Cutting diet

Hey all,

Any comments on my cutting meal plan?
Any recommendations or changes? I have read the stickies and my macros here are pretty close to the recommendations.
Aim is to get my body fat down to around 10 - 12% before doing my first cycle.

Meal Plan

Stats:
Male
40 yrs
Current weight - 96kg
Current BF - ± 18%
Goal BF% - 10 - 12%
Training - 5 day split

TIA

Macros look fine except that there are too many sugars that form part of carbs (raisins, apples of any color, naartjies). Replace them with something like oats or sweet potatoes for a much better form of carbs.

Thanks Pyro,
I can swop out the fruit no problem... I'll keep the raisins with my morning oats though
Shouldn't affect my goal for now, might have to drop them when I try get under 10% BF.

Hi COdie,

A few questions and suggestions.

Do you train after dinner and around what time?

Personally I think the split looks pretty good for your goals. My diet is pretty similar with a goal of BF of 8%. Currently around 11-12%.

You do however have a few optional extras, which you could drop to accelerate fatloss or at a later stage once you approach your short term goals.

From my personal experience I'd suggest -
1. Dropping the raisins
2. Add another whey shake to your morning snack
3. Skip the basmati, unless you absolutely feel your body needs those carbs
4. Replace the apple and naartjie with some almonds and cheese
5. Pass on the mayo. If you can't stand the tuna in water then try finding tuna in soy. much nicer...
6. Split the whey and cottage cheese into two meals. Either drink a whey shake after training and eat the cottage cheese directly before bed or add a casein shake before bed and have the cottage cheese after workout.

Keep up the good work and good luck.

Hey bamiam,
Thanks a mil for the advice. I know it could be tightened up a lot.

Yip, I train once my kids are in bed, which is usually around 8:00 - 9:30pm, so not much time between the post-workout shake and bed, so I just have the cottage cheese at the same time. So it's whey for quick absorption, and some casein for through the night.

Like I said... I'll drop the raisins if I have to at a later stage
I'll drop the fruit snacks and maybe add in some nuts, biltong and cheese.
Why do you say I should drop the basmati though? It's some good carbs with lunch and fits my macros. I generally do well with carbs, as long as I don't overeat.

I'll be honest, I would drop tuna completely... the tablespoon of mayo barely helps me force it down! I am just looking for some decent wholefood protein sources. I'll look out for tuna in soy. Is it available in general stores or more from health shops?

bamiam wrote: Hi COdie,

A few questions and suggestions.

Do you train after dinner and around what time?

Personally I think the split looks pretty good for your goals. My diet is pretty similar with a goal of BF of 8%. Currently around 11-12%.

You do however have a few optional extras, which you could drop to accelerate fatloss or at a later stage once you approach your short term goals.

From my personal experience I'd suggest -
1. Dropping the raisins
2. Add another whey shake to your morning snack
Dont add whey if you can add whole food. Whole food >>> Whey.
3. Skip the basmati, unless you absolutely feel your body needs those carbs
Basmati rice is a great source of carbs
4. Replace the apple and naartjie with some almonds and cheese
5. Pass on the mayo. If you can't stand the tuna in water then try finding tuna in soy. much nicer...
6. Split the whey and cottage cheese into two meals. Either drink a whey shake after training and eat the cottage cheese directly before bed or add a casein shake before bed and have the cottage cheese after workout.
Bro-science. There is no advantage to eating two meals spread out over one.

Keep up the good work and good luck.

bamiam wrote: ...try finding tuna in soy. much nicer...

You what mate? Do you mean tinned tuna in cotton-seed oil? Or soya sauce?

Pyroclasm wrote: ..
6. Split the whey and cottage cheese into two meals. Either drink a whey shake after training and eat the cottage cheese directly before bed or add a casein shake before bed and have the cottage cheese after workout.
Bro-science. There is no advantage to eating two meals spread out over one.

That is a too broad phrase to asses for validity, but given above circumstances it'll hold up and it probably won't make a noticeable difference. If Bamiam already has the whey and is set on using it, go ahead. 100g isn't a lot though, if you combine them into a shake, stick to it. Now, if the meal placings on that document is arranged chronologically and the whey and cheese is in fact your last meal, you need to take some calories out earlier in the day to donate to post-workout nutrition. IMHO you need more to recover from your workout mate.

Pyroclasm wrote:

bamiam wrote: Hi COdie,

A few questions and suggestions.

Do you train after dinner and around what time?

Personally I think the split looks pretty good for your goals. My diet is pretty similar with a goal of BF of 8%. Currently around 11-12%.

You do however have a few optional extras, which you could drop to accelerate fatloss or at a later stage once you approach your short term goals.

From my personal experience I'd suggest -
1. Dropping the raisins
2. Add another whey shake to your morning snack
Dont add whey if you can add whole food. Whole food >>> Whey.
Agree that whole food is preferable, but if not easily brought into your diet, an extra whey shake will do no harm.

3. Skip the basmati, unless you absolutely feel your body needs those carbs
Basmati rice is a great source of carbs
Jip, basmati is indeed a great source of carbs, but it's not necessary to add these additional carbs unless you feel your body needs it. You also stated that you do well with carbs, that's good then, I personally prefer to keep carbs to a minimum.

