Dropping fat, just need some guidance

[LucaTurilli]

Hey Jordan,

Thanks for posting in this forum, there is a wealth of information here and I think I speak for most people when I say that I appreciate

First I'll give you some background information:
Age: 24
Height: 5'11
BW: 230
%bodyfat: I have no clue, but I've got some extra for sure.
Knowledge about nutrition: not much

Lifts, estimated 1RMs:
Squat - 405
BP - 265
Press - 185
DL - Not sure (working back slowly from an injury)


My current "diet": I just eat a bunch of stuff. I cook a lot of beef and rice, but often eat chinese, fried chicken, etc. I drink protein shakes occasionally, but have not been religious about them. Some days I probably get close to 250-300g of protein, some days I may not get 100. Needless to say, it hasn't been optimal.

My Goal:
Drop to around 200ish lbs, and not lose too much on my lifts.


My plan:
I was considering following something similar to what Jim Steel suggested in his fat-dropping/bodybuilding article. I wanted something really simple that I could follow that I know has worked for someone else. Now I know I'm not Jim, but if his rough plan would work for me, I could follow it. So here is the plan I made for myself:

-- Protein shake (2 scoops w/ 3 cups of milk): 30g fat, 68g protien, 59g carbs, 818 calories.
-- 32 oz of ground beef: 168g fat, 160g protein, 2160 calories
-- 2x sweet potatoes (8oz each): 2g fat, 8g protein, 110 g carbs, 480 calories
-- 2 gallons of water
-- 1/2 bag of frozen broccoli (don't calculate)

This brings me to a daily total of:
200g fat, 236g protein, 169g carbs, 3458 calories.

Ratio:
33% fat, 39% protein, 28% carbs. 3458 ~= 15*230

side note: I will be doing cardio and lifting 3x a week. Lift in mornings, Cardio right after. For cardio, I will be doing "intense" based activities like: prowler, sprints, heavy bag, etc.

My question:
Can this work decently for someone around my weight? Are there any glaring things that I need to change? I've heard so much bogus stuff about dieting and losing fat that I just don't fucking know. Obviously you are here because you know what the hell is happening. I just want someone to say, "this isn't bad, roll with it" or "that's wrong as fuck, change this". If you could offer any quick pointers without wasting too much of your time, I'd appreciate it. If I've left out something, please ask. Thank you.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

My question:
Can this work decently for someone around my weight? Are there any glaring things that I need to change? I've heard so much bogus stuff about dieting and losing fat that I just don't fucking know. Obviously you are here because you know what the hell is happening. I just want someone to say, "this isn't bad, roll with it" or "that's wrong as fuck, change this". If you could offer any quick pointers without wasting too much of your time, I'd appreciate it. If I've left out something, please ask. Thank you.

Could it work? Definitely. I don't think it's bad and you can certainly go with it, however I do not think it's optimal at all.

If this represents a crazy significant calorie and macro drop for you, you may or may not lose some strength or you may not. From experience, I'd keep your protein around the same, increase the carbs quite a bit and drop the fat a touch. I'd also skip the low intensity cardio until you must add it in due to either a) being too fatigued to do some meaningful conditioning b) realizing you don't have the mental fortitude to do the HIIT or similar. On the other hand, if the diet and foodstuffs you laid out make it super easy for you to comply with, then it's a winner for you, right now.

[LucaTurilli]

Could it work? Definitely. I don't think it's bad and you can certainly go with it, however I do not think it's optimal at all.

If this represents a crazy significant calorie and macro drop for you, you may or may not lose some strength or you may not. From experience, I'd keep your protein around the same, increase the carbs quite a bit and drop the fat a touch. I'd also skip the low intensity cardio until you must add it in due to either a) being too fatigued to do some meaningful conditioning b) realizing you don't have the mental fortitude to do the HIIT or similar. On the other hand, if the diet and foodstuffs you laid out make it super easy for you to comply with, then it's a winner for you, right now.

Thanks for the reply. Just two questions:

1. Could you quantify "quite a bit" and "a touch"? (in terms of increasing carbs and dropping the fat)
2. What are the obvious pros/cons about what I've proposed vs. a higher ratio of carbs?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Thanks for the reply. Just two questions:

1. Could you quantify "quite a bit" and "a touch"? (in terms of increasing carbs and dropping the fat)
2. What are the obvious pros/cons about what I've proposed vs. a higher ratio of carbs?

I'd have it look more like: 250/300/135-ish.

Pros/cons.... read this.

[LucaTurilli]

Thanks for your help Jordan. I'll let you know of my results at some point.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Excellent :-)

[LucaTurilli]

Jordan,

I was doing some thinking and left out two questions that I meant to ask you. Last two (I promise), and short answers are sufficient if you like.

1. If my goal is 200 lbs -- at any point, should I further cut calories?
2. I've heard different things about "refeeds". Some things I've read suggest everything from going insane for a whole day, to a single "cheat" meal, to nothing at all. What's the best choice regarding refeeds, given the plan I've presented? It doesn't matter to me if one is included or not, I just need to know if I SHOULD include one or not, and if I do - maybe some small details about what I should shoot for.

Side note: I'm going to stick with the plan I've outlined, because it is cheap, and extremely easy for me to prepare every day.

Thanks, again!

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

1. If my goal is 200 lbs -- at any point, should I further cut calories?

You will have to at some point, albeit very slowly and carefully instead of haphazardly.

2. I've heard different things about "refeeds". Some things I've read suggest everything from going insane for a whole day, to a single "cheat" meal, to nothing at all. What's the best choice regarding refeeds, given the plan I've presented? It doesn't matter to me if one is included or not, I just need to know if I SHOULD include one or not, and if I do - maybe some small details about what I should shoot for.

I'm a big fan of planned refeeds, i.e. a scheduled increase in carbs with a slightly less protein (20-50g) and fat (5-25g-ish). Cheat days/meals are useful in certain situations where a person must have some sort of psychological break from dieting/following a regimented plan. Do you need one? No. Would have one or two planned refeeds in your diet be a good idea? Definitely. I'd either put them on my heaviest training days (if I was training in the afternoon) or the day/night preceding my heaviest training day.