Help me ...... Seriously

[sublime99]

:newbie:

Ok Ok i am a complete dumbass when it comes to diet, and how to manipulate it to work for my body. I know how to gain mass but i have no idea how to cut or even maintain a bf under 15-20% i don't want to be ripped yet but i want to drop fat weight and be able to maintain a acceptable weight while bulking. right now i weigh 275 with about 25-28% bf i want to drop to 15% and maintain right there until my cut.

I pretty much eat anything i want besides fast food, just the crap, i eat eggs beef, chicken, bread, rice, cheese, olive oil, drink like 3 gallons of water every day, brocoli etc etc

you know i try and eat healthy and i cheat by having a scoop of ice cream here and there like once or twice a week. I have tried reading about dieting and after reading some of it, it gets real confusing.

Can someone give me a breakdown of what staple foods are and what your diet consists of on a daily basis, i don't do protein shakes everyday only about 2-3 days a week i just got back lifting and i want to drop some fat weight first.

I lift 3 days a week and i cardio 2 days for 30 min, i am 6'1 277 large frame

do i need to count calories how do i split up my foods, how odten do i need to eat etc etc etc any info will help.

Thanks in advance

[geoffgarcia]

At your high bf levels it should be possible to lose some bf while gaining muscle.
I would recommend the following:
1) lower your water intake to <2.5 gallons 3 gallons is dangerously high.
2) start counting calories (dietorganizer,fitday)
3) the more frequently you eat the better (for your metabolism and to reduce catabolism)
4) start at 3700 calories for 3 weeks tracking your diet daily and take the weekly calorie intake + weekly weight and see how you have to manipulate your calories. 350g protein, 350g carbs, 100g fat is a fair starting point.
Keep saturated fat under 20g per day as it slows metabolism, and dietary fiber over 15 to keep things moving.

As far as food staples there is a list (sticky) at the top of this forum.
For proteins: chicken, fish, turkey, eggs, protein powders
For carbs: brown rice, enriched egg/wheat/spinach pasta, oatmeal (keep processed carbs to a minimum)
For fats: fish, olive, peanut butter, hemp, udos, flax

IMHO stay away from beef as it has a high saturated fat content, limit condiment use, avoid cooking in butters/oils, avoid frying/breading anything

[sublime99]

Thanks! I will give it a shot and let you know how it turns out, i will be shopping on thursday so i will only pick up the staple food and no processed ones.

What about sodium?

[geoffgarcia]

if you use dietOrganizer it'll track all your minerals/vitamins, so you'll know if your intake of sodium is to high, and what vitamins your lacking etc so you can either cut back or ramp up in those areas.

For me my sodium intake is always below the RDA and I don't even make an effort to limit it, however I just dont eat salty foods since normally they aren't very good for you anyway.

[harryhoudini66]

Make yourself an ECA stack.

Supplements:
Water
Fish Oil
Olive Oil
Flax Seed Oil
Green Tea
MultiVitamin

Foods:

Chicken, Tuna, Lean Beef, Eggs, Peanuts, Natural Peanut Butter, 100 Whole Wheat Bread, Whole Wheat Pasta, Oatmeal, Beans, Brown Rice (May want to join Costco)

Rest: Get at least 8 hours of sleep