Cutting? Diet or exercise?

[epimetheus]

This is no doubt going to make me look like an idiot, but here goes.

What exactly is cutting. I tried to do an internet search on it, but came up with nothing to do with weightlifting. I have seen it used in conjunction with Bulking phases and such, but have also seen it used when talking about workout routines.

The logical followup question I should ask is if I should be doing it myself? I am new to weight lifting(a month), I am a pretty heavy guy 185 at 5'9, so have lots of fat and don't really need to bulk up, should I be cutting? (whatever it is..lol)
(I have been eating about 190g of protien, 250g carbs, and about 2200 cals, working out 3 times a week with as much cardio as I, as a recent ex-smoker can stand, and have lost 0!! lbs in a month of lifting)

 

[Arnold]

cutting means you're trying to get lean.

 

[w8lifter]

Welcome to IM epimetheus!

Yes, cutting refers to 'cutting' fat (not weight), whereby most people 'cut' calories...though not something I think you should be doing given your stats!

If you're looking to lose some fat, and gain a little muscle we can help. Ask your questions and we'll try to answer them. You can also search, there's lots of info in the archives already!

Why don't you post a sample daily diet for us to pick apart

 

[epimetheus]

ok, this weeks diet:

Breakfast: Yogurt and a bananna
Snack: 1oz of Cottage cheese
Lunch: Ramen noodles (1 packet), 1 can tuna, 2 slices Mozz cheese
Snack: 2 Jumbo eggs
Dinner: (lunch really) Sandwich, Turkey or corned beef
Snack: Apple
After workout meal: Can of tuna and mustard, and Protein shake (might suppliment 2 eggs for tuna.

As you can see I LOVE tuna..lol

 

[brianinabq]

Originally posted by epimetheus
ok, this weeks diet:

Breakfast: Yogurt and a bananna
Snack: 1oz of Cottage cheese
Lunch: Ramen noodles (1 packet), 1 can tuna, 2 slices Mozz cheese
Snack: 2 Jumbo eggs
Dinner: (lunch really) Sandwich, Turkey or corned beef
Snack: Apple
After workout meal: Can of tuna and mustard, and Protein shake (might suppliment 2 eggs for tuna.

As you can see I LOVE tuna..lol

MHO follows.....
Things I follow and I believe work:
Each meal shoud have almost equal grams of protein and carbs.
Protein per meal is 1gr per pound body weight divided by the number of meals.
Mostly complex carbs.
6-7 meals a day.

Critique of you meals based on rules above.
Brkfst: Carbs are too high GI (sugar like) and not enough protein.
Snack: try about a cup of CC and a quality carb (low GI)
Lnch:loose the Ramen and the cheese. add a quality carb (low GI) and veggies.
Snack: go for 5-6 eggwhites and a quality carb (low GI).
Dinner: good but corned beef may be fatty and salty. Sandwhich is whole wheat bread? Also veggies would be good here.
Snack: Add some protein with your apple. 1% cottage cheese?
Post work out: Need some carbs with this. Higher GI is recommended after a workout. Need more protein than 2 eggs. Go for the whole can of tuna or 6-7 egg whites.

GI = Glycemic index http://www.mendosa.com/gi.htm for more info on this.

 

[w8lifter]

Originally posted by epimetheus
ok, this weeks diet:

Breakfast: Yogurt and a bananna
Snack: 1oz of Cottage cheese
Lunch: Ramen noodles (1 packet), 1 can tuna, 2 slices Mozz cheese
Snack: 2 Jumbo eggs
Dinner: (lunch really) Sandwich, Turkey or corned beef
Snack: Apple
After workout meal: Can of tuna and mustard, and Protein shake (might suppliment 2 eggs for tuna.

As you can see I LOVE tuna..lol

This doesn't look like it feeds my 12 y/o son! It looks too low on calories, and not very balanced. It is really better if you eat smaller, balanced, and frequent meals....try for a meal every three hrs. IMO, you're protein should be at least 200 g for your size, (I'm 110lbs & take 200g) that would be 30-35 grams of protein in each of 6 meals. Carbs will produce and insulin response, which will stop fat burning...I suggest you read the fat loss tips sticky at the top of the forum...lots of information on carbs, insulin, and cutting!

Some more guidelines...never eat protein on it's own...in fact, it's a good idea to not snack, but have your planned 6 meals and eat everything...fat, protein & carbs together...this will produce the best results for your goals!

Going by what you've supplied, a better meal plan might be:

Meal 1: 35 g protein...from eggs, chicken, protein shake, etc. & 1/2 cup oats (dry measure)

Meal 2: 1 cup full fat cottage cheese w/ an apple

Meal 3: Lose those Ramen noodles (very bad!), whole can of tuna w/ a tbsp of full fat mayonnaise....2 slices of Mozzarella cheese (not the processed kind right?) isn't too bad, but you may want to drop it a little further down the road....adding some veggies in this meal would be a good idea!

Meal 4: 2 eggs really doesn't do much....adding at least 4 egg whites to the two whole eggs would be much better. 1/2-1 cup cooked brown rice, oats or sweet potato would be good here too.

Meal 5: turkey sandwich is okay, I guess...lol...breads not really the best thing to eat, but it's not bad to get you started, definitely whole grain (not just whole wheat!) though. Make sure you've got some fresh veggies in this meal!

