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trying to cut fat and gain muscle. i know that people usually have their cut phase and their bulk phase. i know if i want to really pack on the muscle i'm going to have to rage on protein and up my caloric intake by a lot, but i also want to drop the fat. i'm 6'6", currently 344 3/4lbs...very big boned and very large.

this is my typical daily diet.

8:00 am: two packets of oatmeal

10:00 am: 2 hard boiled eggs or small can of tuna fish

12:00 pm: spinach salad with cucs and either 2 eggs or grilled chicken lite dressing

2:00 pm: usually a piece of fruit/nuts/can of tuna if it's a lift day

5:30/6:00 pm: lift days i'm having a snack. two eggs/peanut butter on whole wheat toast/can of tuna/cold cuts. something to hold me over but not something to fill up on. if i eat a meal before the gym i have terrible lift days. non lift days i'm having dinner at this time. very balanced meal.
i'll either have something like turkey sausage and peppers, home made sauce, whole grain or spinach pasta or grilled chicken with brown/yellow rice and some kind of veggie. usually sauteed spinach or steamed broccoli. i'll also do this type of meal with seafood.

830: pm lift days i'm having an 18g odwalla soy protein shake on the way home from the gym, then i'm having dinner when i get home. same type of dinner. if it's a non lit day i'm usually having a small snack. maybe a piece of fruit, or some peanut butter on crackers, etc etc. sometimes on non lift days i'm not even hungry at this time and i'll just have a glass of water or something like that.

i've been loosing weight. i'm almost down 50lbs. i'm drinking about a gallon of water a day. i try to drink more on recovery days. i'm really not counting calories( i know i should), but should i be having more protein with my meals if i want to add muscle? keep in mind that i'm trying to lose fat as well.

i can't eat dairy of any kind, so protein shakes/bars are out of the questions. please give me any advice, thanks in advance.

You are actually right to not count calories. Eat more protein and fats and cut out most of the starchy stuff and that should do it for you.

so on top of what i'm eating now i should eat more protein and good fat?
the rice is what's killing me....i need to start doing brown rice instead of the yellow or wild rice i eat most nights. i think i need to go back to baking potato's again. no butter or anything. just some seasoning.

i'm also taking fish oilif that makes any difference.

Fish oil is fine, I take lots.

I think a switch to brown rice would be better. I personally do much better on low carbs, so rice would be right out for me, but if it's something you like it's fine. Just try to get the most nutritious versions of foods you're eating.

Take the oatmeal, for example. Two packets? Is this instant stuff with sugar and flavorings? If so, swap it out for 100% steel cut oats or 100% rolled oats. Add some protein to the meal, too - personally I drink whey protein when I have my oatmeal, so I have lean protein and slow-digesting high-fiber carbs together. But if you have a preference for something else, eat that.

Otherwise...you could up the intake a little if you're adding protein and a good mix of fats (poly un-, mono un-, and saturated, no trans fats). You're working out hard, too, so remember to support that.

Hope that helps. I'm far from a nutritionist, I only know what seems to work best for me.

A couple of things jumped out at me:



Pre packaged oatmeal is often high in sugar. Go with the big bag of oats and sweeten with fruit or berries. It's incidious how much sugar gets inton prepackaged foods.



Go with full fat. "Lite" is another word for "high in sugar". Avoid vegetable oils. Dressing should be olive oil only.



Brown rice is OK in moderation, like any whole grain, but "yellow" sounds like a processed food. This is likely high in MSG and will stimulate your appetite for more unhealthy food, to say nothing of what it's doing to your nervous system.



Avoid soy. if you're eating a reasonable amount of meat fish and eggs, you really don't need the extra protein anyway.




Well done. Don't make major changes, just tidy up around the edges. Avoiding sugar, processed foods, MSG, refined carbs, and vegetable oils should be your priority. Try to get meat, fish and eggs that are as close to wild as you can find and eat them often. Don't be concerned with saturated fats and as long as you keep Omega 6 fats down, you will be fine from an Omega 3 point of view.


Pack

Yellow rice is usually white rice of some kind (often jasmine rice) cooked up with saffron and/or turmeric. If it's some boxed mix, it's processed, but just "yellow rice" usually means "cooked with stuff that'll turn rice yellow."

i usually only do the soy protein drink because most of the time i can't eat within 30 minutes of lifting so i grab one on the way home from the gym. i can't drink/eat dairy so regular ones are knocked out.

the oatmeal i use is plain but prepackaged. i get it for ease of use in the office. i really should just get berries to go with it instead with regular. never really paid attention to the sugar content, just the protein.

good on the dressing, i'll go with a non lite version.

i like to have a carb with my dinner. i'm going to work with brown rice more if i do, and maybe just double up the veggies instead.

thanks again guys!

Marksdaily apple has a good article today on fish oil that's relevant to your post.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/fish-oil ... -benefits/


Personally, I'm a fish fan. Sockeye Salmon has to be one of the best foods out there.

lol Mark is such a OG "Original Grok"

Yes to your first question and no to the rest. You will not lose fat eating potatoes especially without the fat to slow the digestion. Like I said, it's the starchy stuff that is holding you back.

ok check, cut out most of the starchy stuff, add more protein.

ok, so how many grams of protein should i be taking in? realistically. i want to pack on muscle, but i do want to drop another 50lbs once i drop this first 50(oh so close!!!!!).

1 gram per pound of body weight is good.

I eat 1.5, only because, if i were you i probably wouldnt even be able to eat more than 300lb per day..

see i read some things online that say 1gram per LEAN body weight. if what you are saying is the case, i should be raging 344g of protein per day.