Need Help!

[BostonT]

I am trying to start a cutting diet. I figured out using the TDEE sticky that I need to plan for 2200cals. using the 40/40/20 standard I got this...

880 Protein
880 Carbs
440 Fats

I know, I know simple so far... heres where OCD and dyslexia kick my ass. I have been trying to split this up into 6 meals the right way for two days now and my head hurts. The only supplements I want to use are a good protein and a prework out. Also my workouts can be anywhere from late morning, noon, mid-afternoon-9pm. So The pre-workout meal and postwork out meal need the ability to be moved around. I think with the use of a protein powder that will be made a little easier.

I was thinking something like this.

M1 oats blueberry's and hard boiled eggs (wont eat the yolk)
M2 can of tuna with something? (carbs here? fruits.. banana? both?)

M3/pre workout lean meat steak chicken fish etc/can of tuna with sweet potato or brown rice. pre work out drink
M4/post work out Protein shake something else? (bananas? other fruit)

M5 lean meat veggies (broccoli, squash, zucchini, carrots.. etc)
M6 no idea. I guess meat fish oil? low carbs before bed I'm assuming. maybe just a copy of M5?

M3 and M4 will for the most part realistically be the 4th and 5th meals I eat in a day 90% of the time. My huge problem is when I sit down to do the math, I just can't figure out portions. Can someone PLEASE help. I want to get this dialed in tonight, so I can go to the market tomorrow and start my diet Monday.

Thanks a lot! So far the info I have found here has been awesome.

[BostonT]

Ok so I think I am getting somewhere here's what I have.

M1- 1 Cup oats mixed with 1/2 cup blueberries and 4 egg whites
15g carbs 16g Protein 5g fat 410 cal

M2- Can of tuna and 1 cup of green beans
9g carbs 41g protein 5g fat 261 cals

M3- 1 Chicken breast and a Sweet Potato
23g carbs 28g protein 4g fat 249 cal

M4/Post work out- Protein Shake and 2 Bananas
54g carbs 50g protein 1g fat 420 cal

M5- Chicken breast and broccoli
9g carbs 28g protein 3g fat 191 cal

M6- Tuna and 10oz if walnuts.
9g carbs 41g protein 23g fat 405 cal

That puts my totals at.
Carbs-164g
Protein-204g (220)
Fat-37g
Total Cal-1936 (2008)

My pre-work out drink has 16 grams of protein and 72 cals ill drink 10-15 min prior to working out. Totals in parenthesis reflect the pre-workout drink

Still seems a little low everywhere. Any suggestions?
I did not count the protein provided in foods used as carbohydrates (bananas oats yams etc) I had read in another post that you are not supposed to. I tallied all carbs and all fats from all foods. Is this correct?

[--->>405<<---]

Still seems a little low everywhere. Any suggestions?
I did not count the protein provided in foods used as carbohydrates (bananas oats yams etc) I had read in another post that you are not supposed to. I tallied all carbs and all fats from all foods. Is this correct?

i count all macros from every meal with the exception (occasionally) of carbs from green veggies only! count the protein! as far as ur macros post complete stats.. age weight height bf% so i can see if ur math is correct.. also depending on ur bf% u mite fare better to do a low carb diet for cutting.. keeping carbs elevated may inhibit ur ability to mobilize fat as efficiently as u could running carbs lower..

[BostonT]

i count all macros from every meal with the exception (occasionally) of carbs from green veggies only! count the protein! as far as ur macros post complete stats.. age weight height bf% so i can see if ur math is correct.. also depending on ur bf% u mite fare better to do a low carb diet for cutting.. keeping carbs elevated may inhibit ur ability to mobilize fat as efficiently as u could running carbs lower..

28 5'9 175lbs and from my other post people were estimating around 15% BF

[--->>405<<---]

28 5'9 175lbs and from my other post people were estimating around 15% BF

assuming this is close (id get it checked if i were u!) i get ur tdee @ 2800cals.. (if u workout 5days per week).. with these numbers id run 2000cals per day.. id also low carb at:

2000cals
300g pro
100g carbs
44g fat

personally id eliminate the fruit for now.. IMO its not gonna help u lose fat and if anything itll slow it down.. keep ur carbs complex.. pre and post workout and in meal 1..

cardio: am fasted 5-6 days per week 45mins.. (throw in some HIIT a day or 2 in place of the 45min moderate)

good HIIT workout is:
5 min warmup
10mins HIIT
5 mins complete rest
20-40mins moderate
5 min cooldown

u want carbs at or below 20% total cals to optimize fat mobilization.. eat spinach, broc, asparagus in at least 3 meals.. if u never dun low carb before u may feel crappy.. (i didnt).. once u get down some more in bf% and/or ur progress slows it may be worth ur while to consider cycling carbs.. but id start with the simplest thing first..

[ANIMAL]

I found that with a cutting diet it's best to keep all carbs in breakfast/pre-workout/post-workout meals only. I use 45% of my carbs post workout, 40% carbs pre-workout and the remaining 15%. This way, you utilize all carbs the way they are suppose to. Think of carbs as putting gas in your car. Yea, you can fill your gas tank, drive only 5 miles and come back the next day with basically a full tank of gas because you only used 5 miles worth and the rest is stored. Same goes for carbs. If you fill your body with carbs and don't utilize them all your body will then store them for later use. Whole point in a cutting diet is to cut the fat, not store it. Breakfast to fuel you through the day, pre-workout to fuel you through your workout and post-workout to recover and repair your body after exertion.

