What I eat in a day on a 1,700-calorie cut (real photos, real portions)

For context: I'm a 75kg adult lifter, 3 days/week training, mid-cut targeting 0.5kg/week loss. My TDEE sits around 2,400; the cut is at -700/day, ~1,700 cal. Macros target: 150g protein, 60g fat, 175g carbs.

Breakfast (550 cal)

Greek yogurt power bowl:

• 1 cup Fage 0% Greek yogurt: 130 cal, 23g protein
• 1 scoop vanilla whey: 120 cal, 24g protein
• 1/2 cup blueberries: 40 cal
• 2 tbsp granola: 100 cal
• 1 tbsp peanut butter: 95 cal
• Cinnamon, pinch of salt

Stir the protein powder into the yogurt for a thicker, mousse-like consistency.

Coffee with 2 tbsp 2% milk: 25 cal.

Total: ~510 cal, 50g protein.

Mid-morning (100 cal)

Apple + black coffee. 95 cal, 4g fiber. Just enough to bridge to lunch.

Lunch (450 cal)

Big chicken salad bowl:

• 6oz grilled chicken breast: 220 cal, 47g protein
• 3 cups mixed greens
• 1/2 cup cucumber, 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 avocado: 60 cal
• 2 tbsp light Italian dressing: 60 cal
• 1/4 cup chickpeas: 60 cal, 4g fiber
• Bell pepper strips, lemon

Eat with a sparkling water.

Total: ~460 cal, 53g protein.

Pre-workout snack (150 cal)

Banana + a small espresso. 105 cal of fast carbs + caffeine + minimal stomach load. Perfect before lifting.

Dinner (550 cal)

Salmon + roasted vegetables + rice:

• 5oz salmon (skin on): 280 cal, 30g protein
• 3/4 cup cooked jasmine rice: 150 cal
• 1.5 cups roasted broccoli + bell pepper with 1 tsp olive oil: 100 cal, 5g fiber
• Lemon, garlic, salt

Sip a sparkling water. Keep the fat to the salmon's natural fat — no butter on the rice.

Total: ~530 cal, 40g protein.

Evening (45 cal)

Herbal tea + a square of dark chocolate. Dessert ritual without dessert calories.

Day total

• 1,665 cal
• 153g protein (40%)
• 175g carbs (45%)
• 60g fat (32%)

Solidly in target. Not painful. Reasonably varied across the day.

What I did to make this not suck

1. Frontloaded protein. 50g at breakfast leaves the rest of the day with less to chase.

2. Picked one big "meal" — lunch — and one big-flavor meal — dinner. Snacks in between don't have to do much.

3. Used satiating fats sparingly. Avocado, peanut butter, salmon fat. Each used once, at meaningful but not excessive amounts.

4. Hydrated heavily. Sparkling water with every meal. Reduces between-meal hunger.

5. Sleep 7.5h. Bedtime 11pm; wake 6:30am. Cuts are sleep-sensitive; protect it.

What I avoided

• Fruit juice or smoothies (liquid carbs are wasted on satiety)
• Bread / pasta (not because they're bad — because the volume:calorie isn't worth it on a tight day)
• "Diet" foods with sugar alcohols (they wreck my GI)
• Multi-tasking eating (eat the meal, look at the food, finish it)

What changes on a non-training day

I drop the pre-workout banana and reduce dinner rice by half. Net: -150 cal. Calories don't have to be identical day-to-day; weekly average is what matters.

What this isn't

This isn't a meal plan I follow rigidly. It's a representative day from my last week. The actual implementation rotates: salmon → chicken thighs → tofu, salad → grain bowl → soup, etc. The structure (frontload protein, light snacks, two real meals, no liquid calories) is the part that stays.

Tracking time spent

Total photo logs for the day: 5. Total time logging: ~45 seconds. Less than my morning coffee took to make.

The cut you can sustain is the cut you don't have to think about.