Thread: My Cut Diet Please Critique....-->

The food choices look pretty good. THe only meal I would really focus on is the Last meal.

On a cut I would try to be having a slow digesting protein and fat. Ditch the carb sources.

so ditch the oatmeal and have a whey with the almond

not whey, its quickly digested and oxidized. go with a casein form of protein; cottage cheese, egg whites are the best.

either of these with about 15 almonds is perfect.

I dont really like cottage cheese and egg whites I am already having them in the am

can you get a casein blend protein?

If not whey will do.

Overall It's alright .. but some of your meals are unbalanced and you need to add some starchy carbs/ EFA's. You also didn't list when you were going to train, what your pre workout meal/shake was, or your post workout shake, those two things can be critical in one's diet.
Also in regards to your bedtime meal .. if you Don't like Cottage Cheese, you can't find a casein powder, then your next best bet would be some type of red meat. Becuase the fat and protein are mixed together and not two seperate things it'll help slow digestion down a little bit longer than say something like tuna or egg whites..

Originally Posted by Makram

Meal 1

5 egg whites
cup of fat free milk
1 scoop of whey
apple

369 1 37 54 cal/fat/carb/prot

You need some starchy carbs (oatmeal, sweet potato, brown rice etc) here, along with some healthy fats (nuts, nut butters, oils, flax, fish oil, etc.). I'd probably also reduce the apple in half (so your getting about 11-12G of carbs from it)
You also don't need that scoop of whey (too much protein for one meal), the egg whites + the milk will be fine enough
Also consider switching the milk, to Fat free, no sugar added plain yogurt, with active live bacterial cultures.

Originally Posted by Makram

Meal 2
8 0z chicken breats(2 pieces)
2 cups of broccoli or a salad
1 sweet potatoe
1 apple

458 5 55 52 cal/fat/carb/prot

Looks good .. I would increase fats here slightly though (maybe add some fish oil caps?), and I would decrease the protein, once again for someone your size and cutting body compostion you do not need 52G of protein in a meal. Aim for 35-40 at the most per meal.

Originally Posted by Makram

Meal 3
2 scoop of whey
1.5 cups of fat free milk
2 pills of fish oil (I believe each oill has 1g of fat)

365 4 19.5 67.5

Is this your PWO shake? Or is it just a meal replacement shake?
If it's your post workout shake:
Get rid of the fish oil, increase the milk to 2 cups and decrease the whey to 3/4 - 1 scoops worth.
If it's just a meal replacement shake:
Switch the Milk with some Fat free no sugar added Plain yogurt, add some more fat, and decrase that whey to 1 scoop. You may also want to add some carbs (oats can fit right in).
* And yes those fish oil pills are 1G of fat each. You should be having 6 a day.

Originally Posted by Makram

Meal 4
Tuna
1 tbsp fat free mayo
2 cups of broccoli or with a salad
1 apple
263 2 33 32

You need some fat here. (Maybe make a salad dressing with Vinnegar, Olive oil and that mayo??), you may also want to consider adding a bit more starchy carbs..

Originally Posted by Makram

Meal 5
8 oz chikcen breast (2)
2 cups of broccoli
1/2 cup of brown rice(50g)
2 fish oil pills
454 7 50 53

Looks good, but once again you don't need that much protein decrease it. You also don't need that brown rice here, get rid of it and move it to a meal where I suggested you add some starchy carbs. You may also want to consider raising the fat ever so slightly .. (up near 10G worth).

Originally Posted by Makram

Meal 6
1/2 cup of almonds
60 g of oatmeal
651 40 54 22

Okay this is a horrible pre bed meal! It's your most caloric meal throughout the day which is just silly, move those calories around to the points of the day where you'll need the energy, when your most active! You also really don't have any complete good sources of protein, you need to add that. And 40G of fat in one meal is OVERKILL! You also do not need the carbs here, once again place them at point throughout the day where you'll actually use/need the energy.
So a good meal here would be : (if you don't like Cottage cheese)
~ Red meat
~ +/- Some Vegetables (the fiber will help delay gastric emptying even more so which is a good thing for this meal)
~ +/- a FEW berries or any other high fructose type fruit. And when I say a few I mean very little .. like 10G of carbs worth.

But mainly aim for 30G of protein and about 15G of fat for this meal.

