Diet critique

[DuckTheViking]

Hi guys,

Any advice or comments on my diet is most welcome.

44/male/101kg (222lbs), 194cm (6'4"), approx 21% BF
Exercising 5 times/week about 1hr weights, 20min cardio
I had a 4 month break from the gym due to moving house and personal circumstances, but am back with a vengeance.

The food is usually spread out over 4 meals plus the postworkout shake.
The total daytime food is split into 3 boxes, I gym late in the evening, and do the evening meal pretty much straight after coming home.

My short term goal is to cut to 15% BF, build my knowledge of dieting, and take it from there.

.....

Hi-Carb Days: Monday, Thursday
(kcal / gram carb / gram fat / gram protein)

Daytime
Brown Rice, boiled, 3.5 cup (764 kcal, 160/6/16)
Chicken Breast, Oven Baked, 350 g (399 kcal, 0/7/83)
Carrots, raw, 100 g (41 kcal, 10/0/1)
Paprika, 100 g (20 kcal, 3/0/1)
Avocado, 60 g (140 kcal, 7/13/2)
Total 1364 kcal, 180c, 26f, 103p

Workout
Bcaa, 10 g (40 kcal, 0/0/10)
Skim Milk 0.3% fat, 400 ml (152 kcal, 20/1/14)
Whey Protein, 50 g (196 kcal, 3/3/39)
Total 388 kcal, 23c, 4f, 63p

Evening
Sweet Potato, Baked, 100 g (90 kcal, 21/0/2)
Pears, Grapes or Apple, 250 g (145 kcal, 39/0/1)
Tuna in can, 150 g (137 kcal, 0/2/30)
Walnuts, 21 g (140 kcal, 3/14/4)
Total 512 kcal, 63c, 16f, 37p

Totals (gram) 266c / 46f / 203p
Totals (kcal) 2264 1064c / 184f / 812p

.....

Low-Carb Days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
(kcal / gram carb / gram fat / gram protein)

Daytime
Sweet Potato, Baked, 500 g (450 kcal, 105/1/10)
Chicken Breast, Oven Baked, 450 g (513 kcal, 0/9/106)
Carrots, raw, 100 g (41 kcal, 10/0/1)
Paprika, 100 g (20 kcal, 3/0/1)
Avocado, 60 g (140 kcal, 7/13/2)
Total 1164 kcal, 125c, 23f, 120p

Workout
Bcaa, 10 g (40 kcal, 0/0/10)
Skim Milk 0.3% fat, 400 ml (152 kcal, 20/1/14)
Whey Protein, 50 g (196 kcal, 3/3/39)
Total 388 kcal, 23c, 4f, 63p

Evening
Sweet Potato, Baked, 100 g (90 kcal, 21/0/2)
Pears, Grapes or Apple, 250 g (145 kcal, 39/0/1)
Tuna in can, 150 g (137 kcal, 0/2/30)
Walnuts, 21 g (140 kcal, 3/14/4)
Total 512 kcal, 63c, 16f, 37p

Totals (gram) 211c / 43f / 220p
Totals (kcal) 2064 844c / 172f / 880p

Thanks
D

[Windex]

- You need to calculate your TDEE. There is a sticky at the top of the diet and nutrition section. My gut suspicion tells me 2064 and 2254 calories is going to be too low.

- To clarify your daytime meal is 1364 calories split over 3 meals, aka ~455calories per meal?

- Meal breakdown is confusing. Is your "Workout" meal consumed while you are actually training ? Which meal comes before your workout?

- I wouldn't count paprika in your macros

- Whey protein should be real food if you want to be 100% optimized

- I don't recommend drinking your calories on a cut (Milk). You are already at a calorie deficit so unless you have a really low appetite you want food that will have a high satiety (how full you feel)

- If your financial situation allows for it, replace the one chicken meal with a lean cut of beef (ie top sirloin). You have polyunsaturated fats from the nuts, monounsaturated fats from the avocado, the steak will give you saturated fats to complete the fat trio. If steak isn't an option, consider ground sirloin. If ground sirloin is not a budget option then go down to ground beef.

