Thread: Review my cutting diet

Beginning cutting on Saturday. It's nothing huge. Just a month to a month and a half, with the goal of leaning down 4-6 lbs or so, which given the time is perfectly do-able.

Maintenance is 3,100 - 3,200. I'm about 198 lbs @ 12% BF. Estimated LBM of 175 lbs.

Diet will be simple carb-cycling: "no carb" days (besides veges, and 1 cup milk), "low carb" (same as no carb, but one added carb source for pre-workout -- 300g potatoes: 280 cals; 63g carbs; 7g protein), and refeeds -- which will be every 5-7 days, depending on how I'm feeling.

Training will be 3x a week, with low-volume, high-intensity compounds, besides calves, because I get paranoid when cutting that my calves will shrink.

I'm only going to post the "no carb" day, as it's basically identical to the "carb" days. Refeeds will be simple. I'll eat around 500 over maintenance, drop the fat (though I won't do the lower than 50, as I need a certain amount in my day to feel comfortable), and emphasize carbs (I'll exceed 300g).

So, here's my "no carb" day, which is the bread'n'butter of the diet:

Meal # 1 (omelette)

-3 whole eggs
-1 cup egg whites
-3 oz extra-lean ground beef
-0.5 oz mushrooms
-1/4 tomato
-10-20g spinach OR 3-4 pieces asparagus

TOTAL: 529 calories; 27.9g fat; 2.72g carbs; 56.7g protein

Meal # 2

-7 oz salmon
-1 cup broccoli

-1 cup skim milk

TOTAL: 460 calories; 6g fat; 16.8g carbs; 51.5g protein

Meal # 3 (salad)

-1 tbls low-calorie dressing
-80g spinach
-1 oz red onion
-1 oz red pepper
-0.5 oz pumpkin seeds
-3/4 tomato
-1 can tuna

TOTAL: 264 calories; 7.2g fat; 13.5g carbs; 32g protein

Meal # 4

-2 tbls natural peanut butter
-1 scoop whey

TOTAL: 308 calories; 16g fat; 6.3g carbs; 33g protein

Meal # 5

-6 oz chicken
-50g avocado
-1 cup broccoli

TOTAL: 310 calories; 7.3g fat; 8g carbs; 42.5g protein

Meal # 6

-1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
-1 scoop whey
-2 tbls olive oil
-2 tbls flax oil

TOTAL: 680 calories; 54.2g fat; 39g protein


CALORIES: 2,547
FAT: 123.4g ----------------------------(47%)
Saturated: 24.1g ----------------(9%)
Poly: 35.8g -----------------------(14%)
Mono: 56.5g --------------------(21%)
CARBS: 57.1 g ----------------------------(9%)
Fibre: 15.4g
PROTEIN: 260.8g ---------------------(44%)


Re: the 6 meals. I know it's not necessary, and I know a lot of people would be more comfortable with fewer, bigger meals, and putting off breakfast and eating more towards the day. However, I designed this diet to get more in where I notice I tend to get hungry in the day, which is more so earlier in the day. Especially when cutting, at work on weekdays I tend to be hungrier in the morning and afternoon. Once I'm home and relaxed, my anxiousness about potential muscle loss goes away, because I can go check out my lats in the bathroom mirror. All good. This steady flow of food and protein is how I'm most comfortable.

Should also note than on weekends this will change a bit. On weekdays I wake up around 6:50 to 7:30, and have my first meal around 8:30 to 9 usually. On weekends I sleep in, so first meal is usually 10:30 - 12:00 latest ( ). Weekends will be way easier for this reason, so I'll either eat meals more frequently, or combine two meals into one awesome hybrid.

Also, on training days the PB and whey will be my post-workout meal. Well, I might take the whey and then the PB shortly after, so as to avoid the fat slowing protein thingy, but I don't really care about that. I'm sure after heavy ass deadlifting and 45 minutes of cardio (or however long I go) I'm going to want food.

I'll be drinking green tea throughout the day, but particularly near workouts, as green tea (and caffeine in general) stimulates FFA's. I might have some coffee in this diet, too, as it helps supress my appetite, and might help keep me sane. Also, coffee tends to give me good pumps. Don't ask why, I don't know. But, in a time when I'm otherwise paranoid I'm losing my size and strength, this is a nice way to calm me down and prevent stress.

Also, out of 260g, only 50g protein is from whey. That fits my 1/5 rule, where no more than 1/5 come from supplements. I would make it even less than that, but with all the food prep I'm already going to be doing, it's just nice for convenience. Besides, with the 100% bioavailability, it's useful. I know eggs are the same, but I already have a fair bit of them. I already dropped whole eggs from 4 to 3 (I usually eat 4 a day), because I needed more protein per calorie. This will be the first time I use egg whites. I would use more whites in place of whey, but holy shit are egg whites expensive. 2 cups cost me about $3.50. A dozen eggs is usually $1.99 or so. Un-fucking-real.

I think my cutting diet is going to cost more than my bulking diet.

Comment away, please.

P.S. I drink about 8-10L water a day. I piss like a race horse.

My cutting training routine: Review my cutting routine