Need some tweaking on my diet from the pros!...

ok, here we go-
35, male, lean body, current weight 170, body fat 14%. height 5'10. very active lifestyle.

i work out regularly, on either a 4 or 5 day a week plan (switch it up every few weeks) first thing in the morning. currently doing a split i found in a magazine to try for 8 weeks to add some size to the arms. i'm fairly strong after some heavy lifting for the past 6-9 months (trying to just add size/strength). up until about 2 or 3 weeks ago my cardio was only doing sports, i was just trying to bulk. now i'm looking to shred a bit. my arms legs and chest are pretty tight, but i don't have a 6 pack (yet), so that's what i'm working on. now i'm starting with variable rate cardio for 20 mins/day three times a week.

i've been tracking my diet on fitday com for the past 2 weeks to get a picture of what i'm taking in. my average is
2400 calories
80g fat
229g carbs
182g protein

i have some days that i hit 3200 calories and 2 that were down in the 1900's, which brought the averages down. but i am trying to be as strict as possible on good, clean food intake. i'm on creatine and basically just casein and whey protein shakes (whey after the workout and then a casein at night, if i'm low for the day then i might do a mid day shake)

so, to shred my belly down to something starting to show a 6 pack, what should i do? i'm a novice at dieting, all my life i've been able to eat whatever i wanted as much as i wanted. but i want to be better than just the average guy. i got rid of the 'skinny' label, this is the next step...

is my intake good and i just need to stick with it and continue to up my cardio sessions each week, or do i need to cut calories or what?

i don't want to loose any size that i've been busting my a$$ to gain...

thanks

Work to do mate...
You'd have to take at least 200 grams of proteins for your weight, in conjunction lower your carbs and fat, a bit. Make sure to eat at least every three hours, to not loose your so hardly gained muscles, as you said, and do cardio at empty stomach.
I don't agree on the continue switching of calories. I suggest, if you prefer, to stay low 5 days a week, then load a bit of carbs the 6th and further load a bit the 7th. Then recut carbs down for the next five and so on.

CL

Post up your meals and macros for each meal.

For some one who is cutting, that is the impression that I get you are doing, your Macros are off. It should be something like
Cals 2100
Pro 275
Carbs 100
Fat 100

So my presentiment is you are going to become catabolic and not lose much fat. You got to up the Pro and lower the carbs. The fat intake looks alright but then again we have no idea what you are consuming.

thanks, here's a sample from yesterday-

pre workout-
eas phosphagen HP drink

after workout
Protein mix w/8oz milk
2 scrambled eggs
1 banana

lunch
1 chicken breast
0.5 cup potato salad
0.5 cup baked beans w/tomato ssauce
sprite

afternoon
protein shake (myoplex pre-made shake)
beef jerky bar

dinner
club sandwich


this was kind of a light day for me, normally i would have had a shake in the evening too, before bed.

obviously lots of water throughout the day.

that's it. thoughts?

another day-

preworkout-
phosphagen hp creatine drink

postworkout-
whey shake + casein shake
6 oz milk

breakfast-
3 scrambled eggs
english muffin - plain
3 slices of bacon

lunch-
sprite
1 cup mixed salad
half hard boiled egg
2 tablespoons ranch dressing
1 chicken breast
1 hoagie roll

dinner-
6oz pepsi
garlic bread- slice
6oz steamed shrimp

snack-
5oz milk
plain bagel with 1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 packet oatmeal

You might have want to read this. I will have more time later to comment on the diet. It could use a lot of work. You want to cut back on the shakes and get some more wholesome food in there.

Just add the macros per meal. I will leave comments tonight when I have time. Others can put in there input
http://forums.steroid.com/diet-nutrition/304007-%2Areminder%2A-when-posting-your-diet.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by webnetxpress

ok, here we go-
35, male, lean body, current weight 170, body fat 14%.

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LBM = 146 lbs.

Note that for future reference.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by webnetxpress

height 5'10. very active lifestyle.

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As defined by?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by webnetxpress

i work out regularly, on either a 4 or 5 day a week plan (switch it up every few weeks) first thing in the morning. currently doing a split i found in a magazine to try for 8 weeks to add some size to the arms. i'm fairly strong after some heavy lifting for the past 6-9 months (trying to just add size/strength). up until about 2 or 3 weeks ago my cardio was only doing sports, i was just trying to bulk. now i'm looking to shred a bit. my arms legs and chest are pretty tight, but i don't have a 6 pack (yet), so that's what i'm working on. now i'm starting with variable rate cardio for 20 mins/day three times a week.

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Sounds like you're a bit confused.

What are you doing?

Bulking?

Cutting?

Trying to get huge arms?

Trying to get a 6-pack?

Find out what you're trying to do and stick to a plan.

I'll tell you now though... you can't get huge arms in 8 weeks.

And you can't get huge arms while trying to shred up.

Rule of thumb is, for every 10 lbs of lean mass you add, you get .5"-1" of arm size.

..all factors being congruent.

Shredding up is about maintaining the musculature you have already.

So stop confusing the issue.

Also.. you sound like a novice, so ignore all splits you see in the magazine.

Stick to the basic 3-4 day lifting split w/ 3-5 cardio sessions tossed in if you're trying to get lean.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by webnetxpress

i've been tracking my diet on fitday com for the past 2 weeks to get a picture of what i'm taking in. my average is
2400 calories
80g fat
229g carbs
182g protein

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Thanks a decent amount of calories... but why've you alloted 30% of your calories to fat?

