Cutting diet please critique, low energy

[PrairieDawg]

I've got some real energy issues with this cutting diet I'm doing. My weight sessions suck. I've only been doing this for 3 days now but I know this can't be normal. I went straight from bulking to cutting so I'm just wondering if my body is just adjusting? Cutting has never really been my thing. I've never needed to until now. I'm just trying to lose 6 or 7 lbs of belly fat I've put on from my natural bulks I've been doing and neglecting my diet a bit over the last couple years. Here's what I'm doing. If nothing here stands out like a sore thumb I can go more in depth and post the rest of the macro nutrients. Keep in mind I'm not getting ready for a show here. I just want to get my 8 pack back for summer.

I'm only taking in 1.5 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight. Is this enough for cutting or should I be upping it to 2x to preserve muscle? If so where should I be adding it?

Stats
5'11" 185 lbs, 27 yrs


9am - Fasted morning cardio (40 minutes)

9:45am - 1 scoop isolate (27 pro)

10am - 6 egg whites 1 whole, 1/2 cup oatmeal (42 pro, 34 carb, 1.5 fat)

12pm - Pre-workout shake (41 pro, 58 carbs, 6 fat)

1pm - Workout

2 pm - post workout shake (45 pro, 43 carb mix (waxy maize, maltodextrin))
* I have been doing 40 - 50 pro w/ 2 scoops dextrose but I'm going to switch to this to get some sugar out of my diet.

3 pm - Chicken, 1/2 cup brown rice, veggies (35 pro, 34 carb, 1.5 fat)

5 pm - lean steak, veggies (30 pro, 6 fat, 8 carb)

7 pm - either 2 cans tuna or smoked salmon, 2-3 tbsp natty peanut butter (30-35 pro, 10 carb, 20 fat)

9 pm - 1 1/2 scoop casein, 5 grams glutamine, 1 tbsp flax seed oil (30 pro, 14 fat)

9:45 or 10pm - bed


I'm not really one for calorie counting, but if no one see's any problems with what I've posted, I can figure out the rest if needed.

[cmdace18]

the guys will chime in, but right off the bat you aren't eating any REAL food for almost 3 hours before your workout. do you think the 1/2 cup of oatmeal at 10am is going to "power" you through your weights at 1pm? nope.

get a 1/2 cup of oats, some redmeat or chicken in there at the very minimum directly before working out. like i said, the guys will chime in.

[PrairieDawg]

yea that was one thing that has changed from my bulking diet that I kind of figured that had some effect. I normally had whole wheat pasta, chicken and veggies. Is pasta ok in a cutting diet if it's soley to power me through my workout?

[MBMETC]

try 1 cup of oats at the 10.00am meal.
where are the 58g carbs coming from on your pre-workout

[musclestack]

I've got some real energy issues with this cutting diet I'm doing. My weight sessions suck. I've only been doing this for 3 days now but I know this can't be normal. I went straight from bulking to cutting so I'm just wondering if my body is just adjusting? Cutting has never really been my thing. I've never needed to until now. I'm just trying to lose 6 or 7 lbs of belly fat I've put on from my natural bulks I've been doing and neglecting my diet a bit over the last couple years. Here's what I'm doing. If nothing here stands out like a sore thumb I can go more in depth and post the rest of the macro nutrients. Keep in mind I'm not getting ready for a show here. I just want to get my 8 pack back for summer.

I'm only taking in 1.5 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight. Is this enough for cutting or should I be upping it to 2x to preserve muscle? If so where should I be adding it? Personally, I always eat 2 grams of protein per pound of LBM, but that's just me, and I know what works for my body. 1.5 grams is typically fine though for most people as long as the other macros are in place. Remember, amount of protein is not the only factor to consider when trying to preserve muscle.

Stats
5'11" 185 lbs, 27 yrs bf?


9am - Fasted morning cardio (40 minutes) What kind of cardio do you do? Low intensity? HIIT? Interval training? The reason I ask is because if you're doing an intense cardio workout, then only eating your 10AM meal, then following that with a weight workout, this may play a role as to why you're dead in the gym.

9:45am - 1 scoop isolate (27 pro)

10am - 6 egg whites 1 whole, 1/2 cup oatmeal (42 pro, 34 carb, 1.5 fat) I like this where it is, but let's look at the next meal....

12pm - Pre-workout shake (41 pro, 58 carbs, 6 fat) In my opinion, change this to real food, as mentioned in a previous post. I think this will, no doubt, change how much energy you have in the gym. Chicken/beef with sweet potato or even more oats would work well.

1pm - Workout

2 pm - post workout shake (45 pro, 43 carb mix (waxy maize, maltodextrin))
* I have been doing 40 - 50 pro w/ 2 scoops dextrose but I'm going to switch to this to get some sugar out of my diet. I agree with this...replace with a complex carb, especially since you're cutting.

3 pm - Chicken, 1/2 cup brown rice, veggies (35 pro, 34 carb, 1.5 fat)

5 pm - lean steak, veggies (30 pro, 6 fat, 8 carb)

7 pm - either 2 cans tuna or smoked salmon, 2-3 tbsp natty peanut butter (30-35 pro, 10 carb, 20 fat) I would check your macros if you're going to be eating salmon WITH 2-3 tbsp of pb. Tuna-keep the pb; salmon-drop it. That's a lot of fat in one sitting. You really need to start counting cals, bro. I know your main concern in this thread is your energy levels, but I predict that soon you may be starting a thread asking why you're not losing those 6-7 pounds, and the answer is going to be 'cuz you're not counting cals.'

9 pm - 1 1/2 scoop casein, 5 grams glutamine, 1 tbsp flax seed oil (30 pro, 14 fat)

9:45 or 10pm - bed


I'm not really one for calorie counting, but if no one see's any problems with what I've posted, I can figure out the rest if needed.

I'm sure with the changes I've made, along with the other members' comments, this should indeed sort you out. Now, just to get your macros sorted out, as that could also play a role in energy levels. In order to do that, you need to count calories. Please repost with macros for each meal and daily totals. Cheers, bro!