My 4 Week Mini Cut-Week 4 Diet

So I wanted to post this the week I actually did it but my blog was being updated and it took a lot longer than anticipated.  Because I  waited I am posting everything fairly close together.  This is my diet 4 weeks out from my calendar photo shoot which was actually last week.  I am posting this just so you can see the tweaks to my diet I am doing.  I will post a photo from the start of my mini cut & at the end so you can see the difference.  I am totally fine with how I look now but I like to get a little more cut for bigger photo shoots.  So I generally do a mini cut whenever I need to do this or if I have just been going off trak and having a few too many treats.

I call this a mini cut bc I am only looking to lose 5-8 pounds or so.  I try not to go more than 10 pounds over where I look my best.  If you have more to lose you would want to do this for longer to see results.  A real cut is generally losing more weight than I am losing and that takes longer if you do it the healthy way.  While 5-8 pounds may not seem like a lot it can definitely make a difference in pictures.  A mini cut is not a quick fix BTW.  You need a good 3-5 weeks to see changes on a mini cut.  If you are looking for a faster cut then check out my last post on how I do a quicker slim down.  Keep in mind nothing will really last unless you keep it up.  I do my cleanse type diet mostly to reduce bloat and get my skin back to normal.  Since everyone’s body is different following my way of eating and dieting may or may not work for you.  I do this mostly to show you that you do NOT need to deprive or starve yourself to get the body you want.  You may have to cut out or cut back on some things but consistency is the most important thing to get results.

I am preparing for a bikini calendar shoot in Punta Cana DR and I want to come in extra lean so that then I can relax my diet & enjoy while on the trip because I will have some wiggle room.  Don’t forget to check out my calendar photographer Mike Zuch www.zuchphoto.com and my bikini calendar sponsor Mio Bikini Beachwear on Instagram.

BTW I have blogged this process the last two years so feel free to look at my previous posts on this subject.  Everytime I do a mini cut I do it a little differently bc my body responds differently.  Your body is constantly changing so what used to work may not work as well next time.  I prefer to either do a low carb keto type diet or a higher protein type diet to mini cut.

For this particular mini cut I am doing roughly 40% protein 35% carbs and 25% fat.  I will tweak it each week as needed and will show you the differences in what I am eating.  I do not eat the same thing every single day but I do eat similar things most days.  I also am doing 1-2 refeed meals still.  That means I just eat whatever I want (pizza, pasta, some cocktails) for 1 or 2 meals (within reason BTW not binging out like crazy lol) then I just get back to my usual mini cut foods.  I will most likely cut these refeed meals out as we get closer to the shoot but it depends on how I am looking & feeling.

So this is what I was eating 4 weeks out:

Meal One: Egg whites scrambled with spinach in nonstick spray, light or thin sliced bread toasted with protein peanut butter, and coffee with plain creamer and stevia

Meal Two: Veggie protein shake made with celery, zuccini, water, and unflavored protein powder.  (Not the prettiest or tastiest but packed with good for you vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber so worth it!)

Meal Three: Plain Greek yogurt sweetened with stevia & vanilla extract and topped with strawberries and high fiber cereal.

Meal Four: Tuna & spring mix salad topped with coconut vinegar and 1/4 avocado (vinegar is a staple in any of my cutting plans-will post another blog on my cut essentials next week)

Meal Five: Grilled chicken breast, baby yellow potatoes topped with grassfed butter, and side salad of spring mix with no dressing

Meal Six: Raspberry coconut protein donut.  My recipe here  http://www.sarahbrockner.com/blog/easy-protein-donuts/     Then just top with 1/2 tablespoon coconut butter or manna, fresh raspberries, and unsweetened coconut shreds after baking 🙂

Meal Seven: 5 cups air popped popcorn sprayed lightly with coconut oil spray and sprinkled with pink Himalayan salt (yesss I eat a lot at night but I know I get really hungry at night so I plan accordingly)

Exercise wise I have started doing quite a bit more cardio.  I am training for some other fun challenges which I will share with you coming up but that is part of the reason for the extra cardio.  This is actually going to help with the mini cut too.  So in total I am doing 6 workouts a week that are a combination of cardio and strength training.  I am also adding more plyo movements to my workouts.  Next week I will share with you one of the workouts I am doing so you can see what I mean.  Plyometric or HIIT moves along with extra steady state cardio always help me slim down as long as my diet is on point too.  I am doing strength training 4 times a week but much higher rep and medium weight vs the heavy lifting I have been doing up until this point