# Example Cutting and Bulking diets



## Tom84

Core principles

Carbohydrate timing, Healthy ratios of omega 3,6,9's, small frequent meals. I calorie count around my basal metabolic rate, weigh food and operate a broad rule of 33/33/33 macro nutrient ratio (this is fat heavy for most) when bulking. As a % when cutting the carbs fall while the fats and proteins rise totalling a 40/20/40. As fat has 9 calories per gram, whereas carbs and proteins are 4, this means the fat gram for gram is less as an absolute. I won't elaborate due to peoples varying metabolisms and weights.

Example Bulking diet

6.00am - 8 egg whites, 1 whole egg + porridge with water + udos/flax seed

9.30am - 150g chicken/turkey + cous cous/brown basmati rice/sweet potato drenched in olive oil + broccoli/red peppers/courgette

13.00 - Repeat 9am though every second day substitute Mackeral/Salmon as the protein source & drop the carbs

16.30 - Repeat 9am

18.30 - pre workout shake - 2 scoops whey in water & oats + pine nuts (not in the shake)

19.00 - train

20.00 - post workout shake - 2 scoops whey isolate + small amount of dextrose + oats (the carbs here are contentious)

21.00 - Repeat core meal (debate over less carbs)

11.00 - cottage cheese + casein + udos/flax

Notes: I have an internal debate over the benefits of reducing carbs in the evening/eating enough carbs post workout. I would train earlier but I work long hours and am not a morning person. Bulking I go with the carbs.

I drink large amounts of water + though limitations of work mean I also drink a huge amount of coffee and sugar free red bull.

Cutting - Non Cyclical TKD

Morning Cardio

6.00am - 8 egg whites, 1 whole egg + porridge with water + udos/flax seed

9.30am - 150g chicken/turkey + cous cous/brown basmati rice/sweet potato drenched in olive oil + broccoli/red peppers/courgette

13.00 - Mackeral/Salmon + broccoli/red peppers/courgette drenched in olive oil

16.30 - 150g chicken/turkey broccoli/red peppers/courgette drenched in olive oil

18.30 - 150g chicken/turkey + cous cous/brown basmati rice/sweet potato drenched in olive oil + broccoli/red peppers/courgette

19.00 - train

20.00 - post workout shake - 2 scoops whey isolate + small amount of dextrose + oats (the carbs here are contentious)

21.00 - 150g chicken/turkey broccoli/red peppers/courgette drenched in olive oil with small portion of carbs depending on how cutting is progressing

11.00 - cottage cheese + casein + udos/flax

Cutting Cyclical Diet

Incorporate core principles of above but operate carb cycles

I don't do this myself but here is my favourite article on the topic T NATION | Carb Cycling Codex


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## splinter1466867924

Thought it was better to eat brown rice.

150g of protein? or is that the weight of the food, body can only use so much at a time.


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## nick500

splinter said:


> Thought it was better to eat brown rice.
> 
> 150g of protein? or is that the weight of the food, body can only use so much at a time.


'brown basmati rice' IS brown rice, just a different strain of it - i think it has a lower GI than normal brown rice.

Also, its obviously not 150g of protein, its 150grams of turkey.... turkey has about 25 grams/100gram of protein, so approx 40 grams of protein

Nick


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## razg

He said brown basmati at the top.

Solid guide to cutting.


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## nick500

young gun

'5.30 - 150g turkey/chicken/fish, sweet potato/brown basmati rice, broccoli

8.00 - 150g turkey/chicken/fish, sweet potato/brown basmati rice, broccoli

11.00 - 150g turkey/chicken/fish, sweet potato/brown basmati rice, broccoli '

in these meals are you having less and less basmati rice each time, trying to minimise total carb surplus by the time you are going to sleep? What sort of amounts are you having of rice in each meal?

Nick


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## Mr Nice

Sounds like a sound diet, obviuosly your eating less and less carbs as the day goes on right?


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## Tom84

Nope I respond well to high carbs which is why I wanted others to post diets also as not everyone is the same.

Beginners can then have a choice of sound diets to follow.


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## Tom84

Taken from Fierce

'As a rule you should be aiming to consume at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. Many people go over this ie 1.5g or even 2g per pound but i think you'll do fine on a gram.

