May 14 - 7% Body Fat

[Spartan156]

Alright fellas here's my plan and goal, any advice or tips would be much appreciated!!

My body fat percentage right now is at 17%, the lowest I've ever had it was at 12% last summer. My goal this year is to cut it down to 7% by mid May. I've already had a total fat loss of 62lbs over the last year and plateau'd, but recently started back up again due to the body fat gain. So here's my workout routine and diet. (I can also give my full workout routine if needed)

Monday
-Workout: Biceps-Triceps & Core-Cardio
(total calories burned on elliptical is close to 850, with roughly another 300-500 burned, before, on the weight lifting routine)
-Diet:
Breakfast: cup of oatmeal with 4oz fat free milk; 2 slices of wheat toast; 8oz orange juice; Animal Paks; Animal Cuts; CLA
Lunch: Star Kist Tuna
Pre workout Snack: Serving of Wheat Thins (16); Animal Cuts
Dinner: Lean Cuisine Pizza with Protein Shake and Creatine
All Day: 1 gallon of water
total calories 1650

Tuesday
-Workout: Core- Cardio
(Calories burned on elliptical is same, roughly 850, with another 200-300 burned on core work)
-Diet:Breakfast: cup of oatmeal with 4oz fat free milk; 2 slices of wheat toast; 8oz orange juice; Animal Paks; Animal Cuts; CLA
Lunch: Star Kist Tuna
Pre workout Snack: Serving of Wheat Thins (16); Animal Cuts
Dinner: Tuna with Protein Shake and Creatine
All Day: 1 gallon of water
total calories 1550

Wednesday
-Workout: Chest-Back & Core-Cardio
(850 Calories burned on elliptical with another 300-500 burned on weights and core work)
Breakfast: cup of oatmeal with 4oz fat free milk; 2 slices of wheat toast; 8oz orange juice; Animal Paks; Animal Cuts; CLA
Lunch: Star Kist Tuna
Pre workout Snack: Serving of Wheat Thins (16); Animal Cuts
Dinner: Lean Cuisine Pizza with Protein Shake and Creatine
All Day: 1 gallon of water
total calories 1650

Thursday
-Workout: Core-Cardio
(Calories burned on elliptical is same, roughly 850, with another 200-300 burned on core work)
-Diet:Breakfast: cup of oatmeal with 4oz fat free milk; 2 slices of wheat toast; 8oz orange juice; Animal Paks; Animal Cuts; CLA
Lunch: Star Kist Tuna
Pre workout Snack: Serving of Wheat Thins (16); Animal Cuts
Dinner: Tuna with Protein Shake and Creatine
All Day: 1 gallon of water
total calories 1550

Friday
-Workout: Legs & Core and Cardio
(Same deal with calories burned on Mondays and Wednesdays)
-Diet:Breakfast: cup of oatmeal with 4oz fat free milk; 2 slices of wheat toast; 8oz orange juice; Animal Paks; Animal Cuts; CLA
Lunch: Star Kist Tuna
Pre workout Snack: Serving of Wheat Thins (16); Animal Cuts
Dinner: Lean Cuisine Pizza with Protein Shake and Creatine
All Day: 1 gallon of water
total calories 1650

Saturday
-Workout: 30 Lap Swimming and 10 minutes elliptical
(No idea how many calories I burn)
Diet: Cheat day

Sunday
-Workout: off
-DietBreakfast: cup of oatmeal with 4oz fat free milk; 2 slices of wheat toast; 8oz orange juice; Animal Paks; Animal Cuts; CLA
Lunch: Star Kist Tuna
Pre workout Snack: Serving of Wheat Thins (16); Animal Cuts
Dinner: Lean Cuisine Pizza with Protein Shake and Creatine
All Day: 1 gallon of water
total calories 1650

So I'm roughly burning 1200-1500 calories a day with exercise (Rough 850 on elliptical, and 200-500 on weight lifting and resistance depending on the day, with another 200 so calories being burned in the Sauna after workouts). I know the sauna is mostly water weight, but i'm mostly doing it just to burn the calories, because I'm also taking in the gallon of water throughout the day everyday.

So far I've lost 5 pounds in my first week
Any tips, advice, opinions or just thoughts would be much appreciated!!

