Hey guys, I've been a long time reader of threads here and finally decided to join up as I have begun my first cutting cycle and am going to try to take it very seriously. A little background - I am in the Army and therefore my workouts and diet times get pretty messed up sometimes as I have no control over it. I am 6'2, 198 lbs around 13% body fat. I was up to 206lbs but started cutting about 1.5 months ago and lost mostly water weight it seems. Anyways heres what I am currently doing and then some problems I have with it.

5am: wake up, eat a cliff bar: 250 cals, 43g carbs (20g sugar), 11g protein

6am: Morning PT - the most annoying thing in someones life who is trying to make an organized plan....we do anything from running like 1 mile or doing like 20 pushups to running or rucking 10 miles and way overloading chest or abs....the worst part is I have no control over what we do.

7:30am: breakfast: usually 2 cups egg beaters on a whole wheat tortilla with pace salsa on it (a delicious breakfast burrito) and then about an hour later Ill have a bowl of oatmeal with a little cinnamon and sugar on it....

10-11: If I can escape my duties for the day I'll try to come in and sneak a protein shake (ON whey, usually 1.5 scoops so like 35-40g usually with water)

12: Thin Cut turkey strips, 1 package: 250 cals, 4g fat, 5g carbs, 40g protein, and either some oatmeal or brown rice with it.

4pm: Hopefully when we get off for the day, but again everyday is different, but if we get off around 4 I usually head straight to the gym and do one of my workouts - As follows:

Monday - Chest, Tri's, Shoulders: Flat Bench w/ dumbells, Incline Bench w/ dumbells, Standing Military press barbell, dips, and cable pulldowns.

Tuesday - Cardio / Abs: Usually spend about 30 minutes on eliptical or staionary (vertical not lazy) bike. Then go through my ab routine:
Decline Situps with medicine ball, weighted ab crunches, leg raises, planks, oblique twisters w/ medicine ball on decline, decline situps, and seated leg raises.

Wednesday - Legs: 3x15 Front Squats, 3x10 leg extension, standing and sitting calf raises, lunges w/ barbell on back

Thursday - OFF

Friday - Back, Bi's, Delts - Deadlifts, Military grip pullups, standing back row, seated back row, shrugs, and "crazy 8's"

Saturday - Cardio / Abs - Ab routine first this time, then basically see how long I can stay on the eliptical, if not long then I move to stair master or bike...

Sunday - HIIT or Football...Depending on if I can get a football game together or not, I will do 10 second sprints up a steep incline, then jog/walk back down for around 20 seconds....repeat usually 15 times...jog about 2 minutes to and from the hill....


6-8pm(depending on when we get off and when my workout is done): I usually wait about an hour or so after the workout for dinner: 1 (sometimes 2) Skinless Boneless Tyson Chicken Breasts - with spinach (I usually add some bacos and mozz cheese for flavor) basically making a chicken spinach salad - no dressing....If I am still hungry before bed I usually have a small bowl of oatmeal and hit the sack.


Well thats it really.....I feel like I should be getting more cardio in maybe, and I would love to be able to do fasted cardio in the mornings....and I might be able to here soon but for now this is what I try to stick with......Any opinions on ways I can increase fatloss around my stomach given an afternoon workout would be fantastic....also I'm confused on PWO and preworkout shakes/meals and also pre-bed meals....I feel this is where I am losing my potential....I am characterized as a mesomorph but probably fit in about 50/50 with ectomorph with my small legs....

Again any input would be hugely appreciated, on diet, timing or routine.....thanks guys....

Jeff

ok guess not

Hi and welcome for the forums!

Since you have access to protein powder, maybe you can sneak in a shake right when you wake up, with the bar? The cliff bar has some protein, but not much. Just out of curiosity, do most of the other people eat nothing before the 6am activity?

As for cardio for fat loss, if you can keep your workouts to say 45min you could finish off with a 30 cardio. I'd eat quickly after the cardio though.

For the before bed meal, I wouldn't recommend just oatmeal. Oatmeal + some protein might be fine on days you lift fairly late but on non-lifting days maybe a protein + fat meal work work better for you (for example shake + almonds)?