- Carrots are high in sugars and you are eating 250g of Fruit post workout. I would either lower quantity carrots and add in other veggies that you like (kale, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, etc all good options) or substitute. Picking 100g of veggies across say 2, 3, or 4 different vegetables is going to give you a more diverse micronutrient profile for vitamins/minerals.

- Overall fiber seems to be low - I would consider possibly a fiber supplement or banana perhaps as one of the fruit options if digestion becomes a concern.

- Are you doing your cardio postworkout? If you have the option to do fasted cardio in the morning you may want to try that.

- Track your progress on more axis. Scale and bodyfat are great metrics, but I would do weekly or bi-weekly measurements (Waist, Gut, Chest, Arm, Quad, Calf, Neck for example). To me, losing an inch on my gut or waist feels alot more satisfying than losing X lbs.

- Consider bloodwork - Thyroid, Lipids, Cholesterol, Vitamins/Minerals, etc. If you are deficient in anything you will want to address it either via diet or supplementation.


Your nutrition program is above average despite all the critique above, well done. Once you calculate your TDEE it will give you a better idea what the total calorie consumption would be. If you have a huge appetite, start at 350 calories below maintenance then go to 500.


Best of luck.

[RaginCajun]

To add on, your fats are too low as well. Try to get at least 50-60g of fats. You are on the right track!

[DuckTheViking]

Hi guys, thanks for the responses - I get better information here than by "professional" nutritionists!

The 2060/2260 kcal per day seems a bit low, but I was doing well on that back in February/March, losing about 1 kg per week. I will stick to this for a while and see if I am still able to recover between training sessions.

The 1364 daytime kcal is split into 3 meals. I just try to keep it simple for my wife (who cooks all the food) - make one big batch and just split it into 3 boxes. I don't have a fridge where I work, so the food needs to survive unchilled in boxes for 5-8 hours.

The workout meal was a bit poorly described. I mix creatine and BCAA in my drinking water during training. The milk & whey comes just after training.

I have seen my local doctor and asked for a blood test, but it appears that unless I have a very good reason for it, they will not do it (in Germany). At least I haven't found anyone who will do it.

In addition, I take a multi-vitamin & mineral tablet, and omega 3 capsules.

I have switched up the plan a bit - milk is removed and replaced with unsweetened almond milk. This freed up 100 calories, which I used on 2 slices of high-fiber crispy bread (Wasa Rustikal). The overall macros remain about the same.

I am measuring myself every sunday - tape measure of 5 locations, and body fat estimate with skin fat calipers (Jackson/Pollock 7 Caliper and Parrillo 9 Caliper). You are of course right, I am more interested to see the fat on the stomach going away than kg going down.

Cardio is post workout... with the family and work situation, I find it difficult to have a fasted morning cardio (not to mention that I'm not really a morning person)

I'll look into the variations in vegetables.

I have also added a small bit of milk during the day, which I forgot to include - I drink a lot of cups of coffee in the office and add a tiny bit of milk to each cup. Probably adds up to 100ml over 4-5 cups.

As for adding fat - if I do not increase the overall calories, this would mean a reduction in carbs?

New meal plans:

.....

