Cutting Diet Advice

[hard_2_gain]

Hey. Could use some help with my cutting diet, as I am new to counting macros and cutting.

My TDEE is around 2500-2700. So I'm shooting for 1700-2200, depending on the level of activity that day. For instance, on the weekend I got about 1700-1800 each day. 3 meals, a snack, and protein drink post workout. Each meal is around 400-500 calories, unless I have more meals.

I eat foods like oatmeal, egg whites, quest protein bars (about 1g sugar per bar, over half the carbs is fibre), ezekiel toast, peanut butter, nuts, 0% greek yogurt, 0% cottage cheese, fruit, raw veggies, hummus (home made), chicken, turkey, lean cuts of beef, fish, BCAA powder, low carb protein isolate, small amounts of mayo with tuna. Pretty much all I drink is water. Close to a gallon a day.

Today:

2 pc ezekiel toast with peanut butter, egg whites on top. Greek yogurt with fresh berries. Can of tuna with mayo. 40g of cashews. That was breakfast and lunch, around 1000 calories.

half a quest bar as a snack. 90 calories

Hummus and chicken breast - Pre workout meal. Around 550 calories

Wild salmon with asparagus - Around 450-500 calories

Daily total was around 2200 calories. I worked it pretty decent at the gym, obviously felt weak from lack of food. Did legs, lower weight but higher reps and shorter rest time. Then push ups. Then 20 min treadmill jog.

[Khazima]

Looks good man, did you hit your macros?

You're on the right track keep doing what you're doing and you'll start seeing progress in no time.

Last thing left on the list is to find a good program to suit your goals, do you want strength/size/purely weight loss, how long have you been lifting?

[hard_2_gain]

3 years. Lots of time spent figuring out how to lift and eat. Also some slacking.

Right now I want to lose the fat while continuing to lift similar to how I will be when I am lean bulking.. compound lifts. body weight. core. cardio. isolation lifts for added aesthetics. Just scaled down weight.

Basically right now I try to do a workout where I feel I will be burning the most fat while still giving my muscles a great work. Get the entire body moving, low rest, get sweating, get pumped. I do isolations if I've recently worked a large muscle group and can't do compounds.

Ultimate goal is to lose the bf (get down from ~16% to ~10%) then lean bulk. keep careful track of my diet and fat level. I know once I am lean I will be able to put on some sweet lean mass, especially with the help of a cycle.

I look really nice when I flex. I have definition in a lot of muscle groups. I just need to lose more body fat, then increase my diet slowly, as well as size and strength by increasing the weight.

As far as a static program, I find when I follow one I have shitty results. I just go by feel now, whichever lifts I feel I can kill that day, I do it. I make sure I have all the groups worked each week. Then always run. The guy I know who is in the best shape of anyone I've met runs everyday, long runs, no exceptions. Strong as **** too.

I guess the physique I am looking for would be similar to the one in your avatar, except not that extreme, I can live with a higher BF%. If I'm sitting around 10%-12% regularly, that's cool.

The funny thing is I am stronger when I am less fat, so I know I can be strong, big, defined, and have good cardiovascular endurance.

In short: I have no interest in bulking then cutting. Just lean mass gaining, once I hit an acceptable BF%. And I'll always be mixing it up - some days/lifts low reps, high weight, some lifts high reps, lower weight. Some functional strength, some isolation.

[Khazima]

Looks like you've got it covered brother.

I promise you that you just haven't found the right program yet, or you haven't stuck them out until the end, I'd highly highly suggest trying a program that looks like you'll enjoy it, and following it through to the end, if you're hesitant, wait until you're bulking then try one, so you'll know it's definitely the program not the deficit if you don't make progress.

Bulking/cutting is outdated for nattys anyway haha, lean bulking is the way to go and not letting your BF get too high.

[Times Roman]

Just out of curiosity, what is your

height
weight
bf%

already know you are 29


I'm not sure of either

your NTE protein requirement, nor
how many grams of protein you actually eat in a day

[hard_2_gain]

6 ft
180lbs
~16% bf

Probably 150-200 g protein in a day

[hard_2_gain]

Most days this week have been between 1700 and 2200 calories. Typical day is like today:

Breakfast: 2 pc Ezekiel Toast
1.2 cups egg whites
2 tblspn natural peanut butter

500 calories
~35g protein
~35 g carbs

Lunch:

Can tuna
1.4 tblspn mayo
greek yogurt
raw veggies
almonds

545 calories
~50g protein
~20g carbs

Pre Workout Meal:

Chicken drumsticks
Hummus

550 Calories

Post Workout:

Isonatural Protein isolate

115 calories
28g protein

Dinner:

Wild atlantic salmon
asparagus cooked w/ coconut oil
greek yogurt

550 calories


What is a realistic time frame for me to shed 5% BF and lose the softness around my chest and midsection? My arms and legs are starting to look okay. But soft in the hard to lose areas.

[Times Roman]

6 ft
180lbs
~16% bf

Probably 150-200 g protein in a day

here's a basic plan based on your stats. Cals looks good. Suggest bumping protein intake not to exceed 220 grams a day. Not a tragedy if you do not. Here's the basic plan:

[hard_2_gain]

Hey thanks, I appreciate that.

But one question.. Why so heavy on the carbs? Wouldn't it be better for me to try to eat as much lean meat as possible and lower my carbs?

I try not to have over 10g of carbs for dinner (not counting raw veggies) so if I am having as many grams of carbs as protein, that means I would have to go carb heavy on the other meals. Wouldn't that be bad for fat loss?

[hard_2_gain]

Had to do a cheat meal yesterday... Chilled with a friend, we ordered pizza. I shoot for around 2200 calories, which is about 300-500 less than TDEE. I was at about 1800 before the pizza, had 5 slices (probably 250-300 calories each) so it's safe to say I went over a good 1000 calories. Which would make it over the TDEE by about 500 calories.

I definitely noticed the difference. I was very hungry all day. And looked bloated in the morning. This really is a pain in the ass. I probably will end up at about 2400-2500 calories today, I went out for dinner and am still so hungry.

Guess this will probably take a good 4 months to drop the fat. I will be starting a cycle 5.5 months from now, no matter what.

Never want to have to cut again.

[Khazima]

Had to do a cheat meal yesterday... Chilled with a friend, we ordered pizza. I shoot for around 2200 calories, which is about 300-500 less than TDEE. I was at about 1800 before the pizza, had 5 slices (probably 250-300 calories each) so it's safe to say I went over a good 1000 calories. Which would make it over the TDEE by about 500 calories.

I definitely noticed the difference. I was very hungry all day. And looked bloated in the morning. This really is a pain in the ass. I probably will end up at about 2400-2500 calories today, I went out for dinner and am still so hungry.

Guess this will probably take a good 4 months to drop the fat. I will be starting a cycle 5.5 months from now, no matter what.

Never want to have to cut again.

You just need to be smarter with your food, if you know your going to eat shit later, save the calories.

You need to eat less calorically dense food, get as much food as you can out of each calorie, vegetables are a great way to do this.

I've found eating less in the morning and more in the afternoon has been working well because I find it easier to be hungry in the morning rather than at night when you're settling down.

Don't get discouraged bro, and remember, it's a marathon not a race.

[hard_2_gain]

Thanks man. I know I'll reach 10%. No question. Just not sure how long that will take

[hard_2_gain]

I'm hitting around 200-220 g protein/day on my 2200 calorie diet, so that's bang on