Cutting Diet - Review and Advice Please

[A790]

On April 14th I'm beginning what should hopefully be my final cut of the year. If you followed my 400+ post 5 month challenge thread, I went from 255 lbs to 215lbs in 5 months, and from 28% body fat to 18% or so. Now I'm 213lbs at 15% body fat. Time to drop to 10-11%.

I plan to do it from April 14 until May 31. 6 weeks should be enough time I figure. During this time I want to minimize muscle loss. You guys have always come through for me with advice before, so here I am again seeking it from the fitnees gurus of beyond

I'm 6'2, 213lbs, 15% BF. Currently on a relatively basic power lifting routine that I will maintain during the cut. I will go 3 days a week for weights + light intensity cardio, and 1 day a week of interval training cardio. My proposed diet is:

Breakfast:

+ Oatmeal w/ berries (400 calories, 12g prot)

Snack:

+ Two eggs (160 calories, 14g prot)

Snack:

+ Chicken breast w/ veggies (320 calories, 30g prot)
OR
+ Protein shake (340 calories, 41g prot)

Lunch:

+ Chicken breast w/ MORE veggies (400 calories, 32g prot)

Snack:

+ Tuna w/ rice (390 calories, 36g prot)
OR
+ Protein shake (340 calories, 41g prot)

Dinner:

+ Steak w/ veggies (500 calories, 45g prot)
OR
+ Chicken w/ cheese, brown rice, veggies (550 calories, 50g prot)

In total I'm eating roughly 2,170 calories and 175 - 180g protein. I'm not accounting for drinks such as juice, coffee, etc. I expect around 2,500 calories at the end of the day. I will be drinking 10-12 glasses of water a day, as well as green tea in the mornings.

The veggie mix is a mis of green beans, carrots, peas, broccoli, and cauliflower. Occasionally there will be red, orange, and yellow peppers as well as asparagus.

I know myself and I can and WILL stick to my diet religiously if it means results. Any input, suggestions, etc. are welcome and appreciated.

[Jlude]

Good on ya... I had a much similar diet at one point... it was the hardest thing for me to do... I just don't have a lean body type..

Good Luck

[Darkane]

0oooo0o0o0o00oooooo,

Excellent. I was awaiting this thread

Well, I can offer some suggestions.. 15% starting, 10% won't be hard man. You seem to be more Mesomorphic than a true Endo which is awesome.

Alrighty let us see..

Breakfast

I found switching to the Poliquin recommended breaky was awesome in terms of energy and hunger satiety for the rest of the day.

-Decent serving of meat. 8oz+. Rotate the proteins if you can, but it's not a huge deal.

-Hand full of nuts. Usually equates to 1.5oz or so.

-You can sip green tea when you have this as well. Try 1 tsp lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp honey in it.

Those 3 together are actually awesome in the morning!

Everything else can pretty much stay the same for now. I'd try to avoid carbs in the dinner, unless it's post workout.

I can make a whole bunch of suggestions later as this progresses. Curious, any supps for this?

[holden]

good luck...

don't mean to hijack your thread (i guess this question also could apply to you)... but how much protein will i need during a cutting diet... i'm ectomorphic, so i'm def worried about losing muscle mass...

[Darkane]

Originally posted by holden
good luck...

don't mean to hijack your thread (i guess this question also could apply to you)... but how much protein will i need during a cutting diet... i'm ectomorphic, so i'm def worried about losing muscle mass...

Sorry A790 for answering this, I was gonna PM but this needs to be said so everyone can see it.

holden, If you're an ecto don't cut.

EAT CLEANLY - cut all the fucking shit out man.

That is all, eat enough to grow and your metabolism will take care of any extra fat you acquire during your growing phases.

The joy of being an Ecto? Constant bulk you lucky fucker.

[GQBalla]

^^ i should be doing this,

im a ecto but ive got some junk in the mid section...

[Wildcat]

Everything looks top notch. Stick it out for a month, if you end up hitting a wall with the weight loss you may have to pickup some ephedrine and caffeine to get to 10%. That last bit of weight loss can be tricky and your body usually stays stubborn without the use of diuretics. I'd recommend 8mg eph and 50mg caff at every meal and snack for a total of 48mg eph and 300mg caff daily.

[Darkane]

Originally posted by Wildcat
Everything looks top notch. Stick it out for a month, if you end up hitting a wall with the weight loss you may have to pickup some ephedrine and caffeine to get to 10%. That last bit of weight loss can be tricky and your body usually stays stubborn without the use of diuretics. I'd recommend 8mg eph and 50mg caff at every meal and snack for a total of 48mg eph and 300mg caff daily.

Hmm.. excuse my ignorance, but could you explain what a diuretic would do for fat oxidization?

As I understand it, a diuretic's intended purpose is to rid the body of water thus actually inhibiting fat oxidization. You want to be as volumized as possible during cutting and it's hard if you're low/no carbs.

I'm not trying to be an ass or anything, I'm actually quite curious

Sorry for cluttering your thread A790 I'll stop now lol. Wildcat you can PM me!

[Wildcat]

Diuretics simply speed up your metabolism, as does eating several small meals throughout the day. Water intake should be high enough and balanced WITH complex carbs and a high sodium intake to maintain high water retention while taking diuretics.

Its best you start thinking in terms of body functionality rather than body chemistry. I've noticed this trend in most of your posts, I'm sure t-nation will tell you different but regarding diet and supplementation as a series of chemical reactions will undoubtedly lead you in the wrong direction. Better to ask yourself why these reactions are taking place and why the body responds the way it does.

When getting to the 10%bf range, nature tells us (contrary to media) that it is unhealthy. Its not, but in terms of survival it is; our body still responds in an animalistic way. It naturally wants to be closer to 20-25% bf, where ample energy is stored and your body is still at an efficient body weight for enduring physical activity.

In order to get to these low body fat ranges you need to trick your body into thinking it is getting enough nourishment by eating every two hours but limit the portions so your actually running on a deficit. Diuretics will speed up how many cals you are burning and the caloric energy stored as fat will be expended more rapidly.

So in short, taking diuretics in conjunction small protein/carb portions every two hours will enable the body to reach low body fat percentages. Water intake will remain optimal for fat loss using diuretics as long as complex carb and sodium uptake is maintained.

edit: I should also point out the low doses throughout the day divided amongst each meal. Having one large dose first thing in the morning or at one single point during the day will lead to a spike in metabolism and it will rebound to a halt as a reaction. These low doses i recommended are also less consequential to water retention.

[Darkane]

Edited, no further clutter. Wildcat your PM box is full bro.

[A790]

lol it's not clutter guys, very informative

[Wildcat]

msg box cleared out. I was using 103%, how does that work? lol

[JAYMEZ]

^^ Stealing storage!!

The diet looks pretty good. I think I am going to post up my diet and routine this week. I have a goal for June 10th (Going to Playboy mansion) , so i want to be ripped.

I dunno if its a good idea to post my stuff though? Kinda like the dark side of things lol.

[Darkane]

^^ do it up bro.

[imjimmylin]

Originally posted by JAYMEZ
^^ Stealing storage!!

The diet looks pretty good. I think I am going to post up my diet and routine this week. I have a goal for June 10th (Going to Playboy mansion) , so i want to be ripped.

I dunno if its a good idea to post my stuff though? Kinda like the dark side of things lol.

I went there last year your going to have one hell of a time.