How to Create a Cutting Meal Plan to Burn Fat and Preserve Muscle: A Step-by-Step Guide

In this article we will talk about drying the body, more precisely about how to eat in order to dry out, make the muscles dry and defined. This approach to the nutritional system is suitable for all athletes who compete in fitness, bodybuilding, bikini, and so on, in general, where the beauty, proportions and leanness of the body are assessed.

Drying and basic principles

Drying athletes is not only about getting rid of fat deposits, but also about maximizing the removal of fluid from the body. To achieve this goal, athletes eliminate salt, which promotes fluid retention in tissues. At the last stage of preparation for competitions, athletes limit themselves even in water and products with a high content of it, because the most dry muscle relief is important to them.

Drying involves the predominance of low-carbohydrate foods and large amounts of protein in the diet. As a result of this diet, there is a gradual decrease in the amount of body fat while maintaining muscle.

Drying is indicated for athletes who have already built muscle and do not suffer from excess fat deposition. The cutting diet is quite strict and lasts about a month.

Athletes practice this type of nutrition to prepare for competitions. Athletes follow this regimen under the supervision of experienced instructors. Products for drying are selected carefully, observing all the nuances.

When drying your body, it is important to observe the following principles:

  1. You need to start gradually.
  2. You need to eat food in small portions, but about 5-6 times a day. Eating every 3 hours is considered optimal. 2 hours before the start of training, refuse food. After it ends, you need to wait 1.5 hours and only then take the protein and have your main meal. 40 parts of protein can be obtained from special protein shakes, the remaining 60 from regular foods.
  3. It is important not to forget about the drinking regime. For every kg of mass there should be at least 30 ml of water. This amount increases in the heat and on training days.
  4. Diet during drying should be balanced. The diet should contain unsaturated fats. They can be obtained from fish and special additives. It is also important to consume cereals, various nuts, fiber and vitamins.
  5. You need to adhere to a training process that combines strength and fat burning exercises. It is better to do this under the supervision of a trainer.
  6. This diet can be repeated no more than once a year. Only in this case will it be possible to see the effect of this diet and not cause harm to health.

Basic nutrition rules

Drying is radically different from other diets. Calorie expenditure per day should exceed the amount of energy from food consumed.

To get rid of subcutaneous fat, it is necessary to speed up metabolic processes. Therefore, you cannot go hungry. This will lead to stress in the body and slow down metabolism. With each meal, the body will begin to store food in case of the next hunger strike. These reserves quickly turn into fat, which can lead to poor health. The athlete may experience weakness, dizziness and apathy towards everything.

In order for drying to proceed easily and for it to have an effect, you must adhere to the following rules:

  • reduce the amount of salt in the diet;
  • the basis of the diet should be lean protein products;
  • correctly limit carbohydrates in the diet;
  • training focuses on high-repetition exercises.

Nutrition during drying should be based on dietary products. Before starting the diet, you need to study all the information. An important component of drying is the predominance of protein in the diet. Consumption of fatty and high-carbohydrate foods should be kept to a minimum. In order to prevent the development of intestinal problems, it is necessary to include whole grain cereals in your diet every day.

Women's and men's drying involves preparing a diet based on the same products:

  1. Poultry fillet is allowed as meat.
  2. It is recommended to give preference to white fish.
  3. Egg whites should be present in the diet, but it is better to limit the number of yolks.
  4. It is better not to eat completely low-fat dairy products; the optimal fat content is 1-2%.
  5. Seafood options include squid, shrimp and scallops.
  6. It is better to limit the amount of spices, but you can use cinnamon for taste.
  7. To improve the taste, you can sometimes add honey and dried fruits in small quantities to porridge.
  8. At the first stage, you can eat nuts, but respecting the total calorie content. During the main period, all this is excluded.

The amount of carbohydrates in the diet is calculated based on the person’s weight. There should be 2 g of carbohydrates per 1 kg of weight, then this figure is reduced to 1 g. Sometimes other ratios are used in bodybuilding.

