OK few things, first off been on SS since late December, made a lot of gains, ate decently and didn't really care about body fat too much. Gains are slowing down (even after bouncing back from mono) and I have ~10 lbs of fat I'd like to get rid of that has never really gone away, from my stomach and love handles. So I was thinking some time in the next few weeks go on a cutting type diet and see what I can do.

Here's what I was thinking:

Train mon/wed/fri as usual.

Training days:

Wake up

1/2 cup of raw oatmeal with 1/2 scoop of whey

Workout

Make a big shake consisting of milk, a banana, 2 scoops whey, drink half of it put rest in fridge.

Big salad with usual greens + 4 oz grilled chicken + a hardboiled egg, with oil & vinegar.

16 oz steak or other meat for dinner.

1/2 cup of mixed nuts for snack.

Rest of shake before bed.



Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday rest days:

1 cup cottage cheese for breakfast.

Big salad with usual greens + 4 oz grilled chicken + a hardboiled egg, with oil & vinegar.

8 ounces of ground beef or other meat

4 scrambled eggs

Glass of scoop of whey and water



Sunday or Saturday cheat day but nothing ridiculous, likely lots of liquor. Only suppliments I'm taking now is fish oil and a multi. Will most likely do like 1 set of HIIT at home post workout, and 1 morning set and 1 evening set on the off days or maybe just go for a run. Thoughts?

what site does that for you?

only critique is that i really have a hard time planning exact diets out in advance. i like to keep it varied while still getting the fruits, veggies, etc. in. if you dont need to vary it more power to you

I think having a set diet plan I can stick to every day would be advantageous for me and my lifestyle. I'm not a "foodie" as much as I hate that term and will basically eat whatever, I don't really care that much. The site is www.fitday.com

No other critiques? Guess its uh not terrible then. Heh.

Nice. What's your starting weight?

Also salads and "greens" have very different profiles depending on what they contain move away from water-laden iceberg lettuce/cucumber type stuff and towards spinach/peppers etc

Others may disagree, but I think your program contains too much fat if cutting is your main priority. It looks like more than 45% of your overall calories are coming from fat which is really high. I think that number ought to be closer to 25% or 30% tops. It’s okay to add in a few more carbs IMO, just get them mainly from yams and other low glycemic fruits and veggies. Even adding in a small serving of brown rice or quinoa would be better than the extra fat.

I don't know what your weight is but it looks like you're averging around 2300 or 2400 calories per day (I'm guessing on your cheat day consumption). Unless you're a pretty big guy you'd better serve your weight loss goals by consuming less overall calories. And that does not even address the other health benefits you'd be getting from a leaner diet with more fruits and veggies.

A half cup of nuts or 4 whole eggs are healthy meals and perfectly okay for a growth or maintenance program but might be too fatty and calorically dense for weight reduction. And seriously, when is a 16 oz steak part of a reasonable reduction plan?

For starters I would sub ¼ cup of walnuts or almonds for the ½ cup of dry roasted nuts (peanuts?), sub in 3 egg whites and 1 whole egg for the 4 eggs, and sub in 8 oz of a leaner meat for the 16 oz steak. And be really strict with your salad dressing, don’t put a ton of oil on there. You basically want most of your fat coming from fish oil and almonds or walnuts, with fat from lean meat and other good stuff like avocado, olive oil, and coconut also contributing.

I am also a huge believer in eating real foods so I would try to drink no more than two whey shakes per day. And definitely do not mix a whey shake and then let it sit for a long time before consuming it, that could be dangerous.

From the Designer Whey website:

Q. Why should I mix protein into a drink and consume it immediately?

Immediately does not mean instantly. However, drinking within 30 minutes of mixing is smart as pure protein in the liquid form is an extremely fertile environment for airborne bacteria growth. Leaving a protein drink (reconstituted from powder) in a refrigerator for two hours is probably okay, but not overnight.

subbing more carbs for fat is ******ed, just don't OD on fat since it's so dense and easy to eat a lot of and pack calories (i.e. i would always have issues losing weight until i figured out I would go through a 1/3 of a jar of almond butter in one sitting... one i stopped that every other day occurence, the weight started dropping) .... eat clean carbs, ditch the shakes and other quick digesting (i.e. liquid) foods they spike insulin and encourage your body into storage mode, the exact opposite of your goals...your muscles will not waste away if you don't have the shake before bed... base your meals around a heap of vegetables (non-starchy, keep them green) with 1 lb of meat a day, add fat accordingly...you will lose weight....

"subbing more carbs for fat is ******ed"

I respectfully disagree man. 50 years from now this country’s blind smear campaign against carbs is going to seem very silly, the low GI carbs I’m advocating are not to be avoided, they are essential. If you truly believe that the OP should be getting only 13% of his calories from carbs then you are misguided.

