Hi everyone, I've been reading the forums for a while now but have never posted. I've been fairly active most of my life but never started weight training till about 15 months ago. I have predominately been doing martial arts/boxing for the past 15+ years I started at 148 lbs, but now I'm about 167 lbs around 15-17% body fat. My plan is to cut down to 8-10% bodyfat (depends on how much lean mass I've lost) before I start bulking. Eventually I would like to get up to 180 lbs. and 9-10% bodyfat. My workout and diet are as follows, would greatly appreciate any suggestions:

Workout 1: bench press, squats, pull ups, dips, curls, knee raises for abs (approx 45 mins)
Workout 2: dead lifts, military press, squats, leg press, calf raises, shoulder shrugs (approx 45 mins)
Cardio: racquetball (45-60 mins)

I alternate workouts 1 and 2 so that I do one twice a week and the other once. Ie. if I do Workout 1 on M and F the following week I will only do it on W. I stick to multiple muscle group exercises because of my limited time to weight train. I may at some point change up cardio to add some muay thai pad work if I can find a partner.

BMR = 1727
Maintenance Calories = 1727 x 1.55 = 2676.85 (fitday says 2710 so they are pretty close)

Diet:

Meal 1 7:30 am: 3 eggs, 1 cup of 1% milk w/ nitrean, coffee 1 cup
Meal 2 9:00 am: 1 banana
Workout 11:00 am
Meal 3 Noon: Tuna, Yogurt, nitrean w/water
Meal 4 2:30 pm: Edamame, 1/2 cup of coffee
Meal 5 6:30 pm: Salmon with rice and various vegetables or salad

This puts me at 18%F, 41%P, and 40%C with a total of 2,229 calories. Would appreciate any critique of my diet and workout.

No fruit?

Bananas don't qualify? I suppose I could do half veggies and half fruit at 6:30 pm or is there a better time of day to eat them?

bump for more suggestions

Diet:

Meal 1 7:30 am: 3 eggs, 1 cup of 1% milk w/ nitrean, coffee 1 cup
Meal 2 9:00 am: 1 banana
Workout 11:00 am
Meal 3 Noon: Tuna, Yogurt, nitrean w/water
Meal 4 2:30 pm: Edamame, 1/2 cup of coffee
Meal 5 6:30 pm: Salmon with rice and various vegetables or salad

This puts me at 18%F, 41%P, and 40%C with a total of 2,229 calories. Would appreciate any critique of my diet and workout.
That doesn't seem like 2229 calories, but I could be wrong.

Meal 1: Looks good, but add some carbs in here. Maybe swap milk for water.
Meal 2: A banana isn't a meal. You want some good pre workout fuel. Protein/Carbs e.g. chicken and brown rice.
Meal 3: Wouldn't bother with nitrean if your having tuna. Get rid of the yoghurt and replace with some carbs for after workout.

Rest looks okay ish. Dunno what Edamame is. Overall, you seem to lack healthy fats, protein and veggies. I would probably advise you to read some of the stickied threads in the Beginners forum for a better take on things.

Thanks for the tips Foley. I'll check out the stickies for more info.

"That doesn't seem like 2229 calories, but I could be wrong. "

I calculated that through fitday.com and some of them I added manually there by reading the labels.

"Dunno what Edamame is"

It's basically a baby Japanese soybean. High protein, low fat, good anti-oxidant:

Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving
Calories
189.1
Calories from Fat
67.5

Fat 8.1g 12%
Saturated Fat 0.96g 5%
Polyunsaturated Fat 3.3g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.0g
Cholesterol 0.0mg 0%
Sodium 9.3 mg 0%
Potassium 675.8 mg 19 %
Carbohydrate 15.4g 5%
Dietary Fiber 8.1g 32%
Protein 16.9g 34%
Alcohol 0.0g

Vitamin A 0%
Calcium 10%
Vitamin D 0%
Thiamin 21%
Niacin 7%
Vitamin B6 8%
Phosphorus 26%
Selenium 0%
Vitamin C 16%
Iron 20%
Vitamin E 5%
Riboflavin 14%
Vitamin B12 0%
Manganese 79%
Copper 27%
Magnesium 25%
Zinc 14%

Thanks for the tips Foley. I'll check out the stickies for more info.

"That doesn't seem like 2229 calories, but I could be wrong. "

I calculated that through fitday.com and some of them I added manually there by reading the labels.

