Arrgh these last 6-7 lbs to lose! Is my caloric intake enough?

[FitnessJunkie]

Arrgh I'm having the hardest time losing the last 6-7 lbs of fat. A brief history, I'm naturally athletic by nature however let myself go down the drain the past year. I'm 5'7" and let myself go to a horrible 209lbs about 6 months ago. Now I'm a ripped and fit 159lbs. The abs and striations are there and looking great. I'm trying to continue to lose about maybe another 6-7 lbs of fat while keeping the muscles I have.

Here's where I'd like your opinions.

On the EAS site (calorie calculator) it says to take in about 1600 calories/day to lose fat and about 1900 and change to lose fat and gain muscle.

I watch what I eat and have been eaty very clean and loving it. I now take in roughly 1800-2000 calories/day. My spread typically ranges from 40/40/20 (prot/carbs/fat) to 50/30/20 (prot/carbs/fat). I've used this spread to lose about 50 pounds, gain my lost muscle, and look like my good 'ol self.

Now here is my workout:
Mon - Full body lifting and 1 hr cardio (w/ 15-20 minutes of it HIIT)
Tues - 1.5 hours cardio (w/ 15-20 minutes of it HIIT)
Wed - Full body lifting and 1 hr cardio (w/ 15-20 minutes of it HIIT)
Thurs - 1.5 hours cardio (w/ 15-20 minutes of it HIIT)
Fri - Full body lifting and 1 hr cardio (w/ 15-20 minutes of it HIIT)
Sat - 1.5 hours cardio (w/ 15-20 minutes of it HIIT)
Sun - Some outdoors event (i.e. mountain biking, snowboarding, hiking, etc)

Question:
1) Am I working out too much in the sense that my calorie intake isn't sufficient? In other words am I not taking in enough calories to keep the metabolim up? I'm afraid if I'm burning too many calories and not taking enough in that my body's metabolism will slow down in order to keep itself in some kind of balance (I can't remember the technical term for it). Any thoughts, advice, opinions?


Thanks much for all your help!

[Rachel_n_SD]

seems like too much cardio but your calories aren't low enough to really mess up your metabolism, they actually seem to be at a sensible level.

have you thought about carb cycling? that has helped alot of people with the last tricky pounds. i was having alot of success on it, but had to stop due to ulcers (totally unrelated to the diet btw). you should check out the carb-cycling 101 thread.

the reason i suggest this is that your program and diet seem pretty solid, except for the excessive cardio-IMO no more than 45 min-1 hour is necessary.

[emplate]

im surprised your not dead from exhaustion with all that HIIT.. you shouldnt do it everyday

[Khryz]

I was doing HIIT everyday with no problems until I hurt my knee, probably from overuse. If it wasn't for that I'd still be out there everyday feeling quicker, stronger, more powerful, and melting fat off. Injuries suck and I should have progressed a bit longer to the 7-day HIIT split but it's very possible to handle if your nutrition is on point.

[FitnessJunkie]

Thanks all for your advice. To me the cardio doesn't "feel" excessive. However what it "feels" like and what is in reality too much are entirely differnt. On cardio only days, I split it into 2 different sessions (1hr at 4:30 in the morning) and (1/2 hour around lunch time w/ the HIIT). I actually enjoy it in a sick and demented way. It's also a way for me to release stress (I have a pretty stressful job).

I am now back into the shape I used to be and looking to edge it out. I haven't thought about the carb cycling so I'll take a look at that. Thanks again for the inputs!

[beaul]

Don't be afraid to experiment. Say next week you drop the calories to 1600 per day. Or you could raise them to 2300 per day. Just don't make a bunch of changes at once. Keep good track of your bodyfat to see what helps to lower it. Sounds like your getting really low now. So you shouldn't expect to see the pounds shedding off now. Maybe .5 - 1lb a week. Maybe upping your calories to 2300-2600 for a month would be good. Unless you don't want to gain any more muscle.

[FitnessJunkie]

Don't be afraid to experiment. Say next week you drop the calories to 1600 per day. Or you could raise them to 2300 per day. Just don't make a bunch of changes at once. Keep good track of your bodyfat to see what helps to lower it. Sounds like your getting really low now. So you shouldn't expect to see the pounds shedding off now. Maybe .5 - 1lb a week. Maybe upping your calories to 2300-2600 for a month would be good. Unless you don't want to gain any more muscle.

Thanks for that input. Yes I'm getting really low now. The shedding of pounds has come down to about .5 or less a week. It's getting very tough. In a few weeks I'll be doing a water test for body fat % as a buddy of mine now works at a club that offers it.

Right now I want to drop a little more weight (fat wise). Once I'm fully satisfied with my accomplishments (haha...almost an oxymoron...it seems that whenever I hit my goal I'm no longer satisfied at it and want to go even further), I'll start clean bulking to bring the weight up a tad bit. Although I'm not looking to gain that much more muscle. I'm enjoying the leaness, the abs, and the cuts.