Cutting nutrition: how to create a proper nutrition program for burning fat, a diet for drying the body in 2-3 months without losing muscle

Guessing and assumptions will not help you create an effective fat-burning diet. Listen to expert Christine Hronek's advice on how to create your own cutting diet.

If you have recently decided to get rid of excess fat, then you have probably thought a lot about it, and are expecting immediate results.

Now that you've gathered your courage, you expect to see consistent, visible results that you can track weekly.

In reality, losing weight and burning fat are two different things. Kilograms can be lost due to a decrease in the volume of water, glycogen, muscle or fat.

There are too many nutrition programs for weight loss floating around the Internet, often calling for creating a calorie deficit, which prevents the preservation of muscle mass and leads to metabolic disorders in the long term.

To ensure that fat loss does not harm lean muscle, it is necessary to design a body-cutting diet based on sound scientific principles.

This article was written to teach you how to build a step-by-step nutrition plan to reduce the percentage of body fat without losing muscle mass, and how to properly create and follow a daily diet.

The essence of cutting diets

Regular training, proper diet and drying the body are the best ways to achieve perfect muscle definition.

The essence of any cutting diet is the targeted burning of fat by consuming fewer calories than the body needs to maintain constant body weight.

The ultimate goal of this method of nutrition is to create a sculpted and toned body in a short time, beautifully highlighting the contour of the muscles.

Carbohydrate loading

Day 4 (Thursday) – afternoon, after evening training. Day 5 (Fri)

The 30-hour carbohydrate loading begins.

Meals for one and a half days:

12-16g carbohydrates/1kg lean muscle mass
0.45-0.7g protein/1kg lean muscle mass
about 50g fat (15% of total calories)

In total, you will get about 2-3 meals on Thursday and 6-7 on Friday, 100-150g of carbohydrates in each.

The menu may include both slow and fast carbohydrates - white rice, potatoes, pasta, bread, fruit. You can even afford sweets and baked goods - but only within the calorie content calculated in the Table. It is also important to consume the right amount of protein - you can eat fattier cuts of meat, limiting yourself to the total calorie intake for the day.

Carb loading ends on Friday evening.

Menu for a week for stomach ulcers

You can stick to this diet after the acute stage of this disease, because the list of allowed foods is longer.

Monday

Breakfast: semolina porridge cooked in water or milk, cookies, but not rich ones, biscuits are fine, weak tea.
Snack: low-fat cottage cheese cooked with sugar and berries.
Lunch: soup cooked in vegetable broth, you can add boiled chicken or lean fish. Baked vegetables, for example, zucchini with carrots, cod cooked in foil in the oven, currant jelly.
Snack: rosehip decoction, crackers, but not tasty.
Dinner: mashed potatoes with steamed chicken cutlets, apple compote.
Late dinner: kefir.

Tuesday

Breakfast: rolled oats porridge with water or low-fat milk, you can add a little butter. Banana, herbal tea.
Snack: baked apple in the oven, you can add a little honey.
Lunch: squash puree soup, boiled buckwheat with minced chicken meatballs stewed in a frying pan, berry jelly.
Snack: cottage cheese cooked with sugar and banana cut into slices, rosehip decoction.
Dinner: stewed vegetables, for example, potatoes, zucchini, carrots, onions with cod baked in the oven with sour cream sauce, weak tea.
Late dinner: yogurt.

Reviews and results

A diet for drying the body during training to improve muscle mass is quite effective and, according to the reviews of most athletes, it allows you to achieve the necessary condition of the fat layer and muscle relief.

“... I regularly indulge in iron. I work mainly on building muscle mass and regularly (2 times a year) practice drying the body. I can’t say that this is easy for me, but I can withstand the standard 3 stages with a total duration of up to 1.5 months. I usually practice a carbohydrate alternation diet. I don’t get involved in various versions of keto diets. Usually, the first results can be seen after the first month of drying - slimness appears, muscles begin to be clearly defined. I recommend a diet of carbohydrate alternation, since the result is good and the feeling of hunger is not enough.”
“... After marriage, I somehow relaxed and in 2 years my figure changed for the worse. So I decided to get myself in order. Fortunately, I used to do a lot of fitness. I decided to pump up my muscles a little and then dry myself out. The traditional diet for such a process is low-carbohydrate, and the caloric content of the diet was gradually reduced over 2 weeks. The diet went without any problems, the training process was outlined for me by my former trainer. In total, after 4 months I returned to normal. I think that such training and nutrition should be carried out at least 2 times a year.”

