Beginner's first diet, feedback appreciated

[Mathom]

This is only my second post - I've been reading for about a week straight trying to get everything I could in order before posting this - please be gentle

I'm 23, 6'7"-6'8" and about 250, with ~20% body fat. My goal is to be around 240 with a 6-7% body fat. Some quick calculations gives me about 50 pounds of fat currently, and to get to 6-7% bf I need to be around 15 pounds of fat. That means I need to lose about 35 pounds of fat, and put on about 25 pounds of muscle. It's a bit hard to say exactly how much muscle I'll need to put on to look the way I'd like - I could easily see myself being 250 or even 260 at 6-7% as well, but for now I'm shooting for 240 at 6-7%.

I was having a little difficulty pinning down exactly how many calories I needed to maintain my weight (I wasn't sure exactly what my activity level was, and the range between two levels was like 500 calories which is huge), but I estimated it at about 3900. I'm not really sure if I should try and bulk up to put on muscle first and then cut, or cut and then try and add lean mass, or cut->bulk->cut. If anyone has a recommendation for that I would appreciate it. I figure I should probably try and cut first, so that's what I went for. I set my target at about 3400 calories.


Cardio workout


Meal 1: Pro/Carb (starchy)

12 Egg whites - 200 calories, 43g protein, 2.5g carbohydrates, 1g fat, 0g fiber
1 cup Oatmeal - 300 calories, 10g protein, 54g carbohydrates, 6g fat, 8g fiber
1/2 chicken breast - 100 calories, 23g protein, 0g carbohydrates, 1g fat, 0g fiber
1 large apple - 110 calories, .5g protein, 29.5g carbohydrates, .5g fat, 5g fiber

Totals: 710 calories, 76.5g protein, 86g carbohydrates, 8.5g fat, 13g fiber


Meal 2: Pro/Fat

3 Scoops ON protein powder - 360 calories, 72g protein, 9g carbohydrates, 3g fat, 0g fiber
1.1oz Natty PB - 210 calories, 8g protein, 6g carbohydrates, 16g fat, 2g fiber

Totals: 570 calories, 80g protein, 15g carbohydrates, 19g fat, 2g fiber


Meal 3: Pro/Carb (fibrous)

2 chicken breasts - 400 calories, 82g protein, 0g carbohydrates, 3g fat, 0g fiber
1 cup bell pepper - 20 calories, 1g protein, 4.5g carbohydrates, 0g fat, 1.5g fiber
1 cup onion - 50 calories, 1g protein, 12g carbohydrates, 0g fat, 2g fiber
1 cup broccoli - 30 calories, 2.5g protein, 6g carbohydrates, 0g fat, 2.5g fiber
3 cups salad mix - 30 calories, 2g protein, 6g carbohydrates, .5g fat, 4g fiber
2 tblspn vinaigrette dressing - 45 calories, 0g protein, 6g carbohydrates, 2g fat, 0g fiber

Totals: 575 calories, 88.5g protein, 34.5g carbohydrates, 5.5g fat, 10g fiber


Workout


Meal 4: PWO Pro/Carb

2 Scoops ON protein powder - 240 calories, 48g protein, 6g carbohydrates, 2g fat, 0g fiber
1/2 cup Oatmeal - 150 calories, 5g protein, 27g carbohydrates, 3g fat, 4g fiber
1 large apple - 110 calories, .5g protein, 29.5g carbohydrates, .5g fat, 5g fiber
1 1/2 cups fresh berries - 115 calories, 2.5g protein, 24g carbohydrates, 1g fat, 9g fiber

Totals: 615 calories, 56g protein, 86.5g carbohydrates, 6.5g fat, 18g fiber


Meal 5: Pro/Carb

1 1/2 chicken breasts - 300 calories, 62g protein, 0g carbohydrates, 2g fat, 0g fiber
1 cup bell pepper - 20 calories, 1g protein, 4.5g carbohydrates, 0g fat, 1.5g fiber
1 cup onion - 50 calories, 1g protein, 12g carbohydrates, 0g fat, 2g fiber
1 cup broccoli - 30 calories, 2.5g protein, 6g carbohydrates, 0g fat, 2.5g fiber
1/2 cup brown rice - 110 calories, 2.5g protein, 22.5g carbohydrates, 1g fat, 2g fiber

Totals: 510 calories, 69g protein, 45g carbohydrates, 3g fat, 8g fiber


Meal 6: Pro/Fat

1 1/2 Scoops ON protein powder - 180 calories, 36g protein, 4.5g carbohydrates, 1.5g fat, 0g fiber
2 tblspn flax oil - 240 calories, 0g protein, 0g carbohydrates, 13.5g fat, 0g fiber

Totals: 420 calories, 36g protein, 4.5g carbohydrates, 15g fat, 0g fiber


Grand Totals:

3400 calories (pure luck it added up exactly), 406g protein, 271.5 carbohydrates, 57.5g fat, 51g fiber


Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to up my fiber intake because of some health problems I have, which is why I also included it in totals. Also, I realize that fruit isn't the greatest thing to eat for cutting, but I feel like it's a worthwhile trade-off for some of the extra nutrients.

[Mathom]

Anyone?

[naturalsux]

i like your diet. i like your veggies and your fiber intake.

if you let your onions set for 10 min it keeps all the quercin ( i think) antioxidant that protects against cancer.

also dont be scared to use Metamucil or generic fiber supplement, it helps.

