Carb Question!!!

[bigpapapump2016]

Heres the deal. Firstly im not currently taking any anabolics, but I have in the past. I am sitting around 255, 6ft1... I can see some cuts on my body but the abs are covered up, I would like to cut down a bit. Now i have never actually tried a cutter diet, so this is my first time trying it. Im looking for your advice as im not looking to lose any muscle during this period.

PLEASE dont flame, i actually need your help tweaking a diet to work as a cutter.

Ive read that low carb diets work well, so I was thinking of trying one of those.

Heres just a sample of what Ive got going. (its probably a crappy diet thats why Im asking for help).

Breakfast: 3 whole eggs, 3 whites

Snack: Protein shake with one table spoon of natty peanut butter

Lunch: Two cans of tuna with hot sauce, 1/2 banana, brocolli

Snack: protein shake with one table spoon of natty peanut butter

Dinner: Chicken breast with spinach

PREWORK OUT approx 6pm: No xplode, 1 whole banana (not sure if i should place these carbs here just thought it would give me a boast lifting)

Post workout: Shake with one table spoon of natty peanut butter.



Would this cut me down, while maintaining my muscle mass? I also plan on getting on the bike for 20 mins 4 days a week.


I know its probably a shit diet, but if you can help me I'd appreciate it. Also any tips would be nice too.

[howie]

Hey,

Okay I'm pretty new here but here a some things I notice I'm sure others will chime in.

Too may shakes. Remember you will get a better thermal effect from whole foods rather than liquid nutrition meaning you will comsume more calories digesting whole foods.

Pre / Post workout sure but you would be better to snack on whole protien sources during the day. I know not always convienient but...

Also (and I am guessing here you can add it up) I don't think you are getting enough calories.

A rough estimate for someone your size would be about 3200 or so cals a day in order to loose 1 - 1.5 lbs per week. Slow yes put to keep a healthy metabolism and save lean mass this would be best. 12-16 week cutting diet is optimal.

I saw your other post on the Anabolic solution and low carb works great. Use a site like www.calorieking.com to set up your diet and macros.

BTW it is easiest to eat the same foods every day.

My 2 cents

[waderow]

find your maintenance calories

find the calories of proposed meals

adjust accordingly.

do cardio

[Ritch]

you will need to at least double the amount of peanut butter. The breakfast is way too low in calories. Your dinner has no fat. Lunch has no fat. Basically the diet is all wron and will not work. You gotta do some more research. Palumbo would be your man here. Find his site you should be good with that.

[bigpapapump2016]

thanks guys!!

[JonnyO]

IMHO, if your natty then you should add in some carbs or your gonna lose muscle.

[O-Train]

I agree with what a couple guys have said. I don't think that is enough calories. It wouldn't be for me at least and I'm 220 not 255lbs. If you're just trying to lose a bit of weight no point in doing a low carb diet. Guys get shredded all the time eating lots of carbs so just make things easier for yourself. Figure out how much food you need to maintain bodyweight. Drop the calories a bit, do some cardio (if you want) and voila.

If you do go the low carb route at least have some in the morning and after you workout.

[C-money]

a big thing that works for me is i have almost all of my carbs for breakfast and post workout, i limit carbs to just veggies or minimal sources of carbs for my other meals. For me the timing of my carb intake is the most important aspect .. the fat flys off

[IronRobi]

a big thing that works for me is i have almost all of my carbs for breakfast and post workout, i limit carbs to just veggies or minimal sources of carbs for my other meals. For me the timing of my carb intake is the most important aspect .. the fat flys off

I do the same, no carbs after 4pm (aside from post workout) is my rule when dieting

[flapjack]

a big thing that works for me is i have almost all of my carbs for breakfast and post workout, i limit carbs to just veggies or minimal sources of carbs for my other meals. For me the timing of my carb intake is the most important aspect .. the fat flys off


Well said. You need carbs PWO or you will put your body into a catabolic state (burning muscle). If you are looking to lean up, you should consume most of your carbs early in the day. Fiberous carbs during th day are fine and necissary.

Low intensity cardio for 20 - 30 min imediatly after training is good as your body will already be in a "fat burning" state.

[tex]

drop the 1/2 banana at lunch and replace with a slower carb source

[bigpapapump2016]

If I were to take carbs in the morning, and post work out, should i then be trying to cut down on fat intake? Can someone give me percentage wise what is good? protein %, fat %, carb (for breakfast and post workout)%... also if i do this, is there a new for a carb up day on say Saturday?

[bigpapapump2016]

I agree with what a couple guys have said. I don't think that is enough calories. It wouldn't be for me at least and I'm 220 not 255lbs. If you're just trying to lose a bit of weight no point in doing a low carb diet. Guys get shredded all the time eating lots of carbs so just make things easier for yourself. Figure out how much food you need to maintain bodyweight. Drop the calories a bit, do some cardio (if you want) and voila.

If you do go the low carb route at least have some in the morning and after you workout.

How do I figure out how much calories i need to maintain? How many of those calories should be carbs, how many should be fat, how many should be proteins...


again thanks im new to diets and I appreciate all help

[kloan]

There's the BMR calculator:
http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html

Which basically tells you the approx calories your body consumes on it's own, without doing anything... so if you just sat in a couch all day, that's approx how many calories your body would consume.

