BlueCorsair

First let me say that I'm not cutting, nor am I planning to at the moment. Being 5'7, and only just hitting 140 pounds (with effort) cutting isn't in the picture at the moment. I'm fairly lean, but I want to be fairly big before I do any more toning

I've read some of the sticky's, and forgive me if I'm blind, but the food one consumes on a cut seems almost identical to what one would on a bulk... the high quality protein remains (obviously), but so do the ammount of fats, and good healthy carbs. Is there merely LESS of them, and that's the whole point? Does one generally keep the same ratio for macros when cutting, but simply reduce the total caloric intake?

When a friend of mine (he's never seen this website) did what could be called a "cut", he ate about four to five meals per day, two or three of which were fairly low in carbohydrates, but had a good ammount of protein, and moderate fats. He lost a noticeable ammount of fat, but couldn't quite get rid of all of it so that his abs would show quite properly

At any rate, reading some of the cutting suggestions looks very similar to a relatively inexperienced person like me, and i was hoping to start formulating some ideas now, for down the road when I may have to do it myself. Given that anyone who lifts weight wants maximum fat loss, what sort of macro breakdown is ideal?

My personal guess would be moderate fat intake (to keep the body from being convinced it's starving - say 10 grams per meal or so) high protein intake, and low to moderate carbs (say two meals or so a day with almost no carbs at all for example).

Anyway, I've been rambling. I look forward to anyone's thought's who was bored enough to read this

(P.S. I'm still eating like a damn horse, and no weight gain. Bloody genetics...)

"Associate yourself with men of good character, if you esteem your own reputation. For 'tis better to be alone, than in bad company."

- George Washington

Cardinal

To answer the macro question. Looking at the percentage protein in the diet is not the most important thing. Rather, look at protein consumption based on bodyweight and/or lean body mass. This is key.

1-1.5 gram/lb bodyweight is a standard recommendation, though this can vary quite a bit based on diet requirements.

Some choose to use more protein cutting for many reasons. Increased thermogenic effects, greater satiety, muscle preservation, you get the idea. Combine that with reduced calories and your percentage protein will be higher obviously.

And yes you can use nearly identical foods cutting and bulking. You've got the takehome message correct that being hypocaloric is one of the biggest factors in losing bodyfat. Fundamentally, think of it in terms of nutrient partitioning. Generally foods are selected because for some/many reasons, they promote positive nutrient partitioning. A lot of it is also psychological. You need something you can stick to. Partitioning is why it is good even for someone ectomorphic to try and select 'cleaner' foods if you will. When you do start gaining, partitioning effects will be nice.

Choose your foods based on what gives you the results you want. Just don't shoot yourself in the foot. You probably won't have too much trouble cutting from what I can tell. Like you said, moderate fat, low/moderate carbs, high protein should work just fine when you need to cut.