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I am sure there has been a topic on here about a cutting diet, but I am trying to start on one and am having a hard time. I put on a lot of muscle this year and still have a good bit of fat to lost before I am happy with the end result.

I have also been used to lifting heavy weights and having pretty intense weight workouts. I am sure there is a better routine to cut up.

I have been trying to make an effort to bring my lunch and some south beach protein bars to work. Though it seems like someone is always calling for a last minute lunch or dinner.

- Does anyine have a good source or their own successful expample of a cutting diet?

- What kind of results should I expect?

- How much should I shift my weight and cardio routines?

- Any suggestions for how to stay strict and not become a food hermit when people as to go out to eat?

I can send ya one but ya wont like it as I know you are a big foodie and cant be arsed with counting the calories even if its made easier, I use a similar dit to the one on here but less presriptive on the actual food but with more emphasis on food groups and sources will happily share if ya want tho

But as for the going out, try and go for a spit roasted chicken, or any chicken that is not cooked in a creamy sauce. Same for pastas if you go out go for tomato based sauces they tend to be less calories altho the Italians do love their oil.

if you do relent and go for the salad dont go caeaser as the cheese whacks up the calories if you want a salad dressing ask for it on the side and dip not smother it all adds up.

Why change the routine and up the cardio? You can go that way but its not going to do a great deal for retaining the muscle mass. Working it hard and heavy is going to keep you mass the way you want it if on a calorie restriction.

I am a bit of a foodie. I really enjoy food and eat out alot. I often stray away from the simple items on the menu, as I feel some sort of pressure to eat something that is special. Need to break out of that habit.

http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/13weekstohardcorefatburningdiet.php

I'm doing my own variation of the diet above. I'm not good with fine details, so I'm not a big calorie counter. I just stick to the core of what the diet lays out and eat smart. It's working well.

http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/13weekfatburningworkout.php


Give that workout a shot along with the diet

Just a few tips:

1. Start a shift from lifting super heavy to lifting lighter but still semi challenging weights...for example lets say your bench press is 230 for 3 sets of 10. Drop down to 175 (or wherever) for 5 sets of 12. You also may want to do slightly more cardio...I start my workout with 15 minutes of "power cardio" (pushups, situps, jump squats, etc), 45-50 of lifting, 30 minutes of traditional cardio (bike/eliptical, etc)

2. Stop eating out as much - RJ has just posted an excellent "grocery list" and most are incredibly easy to cook and quick and all are quite lean and healthy.

3. Change your protein shakes from whole or 2% based to either skim or water.

4. I dont know if you drink alcohol, but drink less.

5. There are tons of workouts out there for cutting up - RJ has a "lean" workout, bodybuilding.com has these http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbinfo.php?page=cuttingupdiets. Tons of resources out there as this is the time of year when everyone wants to cut.

Good luck man, this was what I could think of off the top of my head...if I think of anything else, I will post it.

Your body takes a while to except that it has to loose the fat.......

It usually takes me a week or two before a comp.(I usually diet around 12 weeks). I found alternating simple things like eating only tuna one week with brocoly and beans. Taking protein shakes with water.

No milk in coffee, taking out all sweets,sugar,milk,potatoes,pasta's,rices etc. in short all carbs. for six days........

but in the beginning and have a feast the seventh.

For proteins I alternate the Tuna with chicken breasts, and lean meat for variety but thats weekly not dayly. ie.one week Tuna, one week chicken breast and the next lean meat.

Also lean on eating protein rather than drinking it.
Dont forget to have a little carbohydrate to kick of your days as you need it after sleep.

Also a walk BEFORE breakfast of around half and hour is good as you will burn up more carbs which you haven't burned up during your sleep.

A good rule is no carbs after your workouts or 4pm.

Have a couple of eggs for morning tea.

Breakfast a cereal(on water) with a protein shake.

Also dont forget to take a vitamin "c" and multi vitamin tablet 3times a day as you don't recieve alot of vitamins when dieting.



I hope this is some help.

I noticed that you have taken milk out of the equation. I drink about a cup of milk a day. I use lactose free milk, but wondered if there was any other reason. I wrote down my food for the day:

breakfast :Myoplex Lite bar, 1 cup of milk, cup of coffee with splenda and cream
snack: pure pro protein shake
Lunch: pork tenderloin and green beans
snack: southbeach bar
Snack: ostrich jerkey
Post workout: New whey liquid protien
Dinner: grilled chicken breast, green beans

drink: water, special k protein water

Have to say, I am a little hungry, but I think I am on the right track. I would love to encororate a bunless cheeseburger to break up the boredom of chicken and tuna.

any other tips?

DJBens77 saidI noticed that you have taken milk out of the equation. I drink about a cup of milk a day. I use lactose free milk, but wondered if there was any other reason. I wrote down my food for the day:

breakfast :Myoplex Lite bar, 1 cup of milk, cup of coffee with splenda and cream
snack: pure pro protein shake
Lunch: pork tenderloin and green beans
snack: southbeach bar
Snack: ostrich jerkey
Post workout: New whey liquid protien
Dinner: grilled chicken breast, green beans

drink: water, special k protein water

Have to say, I am a little hungry, but I think I am on the right track. I would love to encororate a bunless cheeseburger to break up the boredom of chicken and tuna.

any other tips?

