Phineas:
thanks alot for the info I've entered my diet into fitday:
Calories: 1491
Fat: 43g 25% of cals
Sat Fat: 11g 6% of cals
Polyunsaturated fat: 14g 8%
Monounsaturdated Fat: 14g 8%
Carbohydrate: 172g 45%
Dietry Fiber: 11g
Protein: 109g 30%
My diet consists of the same food every day, the only thing I change is my cereal, soup flavour or flavour paste with dinner.
300ml 1% fat milk
60g cereal (non sweetend)
Soup 1 can
2 slices of brown bread (no butter)
2 Chicken breasts (cooked in 1 cal spray, no oil)
brown rice 300g or so
3 items of veg (usualy beansprots, corn + cabbage) but can range
2 protein shakes a day (1 after gym + 1 in the evening)
with respect to refeeding I do take in extra carbs on a Friday.
Any further advice would be awesome
. Thanks
Great. Thanks for entering that. Okay, let's go over it:
(1.) Immediately I my attention was drawn to your protein intake, which is way too low. Even the most casual gym go-er knows protein is important, and it is, but when cutting it's crucial. On a bulk you have a little more leeway with how much you take because you have other calories which can take up some of the slack, but on a cut you don't have the same amount of resources available to comfortably maintain the muscle mass that your now-calorie deprived body wants to burn for energy (remember, metabolically expensive muscle is counter-productive to the body's survival because it demands more resources...the body doesn't want this). Protein is useful because it will help you provide the necessary resources to keep that muscle mass despite calorie deficit.
The formula generally suggested is 1-1.5g protein per pound lean body mass (LBM). On a cut, I would ALWAYS go with the high end of that. You said your weight is 175 lbs @ approximately 18% BF, so we calculate: 0.18 x 175 = 31.5 lbs fat; 175 - 31.5 = 143.5 lbs LBM; 143.5 lbs LBM x 1.5g =
215.5g protein.
Also, note that in one gram of protein there are 4 calories, so now you have to calculate how many calories your protein comrprises: 215.5 x 4 =
862 calories.
(2.) I originally said your calories are too low. At 143.5 lbs LBM I think 2450 might not be too far off your maintenance. I'm guessing it might be a little higher, like 2600. My suggestion is to cut down your deficit to no more than 500 calories under maintenance. Try 2100 calories, and see how that works. However, with your changed protein intake, this means you now need to adjust your other nutrients.
(3.) Fat: you need a hell of a lot more of it. Not only will this keep you feeling fuller, as I mentioned before, it will help keep your hormones in check during an otherwise chaotic state on your body's metabolic system. When you subtract your protein calores from your new total of 2100 you get: 2100 - 862 = 1238, meaning now that you've covered your protein -- which, by the way, should remain constant each day -- you have those remaining calories to divide between fat and carbs (note that 1g carbs has 4 calories and 1g fat has 9 calories). This is where you need to decide what dieting approach you'll take. I suggested carb cycling because this is what I feel to be the most accessible diet approach for beginner cutters. I used carb cycling my first time and not only saw good results but enjoyed the shift away from carbs. It was interesting. Here's how it would work:
There are three days: (1.) No Carb Days -- I liked to call these no grain days, as you'll still take in carbs from veges and a little from milk or dairy if you choose to keep those sources. For instance, on my "no carb" days I took in about 40g carbs from veges and 22g lactose from milk, for a total of approx 62g. This isn't low enough for ketosis, but that's okay because that's not your goal. 62g is still plenty low.
(2.) Low-carb days -- these would be on your training days. You would eat the same as on the no carb day but you would add one complex-carb grain source prior to training for energy. Nothing too significant. A source that provides about 60g carbs would suffice. A large bagel, an 85g serving of most pastas equal this, a large baked potato. That many carbs usually adds about 300 calories to your day's calories, but keep in mind you'll also burn calories from training and cardio if you do it.
(3.) Refeeds -- these are basically a day for you to break your diet in a structured manner. You would aim for something like 500 calories or a bit more over maintenance, but emphasize carb intake. The idea is to prevent your body from perceiving starvation and slowing your metabolism to preserve fat. When your body is in calorie deficit for too long your leptin levels decrease (a hormone which signals to the body that you're fed well enough to survive). A refeed is used to outwit your body and spike leptin back to normal levels. Your fat burning will stop for a day or two, but then progress will speed right back up.
Leptin responds best to carbs, so your eating on a refeed would go like this:
(a) add 500 calories to your 2,100.
(b) Eat your usual protein
215.5g (862 calories).
(c)Suggested fat intake is no more than
50g (so that you can take
in as
many carbs as possible. In my opinion, you should take in the amount fat
you feel you need. I decreased mine to about 80g, so I still took in plenty
of carbs.
(d) So, with 50g fat that's 450 calories from fat. Protein and fat total
calories is now 1312. 2600 total calories - 1312 calories from protein and
fat = 1288 calories from carbs / 4 calories per gram =
322g carbs.
You'll want to refeed anywhere from 2-7 days, depending on how large your deficit is. The greater the deficit the more often you'll need to refeed. In your case, with your new 500 calorie deficit I'd suggest every 5-7 days. You also need to get a feel for how your body responds.
Also, since you've been running such a major deficit, I'd suggest taking a week or two off your diet and eat at maintenance calories or just above, and emphasize carbs, just to make sure your hormones are in check prior to beginning a structured cut.
One last thing, my rule of thumb is no more than 1/5 daily protein from supplements. They're useful, but whole foods are ideal.
