Ok, I'm 5'8" 150lbs even. I wanna lose some fat to try to get some ab's so I put together a cutting diet. I'm not sure how to calculate how many calories I would need just to maintain body weight but I think I read you take your weight and x it by 15 so that would 2250 calories a day, that could be wrong though. Here's my planned diet though.

Time Meal Calories Protein Fat
8:00am Oatmeal 300 10 6
8:00am Protein Shake 110 24 1
11:00am Apple 70 0 0
12:00pm Orange 45 0 0
2:00pm 8oz Chicken Breast 220 50 2
2:00pm Protein Shake 110 24 1
5:30pm 8oz Chicken Breast 220 50 2
5:30pm Protein Shake 110 24 1
8:00pm 4tsp Peanut Butter 400 14 32

That would make my totals Calories=1585 / Protein=196 / Fat=45

Unless I'm calculating my calories needed wrong that should be good right? I'll also change things up, like add in egg whites instead of something and also tuna, so the totals shouldn't change to much.

I plan to lift about 4x time a week and I'm gonna follow the T-shirt plan from Men's Fitness haha (http://www.mensfitness.com/fitness/beginner_weight_training/136) click on go to workout to see what exercises they say to do.

I also take Size-On (http://gasparinutrition.com/products/sizeon/index.php). I'll be taking the pills.

So how does all this sound? Will it get me cut to show some ab's? Did I miss anything??

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME! :D

How active and how old are you?

At 5'8.5" -) 157lbs I lose weight eating around 2500 calories give or take. 1600 would be WAY too low for more then a few weeks IMHO.

If you are going to eat so little I'd leave out the shakes and look for more solid food. Some veggies wouldn't kill you either

That workout sounds surprisingly quite good (except the wrist curls).

You need to add at least 500 calories, IMO. I'd aim for 2000-2300.

In the 2pm meal, lose the protein shake and add complex carbs. In the 5:30pm meal, lose the chicken or protein shake and replace with carbs.

Add fat to your breakfast.

Lose 2 TBSP of PB at the end, and add protein (not another shake).

How active and how old are you?

At 5'8.5" -) 157lbs I lose weight eating around 2500 calories give or take. 1600 would be WAY too low for more then a few weeks IMHO.

If you are going to eat so little I'd leave out the shakes and look for more solid food. Some veggies wouldn't kill you either


Thanks for the reply

I guess that would have helped. I'm 20, turn 21 in july. I would say I'm pretty active, I just finished ice hockey season, Junior A, we practiced 3 nights a week with 2 games every weekend. Hockey is over for now, I still have mens league but that's one night a week on the ice at best so that's why I want to get started with this lifting weights thing.

My mom usually makes some kind of veggies with dinner so I would just be grabbing some of whatever she makes...


That workout sounds surprisingly quite good (except the wrist curls).

You need to add at least 500 calories, IMO. I'd aim for 2000-2300.

In the 2pm meal, lose the protein shake and add complex carbs. In the 5:30pm meal, lose the chicken or protein shake and replace with carbs.

Add fat to your breakfast.

Lose 2 TBSP of PB at the end, and add protein (not another shake).

Thanks for the reply too.

Could you make some suggestions for complex carbs for the 2:30pm and carbs for the 5:30pm and fat for the breakfast?

Will taking away the shakes and adding carbs be taking away too much protein??

again thanks for the replies

Junior A? I think that means 1600 is way too low for you.

Have you figured out how much you are eating now?

Personally I'd say at 150lb you aren't over weight. Losing weight shouldn't be your focus. More trying to trade a little fat for muscle.

Junior A? I think that means 1600 is way too low for you.

Have you figured out how much you are eating now?

Personally I'd say at 150lb you aren't over weight. Losing weight shouldn't be your focus. More trying to trade a little fat for muscle.


Yea junior A but it's over now and I'm aged out so my competitive hockey career is pretty much over, I dont go to college full time so I can't play college hockey, just mens league left now.

I'm not trying to lose weight, I just wanna lose the body fat to get the abs showing and would like to get my chest, arms etc.... bigger. I thought a cutting diet high in protein would do that, seems i misunderstood? :doh:

I think I eat pretty bad as of right now, I'm up at 630am for work, don't eat breakfast, have an apple around 12pm, orange around 1pm, lunch which is a can of brisk ice tea, lunchmeat(turkey, buffalo chicken, etc..cheese) on wheat bread or a potato roll, and a thing of yogurt. then dinner around 5:30pm, whatever my mom makes, it's usually something decent like pork, roastbeef, chicken etc with some kind of veggies. that's about it, might snack on some pretzels or some kind of bag of snacks later on...

Yea junior A but it's over now

Still I doubt you've got lots of fat to lose. I'd aim more at working out and building a little more muscle. If you eat too little you risk keeping the fat and losing the muscle.

Personally I'd say at 150lb you aren't over weight. Losing weight shouldn't be your focus. More trying to trade a little fat for muscle.

