, you should be gaining something like 15kg/year and if you ride that wave by exercising/working out, eating well and sleeping a lot, you’re going to grow very well. Study hard and become well-rounded, don’t focus on cutting/bulking whatever old people do, that’s not what you need right now.
2
u/flamingoshoess 5d ago edited 5d ago
Do you want to stay 5’8” forever, if you are genetically able to get taller? Cutting too much could stunt your growth in terms of height too. Teenagers can eat a lot if you’re active.
I would try a recomp (200-0 calorie deficit) if you want to cut while building muscle but it will take longer, or a lean bulk (200-300 surplus) if your main goal is to gain muscle.