Getting the V

jklemsen

I started my quest at 235lb last summer. I got on a roll then kinda wimpered out during the winter and had to start over in the middle. I am currently at 185lb was at 192 or so when I joined MFP.

I am trying to get myself to where I have a noticeable V line in my lower abdomen. I do alot of cardio workouts and running as well as mixed in weights and circuits but have shown a slowed progress. I maintain a solid net calorie deficit week in and week out without any real cheat days what so ever. I also maintain a solid workout routine and continue to push myself farther. But yet I seem to be stuck right on the verge. I thought I was in starvation mode there for awhile but I always have an appetite and I feed myself alot of high quality meats like lean turkey, chicken, cottage cheese and so forth. Even on my really low calorie intake days I get the full feeling from eating more than the bare minimum.

Should I just continue what I am doing and deal with the slow progress that takes alot of work with little gains or is there something I am missing that will help me cut the fat?

I need to be cutting fat because to get the V that I want it basically just needs to have the fat pulled away. I have the outline of it and have the muscle there from my constant core workouts at the gym. I just need to find a way to shed the pounds of fat that are in the way from being able to visually see the muscle.

tkillion810

We can't spot reduce, so you basically are looking at reducing your overall body fat %. It sounds like you have made great progress so far. Be mindful that when you are reducing fat from your diet that you don't cut out all the healthy fats too. It serves an important purpose in our body. You might give us a look at a typical day's menu. There might be some small tweaks that you can make to get your over the "plateau" you are feeling.

SideSteel

Post your current stats and please post:

calorie intake average
protein (in grams)
fat intake (in grams)
carb intake (in grams)


How many days per week are you lifting and are you increasing the load over the course of weeks? Are you lifting with your entire body?

BrettPGH

Truth is a lot of it is just body composition. Some guys have 'em and some guys don't. No matter what weight they're at.

Don't kill yourself trying to get something that you may not be able to control. It's like the girls with the thigh gap...

ArroganceInStep

Truth is a lot of it is just body composition. Some guys have 'em and some guys don't. No matter what weight they're at.

Don't kill yourself trying to get something that you may not be able to control. It's like the girls with the thigh gap...

This.

A V taper, like a six pack, is made in the kitchen. That being said some guys just aren't built for it and would need to be at a ridiculously low BF% to have a noticeable one. Assuming you're losing weight and maximizing LBM retention, just keep doing what you're doing.

jklemsen

Calorie intake per day of 1,200 calories on rest days and 1,600 calories on workout days. Hike days are closer to 3,500 with higher fat and proteins since I typically burn over 4,000 calories in the 5-6 hour hikes

Proteins 100-110 grams a day I easily meet this goal 6/7 days a week only fall short on some rest days. But never below 70grams.
Fat 35-45grams a day. Usually shoot low on that due to the high amounts of tuna and lean turkey/chicken breast I eat.
carbs 200-220 carbs a day. I am a minimalist and usually fall short on this and end up around the 140-160 carb a day

Plates559

Squat heavier and more often
Deadlift heavier and more intensely


You don't really need to waste your time on core specific work outs to get a V-taper.

Greenrun99

Calorie intake per day of 1,200 calories on rest days and 1,600 calories on workout days. Hike days are closer to 3,500 with higher fat and proteins since I typically burn over 4,000 calories in the 5-6 hour hikes

Proteins 100-110 grams a day I easily meet this goal 6/7 days a week only fall short on some rest days. But never below 70grams.
Fat 35-45grams a day. Usually shoot low on that due to the high amounts of tuna and lean turkey/chicken breast I eat.
carbs 200-220 carbs a day. I am a minimalist and usually fall short on this and end up around the 140-160 carb a day

Ok you need to start eating more, on your hike days you net -500 calories ?? You definitely need to net your BMR and below your TDEE so add about 2000 calories on that at your weight and activity level.. Search for the calculators to figure your TDEE/BMR and I would suggest slowly increasing your calories to a percentage cut from TDEE.(10-20%)
Also you should increase your protein and decrease your carbs.. protein you should aim for the 150-200g range if not a bit more and take the difference from the carbs your eating... The fat is fine.. My opinion.

Plates559

Yeah I agree, fat is fine, more protein. You should try and lift weights too.

ArroganceInStep

Ok you need to start eating more, on your hike days you net -500 calories ?? You definitely need to net your BMR and below your TDEE so add about 2000 calories on that at your weight and activity level.. Search for the calculators to figure your TDEE/BMR and I would suggest slowly increasing your calories to a percentage cut from TDEE.(10-20%)
Also you should increase your protein and decrease your carbs.. protein you should aim for the 150-200g range if not a bit more and take the difference from the carbs your eating... The fat is fine.. My opinion.

If you have too large of a defecit you'll increase muscle loss on your cut which makes muscle definition more and more difficult to achieve.

That being said 4k calories is doable on a 6 hour hike, but it's towards the high end. I do think you need to be eating more even if you're overestimating calorie expenditure, but to me it's a potential red flag that you might not be accurately estimating intake and/or calorie burn from exercise.

jklemsen

I know I am accurate when estimating calorie intake. I weigh every piece of cut meat I eat on a oz scale and I record every single thing I eat in mfp. I am likely within 2% on my numbers for every day. I have an extremely good idea of what is in my body at all times. Its the issue of knowing what my body needs. I tend to do things to extreme so I am thinking I am trying to do to much on to few calories. I will try to up my calorie intake another 200 per day with most coming from more lean proteins. I will likely just grab a supplement and do a protein shake every day to gain the calories I am lacking.

ArroganceInStep

I know I am accurate when estimating calorie intake. I weigh every piece of cut meat I eat on a oz scale and I record every single thing I eat in mfp. I am likely within 2% on my numbers for every day. I have an extremely good idea of what is in my body at all times. Its the issue of knowing what my body needs. I tend to do things to extreme so I am thinking I am trying to do to much on to few calories. I will try to up my calorie intake another 200 per day with most coming from more lean proteins. I will likely just grab a supplement and do a protein shake every day to gain the calories I am lacking.

Fair enough.

You've got the right idea. Considering that you want a lot of muscle definition and aren't necessarily looking to be a specific weight, what you're trying to find is a calorie intake as high as possible but where you still lose weight consistently. With that you want to be taking in a lot of protein (this is more than you need but a good target is 1 gram per pound of body weight, so 185 grams a day). Getting to the body fat % needed for a v-taper, you really need to set your weight loss target to an extremely low rate (like 1/2 pound a week or less). The faster your weight loss, the more muscle you'll lose with it and the harder it'll be to get the definition you want. Finally, and this may sound counter-intuitive, but consider cutting back a small amount on cardio. Don't give it up entirely as it's very good for you (and hiking is awesome), but taken to an extreme cardio can be counterproductive when you're already very lean. Circuit training is good and I'm not saying you should cut it out, but have you thought about doing some regular heavy training as well?