Critique my cutting diet

Hey, I am cutting for wrestling to get down to 145lbs by December 12th.

I am:
17 years old
5’9"
153lbs
13-15% bf (abs very blurry, but definitely there when flexing)

Diet:
7:15: 2/3 cup oatmeal, 1 scoop whey protein powder
10:15: 10 almonds, 2 oz turkey
12:15: 10 almonds, 2 oz turkey
2:15: One scoop Low Carb Grow! (20g protein) + One tablespoon flaxseed oil
4:00 PWO: 2 servings gatorade powder, 1 scoop whey
6:00 - 1/3 cup oatmeal + egg whites or tuna or lean meat of some sort (about 25-30g worth)
8:00 - Dinner, whatever my mom prepares
10:30 - 1 cup cottage cheese + small handful of almonds
And sleep…

What do you think?

My final stats (NOT INCLUDING MY MOTHERS DINNER) are approximately:

Total: 1601
Fat: 45 408 26%
Sat: 5 48 3%
Poly: 14 123 8%
Mono: 16 148 9%
Carbs: 139 502 32%
Fiber: 13 0 0%
Protein: 166 665 42%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Dinner is medium-sized, it’s my 2nd PWO meal, so I try to get in some healthy meat and vegetables. I’d guess somewhere between 300-500kcals.

Thoughts? Opinions?

you’re eating too many calories. You only need 10 to 12 calories per pound of body weight. And you have way too many fats in your diet. All the almonds and flaxseed oil. Thats alot of fats you dont need. Stick with one tbls. of Flax and one serving of almonds at the most. And dont eat what your mom makes. Tell her your goals and maybe she’ll understand. Your caloric intake should not exceed 1600 calories. I am 18 and your heigh and weight and i have 5% bf. ont forget your cardio too

Jake i have to disagree,10-12 cals/lb?Maybe for a girl, he should be getting more like 15cals/lb especailly being so young…not trying to knock you bro…

That seems low to me.

Harris-Benedict put my maintenance at 2,500, so eating 2,000kcals/day seemed like what I would be aiming for.

Plus, I’m doing HIIT 3x/week and one day of steadystate cardio for about 30mins.

Am I eating too much?

well if maintence is 2500,then you should shoot for ~500 calls under that which would piont to me that just as i said before you are not eating enough.why dont you drop carbs a little lower and bump up protein.

Agree with Dave, disagree with Jake. Not all bodies are the same, even if they are similar in stats. What works for one person isn’t necessarily going to work for someone else. In fact, it probably won’t.

well stated Char

i remember when i first started getting into bodybuilding i read that you only need 10 cals per lb if cutting, 15 for maintenance and 20 for gaining. guess where i read that sound advice? yep you guessed it m&f.

Some people store more fat in the abdomen region.
Some people store more fat in the suprailiac region.
Some people store more fat in the Pectoral region.
Some people store more fat in the mid-thigh.
Some people store more fat in the subscapular region.
Some people store more fat in the triceps region.

Conclusion: You can’t assume a BF% simply because you can see a blurry 6 pack. BF% ALWAYS takes into account the WHOLE body, not just the abdominal area.

Diet sounds GREAT. Keep up the Flax oil/Almond intake. Consider adding Salmon to your diet.

Disagree with 10-12 cals/lb bodyweight. It’s way too little and will lead to excessive and unnecessary muscle loss.
However, you should keep in mind everybody has a different RMR, and yours might be potentially lower - although most likely not anywhere near the 10-12 cals/lb bodyweight.

Exactly Diesel, just like i said 10-12 cals sounds about right for a chick!! Also good call on including the salmon awesome way to make it tasty is spread some grey poupon on it,salt peper and pan fry with a little olive oil…yum!

Of course no one’s taking into account that this kid’s 5’9", 153lbs and has until December to lose 8lbs.

You’re all overthinking this. I’ve already told him to lose 3lbs, and then follow a “pre weigh-in” strategy that Thunder had set up for another person; it’d work beautifully here.

No sacrifice of valuable LBM. End of discussion.

Patricia -

I understand your thinking on the precontest prep to make weight. But this is not a one-time event. I have to weigh-in 2x/week for a couple of months! I have MANY MANY wrestling meets and tournaments.

Thunder’s approach seems great for a bodybuilder prepping for one meet, but for a wrestler weighing in 2x a week for months on end? I’m not so sure.

Also, losing 1-2lbs of LBM (hopefully 0) would be a lot easier for me than to go through the hell of drinking 3 gallons of water a day. I am positive my teachers wouldn’t let me leave the classroom so often to go pee. It’s difficult enough to drink 1 gallon a day (which I usually do)…

I don’t need to diet down to 145, but I DO have to get to 148 or so. I will probably sweat out a lot of the water running in a sweatsuit the morning of weigh-ins, so I can push my weight class a bit more. But carbohydrate depletion, etc, is a baaad idea if I want to be able to push myself hard during wrestling practices.

I appreciate your concern for my muscle, though. I know I’m small, I want to be bigger. But I also want to wrestle varsity this year. As soon as wrestling ends, I’ll go into Westside eating big and training hard, and pack on some mass. But right now, making varsity is what I want to do, and if I get to 145, I can do that (we have 2 amazing 152 and 160lb wrestlers, seniors, on my team).

-Mike

PS - Thanks for all the feedback, especially from chardawg.

Oh, and my bf% might be lower, because I DO tend to store almost all m y fat in the abdominal/chest area. My dad is 5’9" and 230lbs (not a weightlifter, just overweight), and he looks normal all over except for his enormous potbelly.

My arms are veiny, and my calves have outlines of veins, so I might be closer to 10-12%, but I doubt it.

Thanks again.

Keep the responses coming, it’s highly appreciated.

-Mike

I was in the exact same situation as you for two years when I was wrestling in high school. Ignore the fact that it was 18 years ago 8)

I used to drop my calories that low (and lower) to knock off the weight. I went up to 155-160 when I wasn’t wrestling and I’m a few inches shorter than you. I found out that I didn’t have to knock 'em down that low to get the job done though.

Try to keep them around 2000 and keep the cardio up and see what happens. You’re got plenty of time to lose the weight. I never had a problem dropping 1.5 lbs per week then and I don’t now either. If you’re practicing now then I’m sure you’re doing plenty of cardio. We used to run stairs and all sorts of fun stuff. Do not cut your carbs down to stupid levels.

You can do it!