I need some help critiquing my meal plan. I’m in my twenty’s, 6’2” tall, and weigh 300 pounds. My ultimate goal is to lose my big gut and overall fat from my body while so I look good and feel better about my image. I want to be realistic but it would be great to weigh 270 at the beginning of June. I just started getting back to the gym 3 weeks ago. I have been doing 30-50 minutes of cardio (mix of stationary bike and treadmill) 5 days a week. (Today) I have started back into light weight lifting to get back in the game.  I use to do some weight lifting but nothing serious. I have been reading up on “Starting Strength” and believe I am going to start the program in a couple weeks.

Back to eating, I did some research and using this site Cal. Calculator and using very low active numbers (I work in an office) I get 3700 calories to maintain my weight. I figure 700 cal deficit, and I am at 3000 calories. First off, I know I weigh a lot but 3000 cals still sounds like ALOT is this a correct number for losing weight with my level of cardio? I also looked over this helpful article Body Building Diet and although I am not paying attention to fat or carbs to much right now I figure if I can get my basic calorie intake down then I can tweak the proportions.

A few weeks ago I also got into making all my meals for the week on Sunday. So today, while making my meals I do some research to see what I would need to hit 3000 cals. With my big focus on trying to hit 300 grams a protein (1 gram per pound of weight) so for a days meal I put together a spreadsheet to really see what I am at. This is my daily meal for the next 3 days

                 Cals./ Oz.    Pro./ Oz.
Yogurt                       80            5
Banana                      105            1.25
2 oz. of almonds      320            12
3 Cuties                      120            3
10 oz. of chicken       400               60
6 oz. of peas               138            9.6
10 Oz. of top round  600            100
4 oz. of corn                92             3
6 oz. of black beans42             3
12 oz. of milk                192              12
2 scoops of whey         110             20

TOTAL               2199            228.85


My problem is, is that I am already at 20 oz. of meat and am still 800 short of what I think I need. I like salad and can add this in a dinner but it only adds marginal calories and almost no protein.  Also as a note I was thinking about splitting my dinner and maybe even my lunch to have smaller meals throughout the day. That would put me at 5 meals with a snack of cuties oranges or an apple.  

What I am looking for is am I on the right track? Way off? Suggestions, comments, anything is good.

Cut out the corn, beans, and milk.  Basically, you want to minimize your carbs Also, what is a "cutie"?  Add some veggies and healthy fats.  

Check out the Paleo thread for some good ideas.

A "cutie" is a small orange, I get them at Costco and they are delicious! I thought the beans would be a good source of protein but it is much lower than I expected, so cutting them out will be easy.

I will check out the Paleo diet later, thanks for the advice.

You need one gram per pound of LEAN BODY MASS, not per pound of total weight.

Cut the 300g to 200g and the calories to 2400 max.

I would:
-Ditch the milk

-replace the corn with leafy greens, broccoli, peppers, onions, fresh carrots, Brussels sprouts, ect.

-Maybe replace the peas too, with a more economical vegetable

-ditch one of your fruit selections (maybe alternate them daily, but one 1 a day. fruit is not as good for you as the man would have you think)  

-more veggies

-less meat, or at least replace that beef with more chicken, or some fish, even lean pork would be better in terms of total calories.



I have to say that your ideas about how much protein you need are a little whack. 300 grams of protein a day is a little ridiculous, even for a bodybuilder. For a guy trying to lose weight its absurd. those articles that say you should have "x" amount per pound are usually assuming you are already lean/fat proportionate.

You also need to pick a goal. losing weight and gaining muscle are pretty much opposites. trying to eat 300 grams of protein a day and running a calorie deficit will get you nowhere and fast. I bet 80-100 grams would be just right for you. cut that meat intake in half.

Those bmi-calorie deficit calculators are also wrong for you. unless you are hiding 250 lbs of lean mass in there, that 3700 maintenance figure is sky high. i bet its 6 or 8 hundred calories high. I know this because i used to be about your size (6'1'' 300 lbs) and i have been down this road. I got similar results from the online calculators, but also went to a doctor and nutritionist who came up with much lower maintenance numbers.

If you are 300 lbs, you will be happier/healthier if you focus on weight loss first.  

Thanks for the advice, when I saw 3700 calories I also thought that was ridiculously high thus my post. Cutting down the amount of meat would also be helpful because I cooked a ton of meat this weekend and only made 6 meals total. My goals right now are very vague and until I make it more specific I am probably just spinning my wheels.