Hi-Carb Days: Monday, Thursday
(kcal / gram carb / gram fat / gram protein)

Daytime
Brown Rice, boiled, 3.5 cup (764 kcal, 160/6/16)
Chicken Breast, Oven Baked, 350 g (399 kcal, 0/7/83)
Carrots, raw, 100 g (41 kcal, 10/0/1)
Paprika, 100 g (20 kcal, 3/0/1)
Wasa Rustical, 2 slices (100 kcal, 19/0/1)
Walnuts, 21 g (140 kcal, 3/14/4)
Milk 1.5% (in coffee),100ml (47kcal, 5/2/3)
Total 1511 kcal, 200c, 29f, 111p

Workout
Bcaa, 10 g (40 kcal, 0/0/10)
After workout
Almond Milk, 400ml (52 kcal, 0/4/2)
Whey Protein, 50 g (196 kcal, 3/3/39)
Total 288 kcal, 3c, 7f, 51p

Evening
Sweet Potato, Baked, 100 g (90 kcal, 21/0/2)
Pears, Grapes or Apple, 250 g (130 kcal, 35/0/1)
Tuna in can, 150 g (137 kcal, 0/2/30)
Avocado, 75 g (176 kcal, 9/16/2)
Total 533 kcal, 65c, 18f, 35p

Totals (gram) 268c / 54f / 197p
Totals (kcal) 2332 1072c / 216f / 788p

.....

Low-Carb Days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
(kcal / gram carb / gram fat / gram protein)

Daytime
Sweet Potato, Baked, 500 g (450 kcal, 105/1/10)
Chicken Breast, Oven Baked, 450 g (513 kcal, 0/9/106)
Carrots, raw, 100 g (41 kcal, 10/0/1)
Paprika, 100 g (20 kcal, 3/0/1)
Wasa Rustical, 2 slices (100 kcal, 19/0/1)
Walnuts, 21 g (140 kcal, 3/14/4)
Milk 1.5% (in coffee),100ml (47kcal, 5/2/3)
Total 1311 kcal, 145c, 26f, 128p

Workout
Bcaa, 10 g (40 kcal, 0/0/10)
After workout
Almond Milk, 400ml (52 kcal, 0/4/2)
Whey Protein, 50 g (196 kcal, 3/3/39)
Total 288 kcal, 3c, 7f, 51p

Evening
Sweet Potato, Baked, 100 g (90 kcal, 21/0/2)
Pears, Grapes or Apple, 250 g (130 kcal, 35/0/1)
Tuna in can, 150 g (137 kcal, 0/2/30)
Avocado, 75 g (176 kcal, 9/16/2)
Total 533 kcal, 65c, 18f, 35p

Totals (gram) 213c / 51f / 214p
Totals (kcal) 2132 852c / 204f / 856p

Thanks
D

[Windex]

The problem with the scale and seeing 1kg lost every week is that it's very deceiving - it does t tell you how much water, muscle, or fat comes from that 1kg. The body naturally doesn't want to get rid of fat. The slower you lose weight the more likely you are to keep muscle and lose fat instead. You should aim for losing 1lb (0.5kg) per week.

[MACKATTACK]

If you are trying to lose fat, drop the Fruit immediately. That is spiking your insulin and making you store fat.

I would eat 6 meals a day as suppose to 4 and eat smaller portions and more often. This will speed up your metabolism and less fat retention because the food will actually be used because of smaller portions instead of stored. It may seem like a small change but can really make a huge difference.

[Windex]

If you are trying to lose fat, drop the Fruit immediately. That is spiking your insulin and making you store fat.

I would eat 6 meals a day as suppose to 4 and eat smaller portions and more often. This will speed up your metabolism and less fat retention because the food will actually be used because of smaller portions instead of stored. It may seem like a small change but can really make a huge difference.

I think his Daytime section is 3 meals for a total of 5 if I read his post correctly.

[DuckTheViking]

- I wouldn't count paprika in your macros

By the way...why should paprika not be counted? Is there something unusua about the carbs, or just that it is such a small amount?

Thanks
D

[DuckTheViking]

I think his Daytime section is 3 meals for a total of 5 if I read his post correctly.

Yes that's right, 5 meals in total

[DuckTheViking]

If you are trying to lose fat, drop the Fruit immediately. That is spiking your insulin and making you store fat.

