Help Needed: Cutting diet advice

[boltsmidgets]

Stats:

180cm tall

76kg

15-16% BF

Hey All,

I need your expert advice in creating a new cutting diet plan to shred my BF from 15-16% to my goal BF% of 10%. I have no set time in which i need to accomplish this by but if i can get this done within 3months i'd be wrapt.

At present i workout once a day for 50-60min. I could easily add in 20-30min of cardio each day after work also if required.

One key issue regarding this diet i need help with. I'm alergic to seafood so Tuna is a no no unfortunately.

At present my diet looks like this (keep in mind this is just my average day):

6am - wake up

7am - bowl of Simply Natural Museli plus a cup of tea (1sugar)

11am - 2 pieces of toast+fruit+water

1pm - workout

2pm - post-workout drink (300g milk+2 or 3 scoops of Gold Standard 100% Whey) and a piece of fruit

3pm - 2 pieces of toast

5pm - snack on what ever is in the pantry

6pm - dinner - always chicken/red meat with veg or rice/pasta

Water throughout.

This is a horrible diet, i know! Thats why i need help asap.

If you can PM me if you can help it would be greatly appreciated. I've got a ton of questions but thats only because im going to take this 110% seriously. I will work harder than anyone else to achieve this goal, mark my word.

Thanks guys/gals.

P.S. in Wellys so if your from here and can catch up for a chat/call to discuss this then im keen.

[rapz]

Stats:

180cm tall

76kg

15-16% BF

Hey All,

I need your expert advice in creating a new cutting diet plan to shred my BF from 15-16% to my goal BF% of 10%. I have no set time in which i need to accomplish this by but if i can get this done within 3months i'd be wrapt.

At present i workout once a day for 50-60min. I could easily add in 20-30min of cardio each day after work also if required.

One key issue regarding this diet i need help with. I'm alergic to seafood so Tuna is a no no unfortunately.

At present my diet looks like this (keep in mind this is just my average day):

6am - wake up

7am - bowl of Simply Natural Museli plus a cup of tea (1sugar)

11am - 2 pieces of toast+fruit+water

1pm - workout

2pm - post-workout drink (300g milk+2 or 3 scoops of Gold Standard 100% Whey) and a piece of fruit

3pm - 2 pieces of toast

5pm - snack on what ever is in the pantry

6pm - dinner - always chicken/red meat with veg or rice/pasta

Water throughout.

This is a horrible diet, i know! Thats why i need help asap.

If you can PM me if you can help it would be greatly appreciated. I've got a ton of questions but thats only because im going to take this 110% seriously. I will work harder than anyone else to achieve this goal, mark my word.

Thanks guys/gals.

P.S. in Wellys so if your from here and can catch up for a chat/call to discuss this then im keen.

Firstly B&M have you got a rough idea of your caloric requirement? you must be in a deficit to shred/lose weight/cut/lean up or whatever you want to call it. I would make sure you work out your caloric requirement in order to lose, then start off with getting the required amount of protein and fats and fill the rest in with carbs.

Whatever you decide to put in your diet, first and foremost make sure your getting enough protein, especially if your cutting. The calulators in the resources tab should help you roughly determine your P/C/F requirements.

Also just by looking at your diet with every meal that your having i would incorporate some protein with every meal opposed to just "two pieces of toast" i like to partition my protein requirements right through out the day making sure im giving my body "doses" of protein the entire day, others might have different opinions but this has worked for me.

This next bit is purely my own opinion and its just what i would do with your diet. I would drop the sugar in the tea and replace with a sweetner, or leave it until around working out. i would leave the fruit servings to 2 per day, thats just me though. Also if your dieting for fat loss and are serious about now you will know exactly what your going to be eating for each meal and not just eating "whatever is in the pantry". my best results with fat loss is when i payed attention to detail about everything i was putting in my body, that way i knew how i was reacting to certain things. If its easier for you then track your calories with an online application theres plenty out there. By the looks of it your diet needs adjustment.

Heaps of people on this forum that know shit loads about dieting bro so im sure they can help out as well. :nod:

[boltsmidgets]

Thanks Rapz, good advice.

I've always been one of those "Calorie counting's stupid" kinda peeps but i think i need it now more than ever. I struggle to put on weight, like seriously. I could stay this weight for easily a year or two without trying so im sure my calorie intake cant be high.

I can easily cut the sugar out of my tea, not a problem. And when you say having more protein with my meals, will a shake work?

What vitamins/dietry pills are good for cutting or helping the bod?

[rapz]

I can easily cut the sugar out of my tea, not a problem. And when you say having more protein with my meals, will a shake work?

A shake will be ok, i would rather it be from whole foods e.g lean mean, eggs, cottage cheese but end of the day whatever is most convinient for you.

What vitamins/dietry pills are good for cutting or helping the bod?

these are secondary to a good diet bro, if your getting a good amount of fibrous carbs through the day you shouldnt need a multi vitamin, however if you feel it we will benefit you, by all means take one. i wouldnt spend ridiculous amounts of $$$$ on a multi, the ones from pak n save is what i use.

