Just like exercise, compositional goals should be done on a cycle.

You can’t stay in a caloric deficit forever, your metabolism will adapt & slow down.

You technically could stay in a building phase forever, but for most people – it’s hard to eat the amount of food required.

You can absolutely stay at maintenance forever.

That being said, most people are reading this because they have compositional goals and will be cycling through at least one or two of these phases.

Here is an example of what a goal of fat loss might look like:

• 8-12 WEEKS: DEFICIT/CUT – LOSE 8-15 LBS
• 1-2 WEEKS: MAINTENANCE
• 8-12 WEEKS: DEFICIT/CUT – LOSE 8-15 LBS
• 3-6 MONTHS: REVERSE DIET – MAINTAIN WEIGHT/BUILD MUSCLE

Here is an example of what a goal of muscle building might look like:

• 3-6 MONTHS: SURPLUS/BUILD – GAIN 5-15 LBS (5-9 LBS MUSCLE GAIN)
• 8-12 WEEKS: DEFICIT/CUT – LOSE 8-15 LBS
• 12 WEEKS: REVERSE DIET – MAINTAIN WEIGHT/BUILD MUSCLE

Keep in mind, this is a general guide – some people may need a diet break after 4-5 weeks depending on other stressors. Some people may not actually be seeing that much change on the scale but are seeing compositional/strength changes, some people may only do one cut cycle and reach their goal weight.