Oh and I'm:
Age: 19
Height: 5'11
Weight: 176
Goal: 160 with 7% body fat

[Zipsfb]

If you are truly burning as much as you say you are, you need to eat more. IMHO, you are running the risk of injury and/or overtraining. Instead of setting lofty goals, like 7% BF, just eat healthy, work out regularly, and see where you end up. My guess is, you'll be satistified by May!

BTW, 7% is very difficult to get to. I think getting to 12 is pretty easy, but beyond that it really gets tough. With this diet and the deficit you're running, you'll not have any muscle left by the time you get to 7%. Other's may differ in opinion, but I think you need to revisit your diet and training routine. Good luck!

[Spartan156]

If you are truly burning as much as you say you are, you need to eat more. IMHO, you are running the risk of injury and/or overtraining. Instead of setting lofty goals, like 7% BF, just eat healthy, work out regularly, and see where you end up. My guess is, you'll be satistified by May!

BTW, 7% is very difficult to get to. I think getting to 12 is pretty easy, but beyond that it really gets tough. With this diet and the deficit you're running, you'll not have any muscle left by the time you get to 7%. Other's may differ in opinion, but I think you need to revisit your diet and training routine. Good luck!

Thanks man! I'll definitely look at that, I'm completely exhausted at the end of the week, but I LOVE THAT FEELING, it makes me feel alive. True with the muscle loss, maybe I should be a little more specific in what I'm trying to do, but I understand what your trying to say.

What I'm trying to do right now is to maintain/ prevent as much muscle loss as possible (even though I know I will be losing muscle) and get to 160lbs by Mid to late February/ really early march. From there I'll be going to a bulking/ cutting phase of wanting to gain (8-10lbs) on the bulking part and after the gain cutting (5-7lbs). I'll be doing this until I get to a roughly 7% body fat and roughly in the area of 160-170lbs. The strain of the exercise doesn't necesarily bother me, like I said I love feeling like that, Last year I dropped 62lbs and dropped my body fat from somewhere like 40% to 12%, and the tired feeling actually gave me energy and made me feel alive lol

[DJohnson]

I think shooting for 7% is a great idea and I like giving hard deadlines that are extremely hard but possible.

That being said I agree with Zipsfb about overtraining and injury. While eating a low kcal diet may not put you in some magical starvation mode or anything, it's always when you're burnt out and low kcal that bad injuries can come very easily seemingly out of nowhere.

Not gonna recommend you don't go through with your plan but if in a couple weeks you're feeling really burnt out and whatnot then be really careful in the gym. Increase your kcal for a week to maintenence, drop cardio and just do your warm ups and heavy sets. A lot less volume. Then continue if you wish.

[The_Metal]

I think shooting for 7% is a great idea and I like giving hard deadlines that are extremely hard but possible.

That being said I agree with Zipsfb about overtraining and injury. While eating a low kcal diet may not put you in some magical starvation mode or anything, it's always when you're burnt out and low kcal that bad injuries can come very easily seemingly out of nowhere.

Not gonna recommend you don't go through with your plan but if in a couple weeks you're feeling really burnt out and whatnot then be really careful in the gym. Increase your kcal for a week to maintenence, drop cardio and just do your warm ups and heavy sets. A lot less volume. Then continue if you wish.

Couldn't of said it better.

Your goals require you to go on a low calorie diet, no way around it unless you plan on doing insane amounts of cardio and no one has time for that. But overtraining is something you want to be careful off, going to be more harmful/produce less results.

[Spartan156]

Couldn't of said it better.

Your goals require you to go on a low calorie diet, no way around it unless you plan on doing insane amounts of cardio and no one has time for that. But overtraining is something you want to be careful off, going to be more harmful/produce less results.

Thanks for the advice fellas! I'll definitely think about adding another 200 calories to my diet, I don't want my body to go into starvation mode, thats what I designed my off day to do. By me eating whatever I wanted I was just hoping to shock my metabolism back to where it should be. I'll probably add another source of protein though, to help preserve some muscle while I lose weight.

[The_Metal]

Thanks for the advice fellas! I'll definitely think about adding another 200 calories to my diet, I don't want my body to go into starvation mode, thats what I designed my off day to do. By me eating whatever I wanted I was just hoping to shock my metabolism back to where it should be. I'll probably add another source of protein though, to help preserve some muscle while I lose weight.

Well I'm doing 800 calories a day and see great results with no loss in muscle as of yet. My diet is almost strictly protein. I don't think you have anything to worry about.