[JC2007]

That is what a diet post should look like...

I would replace the shakes with real food if possible. The last meal especially...

[bulldawg_28]

The only thing I would change is to keep each meal between 50-60 grams of protien. You're a pretty big guy, but I highly doubt you can absorb more than 60 grams of protien per meal, with pwo being the only exception.

[Mathom]

Hi all, thanks for the replies!

naturalsux- do you mean let the onions sit after cooking them and before eating? I'll have to look into that, thanks for the tip.

JC- yeah, I was just mostly afraid that I might not be able to physically consume that much food. I've seen a lot of guys using cottage cheese for their last meal, aside from a shake, what would you recommend?

bulldawg- I've heard a few conflicting things on the amount of protein one should eat. I read Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle for example, and he recommends only about 30-40% of cals from protein, which would put me at about 1020-1360 cals from protein or about 254g-340g of protein. However, even the sticky on cutting recommends 1.5-2g per pound of lean body mass, which would put me at 300-400, or about 50g more than recommended by Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. I figured eating toward the high end of the range wouldn't hurt, and with the thermic effect of protein taken into consideration, it might help me keep the metabolism up and burn some fat. If anyone else has a recommendation, please let me know, and thanks for mentioning it bulldawg.

[naturalsux]

cut them and let them sit for 10min then cook.

[JC2007]

Mathom ------> For the last meal, try steak and vegetables or something like that. Cottage cheese is alright too.

[bulldawg_28]

What I meant was try and keep each meal between 50-60 grams of protien. Like in meal 3 you have 2 chicken breasts that's around 80 grams of protien. Why not just have 1 chicken breast, and a couple of eggwhites to get around 60 grams of protien? For meal 2, why not cut it down to 2 scoops of protien? By doing this your body will be more than likely able to absorb all the protien, and less likely to be stored as fat. If you can, try adding an extra meal so you can make up for the meals that you should cut down. Oh, and taking in 400 grams of protien a day is fine. Other than that, your diet looks great!

[perfectbeast2001]

i like it except the last meal. Whey is next to useless as the last meal beofre bed as it is digested rapidly leaving you catabolic through the night. Eat steak or cottage cheese or if you must then casein shake.

[Mathom]

bulldawg- ah, I see what you're saying now. That's interesting, I hadn't heard that before, thanks.

JC/Beast - are you guys recommending steak as opposed to a different lean protein (ie chicken) because steak is generally fattier/takes longer to break down? How much of a difference would eating a different lean protein make (say chicken or turkey? im a tad concerned about how healthy eating red meat every night would be) and will the flax oil help slow down digestion or should I cut that out and just go steak/veg? Should I be aiming for a high fiber/fat meal here to slow digestion?

Thanks!

[Slaiv]

wow !!!

what an amazing diet plan !!!

you rock !!! hope u dont mind if i kinda take some little meals here n there from you

[Slaiv]

quick question..... what does it mean when you say

2 scoops of ON whey protein??

what do you mean by "ON" ??

[Mathom]

ON is Optimum Nutrition, a company that makes supplements including protein powder.

This is what I'm currently using:

http://www.amazon.com/Optimum-Nutrit...7246257&sr=8-2

[perfectbeast2001]

you need something with a fttier profile to slow digestion for the late night meal or you could use cottage cheese which contains casein. Casein coagulates in the stomach and takes longer to digest. I really would not worry about eating a small ammount of red meat daily as part of a well planned diet. Red meat is only a problem when it is part of an unhealthy unbalanced diet.

[JC2007]

Mathom -----> If you want to eat a different protein source like chicken breast or turkey then go for it, but take a few tablespoons of flax seed or some form of EFA.

[Slaiv]

another quick question....

are yo uposting your meals in the order that you eat them throughout the day?

u know first meal being breakfast, 2nd after breakfast meal, 3rd being lunch, 4th being etc... etc.. and so on and so forth?

[BigBlockin]

Mathom, just out of curiosity, when you say 1/2 chicken breast how much are you talking about weight wise?

[Mathom]

Slaiv- yeah, I try to space my meals evenly, so about every 2 1/2 hours. Whenever you get up, do your cardio, eat, and then try and eat every 2-3 hours after your last meal.

A full chicken breast going by what I've seen on sites like calorieking.com, nutritiondata.com etc is about 7-8 ozes, in this case I'm using data from the Foster Farm's brand which is what I buy, and they use a 6.8oz fillet for a full breast/fillet http://www.calorieking.com/foods/cal...WZvc3Rlcg.html, so a half is going to be 3.4oz on average. The ones that use 7-8oz, really, the diffence for half a breast is at most going to be like half an ounce, which is only about 15 calories. Even for a full breast the difference is only about 30 calories (100 vs 130 roughly). It shouldnt throw off your diet much regardless of brand.

[BigBlockin]

I see so you can get a good 40g from a single piece of chicken breast. Lots of great info on the sites you mentioned! I'll definitly be taking a look at them.

[Slaiv]

seein as how you are eating in the order of breakfast - lunch - dinner

is it ok to eat a chicken breast for breakfast?!

and if so, how do you cook it? with some olive oil or what?

[Mr Tick]

No way i could eat that much. I would pop. I gotta drink my shakes to keep my cals up.

[mrbulkncut]

how is the plan coming along?