Please Help Me get Ripped

[muscletwin]

Hi Guys
I'd like to see if I can get some help with my diet and exercise program to help me get ripped. Presently, I'm just under 5'10" , have a 32" waist, and weigh ~208lbs. In case you're wondering what my other stats are, so am I. I'm having a hell of a time getting rid of the fat on my body and looking "carved". I have a really solid build, but am not fat. I'm guessing I have less than 12% body fat, and that' s guessing high. I'm having a hell of a time getting rid of the doughy feel to my skin.

I'm consistent in my training and diet. I train after work 4x/wk. and do cardio 4-5x/wk, usually after my workout. I use a modified "body for life" aerobic routine. Instead of 20 minutes, I do 30.

Following is a lengthy detail of my daily diet. You'll notice, due to my schedule, I can't always follow the 2 hour eating plan. Along with this diet, I drink a gallon of water a day:

6:30am Egg Sandwich (6 extra Lg eggs (4 whites/2 with yolk), slice of cheese, whole wheat pita and peanut butter)... I know it sounds weird, but tastes really good. 48g Protein, 45g Carb, 28g Fat (484 Calories)

7:30-8:00 Smoothie on my drive to work (2 Cups Milk, 2 Scoops Soy Protein, Banana, and 9 Strawberries) 70g Protein, 22g Carb, 2g Fat (386 Calories)

10:00am Egg Beaters & Pack of Oatmeal (equivalent of 4 eggs) 29g Protein, 27g Carb, 3g Fat (251 Calories)

Lunch 2 Chicken Breasts and Spinach 68g Protein, 6g Carb, 5g Fat (341 Calories)

2:00pm Tuna Salad on Whole Wheat Pita (1 Can Tuna, fat-free mayo) 42.5g Protein, 26g Carb, 4g Fat (310 Calories)

4:00pm Chicken Pattie Sandwich on 1/2 whole wheat pita (2 chicken patties) 39g Protein, 17g Carb, 18.5g Fat (390 Calories)

Sometimes I'll add in another meal or shake that is about the same make-up of one of the afternoon meals.

After my workout, I'll eat a Salmon salad (cooked salmon portion and spinach) 41g Protein, 6g Carb, 16.5g Fat (206 Calories)

The totals of my daily intake from the above are 338g Protein, 149g Carb, and 77g Fat (2368 Calories)

If anyone can give a good critique of my diet (and workout) and make suggestions, I'd really appreciate it!
Thanks for reading this long-winded post. Hopefully I can get some specific feedback.

[MIKE_XXL]

Reduce the pitas, fruite, and fat totals, and also distribut the fat more evenly through out all your meals (let's say 7.5gm with each meal) also you might want to switch you fat sources from fatty chicken burgers to olive oil, flaxseed oil etc., basically EFA (essential fatty acids), you have 2 really high fat meals in your plan, i would say that's a no-no...after a workout have your smoothy (minus the milk and bannana), what you want here is whey protein and dextrose or even cornflakes (no-milk) or some source of simple sugars, i would drop the milk out of my diet as well...i hope that helps you out a bit...XXL

[beenie]

I agree with mike. Based on all you are doing and what you are trying to achieve, you should seriously consider low carb. In the first week you will lose the water weight that is helping give your skin that "doughy" feel (as you describe it).

[muscletwin]

Thank you very much for your replies. I really appreciate it. I do, however, have a question. When you say to reduce my carb intake, I look at the total amount I usually have (149g/day) and wonder if it's healthy to take it any lower. It would be about as "bad" as the Adkin's Diet. Is that what you would suggest? Is Ketosis the goal? As for the fat intake, would it be best if I substitute flax seed oil and omega 3 oils for the things like Peanut Butter and cheese?....and when you say to drop the dairy, please tell me what the benefits of doing that. I'm not too familiar with the effects of dairy and milk products.
Thanks again for your help.

[beenie]

There is nothing wrong with the Atkins diet. It can be very effective in reaching the goals you describe you want. In fact Atkins allows a certain number of carbs so is more conservative than many people who body build and are trying to get/stay lean.

I was not the one who suggested lowering your dairy, but I understand the poster's point of view. Unless the dairy product is very high in fat (like cheese or heavy cream), it is high in carbohydrate. Skim milk is contains a very high percentage of sugar. That is why whole milk or cream can be tolerated by those with lactose intolerance where skim milk is deadly. So as far as dairy goes, you have a choice, high fat or high sugar, neither of which are great, but given the trade off, I would take the high fat any day (as it is lower in carb).

My philosophy is that carbs are your enemy. The concept of fat being bad for you is rooted in flawed 1970s research that equated the intake of fat to the absorption of fat, which to my knowledge has never actually been proven, it has just been accepted (though I know I am going to get a huge response to that statement). What IS know is that excess sugar turns to fat. In most of the "low-fat" products, fat is removed and replaced with sugar. Again, given the alternative of one over the other, you would be much better off with the fat, in my opinion.

I once tried low fat low carb together and for me the results were disastrous as my weight dropped way too fast. So now I use fat to maintain my weight and try to keep the carbs down.

I stayed on a diet of less than 10grams of carb a day for over 3 years and had tremendously successful results. In the end you have to do what seems right to you. But without limiting your carbs it will be difficult to reach the goals you describe. One other thing: if you decide to try low carbing, you should supplement with high potency vitamins.