Zin

OK, I am on a cutting diet for at least 3 months

Age: 21
Weight: 215
Hight: 6'2
BF% 16-20 not sure exactly, rough guess

Using the cutting numbers of about 10-13 calories per lb of body weight I have gotten these numbers:

Total Calories per day: 2000-2200
Proteins: 900-1000 / 225-250g (lean meat and eggs)
Carbs: 800-900 / 200-220g (mostly complex)
Fats: 300-350 / 30-40g (mostly efa's and dairy)

That amounts to about 45% protein daily, 40% carbs, and 15% fats

My concern is this: I understand the 10-13 cals/lb cutting number but are these ratios, 45%,40%,15% ok for the caloric split? I am going for a low carb solution here - mainy I am concerned that because I am not lifting nearly as much during the summer that I am ingesting too much protein and it is hard on the kidneys. I drink plenty of water but if this is indeed to much protein, how can I still optimize the split for maximum fat loss in 3 months?

Zin

I just finished all the actual numbers:

Meal 1: 9:00AM 74.2g 74.2g 12.9g 6701 Egg White 26.5g 1.8g 0 65
2 Cups Cheerios 4.8g 48.6g 1.2g 216
2 Cups Skim Milk 16.8g 23.8g 0 172
4-5 oz. 90% Lean Ground Beef Hamburger 26.1g 0 11.7g 217

Meal 2: 12:00PM 43.1g 18.3g 1.4g 263
1 Cup Raw Spinach Leaves 1g 1g 0 7
1 Apple 0 17.3g 0 65
1 Can Tuna 42.1g 0 1.4g 191

Meal 3: 3:00PM 69.5g 58g 7.2g 599
1 Cup Whole Grain Rice 4.2g 44.5g 0 205
8-10 oz. Chicken Breast 62g 0 7.2g 330
1 Cup Mixed Vegatables 3.3g 13.5g 0 64

Meal 4: 6:00PM 29.2g 23.5g 11.7g 327
1 Cup Raw Spinach Leaves 1g 1g 0 7
4-5 oz. 90% Lean Ground Beef Hamburger 26.1g 0 11.7g 217
1/2 Cup Whole Grain Rice 2.1g 22.5g 0 103

Meal 5: 9:00PM 2.1g 22.5g 0 103
1/2 Cup Whole Grain Rice 2.1g 22.5g 0 103

Totals
218.1 196.5 33.2 1962

Optimum Totals for a 45/40/15% split
225 200 33 1997

It goes from left to right: Protein, Carbohydrates, Fats, and Total Calories

Emma-Leigh

Beef and cheerio's... Hmmm... Interesting combination for breakfast....

Ok - there is WAY too much protein in this meal for the amounts of food you have written (what type of eggs are you eating if 1 egg white has 26g protein??!!)
You could probably get away without any eggs.
Dump the cheerios and have 1 cup rolled oats instead.
Decrease milk to 1 cup.
Add some fruit (0.5 cups berries).

Very small meal... I would add some fats. eg: 3 fish oil caps.

Too much Chicken. You only need ~30g protein per meal for your size. So cut the amount in half. Otherwise it is good but add 0.5 tbs olive oil or 0.5 oz walnuts.

Good.

Add protein, vegetables and fats.
eg: the other half of the chicken from the earlier meal + 1 cup vegetables + 3 fish oils.

This is too low to start for you. Start at the higher range - something around 2400 at first. Then decrease as needed. To do this - I would firstly add more fats (you want ~45-50g/day for someone your size). Then you also want to add a PWO shake eg: oats + whey + skim milk/banana.

But the basics are pretty good.

Streetman

Listen to Emma-Leigh! I was nodding my head the whole time reading her post. I've "cut" from 300 to 212 pounds (while adding over 20 pounds of muscle), so I know what works in the real world, and she hit it.

And yeah, 2000 calories will make you feel like crap, and your workouts will suffer. I tried going low cal, low carb once. The result was a total stall in my results. Remember, while creating a calorie deficeit is the only way to cut, cutting calories kills your metabolic rate. Like, say, not lifting as much will cut your metabolic rate.

Why aren't you lifting as much in the summer?

Zin

Ok, I will ajust the portions and add some stuff. I am home for the summer and do not have access to any weights whatsoever, though I am looking to buy a bench press and some barbell weights so I can do olympic lifts, etc. Also I do 3 sets of pullups with added weight once every 5 days. The post w/o shake you mentioned sounds like one for lifting but I am actually doing HIIT sprints on a daily basis, would something like that shake work for cardio or should I have something different? Thanks for the sound advice

Streetman

Zin-

You just want to feed your body all day without ever getting full or starving. Tell your body it's going to always be fed, and it will never have a reason to store fat. Research cortisol and insulin and you'll understand what you're doing. Keep the blood sugars as stable as possible.

Now, the PWO is a topic of debate. One school says it's the greatest thing ever, and you need it with carbs immediatly after workout. Then, there's another group saying you need to wait an hour after workout to allow the full fat burning effect to take place. Yet another group will argue that spiking your insulin with carbs will result in killing your anabolic state and limiting your results, so you need to only consume fat and protein, no carbs.

So what to do? Listen to your body. I can tell when I need mine, and when I need real food. I usually have one immediatly after lifting days, and sometimes after cardio days. I'll let you know though, my workouts are ultra intense. I know I'm totally "empty" when I leave the gym. BTW, I normally get to that point in 45 minutes or less.

Can't make it to the gym? 3-4 days of pull ups, sit ups, push ups, etc. would suffice. Do something to build muscle, as it's the number one fat burner. Pull ups are great for back and bi's. Now hit the rest of the pacakage. Hold onto that weight and do some one legged squats with PERFECT form and tell me your quads don't burn the next day.