Very Important Question, Need Answer! :)
 

Hi everyone.. im currently weighing in at 144lbs, and a height of 5'9, and im male.. so here it goes.. im starting this good workout routine this week, along with a lower carb diet.. not any one in particular.. but this is my plan, workout 3 times a week ( 30-40 mins each time ) and do cardio 4 times a week ( 30-40 mins each time ). And for my diet.. im going to try to get 1 gm of protein / lb of mass, so thas about 144 gram of protein, im trying to keep the amount of calories from fat pretty low ( since i want to lose a lil bit of body fat, and help 'tone' or 'cut' my muscles ) and i was planning to keep my carbs as low as possible ( below 50 gm a day ). And the only carbs that i do eat would come from veggies ect.. One of my biggest concerns following this plan would be, its too low in calories! i made up an average day, and i'll only consume around 1000 cals, which is way to low.. so what foods can i eat that are high in protein, low in fat, low in carbs, but high in calories??

So can anyone tell me if im going about this the right way, and what some foods are i can look at.. and if this sounds like a plan that will get my to my real goal... which is to cut my body and show off my muscle :) basically i want to lose body fat and gain muscle mass :).. So please resond asap! :) thanx in advance!

You didn't mention any vegetables you may eat. Could you please post an average meal plan to see what you are eating and we can get a better idea? Maybe we can tweak your meal plan and offer some suggestions :)

do a search on Lyle MacDonald

he is a fitness guy who is very knowlegable about the use of detogenic diets for weight training, fat loss and uses a plan that cycles you through periods of lower fat with true ketogenic(lowest carbs+fat and protein). It will help you understand the role of fat in the diet. Also ABCbodybuilding and www.leanandstrong.com are good sites for weight training and diet. You'll learn tons, but it always come down to what works for you.

as for a list of foods, try lower fat cheeses, cottage cheese, whey based protein powder and milk, chicken, turkey, fish. Eggs, tuna, salmon.

Okay.. here is a sample meal plan...

7:30 - Wakeup.. Do Either 30 mins of cardio or lift weight ( depending on the day )

9:00 - 3 strips fat reduced bacon, cup skim milk, 1/3 cup rolled oats, 3 egg whites

12:00 - Salad ( 2 leafs of romain lettuce, 1/2 medium size tomatoe, low fat vinegrette, 75 grams of tuna )

2:00 - A medium size apple, 150 grams of fat free yougurt

4:00 - 75 gram tuna mixed with 75 gram lowfat cottage cheese

6:00 - 3 oz ( cooked ) skinless boneless chicken breast, Steamed Veggies (1/4 cup of green pepper, 1/4 cup onion, 1/4 cup celery )

8:00 - Orange and 1 egg white

* Note that i drink between 6-8 600ml bottles of water a day *

Hi Defcon, I'm not sure I can help, but I will try.

Low carbing for weight loss:

From most of the mainstream low carb diets I have read, you want to replace your carbs with protein AND fat. Eating just protein is harder on the body - now for weight training, I know that can be a whole different ball game, and I'm not familiar with that. I do know if you add more fat to your diet you will add a good amount of calories, because fat has more calories per gram than protein does. Eggs, cheese, butter and creams would be a quick way to add that on. The basics of low carb diets usually say fat is your friend, and you will still lose weight if you have high fat, high protein.

Low carbing for muscle building:

I have looked at some ketogenic programs that are intense high protein low fat and carb, and I don't know much about it at all! My best suggestion is to go to the Body For Life forum and talk to some of the members. Body For Life isn't a low carb diet, but I think it does limit carbs. It is all about weight loss and increased muscle tone. You can visit the forum at Ladies and Gents Who Lift
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/foru...?s=&forumid=80

It is moderated by MrsJim, and she is awesome.

Oh I forgot to mention this...meanwhile, if you want to add some protein with healthy fats, I would strongly suggest adding nuts, such as almonds, to your menu. If you can snack on those each day, it will add calories and healthy fats that your body needs.

Also, you can add avocado to your salad for more healthy fat and calories, and you could consider protein smoothies with some flax seed oil. You can find some great low carb powders at the Health Food Stores. I like EAS the best.

Hope this helps!

let me add that when you eat foods that are low in fat such as your low fat cottage cheese they have to change the chemical make up of the foods to reduce the fat. if you keep your fats healthy then you will do better. (meaning use real fat not changed fats, I have never seen a vegatable oily!!) I also would add a few extra cals of carbs if you are doing intensive weight training or the 30 min of extreem cardio. speaking from experience that your body will need the extra carbs. go for closer to 50 - 70 carbs and take them in the vegies and lower glycemic carbs. such as beans and whloe wheat stuff. spread then through your meals. place your meals in www.fitday.com anbd see how many calories you come up with. you will starve if you keep your calories too low and use muscle for fuel, and that is definatly what you do NOT want to do. eat more protein I usually eat 2 cans of tuna in a meal. some weight building places say 1.5 grams of protien for every lb of LEAN body mass when lifting, (not total weight)

I like the protein smooties that will really boost your intake nicely with out adding tooo much food.