Getting shredded diet advice

[Cupid]

I am currently at the lifetime peak of my "lean-ness", and am curious what is needed to breakthrough to the next level.

Stats:
25 age
2 year training exp
5'6
167 lbs
I would gauge myself somewhere around 12% bodyfat....hard to tell because I have some loose skin as well as very weird fat distribution (for ex., my arms are ridiculously ripped in comparison to my legs which hold alot of fat, obliques and upper 4-pack show entirely but lower back and lower belly still alot of fat)

I am down from 276 lbs in a little over 2 years (i was a fat motherfucker lol).

At the present, my diet and workout goes as follows:

215g PRO / 130g CARB / 45g FAT on lifting days
205g PRO / 100g CARB / 40g FAT on non lifting day
165g PRO / 250g CARB / 45g FAT on refeed day.

6 days lifting, 1 day non lifting per week
1 refeed day per week.
4 cardio sessions per week, 400-500 calories each.

My macros were not this low the entire time....whenever I got to a pointwhere weight loss slowed down for 2 weeks or more, I would drop about 25g carb and 5g fat and increase cardio slightly, and that always helped me break through plateaus.

So I have again reached a point where weight loss is plateauing.
If need be, I can and will drop my carbs and fat a little more and increase cardio a little more, I am just curious if these numbers sound correct to those of you who have experience dieting down until completely ripped. Am I on the right track?

How low have some of you had to take your macros to attain a totally shredded physique? I'm talking 8%-10%? How much did you have to increase your cardio to also?

Also....just something worth mentioning:
I have tested my T3, and IT IS slightly under range....but i dont' have hypothyroidism. I think its just low due to metabolic slowdown from dieting hard and for long.

[Nephets]

Congrats on the weight loss. It sounds like your doing all the right things. Cardio, small adjustments to your macros, etc. Can you put what you are eating an a daily bases. May be something in food chooses that can help you out.

[Cupid]

I eat same thing every day

Meal 1: 90g Oats, 1 & 1/2 Scoop Whey
Workout
Meal 2: Chicken Breast, veggies, brown rice
Meal 3: Chicken Breast, veggies
Meal 4: Lean 96/4 Ground Beef + 2 whole egg + 2 egg white
Meal 5: Salmon

I have 1 gallon of water per day.
None of my carb sources are high GI and the majority of my carb intake surrounds my workout.

[Nephets]

Keep doing what your doing brother

[Cupid]

Ok, so then I am going to drop to 215g PRO / 110g CARB / 40g FAT on a lifting day. Does this seem reasonable?

The only reason I am asking is because I have no real reference range or idea of how low others have had to go to continue results.

Thx for the re-assurance so far though!

[Nephets]

If I was going to dump carbs, my lifting days would be my last choice. Take them from your non lifting days first. As for cardio, once I go above 30 min in the morning and have to increase it, I would add time in the evening. So if I'm stuck at 30 min in the morning I would add another 15-20 in the evening in stead of going to 35 or 40 in the morning.

[Back In Black]

IMO there is no need to cycle protein in this way, keep it consistent.

You could also look at cycling your carbs differently. A carb cycle diet shouldn't have any effect on fat or protein so they should stay the same throughout. My preferred approach is

3 days zero carbs (allow up to 25g)
1 day high carbs
3 days medium carbs

A medium carb day is what I would need for maintenance should I be eating that amount everyday. My high carb day has about another 80-90% on top of my medium day. So my carbs would look a bit like this

>25g
>25g
>25g
600g
350g
350g
350g

IMO you don't have enough deviation in your carbs.

i don't workout on my high carb day

[KINGKONG]

[/QUOTE] don't workout on my high carb day[/QUOTE]

Not to hijack but I've been experimenting with similiar carb cycling to some success BIB lemme ask, why don't you workout on high carb day?and do you change your fat and protein intakes on low carb days to keep caloric intake consistent or do you simply drop the carbs and extra calories?thanks

[Back In Black]

don't workout on my high carb day[/QUOTE]

Not to hijack but I've been experimenting with similiar carb cycling to some success BIB lemme ask, why don't you workout on high carb day?because I'm far too busy eating and do you change your fat and protein intakes on low carb days to keep caloric intake consistent or do you simply drop the carbs and extra calories? only my carbs change protein 250-275g and fat 50-60 so there's a bit of leeway. thanks [/QUOTE]

In bold but you absolutely definitely have to work out the day after the high carb day, you get the best pump ever.