Protein should make up 30% of your dailey intake. Carbs (complex) should make up 50% and dont try to get the remaining 20% in fat, you will consume good fats from meat, fish, nuts etc.

I work it out like this. lets say you wiegh 200lb. You then need to eat 200g of protein per day. If this makes up 30% of your diet, you can work out the amount of carbs you should be eating.

protein grams / 30% = 1% of food intake per day in grams.

so...

200 / 30 = 6.66

that means that 1% of your intake each day is 6.66 grams. From here you canwork out the amount of carbs you need.

1% * 50 (as your carbs should account for 50% of your diet)

so...

6.66 * 50 = 333

So now we know that...

protein = 200g

carbs = 333g

fat = (by product of good food)

If you are fussy and want to know how much fat you need (and it is needed when you are bulking) you can work it out in the same way.

We already know 1% of the food we need is 6.66g

so 6.66g * 20(the percentage of fat allowed/recommended per day) = 133g

The bottom line - Everday you should comsume enough food so that the body recieves...

Protien - 200g

Carbs - 333g

Fat - 133g

From there you need to learn how much protien, carbs and fat there are in different foods and work out how much of that food you need to satisfy that meals nutritional needs.

I like to split my nutrients evenly over the 6 meals, so going by our example that would mean that each meal must contain...

pro 200/6 = 33g

carb 333g/6 = 55g

fat 133g/6 = 22g

so now you know what your aiming for.'

Consider this a good newbie guide which is essentially what I'd like this thread to be so no one has to post up example diet after example diet.

Can others post up there diets


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## Tom84

nick500 said:


> young gun
> 
> '5.30 - 150g turkey/chicken/fish, sweet potato/brown basmati rice, broccoli
> 
> 8.00 - 150g turkey/chicken/fish, sweet potato/brown basmati rice, broccoli
> 
> 11.00 - 150g turkey/chicken/fish, sweet potato/brown basmati rice, broccoli '
> 
> in these meals are you having less and less basmati rice each time, trying to minimise total carb surplus by the time you are going to sleep? What sort of amounts are you having of rice in each meal?
> 
> Nick


good point buddy. Around 75g brown rice. And no I respond well to high carbs. I've tried carb depletion and I lose too much mass. I still lose fat this way but manage to retain strength... a good indicator of lbm.


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## splinter1466867924

I never heard of brown basmati rice.


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## nick500

Basmati rice

Preparation time: 30 minutes, serves 5 - 6.

Ingredients

* 500g brown basmati rice

* 800ml water

* 3 tsp sea salt

Method

Rinse the rice and place it in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add the water and salt, and bring to the boil (the salt raises the temperature). Put on the lid and turn down the heat to very low. Cook for 20 minutes or so, until all the water has been absorbed (this time will depend on your cooking equipment, so experimentation is necessary at first). Turn off the heat and allow the pan to stand for another 10 minutes, letting the rice finish cooking in its own steam.

My theory with rice is that it can never be overcooked; what tends to happen is that either there is still water left (in which case bring it back to the boil and then leave it to cook in its own steam), or the bottom layer becomes toasted, but this tastes good! If it is too sticky, cook for longer with the lid removed, so as to let out excess steam. So don't worry about overdoing it. Rice was designed to be easy to cook so that humans could evolve quicker ;-)

Serve hot or cold.

Nick


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## Tom84

Thought I could include this in here too

What is the Glycemic Index?

The glycemic index is a ranking of carbohydrates based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. It compares foods gram for gram of carbohydrate. Carbohydrates that breakdown quickly during digestion have the highest glycemic indexes. The blood glucose response is fast and high. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have low glycemic indexes.

What is Glycemic Load?