Ok how would I trade fat for muscle, a whole new approach or just tweak the one I've given? I thought for ab's to show most people have to get down to like 7-9% BF?? I doubt I'm anywhere near that...


Still I doubt you've got lots of fat to lose.

I don't think I would say I'm fat but I don't think I look physically look fit, you know? I had my BF% done in 05' and I bet I was still around the same weight, I think I was at 14% or 15%, I'll see if I can find the papers..That was also without lifting or any excersize because I played so much hockey(juniors the past 3 years) I would just eat and drink whatever I wanted without bad results...

I'll also try to take some pictures so you can see what I look like.

I don't think I would say I'm fat but I don't think I look physically look fit, you know? I had my BF% done in 05' and I bet I was still around the same weight, I think I was at 14% or 15%, I'll see if I can find the papers..That was also without lifting or any excersize because I played so much hockey(juniors the past 3 years) I would just eat and drink whatever I wanted without bad results...

I'll also try to take some pictures so you can see what I look like.

Ok I was 18.5 years old when this was done(2/1/05), 68 inches, 141 pounds and had 13.4%BF

So I'm 9 pounds heavier and still the same height so I'm sure that 13.4% went up....

I'd still not eat a very low calorie level. You can lose fat eating more. Work at lifting etc.

Could you make some suggestions for complex carbs for the 2:30pm and carbs for the 5:30pm and fat for the breakfast?

Will taking away the shakes and adding carbs be taking away too much protein??

again thanks for the replies

Hey sorry, your questions got lost in the replies. You can have any of the following complex carbs with the chicken: oatmeal, 100% whole wheat/grain bread, sweet potato, beans or brown rice (there's probably more I'm not thinking of).

For breakfast, an egg yolk, olive oil, peanut butter or nuts would suffice.

Some people consume up to 2x their bodyweight in protein with no ill effects. I prefer to keep it to 1-1.5g myself, but everyone is different.

And you bumped up those cals, right?

Hey sorry, your questions got lost in the replies. You can have any of the following complex carbs with the chicken: oatmeal, 100% whole wheat/grain bread, sweet potato, beans or brown rice (there's probably more I'm not thinking of).

For breakfast, an egg yolk, olive oil, peanut butter or nuts would suffice.

Some people consume up to 2x their bodyweight in protein with no ill effects. I prefer to keep it to 1-1.5g myself, but everyone is different.

And you bumped up those cals, right?


hey thanks a lot. here are the changes i made

Time Meal Calories Protein Fats Carbs
8:00am Oatmeal 300 10 6 54
8:00am Protein Shake 110 24 1 2
8:00am 2tsp Peanut Butter 200 7 16 7
11:00am Apple 70 0 0 32
12:00pm Orange 45 0 0 22
2:00pm 8oz Chicken Breast 220 50 2 0
2:00pm 2 slices wheat bread 180 8 3 34
5:30pm 8oz Chicken Breast 220 50 2 0
5:30pm Protein Shake 110 24 1 2
8:00pm 2tsp Peanut Butter 200 7 16 7
8:00pm tunafish(canned) 175 40 2 0

The totals should be cals=1830 / protein=220 / fats=49 / carbs = 160

I added about 350 calories with 2 slices of wheat bread and some canned tunafish. Do you mix the canned tunafish with anything or should i just eat it straight?

hey thanks a lot. here are the changes i made

Time Meal Calories Protein Fats Carbs
8:00am Oatmeal 300 10 6 54
8:00am Protein Shake 110 24 1 2
8:00am 2tsp Peanut Butter 200 7 16 7
11:00am Apple 70 0 0 32
12:00pm Orange 45 0 0 22
2:00pm 8oz Chicken Breast 220 50 2 0
2:00pm 2 slices wheat bread 180 8 3 34
5:30pm 8oz Chicken Breast 220 50 2 0
5:30pm Protein Shake 110 24 1 2
8:00pm 2tsp Peanut Butter 200 7 16 7
8:00pm tunafish(canned) 175 40 2 0

The totals should be cals=1830 / protein=220 / fats=49 / carbs = 160

I added about 350 calories with 2 slices of wheat bread and some canned tunafish. Do you mix the canned tunafish with anything or should i just eat it straight?

For sandwiches, it tastes best when you mix the tuna with mayo. As for me, I just eat the tuna from the can lol. Not sure how mayo would factor into your diet though.

hey thanks a lot. here are the changes i made

Time Meal Calories Protein Fats Carbs
8:00am Oatmeal 300 10 6 54
8:00am Protein Shake 110 24 1 2
8:00am 2tsp Peanut Butter 200 7 16 7
11:00am Apple 70 0 0 32
12:00pm Orange 45 0 0 22
2:00pm 8oz Chicken Breast 220 50 2 0
2:00pm 2 slices wheat bread 180 8 3 34
5:30pm 8oz Chicken Breast 220 50 2 0
5:30pm Protein Shake 110 24 1 2
8:00pm 2tsp Peanut Butter 200 7 16 7
8:00pm tunafish(canned) 175 40 2 0

The totals should be cals=1830 / protein=220 / fats=49 / carbs = 160

I added about 350 calories with 2 slices of wheat bread and some canned tunafish. Do you mix the canned tunafish with anything or should i just eat it straight?

