Will This Diet Work?

Trying to lose the fat…currently at about 20%, want to lose enough to see some decent definition so need to stick to a diet plan for once!

Here’s a rough daily menu that I’m planning on (bear in mind I’m a girl so I’m not gonna have a protein intake comparable to you lads!), it provides 2271 cals, 244g protein, 164g carbs, 70g carbs.

Oats (made with water) with flax and sunflower seeds

Protein bar

2 chicken legs (skin removed)
Half cucumber
2 tomatoes
1 red pepper

2 carrots
Tuna Canned in Olive Oil

Half bunch broccoli
Baked salmon

1litre Semi Skimmed Milk drank whenever I can

The meal timings aren’t going to be great due to shift patterns but there’s not a lot I can do about that!
What do you think?

How tall are you? What do you weigh (I know not supposed to ask)? Is 2271 calories an appropriate amount for fat loss for you? How do you know? Are you going to eat protein at breakfast? What does you training look like? Are you burning significant calories with some type of cardio? Are you lifting weights to maintain muscle mass? Just some food for thought.

Just so I’m clear, is your goal to lower body fat% or lose weight? What’s your stats? Height, weight… How are you training? If you want to cut body fat, more exercise and a maintainence diet level. Need more info…

[quote]gymbunnie wrote:
Trying to lose the fat…currently at about 20%, want to lose enough to see some decent definition so need to stick to a diet plan for once!

Here’s a rough daily menu that I’m planning on (bear in mind I’m a girl so I’m not gonna have a protein intake comparable to you lads!), it provides 2271 cals, 244g protein, 164g carbs, 70g carbs.

Oats (made with water) with flax and sunflower seeds

Protein bar

2 chicken legs (skin removed)
Half cucumber
2 tomatoes
1 red pepper

2 carrots
Tuna Canned in Olive Oil

Half bunch broccoli
Baked salmon

1litre Semi Skimmed Milk drank whenever I can

The meal timings aren’t going to be great due to shift patterns but there’s not a lot I can do about that!
What do you think?[/quote]

Hey there.
Looks pretty good.
Good protein and veggies.
The only thing i would say is ditch the milk.
Not sure if you’ve noticed how much sugar is in milk. Plus it doesn’t look like you need it. You’re getting plenty of protein throughout the day.

Cool cheers for the milk suggestion, will probs get rid of that and maybe add a few almonds/hazelnuts to the oats in the morning, get a bit of protein in there and maybe the days I’m not doing cardio will have eggs or something?
I’m 5’4, weigh 56kg (123lbs for you americans out there!)
My training looks something like this:

Monday, AM: 5x60m sprints (3min rest periods between each sprint) followed by tabata ‘thrusters’
PM: just a few bodyweight exercises, you know the drill!

Tues, AM: 50min run (Don’t have a dig at me for this, I’m training for a 10k!)
PM: Back workout followed by 15-20mins HIIT rowing

Weds, AM: 20min tempo run (aerobic threshold training)
PM: Same as monday

Thurs, AM: Same as monday
PM: Chest followed by 15-20mins HIIT bike/rower/stepper/whatever cardio machine is free at the time

Fri, AM: 1hr slow run
PM: Legs & shoulders

Sat: REST DAY

Sun, AM: Hill training 40mins

It probs looks like a lot but I’ve been doing something similar for a while and had no problems, also don’t say I should cut it down…I will once I’ve got to where I wanna be!
Thanks for advice guys :slight_smile:

Btw getting rid of the milk brings cals down to 1791

Another suggestion.
For a 123 pound woman who is trying to cut, you are really taking in a lot of protein.

You really don’t need much more than 123 grams a day, or one gram per pound of bodyweight.
And you’re taking in double that…240 grams a day or almost 2 grams per pound of bodyweight.

That ratio of protein in a day is what a male bodybuilder trying to bulk up would be doing.
In my opinion.

[quote]gymbunnie wrote:
Btw getting rid of the milk brings cals down to 1791[/quote]

Hehehe.
Surprise!

[quote]sven33 wrote:
Another suggestion.
For a 123 pound woman who is trying to cut, you are really taking in a lot of protein.

You really don’t need much more than 123 grams a day, or one gram per pound of bodyweight.
And you’re taking in double that…240 grams a day or almost 2 grams per pound of bodyweight.

That ratio of protein in a day is what a male bodybuilder trying to bulk up would be doing.
In my opinion.[/quote]

Good point, I’m 6’6" 240 and that’s about what I eat (also trying to lose some fat).

With all the running you are doing, are you lifting heavy to maintain muscle? 6 reps or lower? That will help your body hold on to muscle mass. The calories without the milk also looks closer to what I had in mind. You are doing a great deal of long distance cardio (i know you’re training for a 10k), so I would suggest to add in BCAA’s before and after workouts, to help your body maintain muscle mass as well.

One more thing…where did you calculate your macros? They seem off.

oats, protein bar, chicken legs, tuna, and salmon, unless you are eating very large portions, that doesn’t look like it adds up to 240 g protein.

i mean an estimation off the top of my head:
oats (maybe 10)
Protein bar (20)
2 chicken legs (35)
1 can tuna (35)
salmon (40)

That equals about 140 (which is probably ok for you)

I’m just wondering where you calculated your macros.

From what I’ve read, the basics for a woman to lose fat are

Calories: 12 x bodyweight (may need to go down to 11 or 10 if no progress is seen after a few weeks)
Protein: 1g/lb bw
Fat: .4-.5g/lb bw
Carbs: whatever remains to meet calorie requirement

Avoid fat in your PWO meal and avoid carbs in your last meal before bed (unless that’s pwo).

So for 123lbs that would be:

1476 calories
123g P (492 cal)
49/61g F (441/549 cal)
136/109g C (543/435 cal)

You can pick the slightly higher fat/lower carb setup, the slightly higher carb/lower fat setup, or alternate between the two.

Looking at your training, I see intense cardio 5 days a week and 2 days with long cardio sessions. Back, chest, legs and shoulders once each during the week.

Have you been training like this for long? What have your results been like? I’m thinking this is way too much cardio and not enough lifting. Do you get burnt out at all with all that hiit and sprinting?

I understand you’re training for a 10k which is not my thing so I won’t comment on training for that, but I don’t think your training is ideal for FAT LOSS.

Maybe someone more knowledgeable can comment on how to combine 10k training with an effective lifting program??

HTH! :slight_smile:

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1499282

One more thing, if you haven’t read CT’s recent “Destroying Fat” article, check it out for some good ideas and explanations on how to combine heavy lifting, lactic acid training and cardio. He does a great job explaining the importance of heavy lifting in a fat loss program.

Tony Gentilcore’s article is also great
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1490871

As is Cosgrove’s recent fat loss article
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1526539