Glycemic load builds on the GI to provide a measure of total glycemic response to a food or meal

Glycemic load = GI (%) x grams of carbohydrate per serving

One unit of GL ~ glycemic effect of 1 gram glucose

You can sum the GL of all the foods in a meal, for the whole day or even longer

A typical diet has ~ 100 GL units per day (range 60 - 180)

The GI database gives both GI & GL values


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## Guest

Hi Guys,

heres my diet

7am

Multi-vit&min tab

50g Oats made with water, (or use the shake below). 7.2,36.8,4.56

Chop 1xbanana into oats or eat as. 1,24,0

1.5 Scoop of whey made in water. 34,3.75,2.25

9am

2 slices burgen no butter/marg. 13,24,8

100g Turkey/chicken or tin tuna. 30,0,2

add tomato,cucumber,pepper, salad etc

11am

150g Cottage cheese. 21,5.1,2.2

or a tin if tuna with cucumber and dash of balsamic vinegar

12.30 Strong black coffee....no milk or sugar.

1pm-2pm WORKOUT Weights then cardio.

2.30pm Post Workout Meal "do not miss"

1.5 scoop whey. 23,2.5,1.5

1 Banana, you could blend with above. 1,24,0 oe Apple

CARDIO WORKOUT

7.00pm

1.5 Scoop of whey. 34,3.75,2.25

8.30pm

Chicken Breast grilled with added spices. 25,0,5

250g frozen veg. 2,18,1

90g sweet potato. 1.2,21.3,6.3

This is my diet to lose some weight and put on a decent amount of muscle


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## nick500

i think i have already commented on your diet before but anyway,

why are u not eating anything between 230 and 730?

also, what time do u go to bed? should get some last minute protein before sleep...


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## Guest

Hi Nick,

Im trying to lose a bit of weight so on my calorie calculations there was no need to put anything in.

For example now, ive just finished my workout and am having my 1.5 scoop of whey /water and an apple... should I start having a snack around 5.. say some almonds or something?

I go to bed around 11pm.. I was thinking about casein rather than whey before I go to bed????


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## nick500

hi

you want to hit protein every 2 - 3 hours regardless of calorie restrictions. cassein before bed definitely.

I'd say no almonds, those are high fats and calories and not especially high in protein, and if you are running a calorie restricted cutting diet which is sounds like you are then that wouldnt be so great. I'd say a large chicken breast with a bit of lettuce or salad perhaps.

also, bear in mind that fruit actually isn't all that good for you, especially stuff like apples, because its high in fructose and will have similar effects to your blood sugar levels as chocolate, albeit its good mineral/vitamin content.


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## Guest

cool, more new stuff learnt  I thought that Almonds had decent levels of Protein, Vit E and magnesium... to help with muscle building.. Ill junk that idea then.

I think ill add in a chicken breast with say.. wholemeal pitta and some salad 

With the casein, is that the only thing before bed.. or should I down some whey aswell

cheers Nick!


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## Darren1466867925

escos said:


> I think ill add in a chicken breast with say.. wholemeal pitta and some salad
> 
> cheers Nick!


Yeah go with the Wholemeal Pitta with chicken breast & salad or a can of Tuna instead in the Pitta.


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## Guest

unlike Young gun who can tolerate carbs well I do beter on fat . My diet is shock horror 60% fat 30% protein and 10 % carbs

protein spread throughout day whey in morning tuna, beef , and other soid sources through day and casein at night . Carbs in morning and post workout but not much and fat is mixed into salads throughtout the day (ie) extra vigin olive oil I get a great one from GetOily .com direct from Italy , tastes great and def is extra virgin labels arent always what they claim !!!

I have a day a week were a basically carb load and really hammer post workout nutrition . When bulking add fat and protein when cutting drop fat keep protein high very similar to Di Pasquales Metabolic Diet an d works great for me . The really good thing is my blood lipid profile is excellent even though I eat 60% fat !!!! high HDL low LDL low trig high HDL to LDLl and high HDL as % of total chol . Also overall chol is 4

Is anyone else out there a fat man so to speak .


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## bodyworks

what does your diet consist of ? supplying that amount of fat can't be easy.


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## Guest

slimbob said:


> unlike Young gun who can tolerate carbs well I do beter on fat . My diet is shock horror 60% fat 30% protein and 10 % carbs
> 
> protein spread throughout day whey in morning tuna, beef , and other soid sources through day and casein at night . Carbs in morning and post workout but not much and fat is mixed into salads throughtout the day (ie) extra vigin olive oil I get a great one from GetOily .com direct from Italy , tastes great and def is extra virgin labels arent always what they claim !!!
> 
> I have a day a week were a basically carb load and really hammer post workout nutrition . When bulking add fat and protein when cutting drop fat keep protein high very similar to Di Pasquales Metabolic Diet an d works great for me . The really good thing is my blood lipid profile is excellent even though I eat 60% fat !!!! high HDL low LDL low trig high HDL to LDLl and high HDL as % of total chol . Also overall chol is 4
> 
> Is anyone else out there a fat man so to speak .