I would eat 6 meals a day as suppose to 4 and eat smaller portions and more often. This will speed up your metabolism and less fat retention because the food will actually be used because of smaller portions instead of stored. It may seem like a small change but can really make a huge difference.

The purpose of the fruits (besides tasting great) shortly after workout is to replace the spent glycogen with quick sugars/carbs. Should I reduce the fruits (replace with brown rice / baked sweet potato)? Or replace with another sugar source after workout?

[MACKATTACK]

The purpose of the fruits (besides tasting great) shortly after workout is to replace the spent glycogen with quick sugars/carbs. Should I reduce the fruits (replace with brown rice / baked sweet potato)? Or replace with another sugar source after workout?

It didn’t say it was after workout, just showed a meal. If I was trying to lose fat I’d eliminate all fruit and dairy. I would eat one of the meals directly after workout that was strictly protein and carb to use the food better in your system.

[balance]

Am I reading this correctly the OP is 222lbs working out 5 days a week for one hour twenty minutes a day and eating 2000 - 2300 calories a day!

[DuckTheViking]

Am I reading this correctly the OP is 222lbs working out 5 days a week for one hour twenty minutes a day and eating 2000 - 2300 calories a day!

Yes, I was off training for 4-5 months (moved house and wife had a new baby), am trying to rapidly reduce excess fat that piled on. TDEE calculators show maintenance around 2930 cal.

[Windex]

Noticed your location is set to Germany - Wiener schnitzel is one of my favorite food dishes.

If your TDEE is 2930 then 2000-2200 calories is too low, 1k under TDEE means the body goes into starvation mode. Try 2500-2600 to start for the next 5-8 weeks. If you lose 8 lbs in 8 weeks you will need to recalculate your TDEE again which will naturally be lower, making your total calories go down. Rinse and repeat from there. You can use fats to get the TDEE up to 2500 since your fats are on the lower side anyways. 20g more of fats is 180 calories.

[balance]

Windex is bang on with it not being good to lower your total calories by too much. I have done this and it's far from ideal/productive. It will jack your metabolism up, not make your progress sustainable, and at best put you into a yo-yo diet.

I'm not sure where you are getting your TDEE value at but it still sounds too low to me, especially if your training 5 days a week at 1 hour plus length sessions. Some of the tdee calculators I plug your provided info in put you closer to a tdee of 3200 so you could shoot for around 2700 calories per day and likely be very successful with your goals both short term and long term.

Making up those calories you can add back in whatever works best for you. While adding fats in can be very satiating, in your case I might suggest adding in a bit more carbs to fuel all those workouts. Whatever you ultimately add in keep it healthy stuff.

One other thing which is not huge but thought worth mentioning. You have 250grams of fruit in the evening. That's quite a bit of sugar in the evening. Possibly consider moving those earlier into the day and taking something with less sugar from the daytime meals and moving that into the evening intake (maybe switch your daytime avocados for night time fruit). I know not everyone follows/believes this type of sugar timing matters but for some I honestly think it can make a difference.

Good luck your hard work will payoff just continue to work hard and have patience.

b

[DuckTheViking]

Hi guys, really appreciate the detailed responses. I'll up the daily cal a bit. That will also make a huge difference to the types of meat possible to fit in, as where I live the only low-cost, low-fat meat available in supermarkets is chicken breast and canned tuna. Even minced meat starts at 12% fat, and sirloin etc is crazy expensive ($40++ per kg).
I'll also reduce the fruits a bit and replace with other complex carbs.
Thanks!

[n.LiVE]

It looks like you've calculated you fat calories wrong in your daily totals. 1 gram of fat is 9 cals, not 4 - like carbs/protein.

[DuckTheViking]

It looks like you've calculated you fat calories wrong in your daily totals. 1 gram of fat is 9 cals, not 4 - like carbs/protein.

You are totally right, thanks for spotting it! It was an error in the formula. The error doesn't affect the Sum daily calories, only the Sum fat calories.