dire need of guidance and help forming the right cutting diet

[mgs83]

guys, i need to get some serious help here with dieting, mainly the amount of cals/protein/carbs/fats im taking in. I am one to believe that if i am cutting the more cals i take in the fatter i get. I have been working out for years, the diet has been the one thing that has always prevented me from getting to the size i always wanted to be. I need you guys to be brutally honest with me, because i need to cut my BF% down, i want to cycle gear, but untill i get my diet down right i, not gonna do shit. From a calculated based program i was able to find this out about my intake of carbs/proteins/fats,etc

Your bodyweight is 99 kilograms.

Step 1 - BMR Based On Weight

For Men: 1 x 99 Kg x 24 = 2373

Step 2 - BMR With Bodyfat Percentage Calculation

Taking your bodyfat percentage into account, your adjusted BMR is 2255 calories per day. This is equal to 94 calories per hour.

Step 3 - Total Daily Calories Burned

Adding in your activity level, we times your BMR by 1.65. This means that your approximate total calories burned each day is 3720.

Step 4 - Macronutrient Breakdown In YOUR Diet

Now that we know how many total calories need to be consumed each day, where do the calories come from? Based on your BMR, Activity Level and Athletic Category you need:

Protein Grams: 218 Grams Per Day.
Protein Calories: 872 Protein Calories Per Day.

Fat Grams: 62 Grams Per Day.
Fat Calories: 558 Protein Calories Per Day.

Carbohydrate Grams: 573 Grams Per Day.
Carbohydrate Calories: 2290 Carb Calories Per Day.





knowing this info above, can some of the dieting gurus please lead me in the right direction. I know what foods to eat:

proteins:
chicken, lean cuts of beef, salmon, tilapia, tuna,

complex carbs:

sweet potatos, brown rice, wheat pasta/wheat bread, whole grain pasta/bread, yams, etc

fats (good fats)

nuts, fish oils, EVOO, peanut butter, etc.

i need help spacing out the times i eat this stuff, and a LEGIT CUTTING diet so that i can consume what i need to be consuming, but at the same time cutting downt eh BF%. I have seen a lot of you guys give some SERIOUS detailed layouts for other guys, i hope that i can get the same help here. I need it

my workout routine is esssentially this:

5 weight training days, two off days (split)

i do cardio for 1 hour each workout, on the 6th training day i will just do cardio, 1 day of rest.

i typically burn 1000-1200 cals per workout, but i am not LOOSING WEIGHT, i did at first, now i am hovering around the 216-218 marker, its is really frustrating seeing that i bust my ass in the gym, dont eat a whole lot, i should be anorexic lol.....but i guarantee its my diet FIN me here....please, as you can see, i am a wounded solider here, i need your guys help to make this shit right.......let me know what else you guys need and i will supply ASAP

[Damienm05]

Can you give me an example of what you eat through the day by laying your diet out like:

EXAMPLE: Meal 1 - 8:00 AM - 2 cups oats, 6 oz. chicken breast - 56/112/9/***
(pro/carb/fat/calories)

I just made up that meal and macros. So use fitday.com to be specific. Spend 45 minutes and you'll be critiqued by me and others upon re-posting.

Are you really eating 573g of carbs? That's silly if you want to cut body fat, for one. Maybe you should cut that number in 1/2 to save everyone some time when you re-post your diet.

[mgs83]

hey damien, ok, well on average this is what i typically would would eat in a day, with some variation of course

5:15am
turkey sausage (1/2 cup)
3 egg white (scrambled)
cooked diced potatoes (1/2 cup)
low fat cheese (1 slice)

cals (273)/ fat (13.2) carbs (14.4) protein (24.4)

845am
3 rice cakes plain
1 lowfat fruit yogurt
245cals/2.6g fat/50.3carbs / 7.9g protein

1145am (lunch)

6oz baked plain chicken breast
1 1/2 cups boiled brown rice (plain)

660cals/ 15.6g fat/ 68.8g carbs / 57.1g protein

2:15 workout

4:30 (PWO) shake
5 grams L-Glutamine,2 scoops whey protein,5g beta alanine (intraxcell),Animal Nitro stack essential amino acids pills.

