Thoughts on diet for getting leaner/clean bulking?

[zack0007]

I'm 21 years old, 5'11", 145lbs at approximately 14% bf.

I used to workout all the time but with college I stopped for a while. I'm trying to get back into my old routine but my problem was always my diet. I never really focused on that, just the weights. I would consider myself an ectomorph and a hardgainer. Right now I want to try to get leaner while building my muscle back so idc about gaining weight atm. I mostly want to just maintain my weight and get to around 7-9% bf for now. Once I reach that goal I want to start trying to gain weight slowly while staying lean. My overall goal is to get to 160-165 at 7-9% bf. This is the diet I built for myself. Is it good enough for the goals I want to reach? Is there something I should change or add?

MEAL 1 {Breakfast} - 40g Protein, 91g Carbs, 30g Fat, 776 Calories
MEAL 2 {Post-Workout Mass Gainer} - 38g Protein, 73g Carbs, 6g Fat, 500 Calories
MEAL 3 {Lunch} - 9g Protein, 12g Carbs, 8g Fat, 130 Calories
MEAL 4 {Whey Protein Shake} - 37g Protein, 23g Carbs, 5g Fat, 283 Calories
MEAL 5 {Supper} - 53g Protein, 36g Carbs, 9g Fat, 240 Calories
MEAL 6 {Casein Protein Shake} - 37g Protein, 26g Carbs, 6g Fat, 303 Calories

TOTAL INTAKE - 212g Protein, 261g Carbs, 64g Fat, 2230 Calories

I workout with weights in the morning M-F but skip Wednesday. I do 30 minutes of cardio every afternoon.
Monday - Chest
Tuesday - Back
Thursday - Legs, Triceps
Friday - Shoulders, Biceps

[Mikeez0]

Too much protein. With cardio everyday 2200 calories seems lower than TDEE.

[zack0007]

Too much protein. With cardio everyday 2200 calories seems lower than TDEE.

What if I do cardio 4 days a week instead and reduce my protein intake to 164g by cutting down on my protein shakes? If I do that tho, my carb intake will decrease to 230g, fats to 59g, and total calorie intake to 1922.

[Mikeez0]

What if I do cardio 4 days a week instead and reduce my protein intake to 164g by cutting down on my protein shakes? If I do that tho, my carb intake will decrease to 230g, fats to 59g, and total calorie intake to 1922.

You can't eat solid food? Currently you are eating like a kid, and avoiding calorific water makes you eating less? I can't see any logic in your words.

[zack0007]

You can't eat solid food? Currently you are eating like a kid, and avoiding calorific water makes you eating less? I can't see any logic in your words.

I do eat solid foods. For breakfast, I eat 3 eggs, 10oz of milk, and a cup of oatmeal. For lunch, I eat a chicken salad containing 1oz of chicken and 6 cups of lettuce. And for supper, I alternate between 8oz of chicken breast and 1 fillet of tilapia at roughly 85g with sides pasta and green beans. As I stated before, I am a complete newb when it comes to nutrition and its difficult for me to figure out what I should eat that will fit my needs for my intended goals which is why I am asking for help. I know my TDEE is probably more around 2500-2800 calories but idk what I should be adding and when to reach that with the correct macros.

[Mikeez0]

You are eating less than 1500calories, what is your problem? Aren't you hungry?
Take toasts, cheese, eggs, meat and mayo. You are consuming very little fats! Eat a bag of nuts or seeds, they are closer to 600kcal per 100grams. It would help you to hit your fats for the day and get an extra calories. Eat snickers at least, I don't understand, you are young man, why would you limit yourself to chicken and lettuce.

[zack0007]

You are eating less than 1500calories, what is your problem? Aren't you hungry?
Take toasts, cheese, eggs, meat and mayo. You are consuming very little fats! Eat a bag of nuts or seeds, they are closer to 600kcal per 100grams. It would help you to hit your fats for the day and get an extra calories. Eat snickers at least, I don't understand, you are young man, why would you limit yourself to chicken and lettuce.

At my calculations, my intake is closer to 2200 calories. It's not that I'm not hungry, I'm just going by what the calculators on bb.com has. For weight maintenance, it says 2200 calories with 246g carbs, 164g protein, and 61g of fat. So if I'm trying to get leaner, why do I need to need to increase my fat intake and calorie intake. I'm not saying your wrong or that bb.com is right. I'd just like to know what's correct and why.

[Boyda112]

This is me and I'm not in the best shape. You're in prime growing territory age wise is there a reason your not wanting to attempt and put on lean muscle. You can eat a bit more freely adding muscle and still staying relatively lean. If I could roll back the time I'd have done things very differently.

[UsmanCheem]

Im going to make this a little simple for you
Eat 2500 calories a day
150g protien, 70-80g fat and rest of it carbs

Keep the same workout routine for two weeks;

If lose weight -> increase calories by 500 calories (carbs)
if gain weight -> keep it at 2500
if same weight -> increase by 300 calories (carbs)