Your thoughts on my proposed recomp diet

I was hoping i might get some constructive criticism concerning my proposed recomp diet. So lets just get right to it then.

Stats :
-27 yrs
-5'9.5"
-205lbs
-bf is somewhere between 20-25% right now
-Meso/Endo body type
-Training on/off for years....better part of last 6 months have been off

Ive calculated my daily caloric needs to be approx. 3100kcal, and based this diet on slightly less then maintenance due to the amount of bf i would like to lose. Ive decided to keep protein at 1.5g/lb of bodyweight and limited my carb intake to 150g, not including fibrous carbs which are unlimited. I'm keeping fat to a minimum, limited to whatever hidden fats are in my protein sources, with the exception of some healthy fats in the form of nuts and fish oils.

The following diet works out to approx.
350g PRO - 150g Carbs - 50g fat - 2500kcal
(an unlimited amount of fiberous veg can be added to any meal)

MEAL1(730am) - 2/3 cup oats, 1/2cup blueberries, 10 Egg Whites

MEAL2(1030am) - 1.5 scoops whey & 1/4cup almonds/cashews

MEAL3(1pm) - Beef w/Broccoli stir fry OR fat free chicken Caesar salad

MEAL4(4pm) - 2 whole wheat turkey sandwiches OR chicken/beef with brown rice

WORKOUT(5pm-630pm)

MEAL5(630pm) - 1.5scoops whey with 1 scoop glycocarb

MEAL6(8pm) - 8oz-10oz protein chicken/beef/fish with unlimited fibrous veg

MEAL7(10pm) - 2 cups 1% cottage cheese


And for completion below is my workout schedule:

Fasted am cardio Mon-Sat

Mon - Chest
Tues - Back
Wed - Shoulders, Calves, Abs
Thurs - Bi's, Tri's and forearms
Fri - Quads, Hams, Glutes
Sat - abs
Sunday - OFF


Any suggestions on how i could improve upon what i have above, or any constructive comments or questions at all, would be greatly appreciated.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BadNewsBerto

I was hoping i might get some constructive criticism concerning my proposed recomp diet. So lets just get right to it then.

Stats :
-27 yrs
-5'9.5"
-205lbs
-bf is somewhere between 20-25% right now
-Meso/Endo body type
-Training on/off for years....better part of last 6 months have been off

Ive calculated my daily caloric needs to be approx. 3100kcal, and based this diet on slightly less then maintenance due to the amount of bf i would like to lose. Ive decided to keep protein at 1.5g/lb of bodyweight and limited my carb intake to 150g. I'm keeping fat to a minimum, limited to whatever hidden fats are in my protein sources, with the exception of some healthy fats in the form of nuts and fish oils.

The following diet works out to approx.
350g PRO - 150g Carbs - 50g fat - 2500kcal

MEAL1(730am) - 2/3 cup oats, 1/2cup blueberries, 10 Egg Whites

MEAL2(1030am) - 1 scoop whey & 1/4cup almonds/cashews

MEAL3(1pm) - Beef w/Broccoli stir fry OR fat free chicken Caesar salad

MEAL4(4pm) - 2 whole wheat turkey sandwiches OR chicken/beef with brown rice

WORKOUT(5pm-630pm)

MEAL5(630pm) - 1.5scoops whey with 1 scoop glycocarb

MEAL6(8pm) - 8oz-10oz protein chicken/beef/fish with unlimited fibrous veg

MEAL7(10pm) - 2 cups 1% cottage cheese


And for completion below is my workout schedule:

Fasted am cardio Mon-Sat

Mon - Chest
Tues - Back
Wed - Shoulders, Calves, Abs
Thurs - Bi's, Tri's and forearms
Fri - Quads, Hams, Glutes
Sat - abs
Sunday - OFF


Any suggestions on how i could improve upon what i have above, or any constructive comments or questions at all, would be greatly appreciated.

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To help critique better, include the macros of each food you are consuming as well as totals (protein, fats, carbs, calories). For example 1 Scoop of Whey can be anywhere from 20g to 35g of Protein, so it's hard to analyze without qualitative information. At a glance, I see you have too much protein. You want 1.5g protein PER POUND OF LEAN BODY MASS, not total mass. So your probably looking closer to around 275-300g of protein. You also want to up your fats and possibly carbs slightly. At 150g of Carbs and 50g of Fats, you will probably feel exhausted after a few weeks.

In addition, I would not dedicate an entire workout to just abs on saturday. Abs are a smaller muscle group and don't need as long as say legs to recover. I would consider adding abs to tuesday and removing abs from wednesday and putting it on friday instead. (So Abs = Tuesday and Friday). You could increase your cardio on Saturday or perhaps work another muscle group.

