please offer some suggestions on my diet and routine

[Tino D'Voe]

The main goal is to get as cut as possible, and build strength.

I've been working on this for a month now, and honestly there have been results. Almost 1 1/2" lost around the waist, and i'm starting to look cut, getting stronger. I do need help with when to eat certain things and if there's any additional steps I should take.

My diet is clean, I'm careful not to eat too much carbs, protein only at night with maybe some oats, a few high protein meals throughout the day. No sugars other than fruits, mainly apples bananas.

I try to do 20 minutes cardio in the morning 2-3x a week, either jog or skip rope. Workout later in the day for about an hour, 3 days on, 1 day off.

Supplements I'm taking are a casein whey in the morning after cardio (also when no cardio) and after the workout. Vit B compl. multivit, and i've been trying out T-rex for the past 2 weeks.

One confusion is when is best to take the protein after cardio, i've been waiting around 30min after, and whether I should stick to the casein protein or go with an isolate. Another thing I'm wondering is if dextrose with my PWO shake is a good idea or bad while cutting?

There's lots of other supplements out there that i'm trying to read about to see if they'd help, I'm just trying to take only things that maximize the cutting.

Any advice would be great!

 

[Omegasox]

I'm sure you'll get more advice, but just a few things I noticed right off the bat:
1. Save the Casein for at night, it's a slow absorbing protein and in the morning your muscles need to eat (read: need protein) immediately after being starved over night. Go with a regular whey isolate in the morning.
2. Dextrose is always good PWO, whether cutting or bulking. Throw it in with your PWO shake and send it down the hatch. Down half of it right away, then sip on the rest for 30min. to an hour.
3. You should incorporate a moderate amount of protein in every meal, not just at night.
4. Also, you need some EFA's. I tend to throw a Tbsp of Flaxseed oil in with my whey before bed. I munch on peanuts/pistachios throughout the day, as well.

 

[pintoca]

I'm sure you'll get more advice, but just a few things I noticed right off the bat:
1. Save the Casein for at night, it's a slow absorbing protein and in the morning your muscles need to eat (read: need protein) immediately after being starved over night. Go with a regular whey isolate in the morning.
2. Dextrose is always good PWO, whether cutting or bulking. Throw it in with your PWO shake and send it down the hatch. Down half of it right away, then sip on the rest for 30min. to an hour.
3. You should incorporate a moderate amount of protein in every meal, not just at night.
4. Also, you need some EFA's. I tend to throw a Tbsp of Flaxseed oil in with my whey before bed. I munch on peanuts/pistachios throughout the day, as well.

what omega said plus:

1. Try increasing your cardio duration to at least 30 minutes per session. 45 minutes is what work best for me. Also, for cutting, I would not do anything less than 5 times/week, though it depends on how much of an ecto are you...

2. I like to take the scientific approach to cutting and skip the guessing, in this sense, you need to know:

a. How many cals per day you need
b. How many cals are you burning
c. what macronutrients ratios to use

3. Get a body fat% test done to monitor your progress, at a biweekly basis.

 

[Tino D'Voe]

good info. My next step will be to start following calorie input/output, until now I've been putting that off. What about food/protein for the morning cardio. So far I've been waiting 30min after morning cardio for the protein shake, then breakfast. What do you recommend here? Isolate with or without dextrose?

I've been trying to find out some more about glutamine. Some conflicting opinions on this board. Is the consensus right now that this stuff works or is not worth the price? how about creatine? I know the monohydrate adds water bloat which goes against my trying to look cut goals, but i'm reading about CEE which sounds cool.

I'm going to try all your suggestions, increase protein in the day, more cardio, let's see how it goes. I'll keep you informed.

thanks for the help