My Diet

[seattlems333]

Usually my daily calorie total comes out to about 2300-2600. I'm 5'7" and 140 lbs. I'm not looking to get huge, but I just want to be rock solid and cut (I'm already pretty cut right now). I've gotten my body fat measured by the skin fold caliper test at least 10 times, and my body fat is consistently measured to be between 3-4%. However, I only have really good definition in the top 2 segments of my abs; the bottom 4 aren't visible unless I flex my abs. What changes should I incorporate into my diet to further develop my abs and facilitate some muscular growth without putting on too much fat? Is it possible to gain some muscle without gaining fat? I don't want to get too bulky.

Since it's the summer, dinner ends up being whatever my parents cook up, but my other meals are almost always the same:

7:15 am: 3 egg whites, 1 cup oatmeal, 1 cup skim milk
8:30 am: 1 cup coffee
9:30-11 am: 2 liters water
12 pm: 8-10 oz. grilled chicken breast, 1 cup brown rice, fruit of some sort (i.e. peach, apple, cup of blueberries)
3 pm: 1/2 PB sandwich (1 slice whole wheat bread, 1 tbsp. natural PB), 1 liter water
(5:30-7 pm: Workout)
7:15 pm: Post Workout Shake (1 scoop whey protein, 1 banana, 1 cup skim milk)
7:45 pm: Dinner (Varies...)
9:30 pm: Fruit of some sort

 

[nikkita]

Are you sure you're 3-4%? ...what method are you using to estimate your BF%?

suggestions for your diet would be:

>7:15 am: 3 egg whites, 1 cup oatmeal, 1 cup skim milk
>8:30 am: 1 cup coffee
>9:30-11 am: 2 liters water

You are allowing to much time pass between meals, ideally should be 2-3 hours.

>12 pm: 8-10 oz. grilled chicken breast, 1 cup brown rice, fruit of some sort (i.e. peach, apple, cup of blueberries)

Add green vegetables. If you are going to eat fruit, have berries but not peach, apple (too much sugar)


>3 pm: 1/2 PB sandwich (1 slice whole wheat bread, 1 tbsp. natural PB), 1 liter water
(5:30-7 pm: Workout)

>7:15 pm: Post Workout Shake (1 scoop whey protein, 1 banana, 1 cup skim milk)

shake without milk

>7:45 pm: Dinner (Varies...)

can you be more specific?

>9:30 pm: Fruit of some sort

No fruit, just casein before bed

 

[seattlems333]

I've gotten my body fat measured by a trainer who uses calipers to measure my skin folds in 3 areas: chest, stomach, and thigh. He's done it at least 10 times, and I always fall somewhere in the 3-4% range, though this is generally performed after working out, so my body fat is probably a little higher like maybe 5-6%.

Just wondering, why have the protein shake without the skim milk? Wouldn't the milk provide some extra protein and carbs?

As for dinner, tonight I had about 10 oz. grilled salmon, a salad (no dressing), half a baked sweet potato, and half an ear of corn. In the summer, we have corn and salad with many meals, and the main course can be something like hamburgers (made with 93% lean beef and on a whole wheat English muffin), grilled chicken breast, or London broil. I try getting my parents to cook healthier dishes, but I'm Chinese and my dad isn't about to drop white rice anytime soon haha

 

[Captain FT]

At 5'7" and 140 with 4% (averaged) bodyfat it sounds like your metabolism is off the charts. You could probably double your caloric intake, work out like a beast and not put on any fat but gain some decent muscle.

If you bumped your calories up to 3500 I would venture to guess you would see some great muscle growth. As far as getting the abs to pop.

Hanging leg raises and weighted incline sit-ups seem to work well. Abs are like any other muscle in the body except they don't have a joint so it makes them harder to work.

Train your abs with weight the same way you would any other muscle

 

[cobracock1979]

Freaky metabolism - you need to WAY up tha cals bro!

 

[seattlems333]

OK so I logged my food intake for today (as of 9 pm) on FitDay, and here's the breakdown:

Total Calories: 2038
Fat: 57 g / 26%
Carbs: 211 g / 36%
Protein: 182 g / 37%

7:00 am: 3 egg whites, 1 cup cooked oatmeal, 1 cup skim milk, 4 oz blackberries

10:30 am: 25 carrot sticks

12:30 pm: 8-10 oz. grilled chicken breast, 1 ear of corn, 1 peach

3:45 pm: 22 dry roasted unsalted almonds

5-7:00 pm: workout

7:15 pm: 1 scoop Isopure, 1 cup skim milk, 1 banana

8:00 pm: 8 oz. 93% lean beef, sautéed onions and mushrooms, 1/2 baked sweet potato, bowl of salad with tomatoes, 10 cherries

If I get hungry later, I'll probably eat 1/2 cup of fat free cottage cheese (I just discovered cottage cheese, and I'm shocked by how much I like it), so that'll add about 80 calories, 13 g protein, and I think like 5 g carbs.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'm probably gonna up my calorie intake to the 2800 range (3000+ sounds scary). And by the way, I don't think my metabolism is that great; I was chubby when I was a kid. I don't believe that I'm 4% body fat, but that's what the tests keep saying. Maybe I'll try getting it measured at a different place and by a different person...