Which one here should we get rid off?

Dragonwolf

I think you should only eliminate a food from your diet if that food causes you personal issues, such as binge eating, or perhaps you have an allergy or intolerance to a specific food item.

Beyond that I would suggest that you simplify your diet and your lifestyle by not worrying about whether or not you have to eliminate a particular food, or whether or not you can eat some cake on occasion.

A practical application of this would be to structure your diet such that you eat mostly whole and nutrient dense foods and if you want to, you can leave a small portion of calories to eat "not nutrient dense" foods like ice cream and other things too. So for example, get your fruits and vegetables in, eat a varied diet with lots of whole foods, and enjoy some junk food if you like as long as you don't let that dominate your diet.

Got it. The reason I started this post is because I'm trying to figure out what food is preventing me from getting rid of the fats around my stomach/waist. I lift heavy 5x a week but my cardio is minimal. I think my body fat is like 12% I can feel my abs but it shows only a little.

Dietary fat, in and of itself, has no effect on your fat stores and in fact, insulin is the bigger influencer of abdominal fat storage when calories are equal and not in a surplus.

If you're looking to tweak your diet to shed the last of your fat, you should probably take a look at your carb intake. Carbs are one of the things that people like bodybuilders will tweak the most when doing bulk/cut cycles.

v1rt

Dietary fat, in and of itself, has no effect on your fat stores and in fact, insulin is the bigger influencer of abdominal fat storage when calories are equal and not in a surplus.

If you're looking to tweak your diet to shed the last of your fat, you should probably take a look at your carb intake. Carbs are one of the things that people like bodybuilders will tweak the most when doing bulk/cut cycles.

Here is one of my completed daily log. What do you think?

TavistockToad

As long as you eat less than you burn you will lose bodyfat.

Dragonwolf

Dietary fat, in and of itself, has no effect on your fat stores and in fact, insulin is the bigger influencer of abdominal fat storage when calories are equal and not in a surplus.

If you're looking to tweak your diet to shed the last of your fat, you should probably take a look at your carb intake. Carbs are one of the things that people like bodybuilders will tweak the most when doing bulk/cut cycles.

Here is one of my completed daily log. What do you think?

I think you eat a ton of carbs (but that's in part just me, as I do well on a third of that). :laugh:

That said, if you're still finding your measurements and/or weight changing, then you may not need to do anything at all, since most healthy individuals can lose weight just fine on a caloric deficit, regardless of macros. A little patience goes a long way, in that regard.

However, you do have a lot of wiggle room in your carb intake, so you could try reducing your carbs and increasing your protein and/or fat and see how it works for you, if you wanted. Always keep in mind, though, that fat is an essential nutrient, so make sure you're getting enough, even if you go the lower fat route.

Here's an article that interviews a number of bodybuilders on their diets. For the most part, they generally sit at about 200g of carbs, though a couple go as low as 50g (that one in this case cycles).

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/shredded-cutting-diet-plans-eating-tips-freaky-physiques.html

It may also be beneficial to play with a low-carb or carb-cycling program like Carb Nite to help reduce your fat levels. Bear in mind, though, that you may have to reduce the weight of your lifting working sets to compensate for the less glycogen, especially in the days before a carb-up day.

You may even be able to do straight keto, but the effects of that on muscle are a bit more controversial in the strength circles. The bodybuilders will also tell you that keto diets are catabolic, though studies suggest otherwise (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1373635/). Regardless, a ketogenic diet is arguably one of the best ways to lose fat, so it may still be an option, depending on your other goals besides the fat loss. This also has the same effect on working sets for a while as carb cycling, though studies suggest that the body ultimately switches energy substrates away from glycogen and to fat. Like a runner changing forms, though, you might have to take a couple steps back at first, until you adjust.

The bottom line is - don't be afraid to experiment. Try something for a month and see the effects it has on your body and whether it moves you toward your end goal. If not, then try something different. Regardless of what your chosen macronutrient spread is, try to get your calories from more whole food sources. So, with regard to the originally posted picture, I'd ditch the margarines and "buttery spreads" in favor of the real butter, at least. The butter comes with nutrients that your body can use and can absorb better than what's in the manufactured stuff. Other than that, keep the ricotta and cottage cheese as it suits your macros (and maybe choose the full fat versions over the low fat ones; again, IIFYM).

v1rt

As long as you eat less than you burn you will lose bodyfat.

Looks like I'm not doing enough cardio then. Most of the exercise I do is lifting. I do sprint but 2x a week. However, I stopped for almost 3 weeks now since it's extremely cold outside.

TavistockToad

As long as you eat less than you burn you will lose bodyfat.

Looks like I'm not doing enough cardio then. Most of the exercise I do is lifting. I do sprint but 2x a week. However, I stopped for almost 3 weeks now since it's extremely cold outside.

Or just eat a bit less?

mortuseon

Keep everything in date!! It's a waste to chuck all that good food. Just control your portion sizes.

v1rt

I think you eat a ton of carbs (but that's in part just me, as I do well on a third of that). :laugh:

That said, if you're still finding your measurements and/or weight changing, then you may not need to do anything at all, since most healthy individuals can lose weight just fine on a caloric deficit, regardless of macros. A little patience goes a long way, in that regard.

However, you do have a lot of wiggle room in your carb intake, so you could try reducing your carbs and increasing your protein and/or fat and see how it works for you, if you wanted. Always keep in mind, though, that fat is an essential nutrient, so make sure you're getting enough, even if you go the lower fat route.

Here's an article that interviews a number of bodybuilders on their diets. For the most part, they generally sit at about 200g of carbs, though a couple go as low as 50g (that one in this case cycles).

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/shredded-cutting-diet-plans-eating-tips-freaky-physiques.html

It may also be beneficial to play with a low-carb or carb-cycling program like Carb Nite to help reduce your fat levels. Bear in mind, though, that you may have to reduce the weight of your lifting working sets to compensate for the less glycogen, especially in the days before a carb-up day.

You may even be able to do straight keto, but the effects of that on muscle are a bit more controversial in the strength circles. The bodybuilders will also tell you that keto diets are catabolic, though studies suggest otherwise (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1373635/). Regardless, a ketogenic diet is arguably one of the best ways to lose fat, so it may still be an option, depending on your other goals besides the fat loss. This also has the same effect on working sets for a while as carb cycling, though studies suggest that the body ultimately switches energy substrates away from glycogen and to fat. Like a runner changing forms, though, you might have to take a couple steps back at first, until you adjust.

The bottom line is - don't be afraid to experiment. Try something for a month and see the effects it has on your body and whether it moves you toward your end goal. If not, then try something different. Regardless of what your chosen macronutrient spread is, try to get your calories from more whole food sources. So, with regard to the originally posted picture, I'd ditch the margarines and "buttery spreads" in favor of the real butter, at least. The butter comes with nutrients that your body can use and can absorb better than what's in the manufactured stuff. Other than that, keep the ricotta and cottage cheese as it suits your macros (and maybe choose the full fat versions over the low fat ones; again, IIFYM).

This is quite an awesome post! I wasn't aware I was taking a lot of carbs. Maybe, I'll do this. I'll eat tons of carbs so I gain mass and muscles and then reduce carbs like what you said above once I want to start cutting.

v1rt

Keep everything in date!! It's a waste to chuck all that good food. Just control your portion sizes.

Will do!