OK, when i have some time tomorrow i will try and add in the macro breakdown for each meal. The protein i use is 35g/scoop. I dont think that my protein is too high at all, there are many

different schools of thought on protein intake, and g/lb of lbm is but only one of them ;). The 150g of carbs above was meant to only represent my complex starchy/ simple(pwo) carb

intake....it doesn't account for all the fibrous carbs ill be eating, i should have clarified...ill make some quick edits to the OP right now. As far as your suggestions for abs, the Saturday was

just a standard ab workout following my fasted am cardio, the rest of Saturday and Sunday is off. Personally i don't think i would have too much of a problem operating on 150g of carbs as

long as i consumed them at the right times, prior to any strenuous physical activity, which is what i was trying to accomplish with this diet. And lastly i don't see the need for any more fat in

my diet as long as i supplement my efa's, would you care to explain why you would increase it? maybe I'm missing something. Lastly i want to thank you for your response and i hope im

not coming off like a know it all, because im not :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BadNewsBerto

OK, when i have some time tomorrow i will try and add in the macro breakdown for each meal. The protein i use is 35g/scoop. I dont think that my protein is too high at all, there are many

different schools of thought on protein intake, and g/lb of lbm is but only one of them ;). The 150g of carbs above was meant to only represent my complex starchy/ simple(pwo) carb

intake....it doesn't account for all the fibrous carbs ill be eating, i should have clarified...ill make some quick edits to the OP right now. As far as your suggestions for abs, the Saturday was

just a standard ab workout following my fasted am cardio, the rest of Saturday and Sunday is off. Personally i don't think i would have too much of a problem operating on 150g of carbs as

long as i consumed them at the right times, prior to any strenuous physical activity, which is what i was trying to accomplish with this diet. And lastly i don't see the need for any more fat in

my diet as long as i supplement my efa's, would you care to explain why you would increase it? maybe I'm missing something. Lastly i want to thank you for your response and i hope im

not coming off like a know it all, because im not :)

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I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can, and hopefully Gbrice or Tbody or Turkish or another vet will come in and help you out or correct anything I may say. The reason I made the suggestion about Abs is because you can train them twice a week, every week, but in all realism, you need single digit bodyfat (some people are blessed @ 10-11%) to show abs. Furthermore, ab exercises tend to give strength, hardness, and definition, but at 20% BF you will never see a difference physically. I'm not saying ditch the ab exercises, because I think you should still do them to build a habit and it does have merit, but to spend a day doing a full blown ab routine is a waste in my opinion. Personally, I do extra Cardio on Saturday with Sunday being my day off as well. To give you an idea of what I mean, this is how I incorporate abs into my workout regime:

Tuesday : Back/Abs/Obliques

5 Sets Deadlift
4 Sets Seated Row
4 Sets Wide-grip Lateral Pull-down
5 Sets Wide-Grip Pull Ups
3 Sets T-Bar Row
3 Sets Hanging Leg Raises
3 Sets Oblique Crunches
3 Sets Incline Crunches (~60 degrees)

Friday: Shoulder, Abs, Obliques

5 sets dumbbell shoulder press
5 sets lateral delt raises
3 sets Sitting Row
3 sets front delt raises
3 sets rear delt face pulls
3 sets Knee Ups
3 sets oblique crunches
3 Sets Incline Crunches (~45 degrees)


Next to answer your question in regards to fat/carbs. I made this recommendation because when I first started I had almost identical stats to you (except I'm 7 years younger), and I found 150g (EXCLUDING FIBROUS) carbs was not sufficient. You need some combination of fats and carbohydrates for fuel. Also realize when a person calculates their dietary needs and bodybuilding regime, they are doing so in a vacuum. Work, stress, and secondary exercise all factor into how your body utilizes it's fuel. For example, I was the unfortunate family member appointed to do yard work for 2 hours yesterday. It's typically easier to remove carbs/fats then add them I find at least. I've also been as high as 200g of carbs and still was able to lose 2 lbs/week. You could monitor your weight and energy/endurance levels and after a few weeks if you aren't losing much weight then lower carbs/fats as necessary. The worst outcome would be starting off on the wrong foot with no energy after a week or two then getting discouraged and quitting all together.

A higher carb/fat intake will also allow you to have more balanced meals and spread out your calories evenly, as apposed to having meals saturated in a high protein content.

As per supplementing EFA's, I'm going to give you my bias opinion on most supplements. I'm saying I'm bias because I'm allergic to all fish products and have a renal condition that makes me intolerant to caffeine - thus I had no affinity to Fish Oil Tabs, NO Explode, Jacked, Omega 3/6/9's, etc. I think 99% of supplements on the market are over-marketed, media-enhanced garbage. Supplements are there to supplement your body's needs, not replace anything. The more whole foods and less powders, pills, or caffeine you put in your system the overall better you will do. In your case, I'm implying you should find the sweet spot for how much fat your body needs, acquire that number through whole foods, THEN add something like a fish oil pill or two per day. I use to drink shakes all the time, probably 50% of my diet was shakes, and I'd feel like shit but couldn't figure out why. I was certainly consuming the right amount of protein. Switched to two, smaller shakes/day (1 would be ideal - but my body hates Cottage Cheese) - adding in some Chicken & Beef, been great ever since.