10 Food Hacks For Cutting

Cutting sucks.

Lowering your food intake to almost food deprivation level after a bulking season in which it was Mardi Gras every day, sure is a buzzkill. #firstworldproblems

Your mood takes a dip and everything around you starts looking negative. You used to think about hot chicks all the time and how you would make love to them. Well, at least I do.

Now, all you think about is food. And “when is my next meal?”.

You picture yourself doing dirty things to food. You picture yourself stuffing your face at Chipotle, pizza becomes your most recurring wet dream ever and don’t get me started on greasy food.

You should be arrested for the number of dirty food-thoughts you have during a cutting phase.

Self-imposed hunger, in a world where food is everywhere, in every shape and in copious amount is the ultimate discipline builder. And they say bodybuilders are just muscles and no brain. Such bullshit. Bodybuilders are the most disciplined and hardcore people I know.

Anyway, cutting sucks but it doesn’t have to be this way.

In this post, I’m gonna share with you some tricks I found out to kill hunger naturally with food. Some tricks are science-based, some others are based on personal experimentation.

#1 Chili Powder on Everything

And I mean literally on everything. I even put it in tea. Seriously.

Chili powder is a natural appetite suppressant , therefore perfect for when you are cutting.

Chili pepper contains capsaicin (the tongue-burning effect comes from that) which may be pretty awesome.

Capsaicin might increase your metabolic rate, make you burn more fat and even stimulate muscle hypertrophy.

I said might because there are a few studies about it and not all of them are in humans. Anyway, chili powder sure doesn’t hurt.

Get ready to have your tongue on fire and experience weird chili-combinations!

#2 Green tea and Coffee

Other “mandatory” elements in the appetite suppression stack are green tea and caffeine.

Every bro knows it and even science confirms it.

If you don’t want to take more serious stuff or spend money on supplements like ephedrine, consider having green tea or coffee as your appetite suppressant of choice. Just don’t over do it.

Avoid coffee after 3 PM if you are one of those who wants to sleep at night.

#3 Gelatine

The key to not feeling hungry is to have your stomach full for as long as possible.

You can imagine that liquid foods are just the worst for this. Like whey protein shakes, for instance. That will make you super hungry immediately also because it gets absorbed super quickly.

If you want to “trick” your stomach and let it work longer, the next two items in the list are something to consider and something I regularly use.

One is gelatine. Made from collagen, the most abundant protein in animals, it will add thickness and consistency to basically any food you cook.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you’ll see a thick mixture ready to eat.

If you don’t have 4 hours to wait, the next item is for you.

#4 Psyllium Husk

This natural fiber comes from the seeds of the plants of the genus Plantago. It is used to thicken ice-creams and frozen desserts, so why shouldn’t we use it as well?

It works by attracting water and making a thick mass. One study shows how adding psyllium to a meal, increase its filling effect (study).

I use 2.5 grams in 200 grams of quark cheese.
Only 2.5 grams make my quark cheese super thick and incredibly filling.
By adding just 8 kcal to my low fat cheese, I feel full for hours with this trick! As a bonus, it’s fiber.

To make a satiety bomb, to this mix, I add the next item in the list.

#5 Strawberries

When god made strawberries, he/she clearly was thinking of bodybuilders cutting. I’m pretty sure about this.

I don’t think there is, or at least I haven’t found it yet, a food that has at the same time: low amount of calories (32 kcal/100g), incredible taste and such a high satiety.

If you check indeed at their satiety index, strawberries score pretty high.

Especially when cutting, your happiness levels score pretty much at “nothing matters, what’s the meaning of life?”.

Adding some strawberries to your meals will definitely make you happier and fuller.

Best Cutting Meal

Strawberries + Low Fat Greek Yogurt + Psyllium Husk

You’re welcome.

#6 Shirataki Noodles

I never heard of this stuff until recently and I’m not that much into Asian cousin either. Anyway, I had to try.

The Shirataki noodles are made from the devil’s tongue which is a kind of yam. Nothing creepy, don’t worry.

They are made of glucomannan which is a kind of carbohydrate which we can’t digest so it adds very little calories to your intake.

Exactly 9.5 kcal/100 grams. Can you get lower than that?!

In addition, it attracts water so it forms a nice thick mass in your stomach which will make you feel pretty full. And you will be eating noodles!

#7 Steamed Chicken Breast

I don’t know you but I really hate chicken breast with every single cell in my body. Alright, it’s the best cutting food ever: tons of protein, and almost no fat. But it also tastes like the soil of an old shoe. Well, at least I think it tastes like that, since I never tasted the soil of an old shoe…

I found, though, a way to make chicken breast not only taste decent, but also juicy!

Here it goes: steam it!

Tip to make it even more delicious: keep the chicken in the fridge overnight in a ziplock bag with water and salt. It will be tender as a delicate expensive cut of meat.

(Check my video here to see how I make it)

#8 Walden Farms

Have you ever heard of  Walden Farms?

This company makes 0 calories sauces and condiments that are perfect when cutting. You can find mayonnaise, pancake syrup, spreads, and dips. Some of them taste completely awful, beware. Some others are decent. Read the reviews on Amazon first but also try for yourself.

I love the Walden Farms caramel syrup which I sometimes add to my quark cheese/strawberries/psyllium husk combo for extra delicious taste.

#9 Diet Coke

The credit for this tip goes to my friend Nick. And it makes complete sense.

Not only diet coke contains caffeine which will suppress your appetite (see point #2, you scatterbrain) but also with all that CO2 will make you feel fuller.

I suppose that also other sodas will work as well. Just make sure that they are the diet version so they don’t contain tons of calories in the form of sugar.

As a bonus, it tastes great and you can surely pair it with my recipe for steamed chicken breast, shirataki noodles, mushrooms and chives from point #6.

#10 Meal-Prepped Food Served Cold

Ok, this is going to sound super weird and I found out this by accident.

One day I woke up, opened the fridge, took one box of my prepped breakfast and decided to not warm it up in the microwave because I was late.

Not only it tasted pretty awesome but I noticed that I had troubles finishing it. And I have an insanely large appetite! The fact that the food has not been warmed up makes it thicker.

I’m not sure if this will hold true for you too but try not to warm up a prepped meal and see if you also notice its more satiating effect!

Conclusions

We saw 10 tricks to hack your cutting and not feel miserable. Let me know in the comments below what are your experiences and feel free to share some of your tricks!

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