plz help me....

[210toosmall]

i have a couple of questions i hope someone can help me with,
first off im 6' 220 @ about 16-18% bf
i want to cut that dramatically,
herein the problem lies, what i do for work.
eating isnt the problem i pretty much can eat whenever i want so i bring my meals and its no prob,
but im a residential furniture mover, so all day 8+ hours sometimes way more
im busting my ass! people have heavy shit and many boxes, stairs steep hills, ramps etc..
so i get alot of interval and low intensity cardio,also lots of stair climbing and heavy lifting,
now given that my diet is clean really very clean
why am i not leaner and or what do i do to get leaner?
higher intensity cardio?
plz help!

 

[KIAN]

If you are not losing body fat as a result of the level of activity you are involved with through your work then you current caloric consumption, as clean as it may be, exceeds what you actually require or expend.

If the amount of food energy you are consuming meets or exceeds the level of energy you expend through physical activity then you are either going to stay the same weight or increase in weight.

Have another look at your diet and keep track of your caloric, protein, carb, and fat intake values for the week. This will give you a better idea of what you need to change to start reducing your body fat.

Increased levels of cardio will definitely help but first look at your diet. Refer to the calculators at the following link if you need help finding your target ranges.

NCSF Calculators

_______________________

KP -- Fitness Basics

 

[210toosmall]

thnx for reply k to ya.
my daily caloric intake right now is at about 2500.
and i have to be burning at least that.
i dont want to cut too low because i dont want to suffer strength loss,
so im at a loss for what changes to make.

 

[KIAN]

In order to retain mass while cutting or losing body fat, you will need to raise your protein intake whilst lowering your carb and fat intake and start lifting heavier.

one gram of protein = 4 calories
one gram of carbs = 4 calories
one gram of fat = 9 calories

You will need to create a balance by offsetting your protein intake as you lower the other two (carbs & fats) so that you are meeting your daily caloric intake. Although the physical activity in your workday may span over an 8 hour period, it may give you a false impression as to how hard your body is actually working. You can use the calculators on the link I privided to see just how many calories you are burning during your activity. The following list of MET values will help you complete the calculations:

Aerobic Dancing 6.0
Backpacking 7.0
Basketball 6.0
Bicycling - 24mph 5.0
Calisthenics 4.5
Golf 5.0
Gymnastics 5.5
Handball 8.0
Hockey 8.0
Horse riding 3.5
Running 8 min/mile 12.5
Running 12 min/mile 8.5
Raquetball 8.0
Skating ice/roller 7.0
Skiing cross country 8.0
Soccer 8.0
Softball 5.0
Swimming 6.0
Tennis 7.0
Volleyball 4.0
Walking 3.5
Weight lifting 4.5

Your options are:

1 - Maintain your current diet and increase the level of cardio activity.
2 - Reduce your caloric intake and maintain your current level of activity.
3 - Reduce your caloric intake and increase the level of activity.

Option 3 will produce more dramatic results but it will be important to raise your protein intake and lift heavy to retain mass. Just make sure you know for sure what your caloric, protein, carb, and fat values really are before you start changing your nutritional and physical activity program.

___________________________

KP -- Fitness Basics

 

[alex2678]

Totally agree with Kian. If your doing a lot of physical activity and not losing fat then you're just eating too much food. Those energy expenditure calculators are full of shit in my opinion. Everyone's body is different. For me, they had my maintenence level without exercise at around 3200.(6'1 210 10%bf) When I eat that much I usually smooth out. Anyways, drop you're calories by 500 a day for the week and you should definately see some fat loss. Best of luck.