Free Diet advice by Narkissos & Novastepp: Intro to Performance Nutrition 101

[Macros]

Nova,

Thank you very much for your time. That might just be the spark I needed to get out of bro limbo. I've been doing the cut/bulk routine for way too long without ever getting to my target weight of 180. Here is a sample day of food:
M1-630am (pre-WO): 2 slices Ezekiel bread; 1 scoop whey protein
M2-830am (post-WO): 1 scoop whey protein; 1 scoop now carbo gain
M3-930am: 5oz chicken; 1cup brown rice
M4-1230pm: 5oz chicken; 5oz sweet potato; 1cup broccoli
M5-330pm: quest bar; 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
M6-630pm: 5oz chicken; 1/2 avocado; 2 cups broccoli, green beans, or Brussels sprouts
M7-930pm: 2 whole eggs; 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese

Totals: calories-2475; protein-220g; carbs-230g; fat-75g

(On off days I drop calories to 200 and up protein as high as 250g and drop carbs as low as 100g)

Currently I'm doing fst-7 style training but always starting with a heavy compound lift:
Mon-chest and tris
Tues-squats; leg press; leg ext; and
Wed-shoulders traps (cardio)
Thurs-back and bis
Fri-deadlifts; lunges; leg curl; abs
Off sat and sun.

Any critique or advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

[novastepp]

Nova,

Thank you very much for your time. That might just be the spark I needed to get out of bro limbo. I've been doing the cut/bulk routine for way too long without ever getting to my target weight of 180. Here is a sample day of food:
M1-630am (pre-WO): 2 slices Ezekiel bread; 1 scoop whey protein
M2-830am (post-WO): 1 scoop whey protein; 1 scoop now carbo gain
M3-930am: 5oz chicken; 1cup brown rice
M4-1230pm: 5oz chicken; 5oz sweet potato; 1cup broccoli
M5-330pm: quest bar; 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
M6-630pm: 5oz chicken; 1/2 avocado; 2 cups broccoli, green beans, or Brussels sprouts
M7-930pm: 2 whole eggs; 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese

Totals: calories-2475; protein-220g; carbs-230g; fat-75g

(On off days I drop calories to 200 and up protein as high as 250g and drop carbs as low as 100g)

Currently I'm doing fst-7 style training but always starting with a heavy compound lift:
Mon-chest and tris
Tues-squats; leg press; leg ext; and
Wed-shoulders traps (cardio)
Thurs-back and bis
Fri-deadlifts; lunges; leg curl; abs
Off sat and sun.

Any critique or advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

How long have you been eating that and are you seeing results? I ask because it looks solid and all I would say is to switch meals 5 & 6 around.

In regard to your overall plan, I see no reason to drop carbs on off days. Let your body recover and keep carbs high.

I would place a rest day in the middle of my week because training 5 days in a row is pretty freaking brutal on the body if you're training hard. I would rest on Wednesday.

Also, is there a reason you are splitting quads/glutes and hammys? You could benefit from deads on back day, and then finish Tuesday with lunges and supersetted extensions and curls. That will also give you another rest day to use. Resting is when growth occurs, and you have to build that muscle all the way up before you can knock it all down. Eat big and rest big.

Don't short change yourself in training either. Go all out and leave knowing you didn't have a rep left in you. Guys in the gym hit a number and stop lifting, even if it was hard, dont be afraid to struggle, dont be afraid to fail on that rep; it does more good than quitting!