? about gauging progress

[sgt.flex]

so ive been on my first cutting diet (or diet period for that fact) almost two weeks now. my muscles feel harder and more dense, and veins are showing up. However my pants dont fit and different, it kind of seems like my stomach is a little bigger, slightly bloated, but i can feel my first two abs without flexing and the problematic lower ab fat doesnt seem like as much, it feels a lottle bit more "squishy" or loose, and the "v" at my lower abs feels more pronounced. i havent weighed myself yet as i dont want to get into stressing over numbers.

is this typical of starting a diet for the first time? a sample of my diet is as follows

1.cup of oats with 2-3 scrambled eggs and 2 scoops of ON whey all mixed in.
2.bonelss skinless chicken breast with broccli. 2 fish oil caps
3.skinless chicken tenderloins with mixed salad. 2 fish oil caps
4.canned tuna or salmon with brussell sprouts. 2 fish oil caps
post w/o-animal nitro g mixed with cell mass
45 mins later, 2 scoops of ON whey in water
5. 45 mins later chicken breast wor steak with 1 cup of brown rice and green veggies
6. before bed, ON casein protein with two fish oil caps.

i drink a little over a gallon of water a day and use NO-Explode before working out. also im addicted to Franks red hot sauce, i pretty much use it with every meal except breakfast, i noticed the sodium is a little up there, would this be a problem.

[jtb83]

Add it all up and post it.

[nithos]

Diet looks solid if you are getting 4oz or more of lean protein per meal.

Give it a couple more weeks. Track your progress with calipers, pics, and the scale. If you are not making the progress you think you should be making (0.5-1.5 pounds of fat per week) then post again...

[Rachel_n_SD]

if your feeling soft then you may need more calories.
like everyone else said, guage your progress with calipers and the mirror, but i noticed that sometimes when my calories are too low, or i am doing too much cardio, my body feels soft.