You fellas may or may not have seen my few recent posts. I've been working out 9 months, getting strong, feeling good. Now i've officially started a pretty low carb diet for 6 weeks to cut some body fat. I want to do that for 6 weeks, back to normal for 6, then cut another 6.

My normal diet does not cause me to gain weight but it's very very slow to lose belly fat but still lets me makes good strength gains.

Right now I basically eat 3.2ish pounds of meat, cup of broccoli, 2 breakfast burritos, and 2 scoops of protein a day. By my figures it comes out to exactly 60/20/20 and a total caloric intake of 3100.

I tried to cut fat once before and I struggled with self control. I did great all week then would fail with an epic cheat day every weekend. I've always been a super active guy and a big eater. I could easily down a large pizza, medium cake, and 1 pint of ice cream on my cheat meal. I realize that is terrible but i'm being honest. I'm focusing on the mental side of self control and doing much better now. My cheat meal last week was 2 burgers and 2 brats at a bbq.

My lifting buddy thinks that is way too much protein and I should up healthy fat but also says I need 1.5 grams per pound of weight. I'm at 326 grams which is 1.49 grams per pound.

Thoughts in general? Am I being too aggressive on my calorie intake? I know everyone's body is different but i'm looking for general thoughts.

What kind of ratio and grams per pound do you do when you are trying to trim down? My chest and shoulders are getting bigger but I have about 1.5" of fat of the belly to finish up.

If the goal is to cut you don't really need to eat all that protein. Eat when you are hungry (actually hungry not when the clock tells you you are) eat until you are not hungry anymore.

If you up the fat intake you will be hungry less. I would also try to get carbs under 10% of calories preferably under 5%. Don't be afraud to just fast as well. I have been doing my lifting at the end of 24 hour fasts. I allow myself to eat whatever i want on recovery days bit more often than not i don't have much more than my coffee woth lots of heavy cream and a protein rich dinner.

My way isn't really good for gains at all but it's pretty optimal for fat loss and longevity/healthspan.

Im hungry constantly with this diet,  to the point that i have trouble getting to sleep but i appreciate the advice.  I will experiment with less carbs and a little more fat.

You could try intermittent fasting. If you set up your 8 hour window from 12-8 or 1-9 then you can eat a nice filling supper and fall asleep satiated. It's kind of annoying going without breakfast for the first week or so, but black coffee can fill the void a bit.

What I liked about it was you could eat in a deficit, but still be able to have two good sized meals and a snack so you feel filled up through the afternoon and evening.

intermittent fasting is the way to go.  increase your good fat and keep the carbs low.  I F increases your HGH production as much as 500%.

What is the effect of intermittent fasting on muscle if im still eating close to workouts?

if you workout close to the end of your fast it will cause your body to burn the stored fat on your body and the increase in hgh should produce more muscle.  Protein is hard for your body to burn for energy so you need to balance the protein with fat for energy.  You want to make your body get used to burning fat for energy.

Here is what I am doing:
I worked real hard trying to gain some good weight, eating about 2800-3000 calories and worked hard as I could.
my cholesterol sucked and I found my T was really low. I decided to hold off on eating that much food and try and get things under control.
So I started a "cut" and ate just enough to maintain weight for a week.
then went:
protein 1gram per body weight, fat 20%, rest = carbs.
Body weight x 15 = calories
next week body weight x 14 etc.
Once you get into 11-12 area stop and work out harder add stuff to burn calories vs dropping more calores.
Think RECOVERY/RETENTION.

Here is an article on that cut.
I added 10lbs to my bench 1RM during this time.

Now the problem I ran into was just enough work to do away with all of those carbs.
So like you I looked into lowering carbs down as I didnt feel I was using 250g of carbs.
Currently I keep my carbs pretty low and I only eat them after I work out. thats really when your body wants them anyhow to refill those muscles with energy.
This has gotten the ball moving on bf loss without me feeling that much weaker (or no weaker at all)
Just make sure your workouts a tough, up the weights and push like hell. Think of it like you are making room for those carbs besides around your belly.

In the morning I eat 4 eggs and a protein shake, after a workout I will eat maybe some protein oatmeal, some trail mix (good fats), an energy bar etc, nothing pure sugar/cake/candy junk, in an hour or so ill eat some chicken.
For dinner some chicken or some salmon, I do my best to not spike insulin before bed if I can.
I also work out on weekends and only take wed off. Those new workout days are typically just stuff like chin ups, hang cleans, or just speed runs on stuff with super sets, just trying to burn calories and work on some stuff. I feel like BCAA help a ton during this time as there isnt alot of rest time for recovery.
If you can tailor your carbs to your workouts and get the necessary amounts down i think you will have the best success. Keto is great for this but i found I really got flipped on my head strength wise and I didnt want to significantly lower my workload.

No different than eating in a deficit any other time. Eat good food, work out so your body has the signals in place to preserve your lean mass, use up some fat for fuel.

Wow, someone else is getting it. You can lead a normal life, eat well, not sweat the small shit within reason.

I have been an athlete my entire life. once I hit 50 weight started climbing. Tried KETO, Paleo, calorie counting all left me feeling deprived. Started IF about six months ago. 10 lbs from my best college weight and much fitter in the process. Big plus I don't have to be a Lil bitch about my diet.