When do you lift in between these meals? Anyway...

1) Can you have egg whites with breakfast instead of the protein shake? Also, lose one TBSP of PB.

2) Combinesyour 11am and 12pm meal, and turn it into one. Also, have a protein source here.

3) 5:30pm meal still needs carbs. Lose the shake or chicken and add a source of carbs.

4) Need more calories overall IMO.

When do you lift in between these meals? Anyway...

1) Can you have egg whites with breakfast instead of the protein shake? Also, lose one TBSP of PB.

2) Combinesyour 11am and 12pm meal, and turn it into one. Also, have a protein source here.

3) 5:30pm meal still needs carbs. Lose the shake or chicken and add a source of carbs.

4) Need more calories overall IMO.

On day's I lift, i would go to the gym at 5pm when I get home from work and have the 5:30 meal whenever I get home.

1)sure I guess I would just need to buy them...dumb question real quick, would hard boiling a dozen eggs and eating them but not the yolk be the same thing as egg whites?

2)so 11:30 have an apple/orange + maybe the protein shake from breakfast you told me to dump, would that be ok?

3)lose the shake and eat the chicken and maybe some brown rice and a sweet potatoe or just one of them?

4) I work a desk job and I don't eat a lot everyday as it is, and my weight stays the same, yea I eat some what decent foods but I guess if I'm eating the right ones that'll change. I'm scared eating to many calories with this desk job might be too many :confused: I also don't plan on any cardio, pressed for time as it is and I don't like running or biking all that much, I do play ice hockey 1 or 2 times a week though so I figured that would be enough for cardio...


thanksss!!!!!

On day's I lift, i would go to the gym at 5pm when I get home from work and have the 5:30 meal whenever I get home.

1)sure I guess I would just need to buy them...dumb question real quick, would hard boiling a dozen eggs and eating them but not the yolk be the same thing as egg whites?

2)so 11:30 have an apple/orange + maybe the protein shake from breakfast you told me to dump, would that be ok?

3)lose the shake and eat the chicken and maybe some brown rice and a sweet potatoe or just one of them?

4) I work a desk job and I don't eat a lot everyday as it is, and my weight stays the same, yea I eat some what decent foods but I guess if I'm eating the right ones that'll change. I'm scared eating to many calories with this desk job might be too many :confused: I also don't plan on any cardio, pressed for time as it is and I don't like running or biking all that much, I do play ice hockey 1 or 2 times a week though so I figured that would be enough for cardio...


thanksss!!!!!

1) Yes. Egg whites are egg whites regardless of how you prepare them.

2) That would be perfect.

3) Brown rice, sweet pototo or both. Just keep it within your calorie limits and it doesn't matter which you choose.

4) Ice hockey a couple times per week is definitely considered cardio. I suppose 1850 calories is okay, but I think you might do better at 2000.

1) Yes. Egg whites are egg whites regardless of how you prepare them.

2) That would be perfect.

3) Brown rice, sweet pototo or both. Just keep it within your calorie limits and it doesn't matter which you choose.

4) Ice hockey a couple times per week is definitely considered cardio. I suppose 1850 calories is okay, but I think you might do better at 2000.


Ok if I add 8oz egg whites to breakfast, lose the shake at dinner and add like 1/2 cup brown rice and a 4oz sweet potato my totals would be

Calories = 2038
Protein = 224g
Fat = 49g
Carbs = 206g

Ok if I add 8oz egg whites to breakfast, lose the shake at dinner and add like 1/2 cup brown rice and a 4oz sweet potato my totals would be

Calories = 2038
Protein = 224g
Fat = 49g
Carbs = 206g


Re-write your diet with the new additions. I think it's much better, but would probably decrease carbs a bit and increase fats. It'd help to see it laid out though.

Re-write your diet with the new additions. I think it's much better, but would probably decrease carbs a bit and increase fats. It'd help to see it laid out though.

thanks so much for all your help

Time Meal Calories Protein Fats Carbs
8:00am Oatmeal 300 10 6 54
8:00am 8oz Egg Whites 120 24 0 4
8:00am 2tsp Peanut Butter 200 7 16 7
11:30am Apple 70 0 0 32
11:30am Orange 45 0 0 22
11:30am Protein Shake 110 24 1 2
2:00pm 8oz Chicken Breast 220 50 2 0
2:00pm 2 slices wheat bread 180 8 3 34
5:30pm 8oz Chicken Breast 220 50 2 0
5:30pm 1/2 Cup Brown Rice 150 3 1 32
8:00pm 2tsp Peanut Butter 200 7 16 7
8:00pm tunafish(canned) 175 40 2 0

Totals - calories=1990 / protein=223 / fats=49 / carbs=194

I decided to only have brown rice with my chicken at dinner time.