Can I cut like this?

[r0dxx]

I'm 188lbs, and I'm almost at the end of my cut... I want to get down to 185, I started at 215lbs. I had my calories really low in the beginning, and lost alot of muscle mass. Right now I have the calories around 2500-2600. Is this too high? I don't really care how slow I cut now, I only have about 3 more lbs to go. The reason I upped it a little bit is because I started doing cardio about 20-30 minutes after I workout, and I was just too weak and tired at 2200-2300 calories.

I figured my maintenance calories were about 2800 or so, so I'm still consuming 200-300 calories less then my maintenance, which would be a calorie deficit?

I figure it would just be a slower cut...like 0.5-1lb/week.

 

[Rocky_B]

When you're cutting, you will naturally have some muscle loss. From what you describe, it sounds fine, just make sure its a clean cut (only drink water (a gallon a day), very low carbs, try to space your meals out and eat 5-6 times a day, etc..)


Keep it up

 

[XcelKrush]

The slower you lose weight, the more lean mass you will retain. If your only trying to lose those last few pounds, doing it slowly may be the way to go.

 

[r0dxx]

This is my current diet:

Meal 1: 5 egg beaters, 2/3 cup oatmeal
Meal 2: WW Bread, 6 oz grilled chicken
Meal 3: pre-1 cup milk, 1 scoop ON, 2/3 cup oatmeal
Meal 4: post-2 scoops ON, 1 scoop Phosphagen HP
Meal 5: 6 oz chicken, 3/4 cup brown rice
Meal 6: VPX Micellean MRP or FF yogurt/whey
Meal 7: 1 cup CC, 2 tbsp Natty PB

I throw in brocolli with some meals, also carrots. I'm drinking 1 gallon of water and taking BCAA, GNC Mega Gold, Ripped Fuel all in the morning. Anything I can change to make it better? I'm trying to revise Meal 6, but the MRP seems to fit good in my ratios. What can I have with the yogurt instead of whey?

 

[XcelKrush]

Your missing alot of fats in your meals. Take one of the TBSP of PB away and add some fish oils throughout the day, or better yet keep both depending on your size.

 

[Emma-Leigh]

This is my current diet:

Meal 1: 5 egg beaters, 2/3 cup oatmeal

This is a pretty small meal for someone your size... I would add a bit more protein (at 188 pounds, if you have a BF% of ~15% you want about 30-35g of protein/meal).

Also, add fats to this meal. What about 1 tbs flaxmeal?

Meal 2: WW Bread, 6 oz grilled chicken

Add vegetables to this meal. You also don't need 6 oz chicken - decrease it to 4-5oz. I would also replace the WW bread with legumes/brown rice or a better carb source.

Add 2 fish oils/some fats here too.

Meal 3: pre-1 cup milk, 1 scoop ON, 2/3 cup oatmeal

Good. Make sure the milk is skim.

Meal 4: post-2 scoops ON, 1 scoop Phosphagen HP

If you want to do the high GI thing then use the phosphagen... personally, I wouldn't.

Meal 5: 6 oz chicken, 3/4 cup brown rice

Make sure you have vegetables here too. And add some fat (2 fish oils or some olive oil).

You also don't need 6 oz chicken here (4-5 oz would be fine - as this is ~30-40g protein).

Meal 6: VPX Micellean MRP or FF yogurt/whey

Personally, I would dump the MRP and the whay and go for real food - eg: can of salmon + vegetables...

But, if you had to use a shake, instead of the yoghurt you could grind some oats and add it in. You would also want to add some healthy fats - eg: fish oil caps.

Meal 7: 1 cup CC, 2 tbsp Natty PB

Decrease the natty PB to 1 tbs. But otherwise good.

 

[r0dxx]

This is a pretty small meal for someone your size... I would add a bit more protein (at 188 pounds, if you have a BF% of ~15% you want about 30-35g of protein/meal).

Also, add fats to this meal. What about 1 tbs flaxmeal?


Add vegetables to this meal. You also don't need 6 oz chicken - decrease it to 4-5oz. I would also replace the WW bread with legumes/brown rice or a better carb source.

Add 2 fish oils/some fats here too.


Good. Make sure the milk is skim.


If you want to do the high GI thing then use the phosphagen... personally, I wouldn't.


Make sure you have vegetables here too. And add some fat (2 fish oils or some olive oil).

You also don't need 6 oz chicken here (4-5 oz would be fine - as this is ~30-40g protein).


Personally, I would dump the MRP and the whay and go for real food - eg: can of salmon + vegetables...

But, if you had to use a shake, instead of the yoghurt you could grind some oats and add it in. You would also want to add some healthy fats - eg: fish oil caps.


Decrease the natty PB to 1 tbs. But otherwise good.

Thanks for the post...Very informative Seems like I should pay for such an answer...

I've recently added 1/4 cup of almonds to my 2nd meal. Why do you want me to decrease the pb in the last meal? I replaced my meal 6 with tuna/brown rice.

 

[Emma-Leigh]

Thanks for the post...Very informative Seems like I should pay for such an answer...

LOL... Well... Now you mention it...

I've recently added 1/4 cup of almonds to my 2nd meal. Why do you want me to decrease the pb in the last meal?

2 main reasons:
1. You are better off speading more fats through the day rather than eating them all at night. Generally I feel that 5-15g of fats per meal (the exception being the immediate pre/post WO periods when you want carbs/protein with very little fats/fibre) is a good figure for most people (except those in odd situations - eg: special competition diets).

2. If you get too much omega-6 fats (VERY high in PB) and not enough omega-3 fats (fish oils... and also in walnuts and linseeds - although these also have omega-6 in them) you can promote a lot of nasty things in your body... Too much omega-6 has been linked to lots of health concerns like more severe autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and can increase the risk of some types of cancer.

So you want a good ratio of omega-3 : omega-6 fats in your diet. Something as close to 1:1 as you can get.... This means fish oils/fatty fish and other sources of omega-3 fats are much better than PB (aim for 6 fish oil caps a day then try to include salmon, sardines or other fatty fish in your diet and swap things like PB for walnuts or linseeds if you can).

You can also use mono-unsaturated fats as a very healthy fat source (olive oil, avocado) without the risks associated with too much omega-6.

 

[r0dxx]

If I add a whole egg with yolk in my breakfast will that help?

I also need to pick up some Fish Oil Caps, any ones you recommend?

 

[Emma-Leigh]

If I add a whole egg with yolk in my breakfast will that help?

Well, it will give you some more fats but in terms of your ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 it is not going to help.

1 large yolk usually has about 2g saturated fats, 2g monounsaturated fats and 1g polyunsaturated fats (of this about 90% is omega-6 fats).

So I would still recommend decreasing your PB and adding fish oil caps and some other fats (eg: olive oil and maybe walnuts or linseeds) instead.

I also need to pick up some Fish Oil Caps, any ones you recommend?

Sorry - I live in Aussie land... So I have no idea what you have available... Just make sure you look for fish oils and not cod liver oil....