"Dunno what Edamame is"

It's basically a baby Japanese soybean. High protein, low fat, good anti-oxidant:

Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving
Calories
189.1
Calories from Fat
67.5

Fat 8.1g 12%
Saturated Fat 0.96g 5%
Polyunsaturated Fat 3.3g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.0g
Cholesterol 0.0mg 0%
Sodium 9.3 mg 0%
Potassium 675.8 mg 19 %
Carbohydrate 15.4g 5%
Dietary Fiber 8.1g 32%
Protein 16.9g 34%
Alcohol 0.0g

Vitamin A 0%
Calcium 10%
Vitamin D 0%
Thiamin 21%
Niacin 7%
Vitamin B6 8%
Phosphorus 26%
Selenium 0%
Vitamin C 16%
Iron 20%
Vitamin E 5%
Riboflavin 14%
Vitamin B12 0%
Manganese 79%
Copper 27%
Magnesium 25%
Zinc 14%
Oh right. Doesn't sound too bad, but I wouldn't use it as the main protein in a meal, due to its amino acid profile. However I may be wrong.

Definitely check the stickies. My answer to you is probably contained in the thread I wrote. Got any questions after that then let me know in this thread or via PM if you wish. I'm more than happy to help.

What kind of rice are you eating? White or brown? Brown has a better GI and more fiber.

White rice. My wife only makes white rice for the whole family so I don't have much of an option in that area. Although last night I just skipped the rice and had fish, salad, and a whole mango.

White rice. My wife only makes white rice for the whole family so I don't have much of an option in that area. Although last night I just skipped the rice and had fish, salad, and a whole mango.

Keep fresh sweet potatoes or canned beans around and drop the mango.

Keep fresh sweet potatoes or canned beans around and drop the mango.

Yeah I was definitely thinking about adding sweet potatoes in there or substituting on certain days. I love BBQ beans, I'll have to check if the sauce is too much calories. Don't know if I could stomach plain baked beans.

I survived the first week and constructed about 3 daily meal plans to alternate between using suggestions I saw here and in some of the stickies. According to the FatTrack Pro I went from 17.78% to 16.08% BF and lost 1 lb. on the scale.

I survived the first week and constructed about 3 daily meal plans to alternate between using suggestions I saw here and in some of the stickies. According to the FatTrack Pro I went from 17.78% to 16.08% BF and lost 1 lb. on the scale.

Hey good to see you are progressing, I did a few years of mixed martial arts and I really miss it. I don't have the time as the club I like is some distance away, and my priority is to build a body I can be proud of.

I also like you try to train to be time efficient, heed the good advice lots of complex carbs, wholegrain foods and veges etc will help you get the best results. :tucool:

I also like you try to train to be time efficient, heed the good advice lots of complex carbs, wholegrain foods and veges etc will help you get the best results. :tucool:

Cool, I also wish I could do MMA or some type of solid martial arts training for my cardio, but it just doesn't work out with the location I'm in. Maybe that will change in the future. Good luck with your goals.

I tried a sweet potato before my workout and noticed I had quite a bit more energy for it, whereas I was feeling sluggish with the low carb setup I originally had. I also have been eating brocolli and other veggies.

I survived the first week and constructed about 3 daily meal plans to alternate between using suggestions I saw here and in some of the stickies. According to the FatTrack Pro I went from 17.78% to 16.08% BF and lost 1 lb. on the scale.

Second week I went from 16.08% to 14.55% and dropped another pound. I'm wondering if I can expect the percentage of BF I drop every week to slow down as I get closer to my goal?

You must be doing someting right to go from 17.7% to 14.5% BF in 2 weeks.
Thats more than impressive.

I've always had low BF due to high metabolism until my mid 30's, but it has slowed down quite a bit. I'm also one of those body types that is a hard gainer. So maybe I can cut fat quick, but putting on muscle takes longer. Don't know if there is a correlation but I'm just guessing.

Maybe I'll post some pics to see if you guys think the visuals match my calipers. I'm fairly certain the loss % is accurate as I'm using landmarks on my body to choose the same pinch spots ha ha. It sure would be nice if I only have 3-4 weeks left on my cut to reach my goal.

I've been feeling tired lately and wondering if I'm starting to overtrain. I've been forcing myself to get at least 8 hours of sleep which helps, but some parts of me are aching like my wrist muscles, shoulders, and lower back. Although I think the lower back was just a result of doing 1 too many reps and failing form during a squat.

I think it is most likely because I wasn't doing consistent cardio on T/TH before, just consistent weight training on MWF and now the extra effort will take some getting used to.