Critque my Diet

[Zedded]

So, im 19 yrs old, 6ft tall, 170lbs and 8% body fat. I have been training for 2 years naturally and I am blessed to have good genetics and symmetry. my dream has been to model or compete in some category of men's physique. im really looking to shred up and harden up the muscle, i also seem to carry a good amount of fat in my face in which i will have to loose overall body fat to lean my face out which is important for the modeling industry.

Current plan:
right now im on a stronglift 5 by 5. where 3 to 4 times a week eod i am doing squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, and barbell row going heavy after each workout i walk on the treadmill at 4-4.2mph for 30 minutes. On my off days of lifting i do HIIT cardio for 12-15 minutes. now i just started this program so i will keep you updated.

Current diet:
right now im eating about 2200-2500 calories a day. an average day of eating for me looks like this

Meal 1: 4 whole eggs 2 egg whites, cup of oats, banana
Meal 2: 8-10oz chicken breast and a sweet potato or can of sodium free green beans
Meal 3 (pre-workout): greek yogurt and 2 scoops of whey in a cup of 2% milk
Meal 4 (post-workout): i make pasta, usually its chicken alfredo, using the whole box of fettuccine noodles and 1 can of alfredo sauce and about 16-20oz of chicken ill either eat it all if im hungry enough or i will eat half and save the other half for the next day
Meal 5: peanut butter bar, yogurt, or a piece of fruit

Goal:
im trying to get between 5-7% body fat guessing ill weigh anywhere from 150-160lbs and then i will bulk from there

let me know if im on the right track to reach my goals? how can i improve?

[ab037]

If you could post up your macros ( dont feel like doing math atm), how much protein/carbs/fats etc.
How are you determining BF%?
8% is pretty lean already, but to lose another 1-2% like you posted is only 1-3.4lbs @170 lbs, so no that wont be 150-160.

Id say the biggest thing is verifying your BF% first. Can you post a couple pics on here so we can see where you are at.

Generally the leaner you are the less deficit you can get away with because your body simply doesmt have the fat stores to support it without burning LBM.
The body can only metabolize about 30 calories per LBS of fat per day. So @170 and 8% thats only about 13 lbs of fat which equals around 400 calories. So exceeding that amount in a deficit can lead to LBM loss.

Just my initial thoughts but Im sure others will chime in.

[Zedded]

If you could post up your macros ( dont feel like doing math atm), how much protein/carbs/fats etc.
How are you determining BF%?
8% is pretty lean already, but to lose another 1-2% like you posted is only 1-3.4lbs @170 lbs, so no that wont be 150-160.

Id say the biggest thing is verifying your BF% first. Can you post a couple pics on here so we can see where you are at.

Generally the leaner you are the less deficit you can get away with because your body simply doesmt have the fat stores to support it without burning LBM.
The body can only metabolize about 30 calories per LBS of fat per day. So @170 and 8% thats only about 13 lbs of fat which equals around 400 calories. So exceeding that amount in a deficit can lead to LBM loss.

Just my initial thoughts but Im sure others will chime in.

this is the only picture i have right now. ill try to get a better one up later but it should do. my body weight fluctuates from 165-170 so im guessing in order to be 5-7% body fat i would atleast have to be 160lbs. i want to get really shredded. and then once i am i will lean bulk to about 180/185

[Zedded]

If you could post up your macros ( dont feel like doing math atm), how much protein/carbs/fats etc.
How are you determining BF%?
8% is pretty lean already, but to lose another 1-2% like you posted is only 1-3.4lbs @170 lbs, so no that wont be 150-160.

Id say the biggest thing is verifying your BF% first. Can you post a couple pics on here so we can see where you are at.

Generally the leaner you are the less deficit you can get away with because your body simply doesmt have the fat stores to support it without burning LBM.
The body can only metabolize about 30 calories per LBS of fat per day. So @170 and 8% thats only about 13 lbs of fat which equals around 400 calories. So exceeding that amount in a deficit can lead to LBM loss.

Just my initial thoughts but Im sure others will chime in.

this is the only picture i have right now. ill try to get a better one up later but it should do. my body weight fluctuates from 165-170 so im guessing in order to be 5-7% body fat i would atleast have to be 160lbs. i want to get really shredded. and then once i am i will lean bulk to about 180/185

as far as macros go i have always gone with the traditional 1-1.5g of protein per pound of body weight, i keep my fats high and carbs on the lower side never more than 100g besides cheat day

my chest is 42 inches or so, my waist is 29 inches, and my arms are 16 inches

[KBall32]

So based upon Macros Protein @ 1.5 g 1020 Cal, 90g fat 810 cal, 90g Carbs, 360 Cal, total 2190 Cal. TDEE 2600 good diet from what I can see. Go for it, if you want to get more trim, not sure why unless you are competing.