Hello, welcome:D

A quick question that would help me assess your plan: Do you have access to any type of foods you want? Or are you restricted to certain foods only?

I can eat anything I want

I can eat anything I want

Excellent :) My suggestions are bolded below:

Hey guys, I've been a long time reader of threads here and finally decided to join up as I have begun my first cutting cycle and am going to try to take it very seriously. A little background - I am in the Army and therefore my workouts and diet times get pretty messed up sometimes as I have no control over it. I am 6'2, 198 lbs around 13% body fat. I was up to 206lbs but started cutting about 1.5 months ago and lost mostly water weight it seems. Anyways heres what I am currently doing and then some problems I have with it.

5am: wake up, eat a cliff bar: 250 cals, 43g carbs (20g sugar), 11g protein
I'd lose the cliff bar and get some real food. Try 1-2 whole eggs, 6-8 eggwhites along with 1/2-1 cup of oatmeal and a little fruit (grapefruit, berries, apple...).

6am: Morning PT - the most annoying thing in someones life who is trying to make an organized plan....we do anything from running like 1 mile or doing like 20 pushups to running or rucking 10 miles and way overloading chest or abs....the worst part is I have no control over what we do.
Is this done everyday? I would consider this cardio:)

7:30am: breakfast: usually 2 cups egg beaters on a whole wheat tortilla with pace salsa on it (a delicious breakfast burrito) and then about an hour later Ill have a bowl of oatmeal with a little cinnamon and sugar on it....
This does look delicious and I think it's decent.

10-11: If I can escape my duties for the day I'll try to come in and sneak a protein shake (ON whey, usually 1.5 scoops so like 35-40g usually with water)
Take your chance to throw down some almonds here for some healthy fats. A fist sized portion should do (24-28 almonds:confused:).

12: Thin Cut turkey strips, 1 package: 250 cals, 4g fat, 5g carbs, 40g protein, and either some oatmeal or brown rice with it.
Are these cold cuts? If possible I'd switch to the straight turkey breast. A lot of cold cut products have added preservatives. Stick with the brown rice here and throw in 1-2 cups of brocolli.

4pm: Hopefully when we get off for the day, but again everyday is different, but if we get off around 4 I usually head straight to the gym and do one of my workouts - As follows:
The problem I see here is that you eat 4 hours prior to your workout and that may not be enough to fuel your workout for optimal performance. Would it be possible to have a quick protein shake around 3:00-3:30pm with a small piece of fruit? Or how about taking that Cliff bar here(last resort)?

Monday - Chest, Tri's, Shoulders: Flat Bench w/ dumbells, Incline Bench w/ dumbells, Standing Military press barbell, dips, and cable pulldowns.
Sets/reps? I like the exercise selection, but would throw in a couple quick sets of side and rear delt raises as you're only hitting the front delt.

Tuesday - Cardio / Abs: Usually spend about 30 minutes on eliptical or staionary (vertical not lazy) bike. Then go through my ab routine:
Decline Situps with medicine ball, weighted ab crunches, leg raises, planks, oblique twisters w/ medicine ball on decline, decline situps, and seated leg raises.

Wednesday - Legs: 3x15 Front Squats, 3x10 leg extension, standing and sitting calf raises, lunges w/ barbell on back
I'd add in some sort of hamstring dominant movement here like a stiff-legged or romanian deadlift. Rest looks good.

Thursday - OFF

Friday - Back, Bi's, Delts - Deadlifts, Military grip pullups, standing back row, seated back row, shrugs, and "crazy 8's"
Again what is the set/rep scheme? What are crazy 8's and how are you directly targeting delts? I would leave delts on monday.

Saturday - Cardio / Abs - Ab routine first this time, then basically see how long I can stay on the eliptical, if not long then I move to stair master or bike...

Sunday - HIIT or Football...Depending on if I can get a football game together or not, I will do 10 second sprints up a steep incline, then jog/walk back down for around 20 seconds....repeat usually 15 times...jog about 2 minutes to and from the hill....