When drying the body for girls, fats are reduced carefully. Since they are responsible for reproductive health.

What are the limitations and disadvantages

During the drying period, the human body is subjected to severe stress. Especially great damage is caused to the female body. Therefore, it is better to resort to this method as rarely as possible.

The body on a diet when drying experiences a lack of minerals and vitamins. Such nutrition implies not only physical, but also psychological health. Drying does not have any health benefits, so you need to take into account all the disadvantages.

During the active breakdown of fatty deposits, ketone bodies accumulate in the body, which negatively affects the body's systems and can lead to intoxication.

Women in the initial period may notice a loss of strength and a depressed state. This is due to a drop in blood sugar concentration. A similar condition can occur at the final stage of weight loss.

It’s also a big stress that you can’t eat sweets and you’ll have to eliminate salt from many dishes.

In addition, bad breath may occur. You can cope with this by including freshly squeezed juices in your diet. They have a low glycemic index, so they do not affect your figure.

Drying does not guarantee safe weight loss. This type of nutrition is designed to get rid of fat deposits and develop muscles.

You can get rid of extra pounds with proper nutrition, observing the ratio of all nutrients.

Drying is a drastic measure that should not be resorted to unless absolutely necessary. Only completely healthy people can adhere to this type of diet.

This diet is contraindicated for children and adolescents, as well as women carrying a child and during lactation.

The following pathologies are also contraindications:

  • diseases of the liver and urinary system;
  • type diabetes;
  • abnormalities in the functioning of the heart and vascular system.

How to eat to dry out your body?

Before answering this question, it is worth first understanding why our body accumulates excess weight, which so greatly interferes with the drawing of muscles.

Excess calories obtained from food, which a person does not have time to expend in the process of his daily activities, inevitably turn into fat. But what does extra mean? Why do some people eat cakes and pastries and not gain weight, while others gain weight from just the “look” of a pie? Firstly, it's all about metabolism , which directly depends on a person's body type.

People with a fast metabolism are less susceptible to obesity, respectively, people with a slow metabolism gain excess weight much easier.

Therefore, the last category of athletes, those with slow metabolisms ( endomorphs ), must maintain proper nutrition throughout their lives to lose weight in order to always remain slim and fit.

The second reason why some people eat a lot of sweets and don't gain weight is due to their amount of muscle mass . That is, people with an athletic build, with well-developed muscles, can afford to eat candy, cakes, various sweets and not gain weight, since muscles are huge consumers of calories that require a large energy supply to maintain them. For example, carbohydrates are stored in muscles in the form of glycogen, and the larger the muscles, the larger the so-called “fuel tank,” which means the more energy you can “throw” in there, in the form of calories, without fear of gaining weight. Excess carbohydrates naturally turn into fat, but compare a pumped-up athlete and an ordinary person who has never gone to the gym, and who do you think will have a larger “fuel energy tank”? The answer is obvious.


Dried athletic figure of a girl

Based on the above information, the task of an athlete who wants to dry his body beautifully primarily consists of:

  • building sufficient muscle mass
  • metabolism promotion

For an athlete who has not gained an impressive amount of muscle mass, it makes no sense to dry muscles (even with proper nutrition), since there is simply nothing to dry, but you will decrease in volume, your weight will become less, but there can be no definition of muscles and speech (to be more precise, we mean that being a dry, weakling, with small but dry muscles is not your goal).

