Please review my stratergy for cutting starting monday (reps)

[PeteCraig]

I posted this in another thread but i never get any replies.. This will be the Third time i've gone about cutting, and my goal is to slash bodyfat into single digits, and attain a waist of 31" or less (about 34 3/4 now) whilst adding strength and preserving lean mass.

Currently my caloric intake is 3400 or so calories, and i'm doing 0 cardio and 2xHigh intensity weight sessions weekly. I plan to consume ~2600 calories for 3 days in a row (20% under matinence) then one day at matinence (~3100 calories), both in the ratio 30/50/20 to start with [im wondering if i should change this to 3 low/3 matinence? I'm going to start with 4x30 minute cardio sessions per week (on non lifting days), with an intensity of about 75% max heart rate. My diet is listed below, Same foods will be eaten every day, but portin sizes will vary (on high/low days), and on weight training days a shake containing whey protein and simple sugar will be included with calories adjusted accordingly.

Meal 1 (Breakfast)

Whey 1 scoop
Egg Whites 2
Grapefruit half
Oatmeal 100g

Meal 2

Chicken 112g
Brown Rice 160g
Apple 100g

Meal 3

Tuna 185g
Brown Rice 150g

Flaxseed Oil
(Salad will be included here with all calories accounted for)


Meal 4

Beef top round 100g
Oatmeal 100g
Brocholli 150g


Meal 5

Salmon 130g
Brown Rice 160g
Green Beans 200g


Meal 6

Cottage Cheese 300g
Whole Grain Bread
Brocholli 150g
Flaxseed Oil

ANY help greatly appreciated, thank you.

[jth16]

I posted this in another thread but i never get any replies.. This will be the Third time i've gone about cutting, and my goal is to slash bodyfat into single digits, and attain a waist of 31" or less (about 34 3/4 now) whilst adding strength and preserving lean mass.

Currently my caloric intake is 3400 or so calories, and i'm doing 0 cardio and 2xHigh intensity weight sessions weekly. I plan to consume ~2600 calories for 3 days in a row (20% under matinence) then one day at matinence (~3100 calories), both in the ratio 30/50/20 to start with [im wondering if i should change this to 3 low/3 matinence? I'm going to start with 4x30 minute cardio sessions per week (on non lifting days), with an intensity of about 75% max heart rate. My diet is listed below, Same foods will be eaten every day, but portin sizes will vary (on high/low days), and on weight training days a shake containing whey protein and simple sugar will be included with calories adjusted accordingly.

Meal 1 (Breakfast)

Whey 1 scoop
Egg Whites 2
Grapefruit half
Oatmeal 100g

Meal 2

Chicken 112g
Brown Rice 160g
Apple 100g

Meal 3

Tuna 185g
Brown Rice 150g

Flaxseed Oil
(Salad will be included here with all calories accounted for)


Meal 4

Beef top round 100g
Oatmeal 100g
Brocholli 150g


Meal 5

Salmon 130g
Brown Rice 160g
Green Beans 200g


Meal 6

Cottage Cheese 300g
Whole Grain Bread
Brocholli 150g
Flaxseed Oil

ANY help greatly appreciated, thank you.

Are you only working out twice per week? That seems a little low. I would say bump it up to a minimum of 3X per week. If you plan on hitting single digit bodyfat, don't do maintenance 3X per week, that means you're only loosing weight four days of the week. I would do under maintenance except for once per week bump it to maintance or maybe slightly higher on the day you train you weakest/most lagging bodypart (also known as a refeed).
I would go ahead and cut out the post workout insulin spike. The cardio looks OK, but if I've learned anything, its that you should do as little cardio as needed.

Meal 1:
Looks good! When you hit a plateau in your weight loss I would drop the grapefruit. Protein looks kinda low. That can't be more than 25-30 grams right?

Meal 2:
Good, but same thing here. When you hit a plateau in weight loss drop the apple, its an unnecessary insulin spike.

Meal 3:
Looks ok, but generally you don't want a meal that contains high amounts of fat and carbs because the insulin released from the carbs will assist in shuttling the fat. Its probably ok for now since you're just starting to diet, but later on its something that you can change.

Meal 4:
Looks fine

Meal 5:
Good! If you come to a point later when you need to drop carbs some I would drop them from this meal 2nd and your 6th meal first.

