Cutting diet questions from a newbie.

[user_name]

First I want to thank the site members for all the great info here. I've learned a lot of stuff over the past few days. I recently quit smoking after 15 years. I've started lifting and running again - first time since high school. I' m 6 ft tall @ 192 lbs. I'd like to cut that down to about 175. I run about 1.5-3 miles every morning at 4:30 and lift 5 days a week at 7:30 in the evening. My recommended calorie intake is 2800/day. So to cut the weight, I've read I need to drop that by 500 for a net of 2300. I have a few questions regarding this:

Is 50/35/15 an acceptable macro for this? If so, am I right in saying that would equate to 1150 calories of protein (287.5 grams) , 805 calories of carbs (201.2 grams), and 345 calories of fat (38.3 grams)?

I'm going to start taking PWO consisting of 40g of whey and 80g of dextrose or oatmeal. Do I subtract this amount of protein and carbs from my starting rate of 287.5 and 201.2 then spread the remaining across 5 meals?

My plan is to have my PWO after my moring cardio at about 5:30, then eat at 8, 11, 2, 5, and 8 with a majority of carbs being used by the 2:00 eating. Is this schedule ok?

And lastly, does GNC not carry Vitorgo or Dextrose? I went today but the lady said she had never heard of it

Before 2 days ago I knew jack squat about dieting as I had never been on one. This is a lot to take in. I now realize I've eaten junk my whole life. I appreciate any replies and suggestions.

[novastepp]

well you do have the basics down. that would definitely be an acceptable spread for you starting out. you have the idea right with the subtracting of your PWO meal, and then spreading the rest out.

you did say you would have your carbs done before 2 with the exception of PWO but i would strongly encourage you to also have carbs pre workout. so that might help you plan out your approach.

and there are a lot of online stores that sell whey protein. just a few that i know off the top of my head are nutraplanet, customnutrition, and supplementmarket.

create a daily dietary approach, and post it with the macros listed for each meal, your stats, and your workout routine, and the people here will be able to help you much more.

[user_name]

Thanks for the reply Nova. I found whey at GNC but couldn't find Dextrose. I didn't know if any local stores carried or if it was online only. One more question if you don't mind... I know fitday lists details on each food, but is there a site that you can input how many grams of protein, carbs, etc that you want and it'll show what foods and quantities meet that criteria? Like if I'm looking for 10 grams of protein, it'll say 6 oz of chicken or 8 oz of lean beef, etc. That make any sense?

[novastepp]

i don't know of any site like that. and on a sorta-side-note, you don't need dextrose, any carb source will work.

[taiboxa]

banana

[user_name]

That's perfect. 2 scoops of whey (40g protein, 10g carbs) + 2 bananas (3g protein, 70g carbs) = 42/80

[user_name]

Ok, something can't be quite right with my calculations. Here's what I have:

Target Calories: 2300
Macro: 50/35/15
In calories, that's 1150/805/345 So these numbers divided by 4, 4, and 9 will leave me a weight in grams per category of 287.5/201.3/38.3
My PWO is 40/80/0 x 2 so 80/160/0. After I take that out of my starting weight, that only leaves 207.5/41.3/38.3 to divide up between 4 more meals. This doesn't sound right at all. Hell, one serving of beans is more than the carbs I have available. Where are my calcs wrong?

[novastepp]

don't factor in your PWO and see if that looks better.

[user_name]

It does look better...but I'm still getting those calories? Shouldn't I be counting everything while cutting? The calculations do look right though?

[user_name]

Oh and for the record, chocolate whey + oats is HORRIBLE. Strawberry whey + a banana rocks though.

[novastepp]

hahah. chocolate whey tastes like shit with almost anything IMO.

i wouldn't worry so much about teh cals in your PWO as long as it what u say it is. don't concern yourself too much with that pwo offering right now, concentrate on the rest of your meals. your physique will not only reflect your pwo offering, but it will reflect your dedication in your other meals.

[user_name]

Ok I guess I'll divide up the target cal's by four meals and post my diet. Thanks Nova.

[user_name]

OK, here's what I've put together. I come up a little short on the calorie intake though.

Target calorie intake: 2300

Macros: 50/35/15

5:00 am cardio

Meal 1: PWO 6:00 am

2 scoops whey, 2 bananas

43/80/6 284 calories



Meal 2: Pro/Fat 9:00 am

10 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast

53/1/7.5 297 calories



Meal 3: Pro/carb 11:30 am

6 oz canned tuna, 1 apple

42.5/21/1 274 calories



Meal 4: Pro/Fat 2:00 pm

10oz boneless, skinless chicken breast

53/1/7.5 297 Calories



Meal 5: Pro/carb 4:30 pm

9 oz steak, banana

55.5/35/15 497 calories




6:30 Weight lifting




Meal 6: PWO 7:30 pm

2 scoops whey, 2 bananas

43/80/6 284 calories






Totals: 1933 calories 290/218/43

I realize this is below my target calories, but I will be rotating in different meats such as a 7 oz boneless pork chop (59/0/19 423 calories). This will keep my macros the same while increasing calorie intake. Thoughts opinions on my diet?

[user_name]

Anyone?

[novastepp]

you do not need PWO after cardio. make that a whole meal. and add some broccoli and another fruit or vegetable to your chicken breast meals. of you can go broccoli and a fat source.

[user_name]

Would the shake after pwo hurt anything? At that time, I'm in a mad dash to get to work, so it's a bit easier to mix and drink on the way. One weird thing that's happening is I go on fitday and check certain foods, then when I add them to my just eaten list on there the pro, carb, fat amounts are different. Also, they list different than what's on the can, like tuna. Which do you go by?

[novastepp]

if i have the food, i go by the can. fitday is an average based on generic foods lines. one carb two carbs off isn't too big of a deal. just don't do a pwo with a very high GI sugar, milk and whey would be fine if you're in a pinch. i'd throw in a few quick tablespoons of cottage cheese too.