What products should be included in the menu?

Subject to the principles of nutrition, while drying the body, dishes should be as varied as possible. To maintain muscle mass, you need different types of protein. Suitable for creating a menu, for example, chicken or turkey fillet, rabbit, low-fat fish, low-fat dairy products, egg whites. Products can be boiled, baked or steamed. Dairy products, cereals and fruits are best consumed in the first half of the day. In the afternoon - chicken or fish with vegetables, low in starch (radishes, cucumbers, cabbage). On training day, your diet should include complex carbohydrates for energy. But on a rest day, carbohydrates can be reduced.

Our company General Food will help you achieve your goal and take care of your nutrition. The ready-made diet “Weight Loss 1300” is suitable for men who decide to take care of their body and go through the drying phase.

Dubious foods that you should avoid

There is no clear answer to the question: can soy sauce Although this is indeed a low-calorie product that enhances the taste of protein foods, it is useful only if it contains exclusively natural products that have gone through a fermentation cycle.

This also applies to cola zero on drying . There is nothing in the drink except asparkam, which is much more harmful than sugar. Besides, no one knows the real recipe for the drink. What's wrong with rosehip infusions or herbal teas that supply natural vitamins and strengthen the immune system?

honey is used to replace a handful of dried fruits. Is it worth doing this if it contains simple sugars? It contains up to 80% glucose, fructose and sucrose. In light varieties there are 380 kcal/100 g, in dark varieties 455. In addition, it contains antibiotics. It is better to replace sweetness with walnuts, cashews, and almonds. Peanuts, when dried, stimulate the production of nitrogen and the delivery of nutrition to the tissues.

Workouts for relief and fat burning

Above in the text, I already wrote that strength training is the most effective in terms of calorie consumption.

So how to train dry? How many approaches to dry? Should I use a pure isolation program or basic movements?

I think you already know that: (roughly speaking)

average number of repetitions from 6 to 12 grows muscles (muscular hypertrophy)
a large number of repetitions from 12 to 20 (pumping) burns fat

For the most part, people who visit gyms are sure that training aimed at “drying” should be performed exclusively in a pumping style.

I agree, but only if you use sports pharmacology.

Pumping style training will deplete muscle glycogen stores faster and force the body to switch to breaking down fat and using fatty acids to provide energy to muscles.

But you must understand that “pumping” burns not only fat, but also your muscles, even when training with pharmacology. If you are “natural”, then pumping style training is contraindicated for you!

To minimize the loss of “meat” and maintain maximum muscle size, it is best to use heavy strength training both on the course and “in nature.”

Pumping can, and should even be used when you manipulate carbohydrate intake, adjusting your diet to your workouts.

I will describe how to adjust the diet for training in a separate article (Protein-carbohydrate alternation or BEACH diet)

Conclusions:

To minimize loss of muscle volume we use a heavy base
Hard full-body workouts per workout are best for energy expenditure
We use pumping only on the course

How often do you train dry?

In my opinion, it is best to be guided by your recovery abilities. If after the previous workout you feel muscle pain, loss of strength, and the time for the next workout has already come, then it is better to reschedule the workout. Otherwise, you simply will not be able to complete the workout in full and at maximum intensity.

Personally, I like to do three hard workouts per week at the initial stage of “cutting,” when I have not yet switched to protein-carbohydrate alternation for the first three weeks. I train my whole body in a workout. This approach allows me to get the greatest hormonal response and increase calorie consumption per unit of time.

My workout takes at least 40 and more than 60 minutes. Heavy base only. Rest time: from 2 minutes to 3 minutes. I don’t get to the point of “refusal”. In a set of 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions.

From the third week I switch to supersets.

The principle of operation is the same. Whole body for a workout. In the database we try to add to the training weights with each new workout. To the basic exercise I add an isolation exercise, which I perform in a superset, immediately after the basic one. We work to failure in each approach with the minimum possible rest time. It turns out 7 exercises, 2 approaches each.

After strength training, I do high-intensity “cardio” for 20-30 minutes.

Dish 3: chicken breast and eggs

Chicken breast is a dietary product with low calorie content. There is no fat in this meat, so it is included in the diet of any person involved in sports.

An average egg contains about 80 kcal, of which protein makes up 20 kcal.

This product is best eaten boiled, as in this case all the proteins needed by the body are preserved. The serving should not be more than 200 g.

