Hey @scott_herman , I went and checked my body fat percentage yesterday and it turns out I now weigh 81.7kg, am 5'11ft tall, and have a bodyfat percentage of 18.8%. I've noticed I've been gaining quite a bit of belly fat and thigh fat during my muscle building over the past few months, so I have decided to go on a cut to reduce that body fat percentage. I have drawn myself up a meal plan which currently has carbs around 100g, protein around 250g, and fats around 90g. My average BMR is 2490. Here is a picture of one of the days in my meal plan, which is similar to other days as well.

 

The banana is my pre-workout snack, not actually apart of lunch, as I go to the gym around 2:30pm. What do you think :)

I think your deficit is fine. So the calories you are aiming for (around 2200-2300) is about right. But you probably don't need to be that low on carbs. Maybe keep the fats to around 80g for now and that gives you more room for carbs.

 

You only really need to drop them down to around 100g if you find you aren't losing fat or if you are trying to do a really quick cut. And a quick cut isn't a good idea because you're likely to lose more muscle that way.

Sounds good! I'm definitely aiming to retain as much muscle as possible. How many grams of carbs do you recommend I start with? I've made the change to aim for 150g of carbs, 225g of protein, 80g of fat. It's a bit difficult to get it perfect, but here's what I have so far:

 

 

Thankyou for the help!

It doesn't need to be 100% perfect, but I would aim to get within 10g either side of your protein and carbs (so anywhere from 140g-160g carbs) and about 5g either side of your fats. If you fall in that range, that's fine.

 

Start with those adjusted macros and see what happens after about 2 weeks - see what your weight does and any changes you notice in your body :-)

Sounds good! Here is my final adjusted meal plan for Monday and Tuesday (which I actually started today and used Tuesday's meal plan)

 

 

Also I'm just wondering about whether or not to have a carb refeed once a week, and how to do it? Am I supposed to increase my carbs for 1 day and go into a surplus of calories over my BMR? Or am I supposed to increase my carbs and drop something like protein or fat to stay in a deficit for the day? Or does it work some other way? Thanks @scott_herman for the help!

A refeed is probably a good idea. I would go to about 250-300g carbs on your refeed day.

 

Just go into a surplus. It's only 1 day a week you will be doing it? And it will only put you in a 200 calorie surplus really, given you're in a deficit the other days, so it's fine.

Awesome thanks for the help!

 

It's only been 4 days and I've lost almost 1kg :D

NICE!! Probably lots of water weight to start with :-)

Try weighing yourself once a week on the same day at the same time for an accurate gauge of what your weight is doing.

8 days since I've started my meal plan, and I have lost 3.2kg! Going great :D

 

I'm going overseas for a holiday to Thailand on Sunday for 8 days, and I will be eating at the resort and at restaurants most of the time, so I'm a bit worried about any weight gain I might get from it. I will try and prioritize protein when I eat out and avoid stuff like pasta/pizza etc.

 

But when I return, straight back into the meal plan! It's going great.

That's what I do too. Focus on filling up on protein first, then having your carbs after. You'll be OK man.

 

Have fun in Thailand!! :-)

Back from Thailand! I did lose a bit of muscle, but it was expected. However my wrist injury healed in those two weeks off which is awesome, and I am heading to the gym today to do chest and triceps so I will see how my shoulder injury is going as well! I will be starting your 12 week 5 day bodybuilding split next Monday :) My meal plan is 100% finished which I've started yesterday as well! Here are some photos if you're interested. I'm happy to change it a little if it needs tweaking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for all the help Scott, lets see how I go!

Back from Thailand! I did lose a bit of muscle, but it was expected. However my wrist injury healed in those two weeks off which is awesome, and I am heading to the gym today to do chest and triceps so I will see how my shoulder injury is going as well! I will be starting your 12 week 5 day bodybuilding split next Monday :) My meal plan is 100% finished which I've started yesterday as well! Here are some photos if you're interested. I'm happy to change it a little if it needs tweaking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for all the help Scott, lets see how I go!

Glad your injury is healed! Just in time to crush this program!!

 

The meal plan looks OK.. but you haven't included a re-feed day?

Ah yeah Sunday is my re-feed day! Didn't include it in the pics... cause I have my carb refeed meal (bowl of pasta) at lunch, and then my cheat meal for dinner (chicken burger or something). Maybe a bit of icecream as a snack later in the night along with a protein shake in the afternoon. Do you think that's too much?