OP – I forgot to mention it earlier but you might also want to add green tea to your diet if you haven't already.

funny...i thought the country's blind smear campaign against fat seems very silly now with the increasing rates of childhood obesity, heart disease and diabetes...

I never said avoid the low GI veggies, I said subbing carbs for fat is foolish... no one is going to try to sub an ample supply of broccoli or spinach to make up for the fat serving of 1/4 cup of almonds or what have you...or if they did, they would only make that mistake once since it would take about 12 hours to eat that much broccoli

The body makes carbohydrates, they are technically unnecessary...if it weren't for the vitamins/antioxidants/minerals/enzymes/god knows what else in fruits and vegetables, they wouldn't have much use, they'd be like modern day bread/rice/flour products. The body does need protein and fat. They are essential muscle building, cell membranes, steroid synthesis, you name it... assuming you are getting the right source of fat and the right source of protein, you really can't go wrong.

I agree with this, carbs are going through the same thing fat did 20 years ago but they will also make a comeback. All the macros are essential, something like 33:33:33 will probably be average in a few years.

Jebus, we're not talking about black dresses and capri pants here.

Carbs, when referring to refined, high-GI, sugar and starch filled foods will forever have an effect on insulin activity, fat storage, metabolism and endocrine activity. It's not like five years from now our bodies are gonna go "retro" on us and nutritionists aren't gonna come out with the "eat cake and bread for 1/3rd of your calories" diet. Actually, that could be pretty nicely marketed. Maybe I'll get on that.

Diet of the future:
33% Protein
33% Fat of which 10% from saturates
33% Carbs of which 10% from sugars

I <3 my saturated fats

All macros are not essential. Find me proof that the human body absolutely requires exogenous carbohydrate for use. Key word: requires. Yes it's nice to have, but it is hardly essential. The liver can do a more than adequate job at providing glucose for your brain (the only organ that needs it). Grain helped prevent starvation back in the day and gave rise to population boom and spread and what not, but in this day and age, it really does nothing other than spike insulin, encourage the storage of fat and shift your blood lipid profiles into troubling territories, and promote disease...

Fair enough, there are certain lifestyles that do not "require" carbohydrates, I suppose a good percentage of people fall under this category. You want all your exercise to be aerobis and/or under 30 seconds in duration. You can live without carbs but it wouldn't be a very high standard of life, you would not be fit, strong or healthy but you would still be alive. Some people may not require carbs but healthy people do.

We might be splitting hairs but probably not...I'm all for carbohydrate consumption in the form of fruits and vegetables, and much more skeptical of carbohydrate consumption in the form of rice/grain/corn/potato ... There is a growing number of people who abstain from processed grain and are very fit, strong and healthy.

But it's not as if you can't achieve this health and fitness too while eating grains... there's obviously many ways to go about putting together a diet and meeting your goals.

I see oatmeal as one of the most superior sources of carbs out there and I'm surprised it gets some hate here on these boards. It's really minimally processed and if it for some reason concerns you that much get steal cut oats. What's better, oats or a banana? there is no better, it's all situational.


I feel as if the information being given on this forum is one sided a lot of the time.

I’m sure all of us have experimented with different diets. I myself have more energy and, as a result, more productive workouts when I fit in some oatmeal, yams, brown rice, etc into my diet. I’ve tried lower carb diets that source only from fruits and veggies. On those plans I experienced a slight dip in mood, less regular elimination, and noticeably inferior energy levels and workouts. This is not to say that my results on that diet were terrible or anything, just sub-optimal.

n4rf - oatmeal is a superior source....compared to what? From an energy perspective? Can't beat fat. From a nutrient perspective? Can't be fruits and vegetables. From a raw carb source? Can't be sweet potatoes? So I guess that's why I have an issue....yes steel cut oatmeal is better than wonderbread...but what's really the difference between getting hit by a bus or getting hit by a car?

But fat as a pure energy source may not work for most people; I know I need my carbs and I know that I've experimented with a lower carb meal before I workout and a higher carb meal before, and the higher carb meal gave me much more energy.

Plus I don't like having fats around my workouts; I guess if you're going to be eating a low(er) carb diet the carbs would mainly be around the time of training?

I dunno I feel as if there's many other factors in the argument of carbs vs no carbs and it's really up in the air. I still think it's very situational.

And I think your analogy is a little ridiculous...

IMO in order of importance:

1. Total Caloric intake, you can lose weight on a wide variety of diets

2. Makeup of macros: low GI over high GI, Polys>Monos>Saturated Fats

3. Ratio of macros: as long as none of them are below 20% or over 45% of your total intake you can't go far wrong.