grocery list for cutting diet

[Jen_Ess]

I need help. I am gonna have two protein shakes a day, and regular small meals the rest of the time. Heres what i plan on buying, let me know what you guys think about these items for my protein sources. Please also tell me if any are too high in carbs (anyway, what is the daily allowance in grams for carbs on a cutting diet, approx.?)

1. tofu
2. low fat cottage cheese
3. lean chicken breast, grilled, plain
4. lean turkey breast lunch meat (is this too high in sodium?)
5. eggs (well, I'll actually only be eating the egg whites)
6. veggie burgers
7. tuna
8. fish (please suggest a kind that is nutritionally high- salmon, cod, talapia, etc.)

i'm pretty picky so thats about everything I'd eat. If anyone wants, please put together a mini diet plan using these foods (shakes included) in the proper way that I should be utilizing them. I do light running on the treadmill in the mornings, and my main cardio/lifting in the evenings. When is it best to consume the two shakes, and when is it best to consume the actual food? Thanks a lot. Jen

[footballjunior]

oatmeal and strawberries help switch it up

[derekmac]

Looks good, though you might want to try getting some fruit in there such as the already mentioned strawberries, apples, etc. Fruits are generally high in fiber and have numerous antioxidant benefits.

[Jen_Ess]

yeah i can def. add strawberries and blueberries, but how many is too many?

Now, this whole oatmeal thing... I don't know... I've been seeing stuff everywhere about eating oatmeal. So I love oatmeal, but i just went upstairs to look at the nutritional contents and saw that its very high in carbs and sugars, even just the plain oatmeal. And its not loaded with protein. The only good thing i saw was the fiber content. But i guess if everyone eats it on cutting diets it must be good. I cant find reason to include it in my diet. Whats the deal?

anyone know about bing cherries and if they are good? I love those...

[pounder]

It looks like you're eating a lot of lean foods that are high in carbs. They're all healthy foods, and it's a healthy way to live, but it's not necessarily the greatest way to cut.

You're doing a great job on getting your protein. That will help preserve your muscle while you're cutting. But you should be getting a significant amount of your calories from fat.

You still need carbs, for sure, but try and limit carbs to 20% of your calories.

Also try and plan your meals so that a meal mixes protein and carbs or protein and fat. Avoid taking in carbs and fat in the same meal as this is more likely to result in fat storage.

[drew]

buy frozen bags of veggies and salad in a bag.....I eat alot of greens with the meals to help fill me up and the calories are negligible. I use some low cal dressing on the salad.

[footballjunior]

well oatmeal is complew carb but u could also pick up some strawberry whey protein-whey protein, strawberries, water=instant relatively low cal./low carb meal

[hausgrl]

Originally posted by Jen_Ess
yeah i can def. add strawberries and blueberries, but how many is too many?

Now, this whole oatmeal thing... I don't know... I've been seeing stuff everywhere about eating oatmeal. So I love oatmeal, but i just went upstairs to look at the nutritional contents and saw that its very high in carbs and sugars, even just the plain oatmeal. And its not loaded with protein. The only good thing i saw was the fiber content. But i guess if everyone eats it on cutting diets it must be good. I cant find reason to include it in my diet. Whats the deal?

anyone know about bing cherries and if they are good? I love those...

it depends on the oatmeal you're lookin' at. don't go with the processed flavored kind (instant). get the slow cooking natural kind and it will be ok to use. i don't include oatmeal in my diet - i prefer to get my carbs from my post workout shakes and vegetables. everyone is different though. i also limit my carb intake to 5% of my total calories. my diet is very clean though, so its up to you what you want your ratios to reflect.

for strawberries - limit them to around 3 - 4 whole ones a day. cherries are ok too - just not the ones that come in the jar with the sweetened sauce. same would apply ... 3 - 4 should be ok.

you need some veggies in there, and some cheese and natural peanut butter if you like. try some flaxseed oil or extra virgin olive oil to get some good EFA's in your diet.

[Jen_Ess]

Originally posted by hausgrl
it depends on the oatmeal you're lookin' at. don't go with the processed flavored kind (instant). get the slow cooking natural kind and it will be ok to use. i don't include oatmeal in my diet - i prefer to get my carbs from my post workout shakes and vegetables. everyone is different though. i also limit my carb intake to 5% of my total calories. my diet is very clean though, so its up to you what you want your ratios to reflect.

for strawberries - limit them to around 3 - 4 whole ones a day. cherries are ok too - just not the ones that come in the jar with the sweetened sauce. same would apply ... 3 - 4 should be ok.

you need some veggies in there, and some cheese and natural peanut butter if you like. try some flaxseed oil or extra virgin olive oil to get some good EFA's in your diet.

haha don't worry, the cheese won't be a prob. seeing as I constantly grab a chunk when I am hungry.

I've def. been doing more than 3 or 4 strawberries a day, I'll have to watch my intake from now on. And the veggies arent a prob., I usually put broccoli with the tofu and I eat a lot of lettuce.

[Jen_Ess]

Originally posted by pounder
It looks like you're eating a lot of lean foods that are high in carbs. They're all healthy foods, and it's a healthy way to live, but it's not necessarily the greatest way to cut.

You're doing a great job on getting your protein. That will help preserve your muscle while you're cutting. But you should be getting a significant amount of your calories from fat.

You still need carbs, for sure, but try and limit carbs to 20% of your calories.

Also try and plan your meals so that a meal mixes protein and carbs or protein and fat. Avoid taking in carbs and fat in the same meal as this is more likely to result in fat storage.

In all seriousness, can you tell me which foods i listed are high in carbs? I make it a point to watch carbs (or so I thought I was). What would you suggest for a daily carb intake, cause i strive for under 20grams...