Along with meat, experts advise eating the yolk of one egg for dinner. This will speed up the stomach's absorption of the chicken delicacy.

The yolk also contains fats, so the amount of product consumed should be controlled. You should not eat more than 2 yolks for dinner.

Along with these products the following is served on the table:

green salad leaves;
various vegetables;
boiled rice;
buckwheat porridge.

Wednesday

Breakfast: low-fat cottage cheese pancakes, applesauce, weak tea.
Snack: fruit salad with yogurt.
Lunch: homemade noodle soup cooked in vegetable broth with the addition of finely chopped chicken fillet, mashed potatoes and steamed fish cakes.
Snack: crackers and rose hip decoction.
Dinner: chicken breast baked in foil, baked carrots, berry jelly.
Late dinner: ryazhenka.

Thursday

Breakfast: cottage cheese casserole, boiled egg, weak tea.
Snack: baked apple with honey.
Lunch: vegetable puree soup, baked potatoes with boiled lean beef.
Snack: marshmallows with weak tea.
Dinner: zucchini stew with chicken cutlets, berry compote.
Late dinner: kefir.

Friday

Breakfast: omelet, pastille, rosehip decoction.
Snack: cottage cheese with banana.
Lunch: pumpkin puree soup, pasta with homemade chicken sausages, weak tea.
Snack: sweet apple, cracker.
Dinner: mashed potatoes with duck breast.
Late dinner: yogurt.

Saturday

Breakfast: semolina porridge with apple with added butter, dry cookies, rose hip decoction.
Snack: cottage cheese casserole.
Lunch: noodle soup with chicken fillet, stewed vegetables, turkey meatballs.
Snack: charlotte with apples, weak tea.
Dinner: boiled rice with boiled pollock, weak tea.
Late dinner: ryazhenka.

Sunday

Breakfast: rice porridge with pumpkin, crackers, compote.
Snack: baked apple.
Lunch: squash puree soup, stewed beef with vegetables, apple compote.
Snack: cottage cheese with banana.
Dinner: steamed fish cutlets with boiled potatoes, jelly.
Late dinner: kefir.

Main conclusions

If you want your weight loss to continue, then make your menu varied. Dietary chicken liver recipes will be an excellent addition to your diet. The by-product saturates the body with useful substances, does not overload the digestive organs, accelerates metabolic processes, and forces the body to burn fat faster. It contains a small amount of calories, saturates quickly and for a long time.

For gastritis, ulcers, and bile outflow disorders, chicken liver is contraindicated. Dishes containing this product should not be eaten if there is a high level of bad cholesterol in the blood. In other cases, its benefits are invaluable. Salads, stews, pates, cutlets, muffins, etc. are prepared from chicken liver. Share in the comments new dietary recipes based on offal that supplement your diet while losing weight.

Review of the best diets for cutting

There are many ways to remove excess subcutaneous fat. We have selected 4 of the most effective options for you and described their basic principles and advantages.

No carbohydrate diet

The most popular among athletes is the low-carbohydrate diet. Formally, it is rather low-carbohydrate, since in practice it is impossible to limit the small amount of carbohydrates ingested from food. When choosing a diet for cutting, many athletes choose the classic “no-carbohydrate” diet due to its effectiveness. The essence of the diet is clear from the name - limit the intake of any carbohydrates into the body.

Authorized Products

On a low-carbohydrate diet, you are allowed to consume:

lean meat: chicken, turkey, beef, lean pork, rabbit, lamb;
fish, seafood;
eggs;
green vegetables high in fiber;
dairy products: hard cheeses, milk, cottage cheese, kefir, fermented baked milk, sour cream;
drinking water (at least 2-3 liters per day).

Operating principle

The principle is based on the mechanism of gluconeogenesis - the formation of glucose from other compounds in the body in order to maintain metabolism. Without the intake of carbohydrates, the body begins to break down fats into fatty acid molecules and glycerol, and proteins into amino acids, from which it creates glucose. This process is very energy-consuming, and in the complete absence of carbohydrate foods it leads to rapid weight loss. But when adhering to such a diet, be careful, since an acute lack of glucose in the body causes the phenomenon of ketosis.

Ketosis is the body's breakdown of previously accumulated fat to produce energy (glucose). With ketosis, the liver begins to actively produce ketonic acid, which increases the risk of poisoning with acetone products.