Carbs are not as low as you Slim, but I have added the Holland & Barrett Optimum oil blend to my plan after reading it can help with fat loss.

I have 2-3tablspoons a day and has helped me reduce my bf% even more.

Just out of interest I use to buy Udo's oil and saw that Holland & Barrett did a very similar one and alot cheaper so I purchased some. Once home I compared the nutritional value and they look the same :shock: anyone else use this.??

Udo's I was paying £16:99 on the net, but H&B is £12:99 and sometimes on offer at £6:99. great product even the packaging is similar!


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## Guest

Hi

My fat intake comes from fish oil 2 tablespoons , evening primrose oil 1 tablespoon , udo choice 2 tablespoons

150 grams of extra virgin olive oil

remaining fat from solid protein sources (ie) fatty fish or lamb /beef etc

Dont really ever fry or heat my fats apart from cooking meat etc all other sources above are unheated and i imagine i have a very low trans fat intake, try to keep my 3 to6 ratio at about 1 to 2 or even 1 to 1 . My blood lipid profile improved very much from switching from my old normal diet to this so called unhealthy diet . But realise this diet would not suit everyone and even be harmfull to some !! getting blood work done is very imprtant when going on to a high fat diet to make sure your body can handel all that fat o.k

hope this helps


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## nick500

slimbob said:


> 150 grams of extra virgin olive oil


Thats a hell of a lot !!

remember that olive oil is ~100% fat, so even though its an EFA its still a hell of a lot of fat.

Interesting stuff...

Nick


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## 3752

thought i would contribute to this thread..

this is my cutting diet:

Cardio = 45min 7.00am on empty stomach

*Diet*:

*Meal 1:*

6 whole eggs

*Meal 2:*

200g Chicken breast & salad + 1tsp olive oil + 5 extreme Glutamine capsules

*Meal 3:*

200g Chicken breast & salad + 1tsp olive oil + 5 extreme Glutamine capsules

*Meal 4:*

2 scoops Extreme Protein + 10ml Udo's + 15 extreme Glutamine capsules

*Meal 5:*

2 scoops Extreme Protein(PWO)

*Meal 6:*

250g Chicken breast & salad + 1tsp olive oil + 5 extreme Glutamine capsules

.........Cals ..Fats Carbs Prot

Totals 1948 .89g .16g ...285g

I use a carb cycling approach to my cutting diets which follows this cycle..

Mon = Low Carb

Tues = Low Carb

Wed = Med Carb

Thur = Low Carb

Fri = Low Carb

Sat = High Carb

Sun = Low Carb

the biggest diffrence is the amount of carbs and fats i consume as the carbs go down the fats go up....

i will post my bulking diet when i start it this weekend...


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## Guest

yes it is a lot of fat , you are absolutely right extra virgin olive oil is all fat more or less (ie) 96-98% ) I like it because it is mainly mono which acts like a neutral energy source doesn t really adversley or positively effect blood lipids which is why I like it I calculate its efa content into my overall 3 to 6 balance and like mentioned try to get 1 to 1 or 2 to 1 regarding 6 to 3 . Plus olive trees are pretty hardy and therefore not many pesticides are used making extra virgin olive oil a great energy source if you can handel it . Please dont anyone do whatt i do with out first getting blood work done to monitor the effects on thier blood lipid s by changing diets . This works for me but wont for everyone !!!

cheers

Slimbob


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## Guest

Bump for later


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## trail_junkie69

I notice you all mix protein with water, I useally use skim milk, is it a good idea to try and use water. Just love the taste better with milk. Guess you can get use to anything that you want.

How do you feel about protein bars in general, I know there are a sh*t load on the market, but sometimes its a quick easy snack or the go.


