Cutting diet please critique.

Goal -
I'd like to harden my body up and keep the muscle I have. I'd like to stay the same weight 185lbs +/- 5lbs. Thanks for the help bro's!

Training -
Cardio 4x per/week 30mins first thing in the AM
Weights 3-4x per/week 5 sets of 5 hitting the big muscle groups
Ab's 3x per week 5 sets of 20 and 3 sets of 20 on a slant board.

Diet -
Meal 1
oats (1 cup)
protein drink (1 scoop, 5g carbs, 21g protein)
flax oil

Meal 2
grilled chicken (1 breast, 8oz)
1% low fat skim milk (12oz)

Meal 3
protein drink (1 scoop, 5g carbs, 21g protein)
flax oil

Meal 4
tuna mixed with mayo (2 can's of tuna, 1 tbsp of mayo)

Meal 5
protein drink (1 scoop, 5g carbs, 21g protein)

Meal 6
grilled chicken (1 breast, 8oz)
broccoli w/cheese
salad w/ranch dressing
flax oil
fish oil

Meal 7
protein drink (1 scoop, 5g carbs, 21g protein)

Other supps used -
Vit C 1000mg ED
Zinc 50mg ED
Calcium 1000mg ED
Fish oil 1000mg ED
CLA 1000mg ED

I'd wait to hear Swolecat's advice on this...but here's my take on it.

First, I'd make it 2 scoops of protein in meal 1...so you get 40g, rather than 20g.

Secondly, when is your workout? I would think a PWO shake with carbs/protein would be appropriate...

Also, I'd watch the ranch dressing in the evening meal for carbs, i've seen a lot of dressings that sneak in carbs...

Looks decent otherwise...but like i said, i'll be interested to hear some of the other replys...especially swole's

good luck

A couple of things I would change...

-I'd up the protein to at least 370 grams (185 x 2). I would also go with less shakes and more solid meals. Basically have at least 4oz of meat in each meal and use the shake to make up the difference for # of grams of protein you need in for each meal (based on the macros).
-Make sure to avoid mixing fat and carbs in same meal. Example: oats and flax..no good!
-Where is your post-workout shake? You need at least 50g of dextrose and 50g of protein here. Very Important!
-Supps: ECA, R-ala, Acetyl-L-Cartine, BCAA's, Liver tabs

Just some suggestions I thought might help...for the most part it looks like you got the jist of it. Most of it is finding what works for you. Remember one thing though...if progress slows down (which it normally does) don't get discouraged just prepare to tweak yor diet a little and stay at it. Slowing dropping carb intake at this time usually helps me. Then if that doesn't work I increase morning cardio. Hope this helped.

~US~

CB and ~US~ already covered some very good points, and I agree w/all that they said, yes! I'd also take dairy OUT of your cutting program until you reach your goal, but that's just the way I do things. Your post-workout nutrition should also come in the form of TWO meals, not one. First one dextrose/isolate mix, second meal about 1.5 hours later in the form of a chicken/rice type meal, very clean food, no fats here. Remember the R-ALA and Biotin with both of the pwo meals.

Also, UP THAT CARDIO from 30 to 45 mins..............a good general rule of thumb is 65-75% of max heart rate for fat burning, and one usually enters that "zone" at about the 20 min mark. So, a 30 min cardio session yields approx 10 mins of fat burning, where a 45 minute session yields 25 MINUTES of fat burning. You can see that after the weeks go by, this will make ALL the difference in the world. I'd also do it more than 4 days per week, preferably 6-7.

Those who will tell you cardio will be catabolic are NOT eating correctly to support a positive nitrogen balance, and have no clue what it takes to achieve such a thing.

~SC~

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SwoleCat

CB and ~US~ already covered some very good points, and I agree w/all that they said, yes! I'd also take dairy OUT of your cutting program until you reach your goal, but that's just the way I do things. Your post-workout nutrition should also come in the form of TWO meals, not one. First one dextrose/isolate mix, second meal about 1.5 hours later in the form of a chicken/rice type meal, very clean food, no fats here. Remember the R-ALA and Biotin with both of the pwo meals.

Also, UP THAT CARDIO from 30 to 45 mins..............a good general rule of thumb is 65-75% of max heart rate for fat burning, and one usually enters that "zone" at about the 20 min mark. So, a 30 min cardio session yields approx 10 mins of fat burning, where a 45 minute session yields 25 MINUTES of fat burning. You can see that after the weeks go by, this will make ALL the difference in the world. I'd also do it more than 4 days per week, preferably 6-7.

Those who will tell you cardio will be catabolic are NOT eating correctly to support a positive nitrogen balance, and have no clue what it takes to achieve such a thing.

~SC~

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Awesome advice guys!! Thanks so much for the help! If it looks like I am losing too much muscle (which has been a problem for me in the past) would you suggest I up the total carbs slightly or add more total protein?

Thanks,

CC

You'd want to up fats and protein.

~SC~

I've been on my diet/training program 12 days now. Everything is going good and I have lost a lot of fat/water from my mid section. I just wanted to give you all an update and to say thanks for the help on my diet. Hey swole, do you know about how much bf I should be droping from week to week? I am 11% bf as of today.

Thanks,

CC

1-2 lbs. of actual adipose tissue loss per week is good. 3 is golden.

~SC~

Either my body fat was much higher then I thought or I am doing something way wrong, because I can't seem to get past the 10-11% bf mark. My weight has stayed about the same (which is good), however I haven't seen a dramatic change in body composition. I have lost some fat, but it seems to be about the same in the areas I store fat w/o much change. I am wondering if my hormone levels are messed up or something. Times like this I wonder why I even try..... Sorry I am just a lil down about it right now.

Peace,

CC

BTW I do take avodart for hairloss (works great too!!) but I am wondering if it is raising my estrogen levels. I believe it can raise test levels by up to 20-30%. Maybe I have some aromatization going on. They claim that the 20-30% increase makes no difference. Any thoughts on this?

Peace,

CC