150 cals/ 20g carbs / 3g fat/ 46g protein

5:30

5oz salmon baked
8 medium size asparagus spears (broiled) pinch of salt and pepper
1 cup brown rice (boiled, plain)

507cals / 15.3g fat / 50.3g carbs / 42.0g protein

9:00pm
casein shake with PB

315 cals / 18.5 g fat / 14.6g carbs / 32g protein


now this is on average, but i think i definetely have issues with my snaks/meals during the day. I think my main meals, lunch dinner are ok?? guys, help me out and be as brutal as possible, i can take it, i gotta get this diet down right......fitday.com in incredbile! thanks for site

[Damienm05]

hey damien, ok, well on average this is what i typically would would eat in a day, with some variation of course

5:15am
turkey sausage (1/2 cup) Drop this, heavily processed and high in sodium/fat/fillers.
3 egg white (scrambled) make it at least 6 egg whites and add 1-2 whole eggs. Shoot for 40g of protein.
cooked diced potatoes (1/2 cup) Sounds good but it's a simple carb. Do 1 cup of oats/oatmeal - 50g complex carbs.
low fat cheese (1 slice) Drop this.

cals (273)/ fat (13.2) carbs (14.4) protein (24.4)

Ideal Breakfast: 2 eggs, 8 whites, 1 cup oats.

845am
3 rice cakes plain Drop this, poor carb choice
1 lowfat fruit yogurt Drop this, high in sugar and not enough protein.
245cals/2.6g fat/50.3carbs / 7.9g protein

This meal is fit for a 16-year old beauty pageant contestant. You need to eat 30-40g of lean protein and complex carbs. Example: 6 oz. grilled chicken, 1 sweet potato

1145am (lunch)

6oz baked plain chicken breast looks good to me.
1 1/2 cups boiled brown rice (plain) I'd do 1/2 that amount - 3/4 cup

660cals/ 15.6g fat/ 68.8g carbs / 57.1g protein

2:15 workout

4:30 (PWO) shake
5 grams L-Glutamine,2 scoops whey protein,5g beta alanine (intraxcell),Animal Nitro stack essential amino acids pills.

150 cals/ 20g carbs / 3g fat/ 46g protein

I dunno what type of shake has 20g carbs. Regardless, add 1/2 cup oats and you're good to go on PWO
5:30

5oz salmon baked
8 medium size asparagus spears (broiled) pinch of salt and pepper
1 cup brown rice (boiled, plain) 1/2 cup only, eat more veggies to fill up if you have to. Otherwise this is a nice PPWO meal.

507cals / 15.3g fat / 50.3g carbs / 42.0g protein

9:00pm
casein shake with PB Perfect, dunno how it's 15g of carbs, should be more like 6 but that's fine.

315 cals / 18.5 g fat / 14.6g carbs / 32g protein


now this is on average, but i think i definetely have issues with my snaks/meals during the day. I think my main meals, lunch dinner are ok?? guys, help me out and be as brutal as possible, i can take it, i gotta get this diet down right......fitday.com in incredbile! thanks for site

You had the right idea. Your breakfast and second meal were in shambles but I've fixed them. Your other meals were good but needed adjustments. Try to tailor your carbs based on energy expenditure. For example, 50g for breakfast, 40g next meal, 40g pre-workout, 40g PWO, 25g PPWO, 0 before bed. As it stands, you have 6 nice meals which should be enough. Make the changes and calculate new macros and include DAILY TOTALS. You're almost there.

There is also an issue with your fat macro currently. For example, you've listed chicken breast and brown rice as having 15g of fat - unless you're adding a teaspoon of olive oil, that can't be right. So make sure you get that sorted out, we may have to add some fats throughout the day via oils and capsules to get you at least 50g.

As a general rule, no sugar, dairy, or saturated fats beyond what's in meat when cutting.

[mgs83]

thats awesome bro, i will def make those adjustments. For my macros, i got all the info off fitday.com, you enter the food, and it gives you the break down, i will enter the changes into fitday later tonight, with your changes, and i will repost. THen you can give me your opinions. So Damien, if i make these changes, and stick to them, would this be an ideal cutting diet given my TDEE of 3000? 428/cals per meal?

[Damienm05]

I would need to see the new accurate macros to answer that question. Make sure you specify, for example, "skin not eaten" on fitday for chicken breast to ensure the right numbers.

First of all, what's your height, weight, and body fat %? Most people come up with the wrong tdee and fail right off the start. Or they don't factor in a depressed metabolism due to eating infrequently/minimally/improperly. How active are you outside of the gym? Do you do cardio? How often? How many cals have u been eating on average the past 12 weeks? If I have all the above info I can tell you what is "ideal" 100%.

