Abs and fat loss?

DJayT13

Hi all,
So I'm in good shape, but I want to get my abs to show more. In order to do this I understand it's all about what you eat and how much. I posted on here yesterday about fat loss while maintaining muscle strength and most of my weight (202 lbs) and got some great replies. I've figured that to do this I need to eat 3263 calories/day. I need to keep my protein intake high, around 300 to maintain mass. But I'm at a loss for carbs and fat. What should I do on MFP to make my micronutrients equal 100%? Should my fat be higher than my carbs for Monday-Friday and eat my carbs during weekend? Btw I workout 4x a week for around an hour and fifteen minutes. Heavy weight for main lifts, based on a 5x5 routine.

Carlos_421

1) .38-.42 grams of fat per pound of LEAN body mass
2) Treat fat and protein goals as minimums. The remaining calories go to carbs or to extra fat/protein depending on your own preference/cravings.
3) Don't overthink all this.
4) Repeat step 3

DJayT13

Fat and protein as minimums? So carbs should make up my diet and not protein?

Carlos_421

DJayT13 wrote: »

Fat and protein as minimums? So carbs should make up my diet and not protein?

No no no no no.....

Treat them as minimums in the sense that you want to get at least that much.
So say your fat goal is 63 grams. You want to try not to go below that. More is fine.

You don't have a minimum requirement for carbs so if you choose to eat more fats and protein and do without some carbs it won't hurt you. It also won't hurt you if, once you've reached your protein and fat goals, you decide to spend the rest of your calories on carbs.

wilsoncl6

300 grams of protein seems like a lot of protein for you daily intake if you're just trying to maintain. Nothing wrong with using protein as your calorie source but that high a level of protein is not going to leave you much for carbs or fats. Carbs should be your main source of calories, especially if you're doing a moderate level of exercise. Otherwise, your exercise will suffer because you won't have quick access energy.

Carlos_421

wilsoncl6 wrote: »

300 grams of protein seems like a lot of protein for you daily intake if you're just trying to maintain. Nothing wrong with using protein as your calorie source but that high a level of protein is not going to leave you much for carbs or fats. Carbs should be your main source of calories, especially if you're doing a moderate level of exercise. Otherwise, your exercise will suffer because you won't have quick access energy.

At 3,263 calories per day and weighing 200 pounds, it's more protein than necessary but not extreme (1.5 grams per pound).

300 grams x 4 calories =1,200 calories from protein

Assuming 24% body fat, .4 grams of fat per pound of lbm is ~61 grams of fat x 9 calories = 549 calories from fat

3,263 calories - 1,200 - 549 = 1,514 calories left for carbs / 4 calories per gram = 379 grams of carbs.

379 grams of carbs per day is plenty enough to fuel workouts and maintain energy throughout the day (more than plenty).

DJayT13

Therefore, if I eat 1305g (40%) of protein and carbs/day and 650g (20%) fat/day I'll get rid of this layer of fat? Sorry guess this whole tracking what I eat thing is so difficult for me ha.

Hornsby

DJayT13 wrote: »

Therefore, if I eat 1305g (40%) of protein and carbs/day and 650g (20%) fat/day I'll get rid of this layer of fat? Sorry guess this whole tracking what I eat thing is so difficult for me ha.

The answer is... "You might". Lol

DJayT13

Lol I hate this

Hornsby

Carlos_421

Lol it's a trial and error process.
Try it for a few weeks and then tweak it if necessary.