Basic nutritional rules for properly roasting the body:

  1. Small meals (5-6 meals a day), to speed up metabolism
  2. Creating a calorie deficit in the body (expending more calories than you consume)
  3. You focus your strength training program on pumping by increasing the number of approaches and repetitions (reach exercises up to 3-4 sets of 12-15 repetitions, while reducing the working weight)
  4. Introducing moderate aerobic activity (running after training, swimming, cycling, high jumping, jumping rope, treadmill, jogging in the fresh air)
  5. Increasing protein in the diet and reducing carbohydrates
  6. Refusal of sweets (fast carbohydrates)
  7. Compliance with the drinking regime (at least 2-3 liters of water per day. Water is involved in fat burning processes, but not immediately before the competition itself, we consume carbohydrates in moderation and water to a minimum, so glycogen will begin to take water from the extracellular space of the body into the intracellular )

The main rule of drying the body is to follow a strict diet and proper workouts.

Authorized Products

Let's figure out what you can eat while drying.

When reducing the percentage of body fat, it is important to give up confectionery, sweets, baked goods, alcohol consumption, pasta, processed rice, sauces, sausages and canned food.

Cereals and unrefined oils can be consumed in small quantities.

Lack of fat slows down metabolism. Women may also experience problems with their cycles. The calorie content of these products must be taken into account.

It is necessary to give preference to lean meats: veal, rabbit and all poultry. You can also eat any types of white fish and seafood.

Fermented milk products with low fat content are preferred. Eggs can be eaten in unlimited quantities, but it is better to limit the consumption of the yolk.

Wild rice, lentils, mushrooms, vegetables and fruits, and protein shakes are also allowed.

These products help maintain muscle mass and provide access to essential amino acids.

Vegetables

There are no restrictions on the consumption of green vegetables. Cucumbers, celery and cabbage contain a large amount of fiber, and their calorie content is quite low. They fill the stomach, which helps dull the feeling of hunger.

When drying, you should limit the amount of potatoes and beets. It is better to eat them boiled. Carrots are excluded from the diet. It is too high in simple sugars.

Fruits

Many people mistakenly believe that fruits can be consumed in unlimited quantities. This leads to ineffective drying. But what fruits can you eat?

Fruits can only be consumed in the morning or immediately before the training process. Then they will turn into energy without replenishing the fat “depot”.

You should not completely exclude fruits from your diet, however, it is important to control their quantity. The sweeter the fruit, the more calories it contains.

If you need something sweet, it is better to eat frozen berries.

Meat and fish

It is better to exclude fatty meat from the diet. Give preference to chicken breast. It has minimal fat content, so its calorie content is lower.

Another source of protein is lean fish. It contains essential fatty acids and minerals. But canned food should not be consumed. It contains too much salt and sugar. Excessive salt leads to water retention. Sometimes you can eat canned tuna.

Dairy

Fermented milk products provide the body with protein. Give preference to cottage cheese, milk and kefir, where the fat content does not exceed 5%. Its higher content increases the calorie content of the product.

Curd protein takes a long time to digest, but somewhat faster than meat protein.

Low-calorie vegetable protein

Legumes contain large amounts of protein and complex carbohydrates. Protein from these crops is better absorbed in combination with proteins of animal origin. These side dishes go well with chicken and beef. You can exclude legumes only when digestive problems arise.

Cereal and flour products

This group of products helps saturate the body with energy. But it is important to choose the right cereals.

The following are suitable garnishes:

  1. Oatmeal. Long-cooked flakes are preferred. They have a low glycemic index, which does not cause insulin spikes. Based on this cereal, you can make dietary baking options.
  2. Brown rice. Goes great with chicken breast. You need to choose a product that has not been processed. This side dish will take longer to digest and will provide a long-lasting feeling of fullness.
  3. Buckwheat. This cereal is suitable as a side dish during the drying period. The ratio of minerals and amino acids in it is superior to other cereals.
  4. Whole wheat pasta. Regular pasta should not be consumed during the drying period; it is better to choose whole grain varieties. They need to be cooked for no more than 5 minutes.

Cellulose

While reducing body fat, the amount of carbohydrates in the diet is limited. Therefore, for normal intestinal function, you need to consume additional fiber. It is added to kefir or yogurt, taking into account the total calorie content.