I haven't had milk in about 3 years. I just didn't want that sugar. But, if you want to have it, the morning is the best time.

Can you eat something better than a Myoplex bar? Oats, whey, etc.?

How about adding some greens to your mid-morning snack? A salad of some sort.

Lunch is OK.

You should have a better carb source than the South Beach bar. Again, oats could be a good addition.

What's your post workout shake have in it?

Dinner is fine.

What are you having before going to bed?

Go ahead and have that bunless burger. Just account for the macros and modify your diet so that you can have it.

Did you read any of the articles I linked above?

I have browsed through them, but have not gotten a real read.

I need to be better about getting some fiber. Today I just had an egg white omlete with one yoke. Usually the myplex bar gets e going with 15 gms of protein and some complex carbs.

Keep forgetting to bring my apples in. I have not been eating anything before I go to bed. Last night I had some cottage cheese and an apple about an hour before.

Carbohydrates are:

Sucrose: sugars

Lactose: milk

Dextrose: Tablets.... artificial sweeteners etc.

Frutose: Fruits

Carbohydrates are energy and have to be watched and should not be taken after workouts or after 4pm.





When dieting iam always hungry at night because thats when Iam realy loosing.

I also up my reps to burn more fat and still hold muscle tone.

You're actually completely wrong.

You need simple carbs following a workout to replace glycogen and spike insulin since cortisol is high following a workout.

Even when cutting.

I think I will have to read those articles a few times before the whole thing sinks in. Eating some quaker natural grains oatmeal in the a to get me those carbs I need.

TexanMan82 saidYou're actually completely wrong.

You need simple carbs following a workout to replace glycogen and spike insulin since cortisol is high following a workout.

Even when cutting.

Yes, true, physiologically speaking that is, but everyone's body is different and will react differently, so the same thing is not going to work for everyone.

I'm not saying that you're wrong, TMan, but that everyone is going to have a slight variance to the norm.

In muscle1954's case, not eating carbs after workout or after 4pm works for him.

Uh Ok..

But that still doesn't change the fact that that advice is wrong.

I too agree that unless you have a major problem, cutting out dairy is not the thing to do.

There are several studies out that have clearly shown the benefit of dairy in loosing weight. A few known factors are responsible for this and their may be more. One, dairy contains high amounts of calcium, absolutely mandatory for loosing weight and healthy muscle, nerve, bone, etc health. Researchers at the University of Tennessee found that two servings of low fat, calcium enriched foods inhibits a hormone which causes the body to store fat.

Two, milk contains a substance known as CLA. If you haven't heard of it, it is a substance(supplement) with a good amount of scientific evidence behind it. In fact people that were supplemented with CLA, lost weight and gained lean muscle while they changed absolutely nothing else. Is it a silver bullet for dropping body fat? Absolutely not. Is the evidence convincing that it helps, and preserves lean muscle mass? Absolutely.

Speaking of the muscle mass factor, in a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, those that drank milk post workout gained almost twice as much muscle as those drinking soy protein. Now twice as much as another kind of protein, what gains would you be giving up by switching to water. Milk not only has plenty of protein but also that protein contains all eight essential amino acids, which means it's complete and can be readily used by your body for repair and growth.

Last mixing your whey protein shakes adds a desirable element to the shake. Whey is a fast absorbing protein, whereas the casein protein (found in the milk) is a slower absorption protein. This is a really big factor in protein synthesis (muscle building) post-workout. Additionally, the milk/whey protein combo is better at producing the satiation response, telling your body that you are full and reducing hunger later.

Also, consider that when you are doing intense cardio and or resistance training you lose calcium as well as the electrolytes sodium and potassium. Milk has a lot more value than just protein: vitamins D, A, B vitamins, phosphorous, electrolytes and calcium. Milk may be exactly what the body needs to recover after an intense workout.

In all actuality most people can find plenty of other carb sources to eliminate before they have to chop out the milk. Eliminate the junk, but keep the milk, its one of the most nutrient dense beverages available.

Back to the main topic, one of the confusions about dieting after a mass cycle is that there is this silver bullet diet that will do away with the fat. It doesn't exist, accept the one that you perfect for yourself.

Some people will do great on a high protein, low carb diet, others when the carbs get to low the weight loss comes to a screeching halt. My suggestion is start with a high protein, reasonable carbs, and low fat diet. Track everything that goes in your mouth (well almost everything there is probably one or two exceptions) and track your exercise and weight, using a tool like fitday.com. Its a free site that you can set up an account to keep track of all this and it does most of the work for you once you get your stuff entered. If you want more power then what they site offers they also have a downloadable program. The point of this is that when you track everything scientifically like this you can easily track what is working for you and what isn't. You have the ability to tweek small variables that might make all the difference in the world. Without that capability you might get frustrated and quit one particular diet, when all you had to do was tweek a couple things. The other nice thing about fitday.com is that if you choose you can make your daily intake page available for others to see (but not change) and this can be a really big advantage in getting helpful suggestions from people in the know. Most people that would be serious in offering helpful advice instead of the two second opinion would want to see this anyway.

Hope these ideas help bro, best of luck to you.