Originally Posted by Makram

cal 2560...prot 280....fat 59....carbs....248.5

Looks good, but I would decrease the protein to 250G MAX and add some more fat.
(Seriously eating that much protein, espically for someone your size and body compostion is just pointless, and all that excess protein is basically going to be like eating carbs to your body).

Hope that helped.

Question... How long would one stay on an eating cycle like this? Till you reach your cutting goal or till it doesn't become healthy anymore? I mean, eating like this for a prolonged period of time can't be good for you, can it? Then what if you wanted to do the exact opposite of this and bulk up. Any suggestive meal plans there? I have been trying to bulk up here and have plateaued at 172lbs. And it all seems like fat, not muscle. Is that normal? Anyones thoughts...

Originally Posted by tryn2getbig

Question... How long would one stay on an eating cycle like this? Till you reach your cutting goal or till it doesn't become healthy anymore? I mean, eating like this for a prolonged period of time can't be good for you, can it? Then what if you wanted to do the exact opposite of this and bulk up. Any suggestive meal plans there? I have been trying to bulk up here and have plateaued at 172lbs. And it all seems like fat, not muscle. Is that normal? Anyones thoughts...

If you are bulking up and it's all fat, you are doing something wrong with your diet and or training. Post both for the more informed members to take a look at. I plataued after about 10 weeks on a large calorie deficit. Now I need to up for awhile the go back down. I am assuming it is the opposite while on a bulk cycle.

well I workout 3x a week, with now 3-4 times cardio...

for the preworkout meal it all depend when I go to the gym cause each day i cant go ant the same time, it could be fatre meal 1 it varies....

for the post workout its meal 3 shake....

Hmmm .. I would get a set pre workout meal set in place. So say if you knew you were working out at 4pm on a certain day, you would rearrange your meals specifically for that day so you could have a good pre workout meal. Pre workout nutrition is just as important, if not more, than post workout... Alot of people never really understand this.

Okay so if Meal 3 shake is your PWO shake, ditch the fish oil and put them in other meals, up the milk to 2 cups (you need the carbs), and then decrease the whey to .75 - 1 scoop.
For cardio have a good preworkout meal (some choose to skip carbs in their pre cardio meals), then afterwards wait 30 - 60 minutes and have a solid meal. The level of carbs you have in this are going to be dependent on your goals. If your interested in increased speed/endurance, you'll want more. If your looking for more of a benefit in physique then a little less would be better. Just try and keep fats at none to little in this meal.

I workout 4 x a week with little to no cardio. I eat around 5 times a day, use to be 6, but work makes it hard to catch that last meal. It's really hard to plan what I'm going to eat the next day because I have no idea what's on the menu. I'm here in Iraq and we get what we get... Know what I mean? I am not really sure what it is that I should be eating though... I pretty much stuff my face full of meats (chicken, hamburger meat, turkey, little fish) and vegetables, and potatoe's. Plus I supplement my in-between meals with protien shakes. Is that the info that you were looking for? Here is a sample of breakfast through dinner:

Meal 1:
4 egg white + 2 whole eggs scrambled
Bowl of oatmeal
2 pieces of wheat toast
1 serving fruit

Meal 2:
Protien Shake - 50 grams

Meal 3:
Whatever meat is available
Salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, lettuce, italian dressing)
Corn
1 serving of potatoe's (whatever is available, if available)

Meal 4:
Protien Shake -- 50 grams protien

Meal 5:
2 different serving of meats (whatever is available, 2 different kinds)
Salad (tomatoe's, cucumber, lettuce, celery, Italian dressing)
Corn (if available)
Potatoe's (if available)

Meal 6:
Protien Shake -- 50 grams protien (if day permits)

Any suggestions on this? I see postings about fish oils for fat. Is that the good fat that I would need?

Makram, any way you could balance the calories in your meals a bit better? One meal at 263 calories, another at 651 (too many calories for your last meal).

tryn2getbig, only protein shakes as three meals? Where are your carbs and fats in those meals? Is one a PWO shake? Diet seems to lack fats in general with the exception of meal 1 (and perhaps the meals with meat depending on what the meat is).

so out of my mals what is the best pre workout meal, liek tomorrow I will be starting my diet and i will be gogin to workout after meal 1?