Healthy fats

In order for metabolic processes in the body to proceed correctly, you need to comply with the norm of fat in the diet. But they must come from healthy foods.

Nuts should be present in your daily diet: cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts. They contain sufficient amounts of Omega-6. But they must be weighed before use.

It is also advisable to eat red fish every 3-4 days. Easily digestible protein and healthy fatty acids make this product a must-have in the drying diet. If this is not possible, drink fish oil capsules.

Unrefined oils contain Omega-6, which has beneficial properties. They help heal damaged tissue.

Flaxseed oil contains a sufficient amount of fatty acids. But it is better not to add oil to salads, as they have a high calorie content.

Snack options

In the intervals between main meals, in order not to break down, you need to have snacks. To do this, choose low-calorie or protein foods.

You can eat small amounts of nuts, a green apple, egg whites, and protein bars. Snacks should make up no more than 15% of total calories.

Low carb drinks

During the drying period, it is important to monitor the glycemic index of foods, so drinks should contain a minimum amount of simple carbohydrates. It is better to choose kefir or low-fat milk. You can also drink protein shakes.

How many times a week can you eat red fish?

red fish

- a unique product that is recommended
for
absolutely everyone: women, men, children (over 3 years old) and the elderly.
To get maximum benefits, experts advise eating it regularly, 2-3 times a week
.

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Features of drying diet for girls

The drying process for women involves following certain rules:

  1. Stick to a normal body fat percentage. When this indicator drops below 12%, hormonal imbalances occur, which leads to health problems.
  2. Control the rate of weight loss. Normal weight loss without harm to the body is 0.2 kg.
  3. Possible contraindications. Drying is strictly prohibited for women during pregnancy, lactation and a child. Also limiting are pathologies of the pancreas and intestines.

The drying diet should include all nutrients. But to reduce fat mass, a predominance of proteins in the body is necessary. Carbohydrates should be present in limited quantities.

You can consume the following foods without harm to your figure:

  1. Meat – lean veal, all types of poultry, rabbit.
  2. Fish. River and sea fish are a low-calorie source of protein.
  3. Vegetables. Exclude potatoes and legumes.
  4. Fermented milk products - cottage cheese, milk, yogurt and low-fat kefir.
  5. Egg white. It is important to monitor the amount of yolks consumed, as they are high in calories.

Use in limited quantities:

  • pasta from durum wheat;
  • unprocessed cereals;
  • nuts;
  • low glycemic index fruits;
  • cheese with a low percentage of fat;
  • whole grain bread.

Completely excluded during the drying period:

  • bakery products;
  • sweets;
  • sweet sauces;
  • smoked meats;
  • sausages.

Squirrels

This nutrient should form the basis of the diet during the drying period. Only in this case can the desired result be achieved.

You should choose the following high protein foods:

  1. Meat – poultry, beef and rabbit.
  2. Offal – tongue and heart.
  3. Fish and seafood - salmon, mackerel, hake, tilapia, squid and shrimp.
  4. Cereals – soybeans, lentils, quinoa.

In addition to protein content, it is important to consider the amino acid ratio. The more varied it is, the better.

Carbohydrates

Before choosing carbohydrates, do your research on them. These nutrients can be simple or complex.

Simple carbohydrates are baked goods and confectionery products, sweets and drinks. Such products have too high a glycemic index and high sugar content. They should be excluded from the menu at the drying stage.

Complex carbohydrates include foods that have a low glycemic index: buckwheat, oats, brown rice and pearl barley. Complex carbohydrates should form the basis of a healthy and balanced menu.

While reducing body fat, the amount of carbohydrates in the diet is limited. Therefore, for normal intestinal function, you need to consume additional fiber. It is added to kefir or yogurt, taking into account the total calorie content.

With excess glucose, glycogen is deposited in muscle fibers and liver cells. If you consume too much of this nutrient, glycogen is converted into adipocytes. They cause the formation of hated folds on the body.

