"cutting diet" a few questions

[CrimsonTide]

I'm currently trying to cut some unwanted BF and have a few questions.
Current Stats: Ht- 5'8" Wt- 195lbs BF- probably 12-14%, abs visible but not defined, I carry very little BF except around waist. I'd get my BF checked but don't really trust any of the "fitness experts" at they gym where I workout.

Workout Routine:
Day 1 - Legs, Calves, Abs
Day 2 - Chest, Back
Day 3 - off
Day 4 - Shoulders/Arms
Day 5 - off then rinse/repeat

Sample Meal Plan:
1-1.5 gallon water/day
3g Vitamin C + 1multi
~15g Glutamine
1 ECA pre-workout
(meal times not exact but always no more than 3hours between)
Meal 1@8am: 60g Whey, 4scoops Gatorade mix
530cal 45g Pro 88g Cho 4g Fat

Meal 2@9am: 1can Tuna, 1cup Brown Rice, 1cup Broccoli
320cal 40g Pro 36g Cho 2g Fat

Meal 3@11:30am: 6Egg Whites, 60gm Oats, 30gm Whey
435cal 51g Pro 46g Cho 6g Fat

Meal 4@2:30pm: 5oz Salmon, 1cup Broccoli
260cal 36g Pro 4g Cho 12g Fat

Meal 5@5:30pm: 6oz Chicken, 1.5c Salad, 1tbsp Flax Oil
363cal 44g Pro 3g Cho 19g Fat

Meal 6@8:30pm: 60g Whey, 1tbsp Flax or 1tbsp Natural Peanut Butter
320cal 45g Pro 6g Cho 19g Fat

Pre-bed@10:00pm: 1/2 Cottage Cheese
113cal 13g Pro 4g Cho 5g Fat

Total: 2341 cal(+220 I usually sip 2 more servings of whey between a meal) 318g Pro 187g Cho 67g Fat

I sometimes substitute 5-6oz of lean beef for the salmon. I workout around 6:30am and have started doing 1-2 low/mod intensity long cardio and 2 short HIIT sessions per week. All weight workouts are sets of 7-10reps using heavy weights for those reps. My questions are:

1) Am I relying too much on liquid protein (whey). My budget is fairly tight but I could substitute another can of tuna for a serving of whey (although the thought of another serving of tuna isn't pleasant
)
2) Do I need a little more protein in there somewhere?
3) Is working out on empty stomach followed by cardio going to cause too much muscle loss or will the weight workout deplete my glycogen store and allow me to burn more fat during cardio?
4) Are the differences in calories from meal to meal (ie 500cal one meal and 250cal the next meal) going to be counter-productive? It's pretty hard to keep them around the same calorie level.
5) As you can see I'm trying to follow P+C and P+F meal combos. Do my macronutrients look about right?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long-ass post.

[nmk85roll]

to answer a few questions...

Doing cardio on an empty stomach is good, working out with an empty stomach is bad. At least that's what I've experienced. Cardio you are burning so you don't need food. Lifting you are trying to build so you need some fuel.

Second, your carb intake looks a little high for just over 2000 calories. I'd suggest taking it down to around 100-130g per day.

[Animal Cracker]

True...Cardio empty..W/out with something to burn! A pre-wrokout meal is a great idea, and post workout is a necessisty!

[CrimsonTide]

Thanks for the suggestions. I did decide to break up cardio and weights so I've been doing cardio first thing in the morning HIIT style. First meal is approx 30minutes-1hour after cardio. Weights are approx one hour after first meal. I also cut carbs down to around 120 but I'm going to bump them up to about 150 as I've been losing too fast. Strength has stayed stable though. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.