Originally Posted by
smashingbox
First up let me apologise for the length of this post, just want to paint an accurate picture. Been reading the forums for a while but this is my first post, other than intro in new members area. I am considering running a cycle in about 6-12 months, but want to master cutting/cleaner bulking before hand.
Stats:
Age 26
Height 5'11
Weight 175 (80kg)
Bf% Not sure, waiting on bf calipers to arrive
Cycle history None, yet.
Years training 2.5
Starting weight: 132lbs (60kg)
So I am/was an extreme ectomorph, found it very hard to gain weight. I climbed pretty quickly by 20lbs, then plateaued at around 155lb. Took me ages but finally made about 168lbs, then decided to try and cut because I had gained some fat... as soon as I cleaned up my diet and cut out some carbs.... I plummeted back down to 155lbs in no time. I then tried clean bulking for 3 months and didnt gain a thing, despite eating truckloads of clean carbs. Finally out of frustration I decided to dirty bulk... then got to where I am now, 175 with some fat (waiting on body calipers to measure). So now I have cleaned up my diet, but still worried to cut too much in fear of losing all the weight I have gained all over again.
Congrats on the gains thus far, that's big progress in 2.5 years
So I havent counted macros, or measured serves/portions, and also I don't eat the same thing every day, so here is an outline of what I would eat in a typical day, with some examples of a few things I rotate or eat depending on how I feel.
If you want to take this seriously, then you need to start doing both - counting macros is a given - you can't do this right without it. You also need a consistent diet; this doesn't mean it has to be the EXACT same thing every day, but macros need to be very close. i.e. you can have 4oz of chicken instead of fish, or green beans instead of broccoli - that kind of thing
Upon waking : Shake
50-60g WPI; ~20-30g of oats; 300ml Low fat milk
Depending on how your body handles dairy, you might want to consider dropping the milk - AT LEAST make it skim
10am: 2 poached eggs, cup of broccoli, and tin (85g dry weight) red salmon (salt reduced nothing added)
I wouldn't do the salmon here, too much fat especially with the eggs. How about 2 whole eggs, 4-6 whites, and another 1/2 cup oats and the broccoli?
or: Omelette – 6 eggs (only use 3 yolks); cherry tomatoes; capsicum (green pepper); 100g smoked salmon; basil/olive oil
Pretty much same suggestion as above
midday: meal – usually a curry of some sort, incl. potatoes, about a cup of white rice (changing to brown) breast chicken, curry sauce (just use a jar).
Careful with the sauces. Usually loaded with sugar, preservatives, and sodium. Good idea changing to brown rice
Or wholemeal roll, lots of roast beef, tomato, and a couple of heaping spoons of cottage cheese
The roll is probably crap - go for a better carb source, like sweet potato or lentils/beans, quinoa, etc
**with lunch, my one vice: a can of coke.
No way. Change to diet. You'll learn to deal with the taste. This high fructose corn syrup garbage in a single can is enough to ruin a diet
3pm: another snack, usually a wholemeal english muffin with cottage cheese, maybe a can of salmon, broccoli
Not a great meal, too random. Lean protein + complex carb OR healthy fat. I'd say drop the muffin and just do the salmon and broccoli, keep the cottage cheese if you want
5-6pm: shake 50-60g WPI protein; 20-30g oats
Ok, although i'd prefer to see real food here for your protein source
7pm Workout – 1 hour
PWO: shake 50-60g WPI protein; 30g maltodextrin
Drop the maltodextrin ASAP - do oats instead. It's already late for carbs, although I'm a firm believer in carbs PWO. However, straight sugar is NOT a good idea (ever IMO), especially this late.
45 mins after PWO (around 9:30pm) shake: dinner - varies a lot, always try to include a lean meat (steak/breast chicken), then either pasta, mashed potato, or rice; and maybe some veggies.
I'd make this a protein/fat meal. Too late for carbs here if you're trying to reduce bodyfat. Add a tbsp of olive oil to the veggies
10:30 bed
How about a serving of cottage cheese or a casein shake before bed?
I am starting to see some results with this, my abs are coming through, and I have just started doing some cardio twice a week to try to speed things up. I am after advice on how I can tweak my routine so that I can safely lose some fat without losing much of my hard earned muscle (cause it doesn't come easily to me!!). Ideally I would like to remain at 80kg, and just modify my body composition - lose a little fat and gain a little muscle.
You need to figure out how much to eat firstly. Once we have an idea of your bodyfat, we can come up with a ballpark figure. Once we know that number, I would have you eat at maintenance, or even a bit above (yes, eat above maintenance to cut), but you need to seriously start doing cardio. 2 times a week? Gimme a break, try at least 5x a week. I'm doing 5x a week, 2x/day currently in an effort to hit 10%.
I will try to get some pics up soon, maybe you guys can give me an idea of where abouts my bf % might be. Thanks for taking the time to read, all advice appreciated!
Definitely, we'll be able to give a decent estimate based on pics
Scott
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