It is important to maintain a carbohydrate deficit when cutting muscles. Due to the lack of glucose from consumed foods, the body begins to deplete its “depot”. This allows you to achieve a reduction in body fat.

Fats

The amount of fat in a girl’s diet should be sufficient. They not only preserve the beauty of hair and skin, but also support reproductive health.

The menu should contain healthy unsaturated fatty acids.

The main sources of fats are:

  • fish oil – salmon and trout;
  • oils – linseed oil, hemp oil and camelina;
  • nuts – hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds;
  • fruits – avocado;
  • seeds – sunflower, chia and flax seeds.

It is advisable to eat red fish every 3-4 days. Easily digestible protein and healthy fatty acids make this product a must-have in the drying diet. If this is not possible, you can drink fish oil capsules.

Unrefined oils contain Omega-6, which has beneficial properties. They help heal damaged tissue. Flaxseed oil contains a sufficient amount of fatty acids. But it is better not to add oil to salads, as they have a high calorie content.

Strict drying option

This type of fat reduction is practiced by professional athletes. This type of nutrition requires long-term preparation and good health. The strict version can be used at the final stage of the diet.

This type of nutrition involves creating a diet based on proteins. Carbohydrates are limited to a minimum amount; sometimes only fresh vegetables with low calorie content are allowed. But with this diet, it is important to maintain a water balance. There should be at least 30 ml of liquid per 1 kg of body.

During the drying period, you need to stress the body, such as carbohydrate loading days and short periods of fasting. These methods will help maintain your metabolism and not get used to your diet. This technique speeds up metabolism, but shaking should not be done too often. This can cause serious disruption to the body's functioning.

Contraindications

Despite the positive aspects, diets for drying the body have many limitations. In some cases, such diets are strictly contraindicated. This is due to the individual characteristics of the body and the athlete’s health status.

It is highly recommended not to “dry” in the following cases:

  • for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
  • for violations of the kidneys;
  • for liver diseases;
  • people with cardiovascular diseases.

Pay attention to this fact: in order to “get dry,” you need to have decent muscle mass. Only in this case will it be possible to beautifully outline the muscles by removing subcutaneous fat from them. Otherwise, drying will turn into ordinary exhaustion, and at the end you will not get the coveted sculpted body, but an emaciated look.

Sample menu

When creating a menu, you must first calculate the required ratio of nutrients. Typically it is 45% protein, 30% fat. The rest comes from carbohydrates.

This calculation is carried out taking into account your body type. There are 3 known varieties of them:

  1. Mesomorph. For this type, 40 parts of proteins and fats, 20 parts of carbohydrates are recommended.
  2. Ectomorph. For this type, the optimal amount is 35 parts of fats and proteins, 30 parts of carbohydrates.
  3. Endomorph. The amount of carbohydrates should not exceed 20 parts of the entire diet, fats - 30, proteins - 50.

The diet is based on permitted products, taking into account the ratio of basic nutrients.

Breakfast

The first meal should be nutritious and provide the body with energy for the whole day. The best solution would be to eat whole grain porridge and any fruit. You can make sandwiches with a low-calorie protein product.

Dinner

This meal can be modified depending on preference. These can be various meat dishes, soups, vegetables with protein, breast meatballs and other dishes.

The base should be protein, and vegetables or cereals can serve as a side dish.

It is better to exclude fatty meat from the diet. Give preference to chicken breast. It has minimal fat content, so its calorie content is lower.

Dinner

This meal is similar to lunch, but it is better to diversify it and eat another source of protein. In the evening, do not eat cereals, giving preference to vegetables. After this meal, you can drink casein to prevent hunger.

Common mistakes

Not only beginners, but also professionals tend to make mistakes when creating a menu.