[Antonio]

Good choices for fruit are kiwis and fresh pineapple. They will also act as digestive enzymes.

[footballjunior]

under 20 carbs???? do u workout at all?

[Jen_Ess]

Originally posted by footballjunior
under 20 carbs???? do u workout at all?

yeah i do workout. Why, whats wrong with <20g of carbs... someone told me that was the right amt. for cutting

[footballjunior]

do u ever cycle ur carbs? like low carb/high carb or a cheat day? when i eat a/b 20 for awhile i feel weak in the gym

[footballjunior]

nothing wrong-jus wonderin

[Jen_Ess]

Originally posted by footballjunior
do u ever cycle ur carbs? like low carb/high carb or a cheat day? when i eat a/b 20 for awhile i feel weak in the gym

well i just recently started allowing myself to cheat on the weekends. nothing major, but i just don't make it a point to keep the carbs low

[footballjunior]

well if u eat the carbs after workout and u feel fine in the gym, 20 carbs is fine for cutting

[Jen_Ess]

Originally posted by pounder
It looks like you're eating a lot of lean foods that are high in carbs. They're all healthy foods, and it's a healthy way to live, but it's not necessarily the greatest way to cut.

You're doing a great job on getting your protein. That will help preserve your muscle while you're cutting. But you should be getting a significant amount of your calories from fat.

You still need carbs, for sure, but try and limit carbs to 20% of your calories.

Also try and plan your meals so that a meal mixes protein and carbs or protein and fat. Avoid taking in carbs and fat in the same meal as this is more likely to result in fat storage.

This sounds really helpful, and will be even more so as you tell me which foods are too high in carbs. I'll have to start calculating to make sure I am in fact getting only 20% of total cals as carbs.

I also have a question... When fats and carns cant be taken in at the same meal, does this mean that they cant come from the same source, or does it mean in general? I usually dont have carbs and fat together, but sometimes I will be having a veggie burger or something else thats kinda high in fat (but still a protein) and I'll also have lettuce with fat free dressing, and the dressing is a carb. So is this wrong since I am technically having a fat and a carb in the same meal?

[sillygirl]

You might already know this, but track your food at htp://www.fitday.com. They spit all the little numbers out onto a pie chart so it's SO easy to see what percentage your protein/carbs/fat are from your daily caloric intake.

[hausgrl]

Originally posted by Jen_Ess
haha don't worry, the cheese won't be a prob. seeing as I constantly grab a chunk when I am hungry.

I've def. been doing more than 3 or 4 strawberries a day, I'll have to watch my intake from now on. And the veggies arent a prob., I usually put broccoli with the tofu and I eat a lot of lettuce.

what sort of cutting diet are you on? the fat/protein/carb ratios?

[hausgrl]

Originally posted by Jen_Ess
In all seriousness, can you tell me which foods i listed are high in carbs? I make it a point to watch carbs (or so I thought I was). What would you suggest for a daily carb intake, cause i strive for under 20grams...

under 20 grams is fine - but theres no way that reaches 20% of your daily caloric intake which you suggested you were consuming.

[hausgrl]

Originally posted by Jen_Ess
This sounds really helpful, and will be even more so as you tell me which foods are too high in carbs. I'll have to start calculating to make sure I am in fact getting only 20% of total cals as carbs.

I also have a question... When fats and carns cant be taken in at the same meal, does this mean that they cant come from the same source, or does it mean in general? I usually dont have carbs and fat together, but sometimes I will be having a veggie burger or something else thats kinda high in fat (but still a protein) and I'll also have lettuce with fat free dressing, and the dressing is a carb. So is this wrong since I am technically having a fat and a carb in the same meal?

when you're cutting, it might be best to avoid the dressing altogether unless its some sort of a vinagrette. i believe those are low in carbs.

[Jen_Ess]

Originally posted by hausgrl
under 20 grams is fine - but theres no way that reaches 20% of your daily caloric intake which you suggested you were consuming.

see thats the thing... if you are not getting the right foods, the ratios aren't right. I have no clue what kind of ratio to be on for cutting. I watch my cals and carbs, dont really watch fat too much, but I'm positive I must not be in the correct ratios. This could be a prob.

Sillygirl, thanks for that advice. I was wondering where I could track stuff.

And I still don't see how anyone eats oatmeal!! i am out of protein shakes and need to have breakfast so I went to grab some oatmeal as a last resort and quaker oats have 27g carbs per half cup serving. I put them right back in the cupboard! that is truly a bit much!!!

[hausgrl]

Originally posted by Jen_Ess
see thats the thing... if you are not getting the right foods, the ratios aren't right. I have no clue what kind of ratio to be on for cutting. I watch my cals and carbs, dont really watch fat too much, but I'm positive I must not be in the correct ratios. This could be a prob.

Sillygirl, thanks for that advice. I was wondering where I could track stuff.

And I still don't see how anyone eats oatmeal!! i am out of protein shakes and need to have breakfast so I went to grab some oatmeal as a last resort and quaker oats have 27g carbs per half cup serving. I put them right back in the cupboard! that is truly a bit much!!!

you need to do a little more research jenn. this site is jam packed with information on the correct ratios to use, what foods specifically fit into those ratios and the formula you should use to determine how many calories you should be consuming daily.

most people lean towards a CKD style of keto. thats 65% fat, 30% protein and 5% carbs. that would fit in your 20 grams and under of carbohydrates.

don't go with the oatmeal. have eggs and bacon/sausage links instead for breakfast.

as sillygirl already suggested - www.fitday.com is a fantastic site to use to track your progress both with food and exercise, and they also have a journal section. start planning your meals ahead of time also. it'll help you in the long run and avoid confusion & cheating.