Need help cutting

joeyangelr · November 2023

I’m 29 5’7 165lbs cutting to 150lbs, my calorie intake is 1750 my macros are 40%C 40%P 20%F but I’m kinda yo-yoing with foods can someone help me out creating a more precise diet plan , preferably on the cheaper end as well please 👍

nossmf · November 2023

For starters, that is a LOT of protein. Forty percent of 1750 calories, at 4 calories per gram, means you have a goal of 175g protein per day at bodyweight 165. Unless you're a hard core bodybuilder, that's probably much more than you need, and potentially a large source of the expense you're currently staring down since meats are often more expensive. The good news is you can probably get by with less protein, and nothing says it has to all come from meats.

This thread includes a variety of options to get protein, to give you options, many of them on the cheaper end.

A few more details from you can help. Do you exercise regularly? How many meals per day do you prefer to eat if given the choice? Do you want to prepare food every day, or would you prefer to spend one day a week preparing a whole bunch of meals in advance, then simply pull one out of the fridge as you need it? Do you have any allergies, or dietary restrictions such as diabetes, or vegan, or no access to a kitchen?

joeyangelr · November 2023

I exercise about 4-5 days a week with rest days in between, I usually will do 3 meals a day with snacks in between. I cook twice a week Sundays & Wednesdays. I have no allergies or dietary restrictions and do have access to a kitchen. I also use the My fitness pal app to keep track of my macros but still yo-yoing, I can’t seem to be exact match with the macro percentages that I’m suppose to obtain daily. I always go over or under on something mainly fats! @nossmf

nossmf · November 2023

One step at a time. First, I want to address the concern about making an exact match for macros. Plain and simple, it is exceedingly difficult to come up with a plan which matches EXACTLY any given set of macros you can conceive for a single DAY, let alone the entire week. There will be days you are over one stat, under another; different day, they may be reversed. The only possible way to hit exactly every single day, is to work to find that one perfect meal plan for one day, and then repeat it exactly every single day for the rest of your life. Don't know about you, but that doesn't sound appealing to me.

So the first step we need to take is to realize these are GOALS, not MANDATORY STANDARDS. They are guidelines to get you started. Personally, as a weightlifter, I worry about two numbers: minimum protein each day, and maximum calories each day. Some days will be higher fat content (especially on chili day), others lower; some days will be higher protein (especially if it's steak night), others lower; some days will be higher calorie days (hello, Thanksgiving), others lower. It's up to you to create a happy balance in your life, to realize it's not the worst thing ever if you go over macro/calories for the day. Some people on this site look at weekly averages instead of daily totals; some people (like me) allow ourselves a certain range of outcomes as "good enough" each day, which takes into account variation in menu.

nossmf · November 2023

Step two: dividing your calories. How you break down your macros is highly individual, based on not only health needs but also taste needs. Carbs give energy to move; protein gives building blocks for the body to heal itself and build/maintain muscle; fat gives some energy, but also helps regulate hormones. Unless you have a medical condition requiring you to limit one macro, each has its place in the average diet.

As stated in your first post, you currently have a goal of 40C/40P/20F. This works out to, ON AVERAGE, 175g carbs, 175g protein, and 39g fat. Doable, but as stated, slanted a bit heavy in favor of protein. You can likely still get very good results with anywhere from 120g-150g protein, which comes out to be 27-35%. So let's go with the higher end, 35P, which can allow you to increase fat to 25%, a little more leeway.

However you break it down is between you and your doctor. But planning around it isn't hard. I start each day with a calorie goal, and a minimum protein goal. Both of these numbers are higher on days I lift than on days I don't, though some people prefer keeping the same totals regardless their exercise of the day.

Anyway, I throw in my expected breakfast and dinners, see where that puts me. If my protein for the day will be light, I pick a lunch with higher protein. If my calories will be a large percentage of my daily total, I will pick a lunch with lighter calories; if on the smaller side, I get more flexibility for eating a larger lunch. I can increase or decrease my carbs (often in the form of dessert or chips) to meet my calorie needs for the day; fat will simply fall where it will.

nossmf · November 2023

It pays to take time and add meal items into a future day, just to see how the totals fall. For example, you want to have a hamburger, fries and soda from a popular burger joint. You can add them all ahead of time to see how much protein, calories, everything the meal has. You can record these totals on a piece of paper, delete those items from the site log, and insert a different hypothetical meal. Do this with each of your favorite meals, and you'll have a good starting point to know which meals may go well together calorie-wise, if you'll be short of protein and whether a protein shake can supplement the difference, etc.

joeyangelr · November 2023

Thank you, this is a lot help, make me feel like I don’t have to be so uptight with my intake as much and having that pdf is definitely going to help as well

mbinaz2019 · November 2023

You might want to take a look at how much sodium you're consuming. Too much salt can make you retain water weight and keep you from losing. You can change your settings to include sodium so you can see how much you're getting in each food or meal you enter.

There's hidden sodium in many foods, especially fast food, snacks, restaurant meals, frozen meals, even bread. The RDA for sodium is 2,300 mg per day, and many fast food options are higher than that for 1 meal.

Need help cutting

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