6-8pm(depending on when we get off and when my workout is done): I usually wait about an hour or so after the workout for dinner: 1 (sometimes 2) Skinless Boneless Tyson Chicken Breasts - with spinach (I usually add some bacos and mozz cheese for flavor) basically making a chicken spinach salad - no dressing....If I am still hungry before bed I usually have a small bowl of oatmeal and hit the sack.
Try to eat as soon as you can after the workout - why wait an hour? Your body has just been bombarded with intense weight training, glycogen levels are depleted and your muscles need to start repairing. Feed them! This would be a good place for a quick protein shake with some oats. About 60-90 minutes after that shake, enjoy a whole food meal like you described above.

What time do you go to bed? Assuming you finish in the gym at 5:30ish and have a shake at 5:45 at the latest, you'll eat the whole food dinner at about 6:30. I would recommend eating one last meal before bed to feed your body nutrients while you sleep. Here I would suggest a slow digesting protein like cottage cheese or casien proteion powder along with some healthy fats like flax oil or natural peanut butter.

Well thats it really.....I feel like I should be getting more cardio in maybe, and I would love to be able to do fasted cardio in the mornings....and I might be able to here soon but for now this is what I try to stick with......Any opinions on ways I can increase fatloss around my stomach given an afternoon workout would be fantastic....also I'm confused on PWO and preworkout shakes/meals and also pre-bed meals....I feel this is where I am losing my potential....I am characterized as a mesomorph but probably fit in about 50/50 with ectomorph with my small legs....

Personally I think your cardio levels are fine. One idea would be to go to the 6:00am PT fasted, but I wouldn't recommend this because I don't know how intense and how long those sessions are. From what you say, they seem pretty random and inconsistent. Overall your diet needs some more healty fats, fruits and veggies.

Unfortunately it is widely believed that spot reduction isn't possible so there's nothinig that will increase fat loss in your abdoman area alone. PWO nutrition is widely debated and there are some good threads with very useful information - do a search of the forums and read the different opinions and then try and see which is best for you. As for pre-bed meals, I'm a strong advocate of eating before bed. I like to use slow digesting proteins and healty fats to have a slow flow of nutrients that last into the night while I sleep. Remember that your body burns calories even while you sleep.

Again any input would be hugely appreciated, on diet, timing or routine.....thanks guys....

Goodluck :gl:
Jeff

Ok I will try to hit on everything you commented on, and first of all thank you so much for the input, very very good stuff I really appreciate it.

1. The food in the morning looks good - My only questions is wouldn't that meal at 6am and then the meal at 730 be a lot of food for the mornings?....

What I am going to try to do here is get 3 days a week of fasting AM cardio, where I dont eat anything before the 6am workout and get a good cardio session in...then 3 days a week eat that meal before and have those be my lifting days...

2. Do dry roasted, unsalted peanuts work here? or is the almond superior to the peanut?

3. Yes the turkey breast is thin sliced and cold and packaged...They taste delicious and are probably the only real food I enjoy out of my day, and turkey breasts are hard for me to get cooked in time etc thus I go with this as next best....I will switch if it is a big difference though....but the broc and rice sound good....Altho at this point I feel I am getting pretty high on the carb count...

4. Protein shake and fruit is very do-able here, about 30 minutes prior to workout time sound good?

5. Flat Bench, 1x10 Warmup, 3x8
Incline Bench, 3x8
Military Press, 4x6
Dips, 3x10 and 1 depression set to failure at the end of the workout
Cable Pulldowns, Supersets with dips - 3x10

Crazy 8's are a type of straight bar curl...you do 8 reps from start position to half way up, then 8 reps from half way up to finishing position, then 8 full reps all in order....puts stress on different areas of the bicep...its my selfish ladies workout....

Delts to monday :bow:

Scoop of protein in oatmeal after workout on lifting days and dinner an hour later - Noted....and I've never tried cottage cheese before but I'll give it a go this week before bed....


Thanks man....My only question now is that it seems like I'll be getting around 3000 calories a day and about 250-300g of protein a day....The calories are on the threshold I think, but that much protein is no good for a cutting cycle from the research I've done....Correct me if I'm wrong but your body turns excess protein into fat doesn't it?....I can regulate this though...Thanks for the thoughts

Again in bold below.