Meal 6, post w/o?: protein shake is good...make sure you add some fat in this last meal to slow digestion throughout the night! 2 eggs really does not equal the same amt of protein as a can of tuna...again, try to keep it more balanced.

Just my opinion of course!

 

[Dr. Pain]

That would be my opinion too! w8, you score!


DP

 

[epimetheus]

I will have to review my diet. I was wondering about those ramen noodles, what with everybody doing the low carb thing.
The diet you gave looks good. A sweet potato instead of rice will be easier to eat than rice. That time of day I work, and only get 10 mins breaks, which makes preparing food at those times a bit more difficult.
Looks good, thank you for the info.

 

[epimetheus]

How is this for a better diet?

Meal 1: Protien shake, 1/2 cup of oats 2 tbs of full fat whip cream in shake.

Meal 2: Whole can of tuna with 1 tbs mayo, Carrot, Tbs of Peanut butter.

Meal 3: 4 eggs, sweet potato.

Meal 4: Turkey sandwich with 1 tbs mayo, lettuce and tomato, 2 slices of mozz cheese. (processed atm, but can switch if necessary)

Meal 5: 1 cup cottage cheese (full fat) Apple

Meal 6: Protien shake w/ 2 Tbs of whipped cream, 1 tbs of peanut butter.

This gives me nearly 2500 calories, 230g of protien, 200g of Carbs, and about 78g of fat.

The PB would be better in meal 5, but getting it in a way to eat it at work without the hassle of dragging a plastic spoon and the whole jar there is a problem.... Just had an idea...core the apple and stick a tablespoon in where the core would be...not a bad Idea..might even be tasty..hehe

 

[w8lifter]

Damn that sounds taste..the apple and p/b thing!

Ok, not whipped cream...sounds like you're talking about the dessert stuff! Heavy Whipping cream...comes in a carton like milk, 35% fat I think it is, Approx 50 cals, 5 g fat & .5 carbs per tbsp!

If you're going to eat cheese...make it real!

I don't see 200 g carbs there! Are you counting veggies?

 

[epimetheus]

Oops, thought it seemed kinda wierd to have desert topping in my protein shake..lol.

Added in all the veggies, yup

My biggest source is my two protien drinks with 54g of Carbs. Rice has 25, Oats 25, sweet potato 28 (varies I imagine), apple 21, 5 on the cottage cheese, 30 for the bread, the milk that goes with my protien drinks has 13, PB has 6, veggies have a few.

Would substituting say a glass of V8 juice for a couple carrots be advisable?

 

[brianinabq]

Originally posted by epimetheus
......

Would substituting say a glass of V8 juice for a couple carrots be advisable?

I don't think it a one to one ratio for the carrots. Also you would miss the slow burn benefits of the carrot's fiber.

 

[w8lifter]

Carrots are not really slow-burning, while they are alright raw, never cooked, in the beginning stages of a cut, a tweak would be cutting them out entirely after a few weeks.

Whipped cream SATAN SUGAR !!!!! Read up on sugar....you need to know what sugar is, in all it's forms!

For instance...your milk has too much sugar! It is keeping you from burning fat! Much better to mix your protein shake w/ water and 1 tbsp of flax seed oil or 3 tbsp heavy whipping cream (not whipped cream)....the absence of sugar will ensure fat-burning, the presence of fat will slow digestion, slow any insulin response, and satiate you longer than sugar w/o any carb cravings! Also cottage cheese has sugar...but it's alright for now, make sure it's full fat....bread = sugar, still okay for now...just FYI.

Your protein shake is a MRP...finish it and don't buy it again! More sugar....much better to stick w/ a pure protein/no carb (~3 g) shake and add your own slow burning carbs....such as veggies, oats, etc.....you need control over your carbs/diet...MRP's don't give you that!

No need to count veggies in your carb counts! More often than not, veggies take more energy to digest than they contribute!

 

[oe40luvr]

you need to cut calories, but keep the protein up

 

[epimetheus]

Thank you all. Seems I have to learn alot, will read up on sugar.

On the flax seed oil, where can I buy that at? Any grocery store in with normal cooking oils? or would I have to head to the health food section?

 

[epimetheus]

One other question, sorry to be flooding with questions

Will cutting my calories be a good thing? Lifting heavy say 3 times a week, with 2-3 cardio days drains me with the diet I am on right now (finishing out this week, starting this new diet next week) and by the end of the day I feel really hungry and end up eating another can of tuna with my protien shake. (yeah, I feel guilty about it, but it sure tastes great..lol)

 

[brianinabq]

Originally posted by epimetheus
Thank you all. Seems I have to learn alot, will read up on sugar.

On the flax seed oil, where can I buy that at? Any grocery store in with normal cooking oils? or would I have to head to the health food section?

Some of the larger stores will have it in the same area they sell vitamins and such.

 

[w8lifter]

Originally posted by epimetheus
One other question, sorry to be flooding with questions

Will cutting my calories be a good thing? Lifting heavy say 3 times a week, with 2-3 cardio days drains me with the diet I am on right now (finishing out this week, starting this new diet next week) and by the end of the day I feel really hungry and end up eating another can of tuna with my protien shake. (yeah, I feel guilty about it, but it sure tastes great..lol)

No...you do not need to cut calories.

You can get flax at some major grocery stores that have a nutrition/supplement section, otherwise...a health food/bulk food store or supplement store.