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Regina Budget Cut — Low-Prep Eating Plan

Goal: Work toward visible abs while protecting training and recovery, without turning food prep into a second job. This is a working cut, not a promised body-fat percentage or finish date.

Rhythm: Five eating days at about 2,800 kcal; two zero-calorie fasts. The usual fasts run Sunday ~16:00 → Tuesday ~07:00 and Wednesday ~16:00 → Friday ~07:00 (about 39 hours each). Monday and Thursday are the full fasting dates. Finish Sunday’s and Wednesday’s food before the fast begins; the actual start/end clocks take precedence.

Weekly energy: About 14,000 kcal from five eating dates, averaging 2,000 kcal across seven dates. Maintenance and the rate of fat loss are not measured by that arithmetic. Compare matched weekdays, waist, strength, sleep and recovery over a few weeks rather than promising a pace from a scale’s body-fat estimate. If weight is dropping too fast, training suffers, or dizziness occurs, adjust the fast/food structure instead of cutting the eating-day food further.

What to eat on an eating day

All potato weights below are raw, oats and lentils are dry, and chicken weight is cooked, deboned edible meat. The day includes 1 L skim milk total, divided as shown. Estimates vary with food labels, chicken skin/yield and vegetable blend.

  1. Oats and eggs: 120 g rolled oats, 300 mL skim milk, 100 g blueberries and 2 eggs. Microwave the oats; cook the eggs simply. About 765 kcal.
  2. Chicken and air-fried potatoes: 250 g cooked deboned Costco rotisserie chicken, 300 g frozen vegetables, 10 g canola oil and 350 g raw potatoes initially. Air-fry the potatoes; microwave the vegetables. About 925 kcal at the initial potato portion.
  3. Daily chocolate Ninja Creami: 300 mL skim milk, 40 g pea protein, up to 20 g Revolution High Whey, 100 g peeled banana, 10 g cocoa and 10 g peanut butter. About 520 kcal. Pea remains the primary powder. Start the whey trial at 10 g whey + 50 g pea instead; increase whey to 20 g only if digestion remains comfortable. The pint has not been texture-tested: stay below its MAX FILL line and drink any excess milk separately.
  4. Lentils, potatoes, vegetables and milk: 50 g dry lentils to start (cook before eating), 270 g raw potatoes, 200 g frozen vegetables and 400 mL skim milk. About 590 kcal at 50 g dry lentils. For a shorter Sunday/Wednesday eating window, split or move these portions earlier; do not eat after the fast starts.

Lentil progression: Start at 50 g dry lentils per eating day (not 50 g cooked). If comfortable, use 75 g, then 100 g on later eating days; stay lower if fibre causes symptoms. Keep calories roughly level by changing lunch potatoes as lentils rise:

Dry lentils/day Lunch potatoes (raw) Supper potatoes (raw) Whole-day estimate
50 g (start) 350 g 270 g ~2,800 kcal / ~218 g protein
75 g (if tolerated) 240 g 270 g ~2,800 kcal / ~222 g protein
100 g (optional goal) 125 g 270 g ~2,800 kcal / ~226 g protein

These are ingredient-based approximations, not measured macros. They provide less protein than the previous 255–270 g eating-day target; five eating dates yield an estimated ~156–161 g protein/day averaged over seven days. Watch lifting performance and recovery, especially with two long fasts. If using creatine already, keep the established, tolerated routine rather than treating it as a source of calories.

Food variety: On three eating dates per week, have one tin of sardines in place of about 75 g of the day’s chicken, not on top of it. Check the tin’s drained weight and nutrition label; amounts change the day slightly. Rotate vegetables; use iodized salt. Liver is optional, not a required daily purchase; check total preformed vitamin A from supplements before adding it.

Approximate cost and low-prep routine

The modeled consumed-food cost, averaging the three sardine substitutions over five eating dates, is ~C$12.95 per eating date before possible sales tax at 50 g lentils, or ~C$13.43 with modeled hot-chicken/protein-powder tax at the later 20 g-whey/40 g-pea split. During the initial 10 g-whey/50 g-pea trial, budget ~C$13.68 per eating date after modeled tax (~C$68.40 for five dates). At 100 g lentils and the 20/40 powder split, the estimate is ~C$12.68 before possible tax / ~C$13.16 modeled after (~C$65.80 for five dates). These are consumed-portion estimates; actual checkout involves full packages and may differ. The vegetable quote used for this comparison is a non-Regina-confirmed Superstore listing; using a Regina-postal Costco frozen-vegetable quote instead adds about C$1.65 per eating date.

Those are estimates, not Regina receipt totals: Josh’s walk-in Costco chicken is C$7.99 per bird, but the estimate assumes 750 g edible cooked meat per bird, which must be weighed. Other inputs use posted prices for milk, potatoes, oats, eggs, vegetables, lentils, pea protein and High Whey. In-person prices, powder tax classification and sardine brand can change the result.

No rice pot is needed. Air-fry the potatoes near mealtime and microwave frozen vegetables. Cook one batch of lentils, chill promptly in shallow portions, refrigerate only the next 2–3 days’ portions and freeze the rest. See the Meal Prep Guide for weekly quantities and the Creami batch.