7 weeks out

bmw71285

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I'm not competing in a contest anytime soon but I put together a cutting plan as if I was going to compete just to see if I have what it takes to do it. I gave myself a date, May 16, the day I go on vacation. I bulked up until about the beginning of February and I have gradually cut carbs and increased cardio along the way. I'm 21 years old and after bulking I was about 205lbs. I can't really guess as to what the bf% was but it wasnt anything pretty. Maybe 14%. I am now roughly 194lbs and considerably leaner (maybe 10%). I have about 7 weeks until the day I set and I just wanna get some input from the guys who have gone through this before.
--When I finished bulking I was doing no cardio and taking in roughly 400-450g of carbs. Currently, I'm down to averaging 200g of carbs a day, about 250-300g of protein, and about 80g of fat. I do interval cardio 3 times a week after lifting for 15 minutes on the treadmill (1 min at 6.5, then 1 min at 8.5). On two off days I do about 45 min of cardio and abs. I do HIIT on the bike for about 15 min and then I go on the ellyptical for 30 min at a moderate pace.
My question is basically how does this look? The foods I eat are very clean, my biggest meal coming post workout and next biggest meal coming at breakfast. I have very little carbs at night and eat every 2.5-3 hours. I lift 4 days a week, do cardio and abs on 2 other days, and take 1 day off from the gym where I play street hockey.

So what do you guys think? I am mainly concerned about the amt of carbs I should be eating and the amt of cardio I should be doing for 7 weeks out.
 
rpen22

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I'm not competing in a contest anytime soon but I put together a cutting plan as if I was going to compete just to see if I have what it takes to do it. I gave myself a date, May 16, the day I go on vacation. I bulked up until about the beginning of February and I have gradually cut carbs and increased cardio along the way. I'm 21 years old and after bulking I was about 205lbs. I can't really guess as to what the bf% was but it wasnt anything pretty. Maybe 14%. I am now roughly 194lbs and considerably leaner (maybe 10%). I have about 7 weeks until the day I set and I just wanna get some input from the guys who have gone through this before.
--When I finished bulking I was doing no cardio and taking in roughly 400-450g of carbs. Currently, I'm down to averaging 200g of carbs a day, about 250-300g of protein, and about 80g of fat. I do interval cardio 3 times a week after lifting for 15 minutes on the treadmill (1 min at 6.5, then 1 min at 8.5). On two off days I do about 45 min of cardio and abs. I do HIIT on the bike for about 15 min and then I go on the ellyptical for 30 min at a moderate pace.
My question is basically how does this look? The foods I eat are very clean, my biggest meal coming post workout and next biggest meal coming at breakfast. I have very little carbs at night and eat every 2.5-3 hours. I lift 4 days a week, do cardio and abs on 2 other days, and take 1 day off from the gym where I play street hockey.

So what do you guys think? I am mainly concerned about the amt of carbs I should be eating and the amt of cardio I should be doing for 7 weeks out.
Doesn't look too bad to me. Personally, I like moderate intensity cardio for a little bit longer sessions, especially in the morning on an empty stomach. You might want to give that a try a couple days a week and see how your body reacts to it. Also, you might want to try cycling your carbs. For example, you could do one high/one low, or two low/one high, etc. You could search around for Twin Peak's articles on carb cycling for specific details.
 

bmw71285

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Well for the past couple weeks I was doing 200 carbs a day. Then this past week I went to the carb cycling. I did 3 days at 200 carbs, 2 days at 300 carbs, then 2 days at 100 carbs and I kinda liked doing that. I did the 100 carb days on the days where I do my 45 min cardio session so those days were tough but I made sure I got in some extra protein and upped my fat intake as well. Do you think I should drop carbs a bit as the weeks go on? Also, What do you recommend eating before bed? Usually I have a whey mix and mix that w/ liquid egg whites about an hour before bed. I also have a tiny spoonful of almond butter and some fish oil. Sorry for all the questions, I just wanna get my diet down pat.
 
rpen22

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Well for the past couple weeks I was doing 200 carbs a day. Then this past week I went to the carb cycling. I did 3 days at 200 carbs, 2 days at 300 carbs, then 2 days at 100 carbs and I kinda liked doing that. I did the 100 carb days on the days where I do my 45 min cardio session so those days were tough but I made sure I got in some extra protein and upped my fat intake as well. Do you think I should drop carbs a bit as the weeks go on? Also, What do you recommend eating before bed? Usually I have a whey mix and mix that w/ liquid egg whites about an hour before bed. I also have a tiny spoonful of almond butter and some fish oil. Sorry for all the questions, I just wanna get my diet down pat.

No need to apologize for asking questions, that's what we're all here for! I think you should just watch your progress and cut carbs after you've experimented with different carb cycles and the progress has slowed. As long as you're still making good progress, there's no need to change anything drastically.
Before bed, I like to use a micellar casein based protein shake (such as Xtreme Formulations' Ultra Peptide or DS' Sustain) or a blend protein shake (like Labrada's ProV60) right before bed. I personally don't do fats in this meal, just because I get them in different forms, at different times, however this would be a good time to take them as they will help sustain the protein absorption even longer.
 

bmw71285

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Thanks for the advice rpen I appreciate it! I think I'm going to give the cardio on an empty stomach a try in the morning. Maybe drink some bcaa's while doing so to preserve muscle. I'll do this at a moderate pace and maybe for like 30-40 min, 2 times a week to start. Then later on I'll lift and do my 15 min interval cardio as usual?
 
rpen22

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That sounds like a good start! Just see how your body reacts to the changes and make sure you're progressing in the direction you want to go.
 

bmw71285

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Allright this sounds like a plan. I think i'm goin to continue to carb cycle and maybe on the days where I do morning cardio and lift later on, I'll make those my high carb days to ensure I don't go in a catabolic state at all?
 
rpen22

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Try it out and see how it goes! Good luck!
 

bmw71285

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I got a question about cheat meals/ refeed days. I have read so many different ways in which people incorporate them into their diet, what do you guys recommend for when your goal date is 7 weeks away? One day in which your carb intake is doubled w/ clean foods, 1 cheat meal w/ a food like pizza or foods that aren't good for you, no cheat days, etc.?
 
rpen22

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Since you're dieting, I would go with either one meal or one day that is higher in carbs. I think ideally, one cheat meal that is high in carbs of any type as well as some type of lean protein and also low in fats would be the best type of cheat meal to enhance fat loss progression instead of hindering it. JMHO.
 

bmw71285

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Allright I think I'll give that a try say once a week? So basically this one meal will put me over my carb intake for the day?
 
rpen22

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I think that's the safest way to do it, but you could try doing multiple high meals if you'd like.
 

Sea223

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I know we're a little past this but while cutting I was eating 8-9 egg whites with 1/4 cup of green peppers and onions.
 

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