4. Replace the apple and naartjie with some almonds and cheese
5. Pass on the mayo. If you can't stand the tuna in water then try finding tuna in soy. much nicer...
6. Split the whey and cottage cheese into two meals. Either drink a whey shake after training and eat the cottage cheese directly before bed or add a casein shake before bed and have the cottage cheese after workout.
Bro-science. There is no advantage to eating two meals spread out over one.
Not true at all bro, many advantages to splitting meals... If you need to feel like you've had a big meal that science might hold up...

Keep up the good work and good luck.

You should do just fine with this diet bro.

It's tough to find the time to train with the daily grind, so good job on still managing to get the training in before bed.

Tuna sucks, I would also love to leave it out completely, but it's a great and quite convenient source of protein. As I said in reply to Pyro, the basmati is a great carb source, but if you feel the need to cut BF a bit faster there is no need for these additional carbs.

Tuna in soybean oil gents... #Gamechanger It's available @ woolworths food stores, but can be tough to find sometimes... I try and stock up every time I find it. Just a bit of salt with this and it's as good as tuna can get.

Thanks for the reply guys...

Meal Plan (Rev.1)

OK, above is a revised meal plan.

I know I should be having some post-workout carbs, so like Furk suggested I have dropped the Ryvita and added 50g oats to whey shake. I'll just eat the cottage cheese by the spoon full. I had to drop the raisins in my morning oats to allow for the oats post-workout Who would guess that oats is 8.4g of fat per 100g :ohmy:

I have also added pork fillet to dinner as an alternative to that horrible stuff called Tuna... It's pretty lean and healthy and tastes a whole lot better. It's actually lower in fat than the tuna if I included the tbsp of Mayo.

My fats are a little on the high side and carbs a little low according to my calculated macros - I can't see it being a huge issue since calories are still OK. Should I change it to be more balanced?

My lunch is actually a "chicken curry" that I cook from scratch. All it contains is 1kg chicken breast, 1 tin chopped tomatoes, various veggies, onion, green pepper (sometimes) and water - and then divided into 5 meals. I have this with the 1 cup of basmati. Sometimes I'll skip the curry and make it cajun spice rather. It's a clean meal, and the worst thing is probably the tin of tomatoes. One day I'll get around to just liquidizing some fresh tomatoes with herbs... but it's convenient and doubt it'll do too much harm.

I'm trying to stick to wholefood protein sources... but it does get expensive when trying to eat that much protein. :ohmy: What are some other options as far as protein goes? Suggestions?

bamiam, I'm not a fan of anything soy - but I'll at least give that tuna a try.

C0die wrote: Thanks for the reply guys...

Meal Plan (Rev.1)

OK, above is a revised meal plan. Looks much better bra.

I know I should be having some post-workout carbs, so like Furk suggested I have dropped the Ryvita and added 50g oats to whey shake. I'll just eat the cottage cheese by the spoon full. I had to drop the raisins in my morning oats to allow for the oats post-workout Who would guess that oats is 8.4g of fat per 100g :ohmy: Brand and type dependant if I'm not mistaken. Don't go on what it says on MFP or dieting apps, confirm by checking the product nutritional info itself to be sure.

I have also added pork fillet to dinner as an alternative to that horrible stuff called Tuna... It's pretty lean and healthy and tastes a whole lot better. It's actually lower in fat than the tuna if I included the tbsp of Mayo. Isn't it going to be a lot of effort cooking and measuring chicken and pork? Nothing wrong with pork tender-loin though.

My fats are a little on the high side and carbs a little low according to my calculated macros - I can't see it being a huge issue since calories are still OK. Should I change it to be more balanced? I would say 30-60g is ok.

My lunch is actually a "chicken curry" that I cook from scratch. All it contains is 1kg chicken breast, 1 tin chopped tomatoes, various veggies, onion, green pepper (sometimes) and water - and then divided into 5 meals. I have this with the 1 cup of basmati. Sometimes I'll skip the curry and make it cajun spice rather. It's a clean meal, and the worst thing is probably the tin of tomatoes. One day I'll get around to just liquidizing some fresh tomatoes with herbs... but it's convenient and doubt it'll do too much harm.

I'm trying to stick to wholefood protein sources... but it does get expensive when trying to eat that much protein. :ohmy: What are some other options as far as protein goes? Suggestions? For sure, I feel you mate. Whey protein is the best value for money Rand per gram pure protein. Otherwise eggs are also brilliant value for money, although you'll have to manipulate your fats so you can account for them.

bamiam, I'm not a fan of anything soy - but I'll at least give that tuna a try. Also not big on soy, if I'm not mistaken it has been linked to arthiritus. Plus, soy sauce is super high in Sodium.

Soy is also linked to higher than normal Estrogen.
Men's Health had s warning on Soy Sauce and Soy Milk.

Chow Broccoli anti Estrogenic

Rooi Bul 86 wrote: Soy is also linked to higher than normal Estrogen.
Men's Health had s warning on Soy Sauce and Soy Milk.

Chow Broccoli anti Estrogenic

Dude I have to 1-up you on this one for the estrogen from soy debate. It depends on what form it is, or how it is processed. As long as the trypsin inhibitors are gone, you are probably safe. This is usually evident in highly processed soy products like soy protein concentrate/ isolate. And by the way, trypsin inhibitors interfere with nutrient uptake, so that sucks

Plus there is evidence that super over-consumption leads to lower testosterone levels. Ouch.