You also have to factor in your daily activities, workouts, etc which would add how many calories you're consuming in a day. It's kind of a guessing game until you can get a better idea of how your body responds by dieting. I believe it takes quite a bit of fine tuning before you get it nailed (something I have yet to figure out).

Once you got that down, I believe you need 1 gram of protein per 1 lb of lean muscle mass in order to preserve muscle. You need to get your body fat measured so you know what your LMM is.

When you know that, you can know how many calories you're consuming in a day of protein:
1 gram protein = 4 calories
1 gram carbs = 4 calories
1 gram fat = 9 calories

So basically, you need to figure out your maintenance calories, and subtract around 500 and that's the starting point. You might still lose some muscle as you're fine tuning your diet, or you can be a little more conservative with your caloric deficit until you know how your body responds.

When you know the calories you're working with in a day, after you've calculated the amount of calories you get from your maintenance protein calories, you make up the rest of the calories with carbohydrates and fat.

I'm not sure what the ratio would be with those.

This is all just from what I've gathered with my limited research so far into dieting, which I plan on tackling in the next month or two.

I welcome more experienced guys here to correct me on anything I might have gotten wrong.

[O-Train]

How do I figure out how much calories i need to maintain? How many of those calories should be carbs, how many should be fat, how many should be proteins...


again thanks im new to diets and I appreciate all help

You'll have to start counting calories and see what effect it has on your body. Hopefully you already have a general idea of how much you'll need to eat. The amount of calories you get from each macronutrient (pro, carb, fat) isn't necessarily as important as what ratio you consume them in at different times of the day. For example, your biggest carb meal should be right after you get up in the morning. Second biggest should be postworkout if you lift that day.

For me aside from the first meal of the day and the last meal everything looks roughly the same. Doesn't have to be identical food but I keep the macronutrient ratio roughly the same. So every meal has protein, first one has the most carbs, last meal has only fibrous carb sources (if any). For you maybe 250-300g protein (1000-1200 Kcals), 400g carbohydrates (1600 Kcals) 50g Fat (450Kcals). So that would be 3050-3250Kcals. It's 37% protein, 49% carbs 14% fat. You divide everything up into about 6 meals. The middle 4 should look roughly the same (except for postworkout which you have to account for). The first one is carb heavy and the last meal should be basically carb free. Probably also a good idea to have the 2nd last meal fibrous carb sources like brocolli, spinach, stuff like that. The actual number of calories you will need is something you'll be able to figure out after a couple of weeks. You may need more food if anything add more healthy fats (unsaturated fats, omega 3's stuff like that).

This works for me, it may not work as well for other people. If calories in are less than calories out you will lose weight.

[bigpapapump2016]

Thanks for both of those posts VERY informative

[bigpapapump2016]

Another quick question, when following that diet, carbs in the morning, carbs pw ect, do you have to have a day where you carb up???

[O-Train]

Another quick question, when following that diet, carbs in the morning, carbs pw ect, do you have to have a day where you carb up???

no, probably not.

[bigpapapump2016]

Thanks man!

[C-money]

Another quick question, when following that diet, carbs in the morning, carbs pw ect, do you have to have a day where you carb up???

I occaisionally have a carb up day... its not scheduled though, if i feel im not getting pumps, look flat, feel too weak, i know its time to carb up abit.. sometimes ill go a few weeks without needing it, sometimes only a week... i just go with the flow

[5151]

I agree with what a couple guys have said. I don't think that is enough calories. It wouldn't be for me at least and I'm 220 not 255lbs. If you're just trying to lose a bit of weight no point in doing a low carb diet. Guys get shredded all the time eating lots of carbs so just make things easier for yourself. Figure out how much food you need to maintain bodyweight. Drop the calories a bit, do some cardio (if you want) and voila.

If you do go the low carb route at least have some in the morning and after you workout.

yup. low carb was developed as an alternative not the only way. I find it amazing to see so many people using low carb despite being terribly drained and bloated.

I think the basis of any diet should be 1.5g/lb in protein, 50g of fat with a healthy dose of EFAs, enough servings of dairy to get your DRI of calcium or supplement 1000-2000mg of calcium, veggies and fruit. Build the rest of the diet however you wish with carbs and fats. Whatever works best stick with it.

[warlock]

I don't have much else to say.
I am not a big fan of calorie counting as it ends up restricting you eat the same stuff all teh time.
Stuff yourself with eggies; have your carbs but cut the starch 6 h before going to bed (PWO is the exception), do it for a week and them check you weight and bf. take it from there tweak as necessary for yourself.

Good luck

[bigpapapump2016]

thanks good info everyone

[Iwant2Grow]

Well said. You need carbs PWO or you will put your body into a catabolic state (burning muscle). If you are looking to lean up, you should consume most of your carbs early in the day. Fiberous carbs during th day are fine and necissary.

Low intensity cardio for 20 - 30 min imediatly after training is good as your body will already be in a "fat burning" state.


^bump on this 3 or 4 times a week although morning cardio is best imo

and i like extra virgin oil as my fat source as it is reported to have some thermogenic effects - just add a 1 or 2 tsp to shake in place of your PB

also aim for 1.5 g of protien per lbs of body wieght

just my 2 cents