[KINGKONG]

don't workout on my high carb day

Not to hijack but I've been experimenting with similiar carb cycling to some success BIB lemme ask, why don't you workout on high carb day?because I'm far too busy eating and do you change your fat and protein intakes on low carb days to keep caloric intake consistent or do you simply drop the carbs and extra calories? only my carbs change protein 250-275g and fat 50-60 so there's a bit of leeway. thanks [/QUOTE]

In bold but you absolutely definitely have to work out the day after the high carb day, you get the best pump ever.[/QUOTE]

I gotcha!!thanks black

[Cupid]

If I was going to dump carbs, my lifting days would be my last choice. Take them from your non lifting days first. As for cardio, once I go above 30 min in the morning and have to increase it, I would add time in the evening. So if I'm stuck at 30 min in the morning I would add another 15-20 in the evening in stead of going to 35 or 40 in the morning.

When I said I intended to decrease my carbs on lifting days, I would also decrease the equivalent in carbs on non-lifting days and refeed day as well....I was just too lazy to type them out lol. Can you explain the reason why you wouldn't go over 30 mins in one given cardio session?
Also, I generally do my cardio post-workout.
Business needs are high, and I am not able to go to gym twice a day anymore.

IMO there is no need to cycle protein in this way, keep it consistent.

You could also look at cycling your carbs differently. A carb cycle diet shouldn't have any effect on fat or protein so they should stay the same throughout. My preferred approach is

3 days zero carbs (allow up to 25g)
1 day high carbs
3 days medium carbs

A medium carb day is what I would need for maintenance should I be eating that amount everyday. My high carb day has about another 80-90% on top of my medium day. So my carbs would look a bit like this

>25g
>25g
>25g
600g
350g
350g
350g

IMO you don't have enough deviation in your carbs.

i don't workout on my high carb day

I have never tried carb-cycling in this way. I have read about it, and I do want to experiment with it, if not now, at some point.
Could you answer a couple questions for me?

1. Do you feel that for cutting purposes, it is better to have 3 days of being way below maintenance as you have described, or 6 days of slightly below maintenance as I am currently at right now? Could you explain your reasoning for this?

2. The days that you have your carbs at below 25g, how are your workouts? I feel like I would be dead if I did that. Keep in mind, I am not on cycle and my T is kinda on the lower side, so how would this effect things?

3. Also, would you space those days apart equally throughout the week or put them all next to each other? Meaning....would you go sub 25g three days in a row, followed by high carb, followed by 3 maintenance carb 3 days in a row? Or would you do something more like 25/maintenance/25/maintenance/25/high carb/maintenance?

Thx for the feedback everyone.

[Back In Black]

It's late here and I'm off to bed but have a read of this

http://forums.steroid.com/diet-nutri...%2A%2A%2A.html

[Nephets]

For me my morning cardio is more about getting my metabolism high to burn calories for an extended period of time And less about burning calories at that very moment. So 30 min gets my heart rate up enough. So if I need more I'd add a second one to boost my metabolism a second time when it would otherwise be slower rather then however many calories I would have burned doing another 10 min of cardio in the morning. Hope that makes some sence.

[oldnsedentary]

Cupid,

I cut from 12-13% to single digits doing a carb cycle like Back in Black describes. I kept protein high. Fats stable. Only carbs varied (although mine were never as high as his). On low carb days, I went to zero, which usually meant 20-25, only carbs from fibrous vegetables allowed, spinach, asparagus, broccoli . . . As you surmise, working out on those days sucks, but you will get over the agony when you see the results. I had no carb days every third day, followed by a high carb day, which for me was only 250 grams, then a low carb day, like 150, the no carb, repeat.

Again, keep protein high (fats, too).

Cardio was 40 minutes for me, and pretty intense.

[Back In Black]

I'd workout on the first low carb day in the morning so still had plenty in me from the previous days carbs and then again on the 3rd low carb day (this is only a struggle toward the end but I would run HIT style training so it was short and intense).

My carbs seem high because my body works well with them and that's the amount that created the right deficit. You'd need to calculate properly for yourself.

My cardio would be 20-40 mins post workout low intensity