I noted that you were alergic to seafoods, does this mean you cant take fish oil? i like to supplement with some fishoil for my essentail fatty acids.

[boltsmidgets]

I can take fishoil and DO take fishoil but only once per day or my body goes nuts.

Have you been through the cut phase by any chance? What did your diet look like? and workout routine?

Whats your thoughts on HIIT?

[rapz]

Have you been through the cut phase by any chance? What did your diet look like? and workout routine?

yea bro have cut about 3 times now, im still learning as well. Each time i cut i learnt something new about my body and im sure ive got a lot more to learn :nod:

My diet was nothing special just your typical mix of carbs, fats & protein spread throughout the day. Main thing was i was in a caloric deficit. However in my most recent cut i carb cycled, after this cut it was the most leanest i have been, i enjoyed carb cycling it was fun and i got to enjoy a lot of foods especially when carbing up. :grin:

As far as my workout routine, that too was nothing special, just a 5 day spilt. e.g

day 1- Chest & abs

day 2- Back

day 3- rest

day 4- legs

day 5- delts & traps

day 6- biceps & triceps

day 7- rest

Whats your thoughts on HIIT?

I used a mixture of cardio both LISS and HIIT. I found HIIT was more demanding on my body, but what appealed to me was, it was short, hard and intense. i like to use it in my off days from the gym. However if your mind is not into it and your not putting in maximal effort during the intervals it might not be as beneficial. I have heard and read HIIT can be more catabolic than LISS, also im unsure of the overall effects it has on your metabolism, im not very schooled in this area maybe someone else could chime in? None the less i would use a mixture bro both have their benefits in the long run. If it means anything when i performed cardio, HIIT would be no longer that 20 mins usually on a 1:1 work & rest ratio and if i did LISS usually 30-40min.

[boltsmidgets]

I have not heard of LISS before, what is this?

So i will begun my cutting diet on Monday (food shopping Sunday). There's going to be alot of egg whites, steak/chicken, salad, broccolli and water. I assume this is all good stuff. Can i ask what are some good snacks for in between breakfast/lunch - lunch/dinner - dinner/bedtime?

[jimmybro1]

Heaps of things you can snack on.

When I was dieting I would snack on Rice Cakes, Protein Shakes, Weight watches jelly mixed with aminos, celery.

Weight Watches Jelly was one of my biggest snacking foods.

[rapz]

I have not heard of LISS before, what is this?

Low Intensity Steady State (LISS) cardio. Your typical cardio, cycle, walking, crosstrainer etc performed typically for around 30-45min at about 65-75% of you maximal heart rate, i think for me it was around 130-140bpm. Much less intense than HIIT and imo less demanding on your body, again in regards to how it affects fat burning vs HIIT im not 100% sure.

So i will begun my cutting diet on Monday (food shopping Sunday). There's going to be alot of egg whites, steak/chicken, salad, broccolli and water. I assume this is all good stuff. Can i ask what are some good snacks for in between breakfast/lunch - lunch/dinner - dinner/bedtime?

Yea food sounds good, just keep in mind caloric deficit is most important, eat all the "good" foods you want but if your daily consumption is more than your expenditure your gonna have a hard time dropping fat.

Good snacks could include a hanful of nuts like almods, these are calorie dense, therfore it pays to be mindful of how much you eat of these, i always weigh more portions to be sure. Another good snack i like to have is boiled eggs, sometimes il just eat the whites as the yolk contains majority of the calories. A small can of tuna can be a nice snack, if anything the thing to be mindful of is that you account for everything you eat.

[rapz]

Weight Watches Jelly was one of my biggest snacking foods.

:nod: i almost forgot about this one! especially if you have a sweet tooth!, i would whip two egg whites throw in a weight watchers jelly then sip on pepsi max, unbelievably filling

[boltsmidgets]

Thanks lads.

So how do you start the calorie counting, just start from today and then lower the overall calories i eat or is this wrong?

I've always found it hard putting on or losing weight, does this tell me anything?

Ive always ate pretty well - love my veges/meats etc. The weekends are tougher as thats when i tend to "snack" more.

[jimmybro1]

Use myfitnesspal.com to count calories and freedieting.com to find your maintenance calories and go 500 calories below this.

[rapz]

Use myfitnesspal.com to count calories and freedieting.com to find your maintenance calories and go 500 calories below this.

This :nod:

[Kiwijuice]

get rid of the fruit, its just fast sugar carbs not what you want.

[boltsmidgets]

Get rid of the fruits? and replace them with what exactly?

They have some great nutrients in them but i guess i can get this through some vitamin pills or something.

So from Monday on my diet is going to look a little something like this, let me know what you think.

730am - Protein shake/Cup of tea (no sugar)/bowl of fruit museli/fish oil

11am - 1 chicken breast with a 1cup broccoli or chicken salad with 750ml drink of water

1pm - gym for 50min

2pm - protein shake+fruit (can change the fruit to something else?) and fish oil with 750ml water

3pm - toasted brown bread with avocado

6pm - Chicken or red meat with alot of vegetables (will not be consumin high carb veges)

8pm - Peice of fruit (or alternative) and cup of tea

Thoughts?