I'd lower the amount to 20% of overall kcals, and bump the carbs primarily... and protein secondarily.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by webnetxpress

i have some days that i hit 3200 calories and 2 that were down in the 1900's, which brought the averages down. but i am trying to be as strict as possible on good, clean food intake.

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3200kcals it too high.

You have less than 150 lbs of lean bodymass.

On another note... try to be consistent from day to day.

2400kcals is right around where you should be.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by webnetxpress

i'm on creatine and basically just casein and whey protein shakes (whey after the workout and then a casein at night, if i'm low for the day then i might do a mid day shake)

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What does that mean?

"If i'm low for the day"?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by webnetxpress

so, to shred my belly down to something starting to show a 6 pack, what should i do? i'm a novice at dieting, all my life i've been able to eat whatever i wanted as much as i wanted. but i want to be better than just the average guy. i got rid of the 'skinny' label, this is the next step...

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Cardio... reduced empty calorie intake.

Adhering to your diet consistently.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by webnetxpress

is my intake good and i just need to stick with it and continue to up my cardio sessions each week, or do i need to cut calories or what?

i don't want to loose any size that i've been busting my a$$ to gain...

thanks

---

Up cardio.

-CNS

Your diet makes no sense... I'll break it down:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by webnetxpress

pre workout-
eas phosphagen HP drink

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Phosphagen = 34 gr carbs... 0 protein.

Consume a scoop of protein with, just before, or just after this drink.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by webnetxpress

after workout
Protein mix w/8oz milk
2 scrambled eggs
1 banana

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Fat?

Error.

Drop 'em.

How far is 'lunch' from your post-workout meal?

Because i'm sure that you could ingest something in the interim if it's more than 4 hours away.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by webnetxpress

lunch
1 chicken breast
0.5 cup potato salad
0.5 cup baked beans w/tomato ssauce
sprite

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other than chicken breast.. all your other choices are horrendous.

I mean.. potato salad? C'mon.

Baked beans... too much sugar, but almost passable.

Sprite? Sugar and water... garbage.

Cut the soft drinks dude...or switch to diet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by webnetxpress

afternoon
protein shake (myoplex pre-made shake)
beef jerky bar

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Passable.

The protein amount for this meal would be a tad high though.

*shrugs*

Passable

Quote:

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Originally Posted by webnetxpress

dinner
club sandwich

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?

What's in your 'club sandwich'?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by webnetxpress

this was kind of a light day for me, normally i would have had a shake in the evening too, before bed.

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So why didn't you have it?

This goes back to the whole being consistent thing

-CNS

thanks for all the insight and help. i realize i AM a novice. my goal right now is to maintain my muscle mass and try to cut my body fat. I'll read more and more to try to come up with a consistent meal plan.

Mate you sound like an exact copy of me just about.

Watch these http://forums.steroid.com/read-here-first/323516-so-you-wanna-learn-how-diet.html

And also using fit day after watching that and taking notes, i have upped my cals and pro reduced my fat and carb.

Pro per day is now 280+ my carbs are not higher than 150g and i have 3 main parts , breaky ,before and after workout. Im adding EFA's now as well.I try and stay below 60g of fats.

THIS IS WITH A MASSIVE THANX TO THE BEAST FOR THE TUNE. Go the perfect beast....

Yup Nark nailed it for you. I'll just add to the food choices. Try to choose from nutrition and unprocessed food. So for example you want to derive your macros from:
Pro: Chicken breast, Lean steak, beef, fish, deer, egg whites, cottage cheese, etc
Carbs: Oats, Brown rice, WW bread, WW pasta etc
Fat: Natural PB, Flax seed (oil), Fish oil, etc

Try to achieve similar macros per meal, meaning for example try having around 40 grams of protein per meal six times a day. Therefore 3 eggs for breakfast and shrimps for dinner will just not cut it.

Things to drop are Pepsi, ranch dressing, bacon and so on.

I gave you an approximation of the Macros you need for cutting, which I believe what it is your doing. You might want to calculate the exact daily macros. Now fulfill these macros dividing it into 5-6 meals but choosing better food choices.

Was that confusing? Let me know

Last point, I respect everyones choice but at your height wouldn't being sub-170 be to small? Remember the more muscle will lead to a faster metabolism and thus easier to lose fat.

bump.

Good post Prada.

-CNS

Quote:

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Originally Posted by "Narkissos"

bump.

Good post Prada.

-CNS

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You're the one who dissected it for me. :thumbsup:

I like the point on calculating lean body mass weight versus weight. You use the
Katch-McArdle Formula?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Prada

You're the one who dissected it for me. :thumbsup:

I like the point on calculating lean body mass weight versus weight. You use the
Katch-McArdle Formula?

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I used to... I've been doing for so long now that no longer have to use formulae :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by "Narkissos"

Baked beans... too much sugar, but almost passable.

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I agree except for this. Beans have high fibre and the sugar wouldnt be a big problem here because of all the fibre. Baked beans are highly recommended for diabetics because the GI (depending on the country) ranges anywhere between 40 and 50.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by C_Bino

I agree except for this. Beans have high fibre and the sugar wouldnt be a big problem here because of all the fibre. Baked beans are highly recommended for diabetics because the GI (depending on the country) ranges anywhere between 40 and 50.

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^^Ergo:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Narkissos

almost passable.

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With specific reference to the composition of the meal in which the baked beans are ingested, their addition is less than optimal.

Compared to other 'carb' source listed in said meal, they're 'better'.

...But overall, less than optimal.

Especially compared to a myriad of other potential carb sources.

-CNS