Assuming your TDEE is 3000, the ideal would be to eat about 2700 cals on workout days and 2300-2500 on rest days. That is assuming you do cardio at least 3 times per week, preferably for 45-60 minutes at low-intensity. If you're one of these people who just can't/won't/doesn't do cardio due to being a smoker or something - 500 back of tdee on workout days. These cals should be divided as follows: 300 pro/250 carb/60 fat for 2700 calories. On rest days, I'd bring the carbs down to 200, by substituting your PWO and PPWO meals with grilled chicken and asparagus.

Just run the numbers and see where you're at, it's gotta be damn close.

[mgs83]

you are the man, seriously damien, this is exactly what i need, my diet is KEY to my growth, i just need someone who understands this shit like you, here are my new macros taking into account your suggestions:

5:15am
6 egg white (eggbeaters scrambled)
2 eggs (boiled)
cooked dry Quaker oatmeal (sprinkle cinnamon and 1 packet splenda (1 cup)

cals (469)/ fat (13.7g) carbs (45.2g) protein (39.8g)


845am
6oz plain broiled chicken breast (plain)
1 medium sweet potato

446cals/16g fat/22.6carbs / 50.4g protein



1145am (lunch)

6oz baked plain chicken breast
3/4 cup boiled brown rice long grain (plain)

479cals/ 13.7g fat/ 33.6g carbs / 52.0g protein

2:15 workout

4:30 (PWO) shake
5 grams L-Glutamine,2 scoops whey protein,5g beta alanine (intraxcell),Animal Nitro stack essential amino acids pills.

246 cals/ 47g carbs / 2.6g fat/ 52.5g protein

5:30 (PPWO) Dinner

5oz salmon baked
8 medium size asparagus spears (broiled) pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 cup brown rice (boiled, plain)

401cals / 14.4g fat / 28.2g carbs / 39.5g protein

9:00pm
casein shake with 2tbps all natural peanut butter

315 cals / 18.5 g fat / 19.8g carbs / 40g protein

TOTALS for one day: Calories - 2,356 (not quite 2700) This is more like my off day #'s
Fat - 78.9 grams
Carbs - 196.4 grams
Protein - 274.2

Damien, i want to ask you, since i am cutting weight, plowing down all this food for day will still allow me to loose weight? i certainly dont want to add more! As of now, my diet is so so, i am not eating nearly enough. I think my metabolism is all out of way due to under eating and infrequently, not eating bad though. After seeing what i SHOULD be taking based on Fitday and what you suggested, i am not even taking close to that in ANY area, carbs, proteins, cals, or fats.

Outside of the gym, i am fairly active, i mean i run errands, and im not really home a lot, especially in the summer/spring. In the gym i work out hard. I lift hard for about an hour, then do cardio each day 5-6 days week. I lift 5, one day strait cardio, and one day off. I typically burn anywhere from 1000-1200 calories per cardio session i do from 50-60 minutes every time. I alternate between the stair stepper and eliptical, dont like treadmill, its hard on my joints, i sweat, ALOT.....i do your typical workout split mon-fri (weekends off), except sometimes, cardio saturday, off sunday, but keep active.

on average, the past 12 weeks how many calories have i have been eating you ask?? Well, you saw my sample meal plan prior to your changes, hahaha, not very many. I think i am burning almost as much as i was taking in, probably more if you take into account the cals i burn lifting to!!!


I really appreciate your help and feedback bro, i look forward to seeing what you say next about me, now that you have the info...

PS

Stats are:

Weight- 217
BF% 16-19% (i have to get it checked for accuracy)
Height - 6'0
Age - 26

[Damienm05]

you are the man, seriously damien, this is exactly what i need, my diet is KEY to my growth, i just need someone who understands this shit like you, here are my new macros taking into account your suggestions:

5:15am
6 egg white (eggbeaters scrambled)
2 eggs (boiled)
cooked dry Quaker oatmeal (sprinkle cinnamon and 1 packet splenda (1 cup)

cals (469)/ fat (13.7g) carbs (45.2g) protein (39.8g)


845am
6oz plain broiled chicken breast (plain)
1 medium sweet potato

446cals/16g fat/22.6carbs / 50.4g protein



1145am (lunch)

6oz baked plain chicken breast
3/4 cup boiled brown rice long grain (plain)

479cals/ 13.7g fat/ 33.6g carbs / 52.0g protein

2:15 workout

4:30 (PWO) shake
5 grams L-Glutamine,2 scoops whey protein,5g beta alanine (intraxcell),Animal Nitro stack essential amino acids pills.