Meal 6:
As long as the cottage cheese is fat free thats fine, but the bread should be changed for something that burns more slowly, especially since this is your pre-sleep meal, and same issue with the carbs+fat I said earlier.

I hope I was of some help,
-Jordan

[PeteCraig]

Are you only working out twice per week? That seems a little low. I would say bump it up to a minimum of 3X per week. If you plan on hitting single digit bodyfat, don't do maintenance 3X per week, that means you're only loosing weight four days of the week. I would do under maintenance except for once per week bump it to maintance or maybe slightly higher on the day you train you weakest/most lagging bodypart (also known as a refeed).
I would go ahead and cut out the post workout insulin spike. The cardio looks OK, but if I've learned anything, its that you should do as little cardio as needed.

Meal 1:
Looks good! When you hit a plateau in your weight loss I would drop the grapefruit. Protein looks kinda low. That can't be more than 25-30 grams right?

Meal 2:
Good, but same thing here. When you hit a plateau in weight loss drop the apple, its an unnecessary insulin spike.

Meal 3:
Looks ok, but generally you don't want a meal that contains high amounts of fat and carbs because the insulin released from the carbs will assist in shuttling the fat. Its probably ok for now since you're just starting to diet, but later on its something that you can change.

Meal 4:
Looks fine

Meal 5:
Good! If you come to a point later when you need to drop carbs some I would drop them from this meal 2nd and your 6th meal first.

Meal 6:
As long as the cottage cheese is fat free thats fine, but the bread should be changed for something that burns more slowly, especially since this is your pre-sleep meal, and same issue with the carbs+fat I said earlier.

I hope I was of some help,
-Jordan

Hey, thanks for the advice there, i think i'll be fine with the weights, i've cut with this training method before and i didnt have a problem, i used to train 3 days per week (HIT style) but recently ive added 1 more day because my progress has been stagnant and this has helped me progress again ( I should point out that my weight training is on an 11 day cycle, with push/pull/legs split) so it works out to 2xper week but its infact 3x per 11 days. And yeah, I've carefully planned my diet so i get the sugary carbs in in the morning, and fiberous at night, note everything is natural there aswell. I'll probably implement your idea when fat loss stalls. (Also note that the bread is whole grain and is low GI in it's own right (about 38), plus i've got the fiber there, it wouldnt be THAT bad would it? Also the cottage cheese does have SOME fat, but it's factored into macros (it says low fat on it though).

And yeah, im starting with 4x cardio, at only 75%, and hi-ish carbs so i can keep some tricks up my sleeve so to speak, so i can accelerate fat loss when i stall down the road.

Also i didnt get what you ment by the "lossing 3 days per week", i just thought it could be an idea since im pretty parayoed about loosing LBM so maybe if i did 3 days low followed by 3 days high i'd spare more muscle mass. How about 3 low/1 high would that work fine and allow me to keep all my mas?

Thanks heaps for advice

[Liquid_diet]

No need for 3 maintenance days. One is good like the other poster said. As long as you keep your protein high and get in all your meals you won't lose that much lean mass. Maybe supplement with a BCAA drink too while doing cardio or any other time to preserve mass.

[PeteCraig]

No need for 3 maintenance days. One is good like the other poster said. As long as you keep your protein high and get in all your meals you won't lose that much lean mass. Maybe supplement with a BCAA drink too while doing cardio or any other time to preserve mass.

Ok so i'll be fine with 3 low days and 1 matinence day cycled? my protein is about 210 grams on low days and 250 on high days, is this sufficent to keep all my lean mass?

Does anyone see any problem here with what i've outined and am i all set to start getting ripped?

[matsimitso]

2 many carbs

[Power-Quest]

Ok so i'll be fine with 3 low days and 1 matinence day cycled? my protein is about 210 grams on low days and 250 on high days, is this sufficent to keep all my lean mass?

Does anyone see any problem here with what i've outined and am i all set to start getting ripped?

I am far from being an expert but , 1 to 1.5 g of protein when cutting sounds like your getting 2 or more , depending on your pocket book some BCAA would be good after the bulk of your fat is gone to help preserve muscle.

Sounds like you are well on your way to your goal , it's all about learning your body and doing it is the only way to truly learn about yourself physical and mental.

What about pics?

What about Supps?

Plans to compete in the future?

Never give up.