Makram -
Well the two main things that comprise a good preworkout meal are:
1/ Timing. So how soon after you eat will you be working out? If it's 30 - 40 minutes, then a shake with no fat would be best. If it's 1 - 1.25 hours afterwards then a whole meal with little to no fat would be best. And if its 1.5 + hours afterwards then a whole meal with some fat would be best (7-10G worth roughly) .
2/ Carbs. Generally the more carbs in a preworkout meal, the more energy your going to get, the more energy you have, the better workout you'll have!

So after you make the changes that I suggested above, figure out which meal has the most carbs and use that as your pre workout meal. And then just adjust the fat content depending on when you'll be working out in regards to when you ate.

Tryn2getbig -
Hmm to be quite honest I don't know what to tell ya. There's little you can do if all your allowed to eat is whats given to you, and you have no say in what it is..
But generally that diet is pretty bad .. I mean it's MAJORLY lacking EFA's (healthy fats), theres one serving of fruit, and absolutely no dairy! Carbs aren't that high either (especially if your trying to bulk), and it wouldn't hurt to have another serving of green fiborus veggies.
And then 3 of your meals are only protein shakes! You need real whole foods .. in fact I'd go so far as to say your probably not eating enough throughout the day, but I don't know what kind of serving sizes these are..
(ps no matter what you should be able to have that protein shake at the end of the day. Just bring it along with you everyday, nothing should really be stopping you from chuggin down a shake before you hit the hay..).
And yes Fish oil would be an excellent addition, HERE'S a great link explaining all the positive benefits.

Originally Posted by Makram

so out of my mals what is the best pre workout meal, liek tomorrow I will be starting my diet and i will be gogin to workout after meal 1?

What time do you plan to work out?

well each day is different

WOW, I had no idea what I was eating was so wrong!!! You see, I have been working out with this guy who has really helped me in the gym in making awesome gains... My diet is one thing that he was helping me on, but looks as though I could have used a little more help in that department huh!

can I eat my measl 2 hours apart on a cut, soemtimes I dont hve time ot fit all of them in one day

Originally Posted by Makram

can I eat my measl 2 hours apart on a cut, soemtimes I dont hve time ot fit all of them in one day

No, I would only eat for the time you are up. So let's say you slept 12 hours and only have 12 hours left in your day. Still eat only when you are hungry especially on a cut. Don't cram one in just to get it in.

Makram - I'm actually going to disagree with ABC .. yes you can eat all your meals 2 hours apart, even while cutting , hell you could eat your meals every 1.5 hours inbetween! The MAIN thing is that your meals are balanced, yoru calories are in check, and that your eating your meals at regular intervals.
I actually have to eat all my meals 2 hours apart on sundays as I like to sleep in and it hasn't hurt me in the slightest

Tryn2getbig - LOL well it's not completely bad .. it's better than the general publics thats for sure! You got the basics down, now just fine tune it . Get some more variety, add some more fruit, more Essential fatty acids, Some dairy and stop drinking so many protein shakes and you'll be good.

Tryn2getbig - LOL well it's not completely bad .. it's better than the general publics thats for sure! You got the basics down, now just fine tune it . Get some more variety, add some more fruit, more Essential fatty acids, Some dairy and stop drinking so many protein shakes and you'll be good.[/QUOTE]

What do you mean by 'Essential Fatty Acids'? So dairy is a good idea when trying to bulk or cut? Haven't ever really been a huge dairy fan, except for cheese... I love some cheese! I know that it's not really all that great for you. Well, at least processed foods. Can you offer up any suggestions as for what I should try and take in to bulk? Or, offer a link to any sites that have sample meal plans?

Essential Fatty Acids = Healthy fats. Things like Nuts, nut butters, certian oils, grounded flax etc.
Yup Dairy is good during a bulk, cut and especially for just overall health! The only time I would suggest someone not eat milk products is if they were really lactose intolerant. Also you can certianly eat cheese Just make sure its a Low Fat type version, and make sure its not loaded with alot of 'funny' ingredients.
Foods to bulk ... anything healthy Really!! You can check THIS link to get you started. Theres also a 'shopping list' document you can look at for a broad list of healthy foods. For sample meal plans go looking through peoples journals. I don't mean to toot my own horn but I got a pretty good diet going .. it's listed in my journal daily.

Tom-- How do I get to your daily journal? I went to your profile but perhaps I missed it. I would like to check out your meal plan that you go going.