A Little Help Reaching a Goal?

optimistic_

Hey, hate posting new topics, but just wanted to get the experts’ opinions from in here. (have read loads, and really appreciate the brilliant info available)

Basically, I’m approx 5’10, and 82Kg (male, 26yrs old) Measured body fat only the other day, and if I’m correct I am between 18-19%
My basic diet would be the following:

7am – Porridge, one scoop whey in water.

8.30am – Grapefruit, banana.

11:30am-ish! – Another banana, or couple of mandarin oranges.

1pm: either chopped chicken breast with lettuce, small amount of coleslaw & mixed salad with nuts. OR
Wrap with hot turkey sliced from crown, with lettuce, tiny bit of mayo (actually way too much today) and small bit of cheddar.
Will occasionally have bar of chocolate, but not usually.

3pm / 4pm – Any piece of fruit, apple, banana or orange etc.

*big gap for a reason listed below*

8.30pm / 9pm – Two lean chicken breasts (roasted), raw carrots (two chopped), light humus

Few coffees throughout the day with no fat milk (decaf at night)

Reason for the large gap between snack at 4pm and “dinner” is going to the gym.
I go 4/5 days a week and spend the majority of time on cardio – HIIT session on cross trainer for 40 to 50 mins (inc 5 min warm up & cool down), weight training (usually bicep, tricep, shoulder press, pulldowns, abs etc) and 20 to 30 minutes steady paced jogging. (generally in the gym for 1.5hrs or slightly more)

Couple of weeks will be starting early morning jogging for 25 minutes before work also.

Anyway, my query is – As my goal is to drop % body fat, basically become leaner/more defined (hence higher level of cardio) Is there anything I could do or change to improve my prospects?

I have seen results, and am tweaking different parts all the time (for instance breakfast had been at 8.30 instead of 7, jogging only recently incorporated into cardio) but would like to maximise the potential return for the input.

Sorry for such a long detailed post, but I am trying to organise a life long plan here!

All and any help and suggestions are greatly appreciated!

J-Fit

How soon after training are those two chicken breasts? Pre and post workout carbs and protein are one big improvement you can make here. I'd also add in some rich fat sources such as nuts and fish oil caps. You need to take fat to burn fat.

optimistic_

Thanks Jfit,

The two chicken breasts aren’t immediately after unfortunately, between the walk home and actual cooking time…I would say more like an 1+ hour from the last thing I do in the gym.
With that much of a break, would a two scoop whey in water be a good idea (ready to mix in changing room)? Followed 1+ hours by chicken & carrots, I’m conscious of increasing calories, but I guess with the workout there’s a decent amount of room to increase and still stay below daily needs.
Will increase amounts of nuts, and will look at fish oil tablets, speaking of, any brand or type you would recommend?

Never said in original post, the aim is to get to 10% to low teens body fat.

Zamboni

I have just had a glance but if you want to drop beneath 18% I would up the protein, drop the fruit, reduce the cardio and focus on the weight training (compound movements).

optimistic_

Drop the cardio for fat loss?

I mean i think i get that you're saying build the muscle up, which will increase the ratio of lean to fat. But i'd rather drop the fat than build the muscle. I mean eventually upping protien intake to build muscle, but not until the fat level has dropped.

I would have assumed higher levels of higher intensity cardio would be the way to go?

(absolutely no expert by any means, so happy to be corrected if i'm completely off!)

Zamboni

Cardio is not the optimal method I would use for fat loss.
Weight training combined with a diet that contains less calories than maintenance is a far quicker process.

The Davestator

weights are brilliant for weight loss but you do need to do cardio aswell.
As others have said, HIIT is good, but difficult to do every session properly. Mix and match between HIIT, wts, steady cardio etc. Your diet is pretty good, as is your workout plan, so you're once you stick to both, you'll see results soon.

good luck

optimistic_

Cheers lads, thought i was on the right track. Good to get reassurance!

Happy volcanic Doomsday by the way