[Zedded]

So based upon Macros Protein @ 1.5 g 1020 Cal, 90g fat 810 cal, 90g Carbs, 360 Cal, total 2190 Cal. TDEE 2600 good diet from what I can see. Go for it, if you want to get more trim, not sure why unless you are competing.

thanks, im going to give those macros a try. how long would I need to run this diet? and ive never been very lean before I just want to give it a go and see what i could do with it. also correct me if im wrong but if i were to loose a good portion of my bf and then bulk back up would i store fat better on my body? for example i tend to store a decent amount of fat on my lower back and my face but if i were to cut down drain it out and then bulk back up maybe this fat would carry more somewhere else?

[novastepp]

I'm going to chime in here and say that your pic looks solid and your training seems adequate.
At 8% body fat, leaning down will take extra commitment; this is the level that many do not realize takes true dedication.
That being said, you can do it!

I would cut out the fruit, and the majority of the pasta. In their place I would use more vegetables namely broccoli (the green beans are fine as well). I would also incorporate potatoes as a primary carb source.

It may be beneficial for you to consume the majority of your carbs around your workouts. Therefore, I would cut them from your first and last meal as much as possible and concentrate them around the rest of your day. Which brings me to the idea that you will probably need to change your eating schedule to incorporate another pro/carb meal.

You are going to be strictly dieting now, and hunger WILL HAPPEN.

Go for 6 meals to help you divide your macros into 6 meals and keep carbs consistent throughout your day (meaning do not fluctuate too much between the amount of carbs consumed in each meal).

From using the Katch-McArdle BMR calculator with the information you provided, I would be consuming 2500 calories a day which works itself out to roughly 416 calories a meal.
You could then consume 50g of protein in each meal which would equate to 300g protein a day (1200 cals).
55g of carbs in 4 meals which would equate to 220g carbs (880 cals)
With those numbers you would need 46g of fat (420 cals) I would use chicken or fish as my protein sources at this point, so your fat will trickle into your pro/carb meals, but keep it limited to that if you can.
I will assume you will consume ~16g of fat in your pro/carb meals, which will leave you with 30g of fat to divide between your first and last meal of the day (15g fat per meal respectively).

You will achieve great results with this set up if you keep it clean!
Keep in mind that your body will accommodate to the diet and that your workout and cardio regime should remain productive, if not, come back and we can chat about tweaking the diet to maintain strength and stamina; there is no blanket advice for everyone, everyone is different.
If you feel that you are becoming agitated, lethargic, or suffering in workouts, the first change I would make is more carbs. This type of diet is still not the most popular, but has been used with great results by many including myself. You can check out Narkissos & novastepp's sticky here in the diet forum for pages upon pages of similar advice.

nOva

[Zedded]

I'm going to chime in here and say that your pic looks solid and your training seems adequate.
At 8% body fat, leaning down will take extra commitment; this is the level that many do not realize takes true dedication.
That being said, you can do it!

I would cut out the fruit, and the majority of the pasta. In their place I would use more vegetables namely broccoli (the green beans are fine as well). I would also incorporate potatoes as a primary carb source.

It may be beneficial for you to consume the majority of your carbs around your workouts. Therefore, I would cut them from your first and last meal as much as possible and concentrate them around the rest of your day. Which brings me to the idea that you will probably need to change your eating schedule to incorporate another pro/carb meal.

You are going to be strictly dieting now, and hunger WILL HAPPEN.

Go for 6 meals to help you divide your macros into 6 meals and keep carbs consistent throughout your day (meaning do not fluctuate too much between the amount of carbs consumed in each meal).

From using the Katch-McArdle BMR calculator with the information you provided, I would be consuming 2500 calories a day which works itself out to roughly 416 calories a meal.
You could then consume 50g of protein in each meal which would equate to 300g protein a day (1200 cals).
55g of carbs in 4 meals which would equate to 220g carbs (880 cals)
With those numbers you would need 46g of fat (420 cals) I would use chicken or fish as my protein sources at this point, so your fat will trickle into your pro/carb meals, but keep it limited to that if you can.
I will assume you will consume ~16g of fat in your pro/carb meals, which will leave you with 30g of fat to divide between your first and last meal of the day (15g fat per meal respectively).

You will achieve great results with this set up if you keep it clean!
Keep in mind that your body will accommodate to the diet and that your workout and cardio regime should remain productive, if not, come back and we can chat about tweaking the diet to maintain strength and stamina; there is no blanket advice for everyone, everyone is different.
If you feel that you are becoming agitated, lethargic, or suffering in workouts, the first change I would make is more carbs. This type of diet is still not the most popular, but has been used with great results by many including myself. You can check out Narkissos & novastepp's sticky here in the diet forum for pages upon pages of similar advice.

nOva

very detailed and well explained response thank you. I will be eating mostly sweet potatoes as my carb source and green beans and will eat them within an hour before my workout with 10 oz of chicken. Ill cut the pasta out for now but is cutting out the fruit necessary? Also I could use some ideas for seasonings/sauce with low sodium and basically no macros to put on veggies and chicken. been using Mrs dash or like 2 tbsp of ketchup or mustard and a bit of cinnamon for sweet potatoes. I'd like to think I'm slightly mentally insane so i think i could stick with this training and dieting regimen and hopefully come back with some updates and result pick in the next 4-6 weeks. I have a feeling I might have to cut back on some cardio.

refeed day is looking like 300g-500g of carbs lol.