Diet Plan

[deftones]

Alright, well as of now my diet is rather poor. I'm eating sort of whatever I want. Anyway, I'm 5'10, 185ish pounds, and curious where I should go. I'm probaly around 16% bf, and want to lose the little gut I do have, so I'm wondering if I should cut down to say a 2,100 calorie diet just to loose the fat? Or should I just go on an avg. 2,900 diet and eat nothing but the good stuff. I'm guesing I'd still lose some weight, fat, anyway if I start eating the good stuff again. I want to regain some of my strength, but I think I'd rather be more cut this time around then bulky. Any tips?

[deftones]

I also forgot, I always hear it's important to eat less and more times a day, I have a busy schedule just like anyone, but what if I just stick to the standard 3 meals a day? Can I still excpect good results?

[IronKitten]

First off, simply eating 'clean' foods, doesn't necessarily constitute fat loss. In all reality, it comes down to calories in vs calories out. Eating 'clean' is preferrable (in terms of micronutrient content and general satiety levels), but you need to be in a caloric deficit, no matter the type of food you take in, in order to drop the fat.

Now, in terms of where you should be calorically... by rough estimate your maintenance level at 185 lbs is around 2800 cals/day. So that's around where you should be eating in order to remain at your current state. Obviously, in order to lose fat, you need to eat less. But don't make major cuts in the calories. Smaller jumps will be much more effective and also more forgiving to your body and metbolism.

I generally advise that people begin with a cut of 250 cals per day and guage progress after 1-2 weeks. Then possibly upping the deficit based on progress, or lack thereof. So, that would put you at a daily intake of around 2550. Then, perhaps on a weekly basis, dropping things down by another 100-200 cals/day.

That way, you're not just slashing cals, and it's a gradual progression. Which is easier on the body, and also helps with reducing the feeling of hunger.

When it comes to the number of meals you eat per day, you can be successful only eating 3 times per day, but it's not optimal. Breaking those three meals in half to make 6 meals will help keep blood sugar levels more even throughout the day. And it's another way to reduce hunger/cravings.