If the accumulation of ketone bodies reaches maximum values, ketoacidosis may begin in the body - acute poisoning with decay products. A sharp acetone odor appears from the mouth, the general condition worsens, severe dizziness, nausea or vomiting occurs. With serious complications and lack of treatment, ketoacidosis can be fatal (especially if a person has diabetes mellitus or another metabolic disorder).

And yet, “no carbohydrates” is the undisputed leader when choosing a diet for drying the body for many athletes, as it allows you to achieve excellent results in losing weight in a short time.

An analogue is the Dr. Atkins diet, which traditionally takes place in four stages: the induction stage (preparatory), the active fat burning stage, the transition stage and the maintenance stage. The Dr. Atkins diet is a classic low-carb diet.

Zone diet

The zone diet is often chosen by those athletes who train intensively even while cutting. Thanks to the balanced composition of the diet (there is no strict restriction of carbohydrates), it allows you to train as intensely as possible without experiencing an acute energy deficiency (an integral part of low-carbohydrate diets).

Operating principle

The essence of the zone diet is to divide the daily diet into proteins, fats and carbohydrates in the ratio: 30/30/40, respectively. The zone diet requires an individual approach, since to create a menu it is necessary to calculate the individual protein requirement of a particular athlete.

Principles of the zone diet:

The entire daily diet is divided into protein, carbohydrate and fat blocks. At the same time, one protein block contains 7 grams of protein, one carbohydrate block contains 9 grams of carbohydrates, and one fat block contains 1.5 grams of fat.
The ratio of protein and carbohydrate blocks should be 1:1.
The number of meals per day is at least 5: 3 main meals and 2 snacks. If you're training too intensely while cutting, you should increase the number of meals you eat, not the size of your portions.
The calorie content of a main meal should not exceed 500 calories, and a snack should not exceed 150 calories.
Between meals, breaks of more than 4 hours are not allowed.
It is better to choose low fat protein sources.
Fats in the diet should be unsaturated.
Carbohydrates should have a low glycemic index.

Recommended Products

The zone diet does not impose strict restrictions on the foods consumed. Only their calorie content and set of nutrients are controlled.

Drying in such conditions may not be as effective, but in combination with intense physical activity, the results of the zone diet will not take long to appear.

Paleo diet

The Paleo diet is considered the most preferred among CrossFitters, as its creator is the founder of CrossFit, Greg Glassman. This diet is based on eating only high-quality protein sources: meat, fish, seafood, fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, as well as berries and nuts. In other words, only those foods that could have been available to ancient man in the Paleolithic era are consumed.

Principles of nutrition

Paleo Diet Principles:

It is allowed to consume only natural products that have not undergone heat or other processing or have been subjected to only minimal exposure to temperatures.
Dairy products, grains, and all sugars are prohibited.
It is not recommended to subject vegetables to prolonged heat treatment to avoid loss of vitamins.
When following the paleo diet, strictly follow the drinking regime: drink at least 2-3 liters of liquid per day.
During intense physical activity, it is permissible to increase the amount of carbohydrates in food by consuming sweet berries and fruits. The amount of protein in this situation is also allowed to be increased.

Priority Products

The paleo diet is certainly a healthy way of eating, since by consuming a large amount of vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts, the body receives many vitamins, macro and microelements, and the overall immune system is strengthened. In terms of cutting, such a diet is also effective, since giving up simple carbohydrates and replacing them with fiber in any case leads to intense burning of fat.

Fractional meals

Fractional meals are another popular diet for drying the body. The essence of fractional nutrition is to divide the daily diet into 6-7 small meals at intervals of 2-2.5 hours. The fractional diet is aimed at reducing single portions of food in order to improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, compress the volume of the stomach in a natural way, improve metabolism and burn accumulated fat deposits.

Principles of nutrition

A fractional diet involves following a number of recommendations:

Alternate days of nutrition with days of rest: 5 days - fractional meals, 10 days - consolidation of the result.
During the first 5 days of fractional feeding, eat every 2 hours.
During the 10 days of rest, eat the same foods, just reduce the number of meals while maintaining its total volume.
The recommended serving size is such that after eating there is a slight feeling of hunger.
Don't forget about drinking water. At least 2.5-3 liters of clean drinking water per day is the key to successful drying.