I actually like salad so leafy greens will be no problem. As for peas I get the 5 pound bag of organic frozen peas at Costco so price issue is not a huge concern there. I think next week I will forgo steak, up the chicken and split that between lunch and dinner.

One question, why is everyone against the milk?

Milk is great for growth, if you're trying to make a big cut you should drop the milk.

Once you reach your goal add it back in, full fat whole milk, no skim bullshit.

I drink 2%, anything lower feels like water. It is only 12 oz. once a day so cutting it out shouldn't be too hard.

Some here are milk fanatics, I love it personally, but it is bad for weight loss. It caloric density is pretty substantial and milkfat is pretty unnecessary. Milk also has some hidden simple carbs, which are also to be avoided is weight loss is one of your goals. Milk is great if you are trying to get big, and are hence running a calorie surplus. If dieting for weight loss, its a good idea to avoid drinking your calories.  

As far as your goals go, that is of course an intensely personal decision. If i may offer the following to consider. The stats you posted are similar to mine when i started seriously trying to improve myself not all that long ago. 9 months ago i was the 300lb dude trying to figure out how to get my shit together and get in shape. while everyone wants to be strong, and have large muscles, you have more to gain by losing weight and developing respiratory and cardiovascular endurance. Mass building, of course, requires that endurance anyway, so whatever your final goal, the first step is to shed bodyfat and get your bodys basic functions to a robust state. If you focus on clean dieting, cardio, and light lifting (in that order) you can really be a different person in just a few months. You mentioned maybe being down to 270 by june in your first post. call it 3 months. That goal is serious, but it is also seriously doable. I think i lost about 40 lbs in my first 3 months. believe me when i tell you losing that amount of weight is huge. You will need new clothes. i cant even wear my old shoes, socks, glasses, or hats anymore and that is pretty fucking peachy. it will not be easy, but once you get started its not that hard.

staying motivated on the long term is the hardest part

Agree with your points. For the OP - there are plenty of healthy ways to eat tasty vegetables besides salad:

-Halve roma tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Oven roast at 250F for 4 hours
-Halve brussel sprounts and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Roast in a 375 oven for 20-30 minutes.  You can also add whole or halved garlic cloves and/or chopped onion
-Separate kale leaves from the thick stems.  Spread on a baking sheet.  Lightly drizzle with olive oil and salt.  Roast in a 375F oven for 20-30 minutes
-Lightly drizzle asparagus spears with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Roast in a 375 oven or grill over medium heat for 15 minutes
-Slice an eggplant into 1/4" slices.  Salt both sides and sit in a collander for an hour.  Remove from collander and pat dry.  Lightly brush with olive oil and grill over medium heat for ~13-15 minutes.

aka a clementine

Im 6'5" tall and started out weighing 322lbs, when i started out i cut out sodas and snacks between meals. started working out and ate whatever i wanted at meal time. I then cut portion sizes. then cut out "unhealthy meals" then stepped it up to the 6 meals a day idea. now im a pretty lean 234, working on getting down to 225. i have been at it for 4 years. first advice i can offer you is that the changes you make MUST BE LIFESTYLE CHANGES THAT YOU CAN STICK WITH. people that count calories and go on crash diets tend to gain the weight back. that being said your diet doesnt look too bad but as stated above for someone trying to cut down 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight is not the right method when trying to drop weight, it needs to be 1 gram per pound of your target weight; at this point you do not have the muscle mass to use that much protein so it will be stored as fat. i would guess at 6feet tall about 200 pounds is your ideal weight. so 200 grams of protein per day is more what you should be shooting for, with about half that many grams of carbs. it worked and is still working for me, i get leaner and stronger everyday. Pick up a muscle and fitness or Maximum fitness or reps mag and follow one of their meal plans. they breka it down and its easy to follow. good luck bud stay in the gym and use common sense and dont expect it to happen overnight.

just a rough idea for a meal plan.

Breakfast- 1 cup greek yogurt, 3/4 cup berries of your choice one teaspoon honey
mid-am snack- 1 scoop of whey mixed with water, 1oz almonds
lunch-8oz chicken breast, two cups green salad, vinagarette dressing. 5 triscuits
evening snack- pre workout-1 scoop whey mixed with water and 2 of your "cuties"
postwork out-2 scoops whey powder ,mixed with water 2 rice cakes
dinner- 8-10oz lean pork beef or fish or poultry. 1 sweet potato or 1cup brown rice, 1 cup veggies (not beans or corn) I.E. broccoli asparagus salad etc.