Looking for help with my diet

[Sizz06]

To give a little bit of background... I've always been in pretty good shape. When I was in the military I scored in the 270-290 range every PT test but I always carried about 20 extra pounds and was never very lean even when I scored a 290. Anyways, I'm out of the military now and have a desire to drop the excess weight and get some solid muscle definition. After I reach that goal I want to add bulk. I've been cutting since mid-January and have lost 13 pounds. I haven't been super committed to it until the last couple weeks or so. I had been taking way too many liberties with cheat days and negating a lot of progress I had made during the week.

Here is an idea of what I'm taking in for calories Mon-Fri:

1,300 calories total

- Fat: 15%
- Carbs: 35%
- Protein: 50%

Staples of my diet: Chicken breast, black beans, eggs, protein bars, coffee, spinach, bananas, almond milk, almond butter, peanut butter, oatmeal, honey.

My workouts:

- Run 20 miles per week (hasn't been consistent lately because of a knee injury)
- Yoga for 2-2.5 hours per week (I've been replacing running with yoga lately)
- 100-150 pushups, 75 curls (each arm), and 30 pull-ups (daily but missing approx. two days per week)

I'm looking to add more weight training in but I've been moving around quite a bit and still need to find a gym near me.

Anyways, I'm looking to get some advice on the nutrition aspect. I'm doing a low calorie diet because I'm trying to cut weight but I want to know where my macros should be at because I'm very new paying attention to it. All advice is appreciated!

[beastlymandude]

To give a little bit of background... I've always been in pretty good shape. When I was in the military I scored in the 270-290 range every PT test but I always carried about 20 extra pounds and was never very lean even when I scored a 290.

Thank you very much for your service.

Here is an idea of what I'm taking in for calories Mon-Fri:

1,300 calories total

- Fat: 15%
- Carbs: 35%
- Protein: 50%

Calories are way too low. You can follow the steps in this thread (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=156380183) to correctly estimate your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and determine your caloric intake calibrated to your goals. Consuming more calories than your TDEE for an extended period of time will cause you to gain weight; conversely, consuming fewer calories than your TDEE for an extended period of time will cause you to lose weight.

For your macros, don't use percentages/ratios. Do this instead:
- 0.45 grams of fat/lb of bodyweight minimum
- 0.8 grams of protein/lb of bodyweight minimum
- the rest of your calories can come from whatever combination of macronutrients you'd like (i.e. additional fats/proteins and/or carbs)

Staples of my diet: Chicken breast, black beans, eggs, protein bars, coffee, spinach, bananas, almond milk, almond butter, peanut butter, oatmeal, honey.

I'd suggest incorporating more variety into your diet. It's fine to eat those^ foods, but you should definitely change up what you eat and consume a greater variety of foods. Doing so will allow for an intake of a wider array of nutrients and also for increased eating enjoyment. Remember to comprise the majority of your diet from whole/minimally processed foods, but don't be afraid to include "treats" or things you enjoy (use common sense and employ moderation) into your diet also.

You may also want to browse through the Nutrition 'stickies' to clear some things up as well.

My workouts:

- Run 20 miles per week (hasn't been consistent lately because of a knee injury)
- Yoga for 2-2.5 hours per week (I've been replacing running with yoga lately)
- 100-150 pushups, 75 curls (each arm), and 30 pull-ups (daily but missing approx. two days per week)

I'm looking to add more weight training in but I've been moving around quite a bit and still need to find a gym near me.

Bodyweight exercises can be effective for developing muscle and strength, but they will only get you so far. Hopefully you can find a gym that has a good selection of equipment (squat rack, bench, barbells, free weights, etc.), as this will allow you to superiorly increase your strength and muscle mass compared to bodyweight exercises.

Good luck on the weight loss. If you have any additional questions, feel free to ask. And again, thank you for your service.

[Sizz06]

Wow, thank you very much for your thorough answer. I'm very green when it comes to nutrition but I'm also very interested in learning a lot about it. It is a tad overwhelming at times though, haha. I'll check out those resources you suggested.

[razkaz248]

Sizz06, I know what you are going through now. Previous military member here who took the very active lifestyle for granted and ate/drank whatever with no consequences and then paid for it when I got out. I'm currently on a huge cut but as beastlymandude ( awesome username btw) has pointed out, that seems like too low of calories for any adult male lol.

I, like you, have no problems eating the same thing day after day (I'm sure your enjoyment of the same MREs have pepped you well for this aspect lol) but variation is good. Once the diet becomes more of a chore than it's time to switch things up. Also you should track calories 7 days a week, not just Mon-Fri and then binge on weekends.