Recommended Products

The following products are of priority:

The diet for a fractional diet consists mainly of low-fat protein foods: chicken, turkey, rabbit, beef, fish, eggs.
Dairy products allowed during the fractional diet include: hard cheeses with low fat content (no more than 35%), cottage cheese, kefir, fermented baked milk, and Varenets.
Most of the diet consists of foods rich in fiber. These include: cucumbers, all types of cabbage, greens, tomatoes, bell peppers, beans, peas, bran.
Carbohydrates in fractional meals are complex, with a low glycemic index: oatmeal, buckwheat, barley, barley.
Fats are mainly of vegetable origin: olive oil, flaxseed oil, natural peanut oil.

This type of nutrition is rightfully considered effective in order to effectively burn excess fat. In combination with physical activity, a fractional diet gives tangible results. It is perfect for athletes who plan to quickly and comfortably get rid of extra pounds.

Recipes for healthy eating

Mashed Potatoes with Bacon

3.6 g Protein
3.4 g Fat
14.7 g Carbohydrates
110.2 kcal

40-55 min.

#bacon
#second course
#dietary
#baking
#greenery
#potato
#milk
#low calorie
#dinner
#butter
#dinner

Other recipes

Option 1: seafood

For dinner, doctors recommend eating fish, squid, shrimp, mussels, since the protein of sea creatures is absorbed by the body faster than when eating meat. However, seafood also contains Omega-3.

This group of unsaturated fatty acids, which stimulates testosterone production, reduces the amount of subcutaneous fat. Omega-3 is recommended to be taken both when gaining weight and when cutting.

The greatest amount of Omega-3 is found in the following seafood:

mackerel;
salmon;
sardine;
tuna;
Rainbow trout;
herring.

Experts advise alternating low-fat and fatty types of fish, for example, eating the first 4-5 times a week, and the second on the remaining days.

It is forbidden to eat seafood:

pickled;
salty;
smoked;
canned.

Only fresh or chilled fish is suitable for dinner. It is boiled and served along with stewed cabbage or potatoes.

List of protein products for relief

Athletes increase their protein intake to 2.5/1 kg of weight. The share of animal protein is 70%. The body receives the rest of the organic matter from plant foods. List of foods that you can eat 150-200 g per meal:

red meat;
eggs;
mushrooms;
turkey;
white meat chicken.

Dried fish and seafood, including seaweed, are useful Source of vegetable protein - nuts, seeds, sesame, flax seeds, legumes. Only in the female body beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils are better absorbed and do not cause fermentation.

A detailed menu for drying the body for girls is presented in this article. A correctly written diet for a week for men is here. A set of body drying exercises for girls in this article. Training for men for relief while drying the body is described at this link.

Preparations to speed up the “drying” process

99% of gym goers are sure that there are steroids that “dry” the body, that is, they act as fat burners. But no! There are no steroids that burn fat on their own; or rather, the effect of using such drugs will be practically unnoticeable.

Anabolism is the process of building new tissue, and catabolism is destruction. So, the breakdown of fat deposits is catabolism. The very concept of the word anabolic steroids contains the essence of their work - steroids affect anabolism. Raising it to incredible levels. Therefore, steroids do not burn fat in a direct sense, but some drugs can indirectly affect lipolysis, accelerating the fat burning process. Such drugs are turinabol buy, stanozolol and oxandrolone.

Using steroids while cutting helps prevent muscle loss. Perhaps, with a very small (no more than 10%) negative calorie content, you can, in addition to losing fat, gain one or two kg of muscle while “cutting”.

Due to the fact that your muscles will not “burn”, in the future you will be able to burn much more calories, because it takes about 200 kcal to provide energy to 1 kg of muscles. Roughly speaking, the more muscle you retain, the more pronounced the “body-drying” effect you will get.

What is body drying and why is it needed?

Drying the body is the process of burning subcutaneous fat after a period of “mass.” As a rule, muscle mass cannot be gained without a large amount of protein and carbohydrates, then athletes “go on mass.” During this period, the caloric intake of the diet increases and the amount of strength exercises increases.

Most often, weight is gained in the winter and dried in the summer, when it is necessary to expose noticeable areas of the body on the beach or before competitions. The drying process involves a strict diet and a large amount of cardio exercise. Professional athletes supplement their nutrition with sports supplements, which accelerate the process of lipolysis and supply the body with deficient microelements.

Drying is an effective way to get a sculpted, toned body for both men and women. This method of acquiring forms is, however, comparable to some health risks. It is precisely because of the deficiency of vitamins and minerals coming from food and high intensity exercise that the main health risks are associated.

Proper drying implies proper allocation of resources and the ability to listen to the needs of the body.