I was asking because my deficit starting in january let me lose 70 pounds in 10 weeks but i couldn't get stronger no matter how hard i worked.  

I had other changes though,  mainly ridding myself of personal stress.

Thats what I'm going for in the long run.  My diet is good for maintaining where i am and being strong but im naturally really stocky and pudgy so getting there is taking a bit but i won't have trouble staying there when i do trim down.

Appreciate the help fellas.

They are kind of conflicting goals at a certain point. One of the biggest tips you see in every forum for getting through flat spots in strength training is to eat more food (among a few other tips as well)

So it's kind of universally known that once you have your nervous system trained, you need to be building muscle to continue getting stronger, and it's hard to do when trying to cut weight.

When I cut, my daily caloric percentages are around 50-55%% protein, 40% fats and 5-10% carbs.

I target my lean body weight at 225, so I get 300ish grams of protein throughout the day.  It ends up being somewhere between 300-350 grams.

1. The 1.5 protein per pound of body-weight is an inaccurate oversimplification.  The protein to body-weight intake is supposed to be geared towards lean body mass. If you have a high bodyfat you definitely don't need that much protein. If you are eating 326 grams of protein, I'd expect you to be around 250-300lbs and fairly lean (Enough to have visible abs at that size.). Unless you look like a pro bodybuilder and are on gear that's just way too much. Your body isn't absorbing or using it, your literally shitting it out and more likely then not your putting your liver/digestive system through hell.
2. Going low fat is just a bad idea. For hormones and testosterone. A lot of people that go super low fat note a decreased sex drive/libido, lower energy, etc. Not very conducive towards putting on muscle.
3. Carbs are not bad. They are a fuel source. You just need to figure out the intake ratio you need.




Sounds to me like your main issue is, your eating unhealthy processed food. The basic jist of weight loss/gain is literally calories in vs calories out. If you are in a deficit, you'll lose weight. I was an IIFYM guy for a long time but made some changes and realized that eating 'clean' and removing processed foods is huge.




The single biggest tip I'd give to anyone in reference to their diet or nutrition would be, eat more vegetables.  Look at your dinner plate. At least 60-70% of it should be veggies. If you don't like them, find a manner of fixing them that you enjoy. I season the hell out of mine and stir fry them in butter and olive oil. Simply because I like the flavor and I think veggies can use some added fats. When I made veggies one of my primary sources of food it became really hard to overeat. Simply put, they are fairly low in calories, fat, and even carbs for their density. Which means you can still eat the tastier carbs such as pasta, rice, potatoes, etc. with every meal, just in a smaller portion.  


I had to reevaluate grocery shopping habits. Firstly try to buy fresh stuff. I pretty much stick to seasoning's that I use to make my foods tastier. Meat/Chicken. Eggs. Butter. Vegetables.  I don't buy a bunch of prepackaged crap. The fat/carb/calorie ratio to quantity of food you get is terrible. I don't like messing with potatoes so I do keep Alexia tots, fries, sweet potato fries, etc. in the freezer and bake them when I need more carbs. Also keep some Jasmine rice on hand because it can be a quick/easy carb. I like it with butter and salt/black pepper. Again the main goal is have more veggies on your plate then meat or the other carb sources.




Quit buying processed food. And if your offered it, don't eat it. Maybe once a week a small 'cheat' will be ok. But after awhile it'll probably make you feel like crap anyways. Take the time and learn how to make simple foods taste good. Veggies, meat, fish, chicken primarily.  Its not just broscience. Give it a shot and watch your digestive system thank you, the fat come off, and your energy be increased. You don't need a fad diet. You just need to eat real food.




I like to eat, often. I've tried IF and I just ended up being hungry, irritable, and I found myself wanting to binge during the feeding window making me feel like crap.


I have no doubt its effective for fat loss. But its not very conducive towards building muscle or strength.

Im taking the advice in the thread and trying some things.

One correction,  other than my cheat day,  i eat no processed foods of any kind.

I literally have ate 2 breakfast burritos, 3 pounds of meat, and veggies 6.5 days a week since january. The same shit every day.  Farm fresh beef, chicken and eggs.  Pork is store bought as well as fish.  

I noticed a Uuuuuge difference.  I feel like shit for 3 days if i cheat with processed food.  

I cant cook for shit and I'm super super busy so it's pretty basic stuff. I remedied that though and as of last week i hired my coworkers wife to do my cooking.  Im giving her recipes and working a schedule out with her. That will help the time issue a lot.  

I can't eat a plain ass 3 pound portion of meat and broccoli another day.  But thats all i can cook.  Other than breakfast burritos anyway.

I work on a large dairy with a bunch of mexicans and Mennonites as well as american owners who dabble in chickens,  goats, and beef for our own use.  We built pig pens awhile back and will have 60 for slaughter soon.  I can tell someone i want an animal, they'll slaughter it after work in our maternity barn and vacuum pack it right there.  Its fresh.  

Thanks for the input.  That's why i post.  I like to hear dissenting opinions. I take those opinions, listen to my body,  and make it work.  Im getting pretty in tune with things now but i still want input.

Im getting skinnier every month slowly and my weight is mostly steady so I'm in the ballpark. My bowel schedule is like clockwork and i feel good.  Im going to keep making changes as i see the effects and see where it goes.