After reading over the diet you made, I don't see a pre-workout meal? This is 1 out of 3 meals that are most important throughout your day. You can't drive your car with no gas, same goes for lifting weights. Can't expect to have a good workout with nothing to fuel your workouts.

Also, your calculations are wrong as far as macros go. 1 egg white = 5g protein.

I've cut all fruits out of my cutting diet as well as dairy. Your post work-out meal should have a complex carb, not simple carbs. Do not read into the myth of "fast absorbing" carbs post-workout especially since there is no "magic window" for absorption.

23g of fat in one meal is way too much. Try to keep fats at 7-10g/meal at most. Add whole eggs to your breakfast along with oatmeal.

I went with a 45p/40c/15f for my cutting diet. Looking at 405's post at 2800 TDEE, from personal experience I would start with a 2,300 calorie deficit, I think 2,000 is too drastic to start. at 2,300 calories your protein/carb/fat would be 255p/230c/35f


Meal 1 40p/34c/7f
Meal 2 40p/7f
Meal 3 40p/7f
Pre 4 40p/92c/7f
Post 5 40p/103c
PPost 6 post 40p/7f

If it was me, this is what I found best to work for my body... using your weight numbers.

[--->>405<<---]

Looking at 405's post at 2800 TDEE, from personal experience I would start with a 2,300 calorie deficit, I think 2,000 is too drastic to start. at 2,300 calories your protein/carb/fat would be 255p/230c/35f

b23 a 500 cal deficit is a good starting point if ur able to establish a true TDEE.. 2800 cals is an estimate using the katch/mcardle formula. i have a fair amt of experience with it and know it tends to be a touch high. i ran a 950cal deficit from an est tdee of 3100. i weighed 213lbs and ate 2150cals...

i weigh 190 @10%bf (171lbs LBM) and cut with 2200cals.. this guy is 175 and 15%bf (149lbs LBM) ..

i stand by my opinion... 2000...

[ANIMAL]

b23 a 500 cal deficit is a good starting point if ur able to establish a true TDEE.. 2800 cals is an estimate using the katch/mcardle formula. i have a fair amt of experience with it and know it tends to be a touch high. i ran a 950cal deficit from an est tdee of 3100. i weighed 213lbs and ate 2150cals...

i weigh 190 @10%bf (171lbs LBM) and cut with 2200cals.. this guy is 175 and 15%bf (149lbs LBM) ..

i stand by my opinion... 2000...

I agree with you on both points, I just stated to "start" with.

[BostonT]

Thanks guys. I cut out the fruits and added raw spinach and asparagus. I bought chicken breast and flank steak for lean protein as well as cans of tuna. oats blueberrys (I need them don't think I could get the oats down with out them) I will limit my carbs to just Meal 1 and pre-work out. and a few post work out. I got un-salted cashews i plan on taking like a half cup to work with me and just eating them as a snack. and I got sweet potatoes. we will see how week one goes. I am still aiming for between 2000-2100 cals a day.

[--->>405<<---]

sugar free strawberry preserves (smuckers) goes pretty well in oats and cottage cheese

[BostonT]

sugar free strawberry preserves (smuckers) goes pretty well in oats and cottage cheese

Okay I will try those as well. Does it make a difference if I squeeze lime onto the steak just for like a mexican flavor? What about onions? Like if I eat steak and onions post workout?

thanks again

[--->>405<<---]

lime is fine.. onions r fine.. they have a little sugar but i use them

[BostonT]

Ok here is an update. I cook ~2lbs of chicken and it last me 2 days.

1lb of chicken = 685 calories? I think my math is correct.

So this week I have

685 cals a day from chicken
220 1 can of tuna

thats 905 cals from strictly protein

then I have 1/2 a large yam which from the best I can guess is the size of 1 medium listed in the macro food chart sticky.

100 cals med sweet pot
42 cals 1/2 cup blueberries
150 cals 1 cup of oats
123 cals 3 cups broc

415 cals from just food from the carb list.

then I eat 1/2 cup cashews through out the day. which i s around 390 cals

so 390 cals from just good fat (cashews)

pre workout drink is 80 cals and 20g or protein
and post work out I drink isopure 210 cals ~50g protein

That's 1990 cals a day on days I lift weights 4 times a week. So 4 times a week I drink the protein shake 6 days a week i take the preworkout drink 1 day a week i dont take either. If I need to how can I add to this? more veggies? I eat this through out the day just picking at everything, but keeping the carbs to breakfast and pre and post work out only. Plus keeping the cashews away from the carbs. Exception would be the broccoli I eat that through out the entire day. I eat from 4-7 times a day, but I am trying to keep the amounts correct. I also think I will cut back the nuts to 1/3 cup. I do cook the chicken with olive oil.

On to my next question. Do spices effect anything. When I cook the chicken I use lots of cayenne pepper cumin paprika etc. and probably 2/3 cup of fresh lime juice. And lots of cilantro. Is that going to effect my macros/cals?

I feel like I'm good with protein if anything I am low on carbs which I think is ok since I am trying to cut.

[BostonT]

I forgot to ask. How often are you supposed to have a "cheat meal"? once a week? a couple times a week?

[BostonT]

I forgot to add on days I don't lift weights ie don't drink the protein shake i eat 4 eggs 2 whites 2 with yolks 182 cals.