What is a cutting diet?
During a cut, you eat a little less energy than your body burns while keeping enough protein to hold on to your muscle. Training carries on; it’s the plate that changes.
What makes a cut work isn’t a miracle food. It’s steady amounts, meal after meal, for weeks.
- A source of protein at every meal.
- Plenty of vegetables, for volume and fullness.
- Starch kept, but measured.
- Meals ready in advance, so you don’t improvise.
Good food for cutting
Good food for cutting fills you up for fewer calories and brings plenty of protein:
- Lean protein: chicken or turkey breast, white fish, prawns (shrimp), eggs.
- Dairy: skyr, plain Greek-style yoghurt, cottage cheese.
- Pulses and soya: lentils, chickpeas, beans, tofu.
- Vegetables in volume: courgettes (zucchini), green beans, peppers, salad, cabbage.
- Starch in measured portions: potatoes, rice, oats, wholemeal bread.
No single food makes a cut. These are simply the ones that keep a plate generous for fewer calories.
How big a deficit for a cut?
A kilo of body fat holds about 7,700 kcal. A steady pace of 0.25 to 0.5 kg a week means eating roughly 275 to 550 kcal a day below what you burn.
Faster is tempting, but a bigger gap is harder to hold for weeks, and a cut is measured in weeks.
A cutting meal plan for men and women
The amounts in a cut aren’t the same for a man and a woman, nor for two men of different builds. They depend on weight, height, age and activity.