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## nick500

trail_junkie69 said:


> I notive you all mix protein with water, I useally use skim milk, is it a good idea to try and use water. Just love the taste better with milk. Guess you can get use to anything that you want.
> 
> How do you feel about protein bars in general, I know there are a sh*t load on the market, but sometimes its a quick easy snack or the go.


When mixing protein with water it is important to note that the aim in doing this is to absorb protein as quicly as possible. When combining with milk, the act of doing this will slow down the protein and is not ideal for post-training.


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## trail_junkie69

I didn't know that, awesome, thanks, will start doing mixing with water.

What are some good nuts to eat, cause I love almonds, but I see that YG suggested eating something different.

Steve


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## flick161

How long does this cutting diet go on for?

How much water are you meant to drink a week or two before the contest?


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## Tom84

Also drink as much water as you can. Aim for around 4 litres at least (so 8 pints)

I also eat a ton of nuts when doing low carbs generally any natural nuts are fine although cashews have a higher carb content. Brazils and almonds are good choices. Expensive though if you get through a lot


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## davidjparfitt

slimbob that can't be good for you eating that amount of fat, my diet contains 55% protein, 35% carbs and 10% Fat.


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## nick500

davidjparfitt if you read the whole post by slimbob you will understand his reasons.

10% fat is not enough (need healthy EFAs) for anybody, imo

Nick


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## FierceFrets

Ive been qouted! And after such a long absence!

This place has had some major changes since I was last here. Well, may aswell write something useful...

Bulking (All i ever seem to do...)

Meal 1

100g oats, bannana, 30g whey, pint of milk blended.

Meal 2

can of tuna, 2 wholemeal pittas, LOTS of red onion 

Meal 3

Chicken breast, pototoe, frozen veg (sometimes I even cook it...)

Meal 4

Same as meal 2

Meal 5

Trout or chicken or steak, rice or spuds, more veg

Meal 6

Same as meal 1 but with an extra helping of casien in water. Gotta love that smelly s**t.

Fierce


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## BARKER!

Young Gun said:


> Ok quite a few people have posted diets for cutting and bulking in the last few days which have been pretty awful. So I figure we post a thread in which people give example suggestions so whenever someone posts an awful diet or asks questions on diet a simple link to this thread will be a great starting point.
> 
> Plus with the range of height weights and metabolisms we have on the site from Jay123 who has to eat a small country every day to grow to Devilsquest who probably could eat mars bars all day and would be Mr. O but for injury we should get a good range of diets to suit everyone.
> 
> Ok I'll shoot.
> 
> *CUTTING*
> 
> 9am - morning cardio
> 
> 10am - whey protein isolate 2 scoops 56g in water (50g protein), 50 g oats
> 
> 11.00 - 6 egg whites 2 whole, bowl of oatmeal
> 
> 1.30 - 150g turkey/chicken/fish, sweet potato/brown basmati rice, broccoli
> 
> 2.30 - pre workout shake - 1 scoop whey isolate in water 30 g oats
> 
> TRAIN
> 
> 4.30 - post workout shake - whey protein isolate 2 scoops 56g in water (50g protein), 50 g oats
> 
> 5.30 - 150g turkey/chicken/fish, sweet potato/brown basmati rice, broccoli
> 
> 8.00 - 150g turkey/chicken/fish, sweet potato/brown basmati rice, broccoli
> 
> 11.00 - 150g turkey/chicken/fish, sweet potato/brown basmati rice, broccoli
> 
> 12.30 - casein shake
> 
> 1.00 - sleep
> 
> *BULKING*
> 
> As Above but add peanut butter, milk, pasta, baked potatos and generally increase volume of food.
> 
> Also drink as much water as you can. Aim for around 4 litres at least (so 8 pints)
> 
> Note this may be too much or too little food for some it is dependant on you only trial and error will give you the answers. Try to get a good source of protein, slow digesting (low GI) carbs and good fats in most meals and you should be fine. Add EPA to meals in appropriate places and take multi vitamins
> 
> Anyone else?


Eating oats with whey protien will slow the absorbtion of the whey thus defeating the object of taking the shakes.


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## nick500

BARKER! said:


> Eating oats with whey protien will slow the absorbtion of the whey thus defeating the object of taking the shakes.


not at all, protein is protein... sometimes you want it fast, sometimes you want it slow


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## Munchie

Just a thought!

