Countdown to Florida, 5/3/1 on Caloric Deficit?

Diet and Nutrition
1

Hey guys,

Alright, so I leave for Florida in approx. 76 days - time to cut, haha. I’m fairly lean right now, abs are visible for sure. I’ve been following 5/3/1 on a surplus, but I need to follow a diet that will allow me to at least maintain my strength while getting more lean. I’m 6’6" at 238lbs, I’m only looking to drop 5-8 pounds. Right now, I will be wanting to get in about 3000-3200 calories.

Currently my diet looks like this on a daily basis:

Meal 1- 2 whole eggs, 1 cup of egg whites, 1 cup of oats, 1 tbsp of natural PB, greek yogurt, and a V8.

Meal 2- Blended shake - 2 scoops of whey, 1 banana, 1/2 cup of oats, 1/2 cup of blueberries.

Meal 3- 1 can of tuna, 2 whole grain wraps with spinach, some mustard, 1 tbsp of light mayo.
-handful of almonds

  • greek yogurt
  • granola bar
  • V8

Meal 4- Chicken/Fish/Steak, veggies/big salad, brown rice or sweet potato.

Meal 5- 2 cups of cottage cheese, 2 tbsp of natural PB

I will figure out the macros for each meal and post them shortly. I am getting so sick of tuna, I think I need to start making meal 3 more like meal 4.

Any suggestions would be awesome guys. Sorry I didn’t really specify certain things, but I will post the macros for each meal after work. Thanks!

2

You’ve already determined how many calories you intend to eat, you have a specific, very attainable goal (dropping 5 lbs in 2 1/2 months), and you already have a lifting plan. What is the question here? I feel like you’re fishing for something, but I can’t figure out what. Do you just need someone to say ‘looks good’? If so… looks good.

3

[quote]flipcollar wrote:
You’ve already determined how many calories you intend to eat, you have a specific, very attainable goal (dropping 5 lbs in 2 1/2 months), and you already have a lifting plan. What is the question here? I feel like you’re fishing for something, but I can’t figure out what. Do you just need someone to say ‘looks good’? If so… looks good.[/quote]

I’m just curious if it’s possible to maintain strength while leaning out. I need to make sure this whole diet I have laid out even adds up to 3000-3200 cals first; hopefully it does. Another question is, should I use the majority of my carbs pre and post workout while trying to cut a bit?

4

[quote]Aches89 wrote:

[quote]flipcollar wrote:
You’ve already determined how many calories you intend to eat, you have a specific, very attainable goal (dropping 5 lbs in 2 1/2 months), and you already have a lifting plan. What is the question here? I feel like you’re fishing for something, but I can’t figure out what. Do you just need someone to say ‘looks good’? If so… looks good.[/quote]

I’m just curious if it’s possible to maintain strength while leaning out. I need to make sure this whole diet I have laid out even adds up to 3000-3200 cals first; hopefully it does. Another question is, should I use the majority of my carbs pre and post workout while trying to cut a bit?[/quote]

you’re cutting 5 lbs. You could easily get that done in 2-3 weeks. Strength doesn’t go away as fast as that. So yes, it’s possible. I’m dieting right now and my lifts are going up. What is your strength level at anyway? As far as your diet goes, maybe it’s 3000 calories? You left off amounts on meal 4, so hard to say. A better question would be, do you have the experience in dieting necessary to assume that your target calorie range is appropriate for weight loss in you? Do you know your caloric intake prior to dieting? As for carbs, the simple answer is yes. Most of your carb intake should be in the peri workout window.

5

[quote]flipcollar wrote:

[quote]Aches89 wrote:

[quote]flipcollar wrote:
You’ve already determined how many calories you intend to eat, you have a specific, very attainable goal (dropping 5 lbs in 2 1/2 months), and you already have a lifting plan. What is the question here? I feel like you’re fishing for something, but I can’t figure out what. Do you just need someone to say ‘looks good’? If so… looks good.[/quote]

I’m just curious if it’s possible to maintain strength while leaning out. I need to make sure this whole diet I have laid out even adds up to 3000-3200 cals first; hopefully it does. Another question is, should I use the majority of my carbs pre and post workout while trying to cut a bit?[/quote]

you’re cutting 5 lbs. You could easily get that done in 2-3 weeks. Strength doesn’t go away as fast as that. So yes, it’s possible. I’m dieting right now and my lifts are going up. What is your strength level at anyway? As far as your diet goes, maybe it’s 3000 calories? You left off amounts on meal 4, so hard to say. A better question would be, do you have the experience in dieting necessary to assume that your target calorie range is appropriate for weight loss in you? Do you know your caloric intake prior to dieting? As for carbs, the simple answer is yes. Most of your carb intake should be in the peri workout window.[/quote]

Last time I checked my 1RM on bench, squat and deadlifts was about a year ago:
Bench: 250 - I really need to bring this up. I’m all limbs and its killing me. Need to bring this up.
Squat: 315 - this could definitely be better but my knees have been holding me back a bit with patellar tendinitis.
Deadlift: 530 - without a belt or straps, just chalk.

These lifts are okay. My bench and squat could definitely be better. I just need to train smarter. I’ve plateaued on a number of lifts so I’m switching to a different template considering I’ve been following the same one for 3-4 years.

My caloric intake wasn’t what I wanted it to be prior. I wanted 3400, I may have hit it on some days, but I may have fell short on others. I honestly have never counted calories most days. i just went on instinctive eating mostly. Does macros for each meal matter? Or as long as I hit my calories daily, I shouldn’t be too worried? Moving forward, I’m going to be counting my calories for sure.

6

[quote]Aches89 wrote:

My caloric intake wasn’t what I wanted it to be prior. I wanted 3400, I may have hit it on some days, but I may have fell short on others. I honestly have never counted calories most days. i just went on instinctive eating mostly. Does macros for each meal matter? Or as long as I hit my calories daily, I shouldn’t be too worried? Moving forward, I’m going to be counting my calories for sure.
[/quote]

Your macros for each meal don’t matter that much. The only reason I mentioned meal 4 was because you said you didn’t know if you had done the math right to get to 3000 calories. I can’t tell because of this.
If your diet before cutting was ‘3400 sometimes, usually less’, were you losing weight? If not, then you may want to shoot for something more like 2600-2800 calories for a short cutting phase, then reintroduce calories if you can’t sustain your desire weight (if you lose more weight than you intended).