246 cals/ 47g carbs / 2.6g fat/ 52.5g protein

5:30 (PPWO) Dinner

5oz salmon baked
8 medium size asparagus spears (broiled) pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 cup brown rice (boiled, plain)

401cals / 14.4g fat / 28.2g carbs / 39.5g protein

9:00pm
casein shake with 2tbps all natural peanut butter

315 cals / 18.5 g fat / 19.8g carbs / 40g protein

TOTALS for one day: Calories - 2,356 (not quite 2700) This is more like my off day #'s
Fat - 78.9 grams
Carbs - 196.4 grams
Protein - 274.2

Damien, i want to ask you, since i am cutting weight, plowing down all this food for day will still allow me to loose weight? i certainly dont want to add more! As of now, my diet is so so, i am not eating nearly enough. I think my metabolism is all out of way due to under eating and infrequently, not eating bad though. After seeing what i SHOULD be taking based on Fitday and what you suggested, i am not even taking close to that in ANY area, carbs, proteins, cals, or fats.

Outside of the gym, i am fairly active, i mean i run errands, and im not really home a lot, especially in the summer/spring. In the gym i work out hard. I lift hard for about an hour, then do cardio each day 5-6 days week. I lift 5, one day strait cardio, and one day off. I typically burn anywhere from 1000-1200 calories per cardio session i do from 50-60 minutes every time. I alternate between the stair stepper and eliptical, dont like treadmill, its hard on my joints, i sweat, ALOT.....i do your typical workout split mon-fri (weekends off), except sometimes, cardio saturday, off sunday, but keep active.

on average, the past 12 weeks how many calories have i have been eating you ask?? Well, you saw my sample meal plan prior to your changes, hahaha, not very many. I think i am burning almost as much as i was taking in, probably more if you take into account the cals i burn lifting to!!!


I really appreciate your help and feedback bro, i look forward to seeing what you say next about me, now that you have the info...

PS

Stats are:

Weight- 217
BF% 16-19% (i have to get it checked for accuracy)
Height - 6'0
Age - 26

Disclaimer: I'm really short on time and slammed with school work right now so I can't help as much as I'd like to but I'll cover the major points.

Ok, your diet looks pretty good. Fat macro is still off, I believe you're consuming closer to 55g per day and that's fine. Eat 10 fish oil or udo's oil caps per day (2 with each whole meal) to add 10g of EFA's and you're good to go there.

Believe it or not, eating whole food meals so frequently throughout the day will speed up weight loss in a few ways. 1) you're eating a lot but the calories are still under control because everything is clean. 2)Fats are 9 calories per gram, where protein/carbs are only 4 - therefore high protein/moderate carb/low-fat is also low-cal and fat loss is all about cals in vs. out. 3) You're metabolism will be working double-time with so much to do. As opposed to eating 2-3 big meals per day and skipping breakfast like most americans where it's always in starvation mode.

As you mentioned, cals fall short of where they should be. Especially since you're doing so much cardio, I'd up them to 2700 via pro/carb. Ideally, just another convenient meal in there somewhere (maybe a tuna sandwich on whole grain bread at work). I also think, that at your size, you're tdee may be higher than 3000 - so take close notice of the mirror and how clothes fit the first 2 weeks. If you seem to be losing more than 1.5 lbs. of fat per week, you should up your calories after 2 weeks to 3000 on workout days. Now that you know what foods to eat, you'll be good to go. Just remember, no CHEATING! When you're eating so close to TDEE, as we do when cutting, to ensure we don't lose mass or get weaker, any 200-300 calorie snack here and there will completely negate weight loss. Fortunately, this diet should keep you full.

[mgs83]

this is great info man, i really appreciate it seeing how your so busy!i will begin this diet ASAP, and vary it up wit different foods, but keeping the same general macro and intakes on things......i loose about 1.5-2 pounds a week, so i will take your advice and throw in another meal there somewhere to pump it up, the tuna on wheat sounds good! i will be in touch to let you know how things go, hey man, do u mind if i PM you with some info in the near future letting you know how its going??

Also, your said bump it to 2700 on training days, fine, then on non training days, i would take in about 2500 or so then right?

[Damienm05]

Also, your said bump it to 2700 on training days, fine, then on non training days, i would take in about 2500 or so then right?

Yeah and if progress is good, you could possibly eat more. As long as you're eating the right foods at the right time, you can eat a lot while cutting. Just see how you respond for now - but it seems like we've established a good starting point.

I've recently become a huge fan of eating as close to TDEE as possible while doing cardio every morning and losing 1 lb. of fat per week with that approach.

[mgs83]

great man, i will go to the store tonight buy the stuff i need, and get started tomorrow morinng eating about 2700 on training days, 2500 on non-training days. I will let you know how things turn out. Thanks again man.