I'd like to see a whole week plan drawn up for someone on a bulking cycle, one which everyone is moderatly happy with and a Tesco shopping list at the end!

I make more trips back to tesco during the week than to the loo!! (nearly)

Any thoughts?


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## splinter1466867924

yeah i think thats a great idea...

i will probs write one up very soon!

then you can all throw daggers at it!

watch this space!


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## Tall

Subscribed...


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## Munchie

excellent.


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## Pedro!

this sounds interesting, would like to see a weeks bulking diet


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## Big Pumpa1466867936

That cutting diet on the 1st page by Young Gun is awful. Too much carbs. Carbs are only needed pre-workout and post-workout to aid muscle in its anabolic state. Why would someone eat 3 seperate meals post work-out all containing sweet potatoes? Get some knowledge before writing up and misinforming people.

Cheers


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## Beerme

What happened to the 'Tesco shopping list'....??


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## adam.fisher456

Thanks for sharing informative data, Reference to above thread Create a bulking diet for weight gain or a cutting diet for weight loss. ... I'll use the hypothetical example of Sammy Smalls (a guy trying to gain weight)


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## The Trixsta

Bumped, still wanna see this whole week bulking diet and tesco list if somebody could do that. Would be perfect!


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## mags

my cutting diet

meal1/pshake, 100g oats

meal2/pshake, 100g oats

meal3/pshake, 100g oats

meal4/300g turkey, 300g sweet potato. veg

meal5/300g turkey, 300g sweet potato. veg

meal6/3oog, turkey,300g sweet potato. veg

meal7/pshake.

that it. wont work for everyone but works for me.

no carb cycling etc just the same every day.

40mins cardio first thing in the morning with black coffee.


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## yannyboy

I'd be as fat as f**k if I took that many carbs in, lol

You must have a fast metabolism.


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## mags

yeah i have it comes out just as fast as it goes in lol its only around 360g carbs not realy alot to be honest.


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## yannyboy

I'm cutting at the moment and I'm on about 150g of carbs max

I think a tortoise has a faster metabolism than me, lol


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## EXTREME

I can't believe you are all still talking about "bulking" and "cutting", it's so old news its scary.

Why not just train hard with enough extra calories to allow you to grow and so when you do want to lean down you are only making a small adjustment? Why make yourself fat only to have to lose loads of weight when you want to be in shape?

Do it my way and you'll never be that far out of shape!


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## yannyboy

That's exactly what I want to do.

Once I've cut to below 10%, I want to stay around that mark even when I bulk.

Extreme, how does somebody like Toney Freeman do his diet, similar to what you are saying?


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## mags

hi the diet iv put on is a cutting diet stevie creighton made it out for me last year and it worked for me i now hover about 10 pounds above what i should be tops and hover about 10%-12% also its the exact same diet he used for his show this year and is using rite now to the letter it does work, maby not for all but im my case and his it works. when bulking it would be the same but about 1500 cals more form the same foods.


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## 3752

lushis said:


> hi the diet iv put on is a cutting diet stevie creighton made it out for me last year and it worked for me i now hover about 10 pounds above what i should be tops and hover about 10%-12% also its the exact same diet he used for his show this year and is using rite now to the letter it does work, maby not for all but im my case and his it works. when bulking it would be the same but about 1500 cals more form the same foods.


that diet would never work for me to little fats in there, i am not suprised Stevie wrote it as it is slightly old school way of dieting (not to say it does not work as he has proved it does) i have tried that approach and it does not work as good as manipulation of both fats and carbs.....

i am with Extreme though you should be able to put on decent mass whilst keeping decent condition these days with the knowledge that is out there...


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## justheretosnoop

Just realised who originally wrote this thread. Time to bring it back to the top of the board me thinks...


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## Tom84

I think there are some great example diets running through this thread and have amended my 6 year old post accordingly. Some of the comments criticising definitely had some merit.

I should also note that I don't 'Bulk' in the fad sense of the word. i.e. Put on a large amount of muscle mass and fat, then shed as much bodyfat as possible whilst trying to retain lbm. I operate relatively minor tweaks as illustrated


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