The most common errors are:

  1. Reducing caloric intake too quickly. Most girls, in pursuit of quick results, greatly reduce their caloric intake and switch to a diet without carbohydrates too early. This picture is often complemented by intense cardio training. But the body tends to adapt to conditions that are created from the outside. Therefore, the fat burning process stops and malfunctions occur in the body. It is important to gradually reduce calories. The optimal reduction is no more than 20% of the original amount.
  2. Complete exclusion of foods containing fats. A low-carb diet (chicken breast with cucumbers) is the usual diet for most athletes. However, this approach leads to insufficient testosterone production and impaired fat metabolism. You should not eat foods that are too fatty; it is enough not to give up egg yolks, beef and fish.
  3. Refusal of carbohydrates. A complete refusal of carbohydrates leads to a slowdown in metabolism. It is important to reconsider this and include complex carbohydrates in the menu. But to achieve a good result, you need to use them in the first half of the day. The fat burning process requires maintaining the correct caloric intake and nutrient ratios.
  4. Hope for a quick effect. There is no need to rely on electrical stimulation and fat burners. Only training and nutrition will help you see results. Fat burners only speed up the weight loss process, and massage will get rid of unwanted fat deposits. But these methods work well only in combination.
  5. Fruits.
  6. Too much cardio. Excessive training provokes the release of cortisol, which inhibits the drying process. The type of load must be selected depending on the desired goal.
  7. Avoid snacking.

Recommendations from experts

Losing weight is a long and complex process. Therefore, only a healthy person can resort to this method.

But if the decision to switch to this type of nutrition has already been made, you must adhere to the following recommendations:

  1. Have breakfast every morning. Breakfast should be your highest calorie meal. If you skip it, you can disrupt metabolic processes in the body.
  2. Don't cut out fats completely. Otherwise, it will lead to deterioration of the condition of the skin and hair.
  3. The diet must contain fats. Their sources are fatty fish, nuts and seeds.
  4. Avoid unhealthy snacks. The diet should not contain canned foods, pickles, fast food, flour products and sweets.
  5. Avoid late-night snacking. An apple or kefir will help satisfy your hunger in the evening. The best option is to drink a protein shake.
  6. Practice frequent but small meals. The intervals between meals should be at least 2 hours.
  7. Rejection of bad habits. Alcohol and nicotine reduce the speed of metabolic processes.
  8. Drink enough water. You need to drink more than 2 liters of water per day. This will help avoid intoxication and dehydration.
  9. Eat fiber. Products containing this component are cereals and vegetables.
  10. Move more. Physical activity throughout the day helps you burn calories.
  11. Add BCAA. This supplement will help protect muscles from destruction and build muscle mass even during drying.
  12. Take vitamins and minerals. With this type of nutrition, there is a lack of them, so you need to make up for it.
  13. Control sugar levels. If there is no progress, it is necessary to further reduce the amount of simple sugars.
  14. The right way out. You need to exit drying properly. If this is not done, the weight will return along with the lost body fat. Therefore, it is important to stick to the same type of diet, but gradually increasing the amount of carbohydrates and reducing the percentage of protein in the diet. It is also important to adhere to the training process to keep the body in good shape.

Squirrels

The diet when cutting must necessarily contain a large amount of lean protein.

This includes:

  1. Poultry fillet (chicken, turkey)
  2. Lean meat (beef, veal)
  3. Low-fat fish (hake, pollock, pike perch)
  4. Eggs (sometimes only white, no yolk)
  5. Low-fat fermented milk products (kefir, sourdough)

In professional bodybuilding, a month before competitions, fruits and all dairy products are often completely excluded from the diet.

This is done in order to further reduce the amount of carbohydrates (since these products contain a small amount of sugar) and the likelihood of fluid retention in the body.

But for ordinary people who do not aspire to perform on stage, this is impractical.

Reducing body fat levels to 4-5%, as is common in bodybuilding competitions, is not physiological. And it carries health risks.

Even professional athletes do not stay in this shape for long, gradually returning to normal levels of subcutaneous fat after a performance.

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