Ok I will try to hit on everything you commented on, and first of all thank you so much for the input, very very good stuff I really appreciate it.
No problem, my pleasure:)

1. The food in the morning looks good - My only questions is wouldn't that meal at 6am and then the meal at 730 be a lot of food for the mornings?....
Didn't realize those meals were so close together sorry:eek: For sure get some protein in you at 6:00. How about just the eggs and some fat, and cut the oats and fruit. I'd go with 1 whole egg and 4-6 eggwhites, with your choice of some nuts, flax/olive oil, or some other healthy fat. This protein/fat meal will feed your fasted body, but since there won't be any carbs, you may find yourself drained during the PT. I hope the PT isn't too intense, you can treat it as your fasted cardio if you'd like. This is a pretty small meal now, but I'm assuming you'll eat again very shortly.

What I am going to try to do here is get 3 days a week of fasting AM cardio, where I dont eat anything before the 6am workout and get a good cardio session in...then 3 days a week eat that meal before and have those be my lifting days...

2. Do dry roasted, unsalted peanuts work here? or is the almond superior to the peanut?
Those peanuts sound fine:tu: I personally eat almonds for their taste, I'm not exactly sure which is superior. From what I've read, almonds are more often recommended (but again, I don't know why).

3. Yes the turkey breast is thin sliced and cold and packaged...They taste delicious and are probably the only real food I enjoy out of my day, and turkey breasts are hard for me to get cooked in time etc thus I go with this as next best....I will switch if it is a big difference though....but the broc and rice sound good....Altho at this point I feel I am getting pretty high on the carb count...
If you truly enjoy the slices, who am I to tell you to replace them:nono: Go ahead and enjoy every bite of them - the difference should be negligable. I'm just very picky and strict myself;) As for the carb count, the deletion of the oats and fruit in the first meal should help a bit if you're worried.

4. Protein shake and fruit is very do-able here, about 30 minutes prior to workout time sound good?
Sounds great:nod:

5. Flat Bench, 1x10 Warmup, 3x8
Incline Bench, 3x8
Military Press, 4x6
Dips, 3x10 and 1 depression set to failure at the end of the workout
Cable Pulldowns, Supersets with dips - 3x10
Looks ok.

Crazy 8's are a type of straight bar curl...you do 8 reps from start position to half way up, then 8 reps from half way up to finishing position, then 8 full reps all in order....puts stress on different areas of the bicep...its my selfish ladies workout....
Ahh I see. I know these as 21's where you do 7 of each motion. These are fine for biceps.

Delts to monday :bow:

Scoop of protein in oatmeal after workout on lifting days and dinner an hour later - Noted....and I've never tried cottage cheese before but I'll give it a go this week before bed....
I'd actually throw the oatmeal in the protein. Just shake up the protein with water and dump in raw oats. As a liquid meal, it will absorb faster which is what you want directly after a workout. As for cottage cheese, I usually have a cup of it with 1-2tbsp. of peanut butter as a fat source.


Thanks man....My only question now is that it seems like I'll be getting around 3000 calories a day and about 250-300g of protein a day....The calories are on the threshold I think, but that much protein is no good for a cutting cycle from the research I've done....Correct me if I'm wrong but your body turns excess protein into fat doesn't it?....I can regulate this though...Thanks for the thoughts

Are you counting all your calories? If you are, that would make things easier in my opinion. I would have your intake at around 2400-2600 given your stats. Personally, I'd aim for protein:carb:fat ratios to be 45:35:20 or 45:30:25. That would translate into approximately 280g/220g/55g or 280g/190g/70g of protein/carb/fat assuming you were eating 2500 calories a day. Again that's what would work for me. You would benefit the most if you played around with those numbers and found what worked best for you. Seeing as how you're starting off at almost 200lbs, I see no problem in taking in 250g-300g of protein. The body will turn excess protein into fat as easily as it will turn excess carbs or fat into fat. As you progress along the cut, you should rework the diet by decreasing each macronutrient but maintaining the same ratios that you find to work for you.