I've figured i need to eat roughly 2100 calories p/day to cut. This feels quite easy if im being honest, does that mean i could eat even less?

[rapz]

Get rid of the fruits? and replace them with what exactly?

They have some great nutrients in them but i guess i can get this through some vitamin pills or something.

So from Monday on my diet is going to look a little something like this, let me know what you think.

730am - Protein shake/Cup of tea (no sugar)/bowl of fruit museli/fish oil

11am - 1 chicken breast with a 1cup broccoli or chicken salad with 750ml drink of water

1pm - gym for 50min

2pm - protein shake+fruit (can change the fruit to something else?) and fish oil with 750ml water

3pm - toasted brown bread with avocado

6pm - Chicken or red meat with alot of vegetables (will not be consumin high carb veges)

8pm - Peice of fruit (or alternative) and cup of tea

Thoughts?

I've figured i need to eat roughly 2100 calories p/day to cut. This feels quite easy if im being honest, does that mean i could eat even less?

Overall diet looks better than before. So i take it 2100 is below your maintenance calories??

This is what i would do....

i would drop the fruit late at night and save it for around workout time, either pre or post workout. My post workout meal would have a decent source of protein alongside some carbs and fats. If i had room for more calories to be consumed i would consume some more complex carbs pre workout with your second meal, but thats just me. I dunno about consuming fish oil post workout?others might know more about it??

I've figured i need to eat roughly 2100 calories p/day to cut. This feels quite easy if im being honest, does that mean i could eat even less?

Start out with as much you can imo. If you drop calories too fast, yes you will drop mass/weight faster however there will be a point where you will have to re adjust once/if your fatloss stalls. The only resort is to keep dropping even lower, ive made this mistake and it gets bloody tough when your running on barely anything most of the day, get comfortable with what you have then slowly drop calories as you need to.

[boltsmidgets]

2100 is below my daily maintenance. I should be up around 3000-3200.

can you give me some ideas of more complex carbs? I know these "fuel" the body so i will definately take your advice on board.

[rapz]

can you give me some ideas of more complex carbs? I know these "fuel" the body so i will definately take your advice on board

rice,kumara, potatos,oats,quinoa, yams, lentils, beans, wholewheat pasta

[two_phat]

2100 is below my daily maintenance. I should be up around 3000-3200.

can you give me some ideas of more complex carbs? I know these "fuel" the body so i will definately take your advice on board.

Are you 3000 is right?

I'm less than 10cm shorter than you (at 78kg) and my maintenance level is well below that.

[boltsmidgets]

2100 is below my daily maintenance. I should be up around 3000-3200.

can you give me some ideas of more complex carbs? I know these "fuel" the body so i will definately take your advice on board.

Are you 3000 is right?

I'm less than 10cm shorter than you (at 78kg) and my maintenance level is well below that.

Im basing this off a few apps on my iphone and searching through the web. Can i ask what your maintenance level is? Could you work mine out?

[two_phat]

I don't know how old you are, so that will have an effect. Apparently most people tend to overestimate the amount they need to eat to cut.

After putting a couple of numbers into different calculators (do it yourself for more accuracy, just search on google bmr calculator). Your rough maintenance level seems to be round 2500. Which means that 2100, for cutting should be a pretty good starting point.

[boltsmidgets]

I don't know how old you are, so that will have an effect. Apparently most people tend to overestimate the amount they need to eat to cut.

After putting a couple of numbers into different calculators (do it yourself for more accuracy, just search on google bmr calculator). Your rough maintenance level seems to be round 2500. Which means that 2100, for cutting should be a pretty good starting point.

I'm 27 years old - very active - work at a desk job - eats well.

I go to the gym for an hour 5 times a week, sometimes more if i can get there in the morning. I play golf every fortnight at least. Rugby training twice a week in the winter followed by games on Saturday.

Still sound like im around that 2100 mark?

Starting my cutting diet today. Museli/protein shake/tea for breakfast - chicken salad for lunch - fruit for snacks - Chicken and broccoli for dinner.

[karm015]

i hate dieting... if it were me, i'd clean up the diet - cut out refined sugars, processed crap, and animal fats - and make a concious effort to drink more water. would rather think of that as a lifestyle change rather than a diet too. add some cardio in and you're good to go (cardio as in hiit, not a 20 minute walk on the treadmill).

thing i've found with cutting is either i crash and yo-yo or i spend so long on the shitty experience that i come out of it and binge when its over and get fat again. i used to justify cutting by thinking, "cut now, stay on a clean diet/'lean bulk' sorta thing after", but pulling that off is harder than it sounds.

as an athlete, i'd rather adopt a healthy lifestyle that enables my athletic activities than diet seasonally. i wouldn't usually chime in with this kind of opinion in a place like nzbb, but you mentioned you play winter rugby and i haven't seen any indication that you want to compete in a bodybuilding show.

your diet looks nice, could probably get away with less calorie restricting (not that 500 is much) and just adding in some hiit

/my 2c