I used iifym.com calculator to see what macros I need to be hitting, track your food intake...everything you eat needs to be documented (I use MFP)....and most importantly make sure you are tracking your progress weekly! I do my weigh ins at the same time everyday, less weight means calories in check

Also a newbie to this nutrition stuff to so I can only help so much but I'd be glad to answer any questions you may have from my experience.

[thejuiceed]

To give a little bit of background... I've always been in pretty good shape. When I was in the military I scored in the 270-290 range every PT test but I always carried about 20 extra pounds and was never very lean even when I scored a 290. Anyways, I'm out of the military now and have a desire to drop the excess weight and get some solid muscle definition. After I reach that goal I want to add bulk. I've been cutting since mid-January and have lost 13 pounds. I haven't been super committed to it until the last couple weeks or so. I had been taking way too many liberties with cheat days and negating a lot of progress I had made during the week.

Here is an idea of what I'm taking in for calories Mon-Fri:

1,300 calories total

- Fat: 15%
- Carbs: 35%
- Protein: 50%

Staples of my diet: Chicken breast, black beans, eggs, protein bars, coffee, spinach, bananas, almond milk, almond butter, peanut butter, oatmeal, honey.

My workouts:

- Run 20 miles per week (hasn't been consistent lately because of a knee injury)
- Yoga for 2-2.5 hours per week (I've been replacing running with yoga lately)
- 100-150 pushups, 75 curls (each arm), and 30 pull-ups (daily but missing approx. two days per week)

I'm looking to add more weight training in but I've been moving around quite a bit and still need to find a gym near me.

Anyways, I'm looking to get some advice on the nutrition aspect. I'm doing a low calorie diet because I'm trying to cut weight but I want to know where my macros should be at because I'm very new paying attention to it. All advice is appreciated!

I would need to see some basic stats for height and weight. But for anyone, even a female, 1300 calories per day is far too low. If you have been eating that amount of calories for an extended period, its very possible your metabolism has adapted. If thats the case, you need to first focus on bringing your metabolism back up to speed by slowly adding calories by the week, particularly from carbs.

Start by doing some basic calculations to figure out a rough maintenance intake, set your macronutrients accordingly, i.e. protein at 1g per lb, fat at .45g per lb, and carbs the remainder. From there, work to slowly add calories, maybe only 100-150 per week, until you reach maintenance.

[Sizz06]

I would need to see some basic stats for height and weight. But for anyone, even a female, 1300 calories per day is far too low. If you have been eating that amount of calories for an extended period, its very possible your metabolism has adapted. If thats the case, you need to first focus on bringing your metabolism back up to speed by slowly adding calories by the week, particularly from carbs.

Start by doing some basic calculations to figure out a rough maintenance intake, set your macronutrients accordingly, i.e. protein at 1g per lb, fat at .45g per lb, and carbs the remainder. From there, work to slowly add calories, maybe only 100-150 per week, until you reach maintenance.

I'm 5'9" (closer to 5'10") and 161.8 as of this morning. MFP and IIFYM recommend two very different intakes. MFP suggests 1,497 calories from 187g carbs, 50g fat, and 50g protein; IIFYM suggests 1,877 calories from 137g carbs, 65g fats, and 186g protein. Here is what I consumed today: myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/Sizz06

In the past I've had a neanderthal approach to losing weight and simply removed calories. That shows through in my current diet. Trying to become better educated.

Edit - I can't post links but you should be able to get to the page with the info I provided.
Edit2 - Thanks to RazKaz for suggesting tracking my meals.

[razkaz248]

I'm 5'9" (closer to 5'10") and 161.8 as of this morning. MFP and IIFYM recommend two very different intakes. MFP suggests 1,497 calories from 187g carbs, 50g fat, and 50g protein; IIFYM suggests 1,877 calories from 137g carbs, 65g fats, and 186g protein. Here is what I consumed today: myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/Sizz06

In the past I've had a neanderthal approach to losing weight and simply removed calories. That shows through in my current diet. Trying to become better educated.

Edit - I can't post links but you should be able to get to the page with the info I provided.
Edit2 - Thanks to RazKaz for suggesting tracking my meals.

I only use MFP to track calories and macros. I use iifym.com or the stickies on bb.com to calculate my daily caloric needs.

Again most of those are guidelines and the only way to know if it works for you is to weigh yourself day#1, track for 7 days, weigh yourself day#8, track for 7 days etc....If the weight keeps coming down and the lifts remain the same, you are headed in the right direction. You could also track bf% to make sure it's fat and not muscle being lost on the scales.