I have obvious abdominal muscles, likely more so than that of an average person WITH visible abs, however, mine don't show. I know this is because of my body fat %, which is 16-17%. Obviously, I need to cut. However, when I attempt to cut I can never get past 15% really without losing a shit ton of energy that prevents me from doing other things in my life (work, sporting events, etc.). I cut to 14% about 3 months ago, but go mono and was fatigued af for 3 weeks.
My question is; how can I cut to the ideal 10-12% bf so my abs show WITHOUT starving myself and losing my energy? I do to cardio, a shit ton of it ... but maybe I am doing something wrong? I'll list my meals and workouts in the next post.
Also, when I take my shirt off I have a good build from working out/labor stuff, but it doesn't necessarily look like I really lift. However, with a shirt on, I've been told I look like I lift more than my friends (I'm 6'2"). Is cutting a good way to actually look like you lift with yoru shirt off? when I flex, it looks like I lift and I can even see some ab definition in the top and general area of my stomach .. however, like I already said, my true abs are covered in fat.. I can do all the ab exercises in the world and still never see them unless I successfully cut.
Is it true that getting smaller (CUTTING) will actually make you look BIGGER.
Here's my meals:
1 1/2 Cup of Oatmeal with Fruit
5 Egg Whites
Chicken Breast Sandwich (Wheat Bread)
Veggies (lettuce, spinach)
Chicken Breast with Rice
or
Homemade Burrito - Beans with Brown or White Rice
Generally, that's what I'm going to eat for the day unless something comes up (social outing, etc.).. I cut out junk food and ice cream ALL TOGETHER about a week and half ago, figured that was what's holding me back? I used to eat great all the time, and occasionally just have some scoops of ice cream or candy here and there .. but if I truly wanna make it I can't do this, right?
>>37282331
Just to add, I have read the sticky. When I first started, I was 198lbs. dropped to 171lbs.. so I'm past the whole "losing weight" thing and looking to decrease body fat thru consensual exercise in the missionary position
>>37282288
>my true abs are covered in fat.. I can do all the ab exercises in the world and still never see them unless I successfully cut.
Woooow just like every person ever.
>>37282331
Post more info. What is your total daily energy expenditure (average), how many calories are you consuming, and total protein intake.
How much is a shit ton of cardio? At what intensity? Are you doing resistance exercise as well?
>>37282456
Yeah I know haha, but I was trying to express the fact that I do have actual abdominal muscles from doing ab exercises and labor requiring abs .. I'm just a DYEL homo who thinks abs appear magically.
I'm consuming about 1600~ calories a day. I have a very high protein intake, likely over 150 grams from food alone and another 50 from a shake after a workout.
>energy expenditure
Medium-High most of the time but I do to a lot of walking. I cycle everywhere since I don't have a car. I'm riding 15+ miles almost everyday.
>how much is a shit ton of cardio
1-3 hours a day minimum
>at what intensity
anywhere from low (walking, which I do a lot) to medium (moderate cycling/jogging), and sometimes high (fast cycling/sprinting)
>resistance exercises
If by resistance you mean weights, then yes. Not huge numbers by fit standards, but I workout.
I should add that all of this is relatively new because I just recovered from a crippling back injury about a month ago that prevented me from working out/exercising in general and enabled me to eat shit.. so if all of this sounds right to you, then I should be on my way.. if not, what am I doing wrong?
>>37282288
that feel sucks bro
lowest ive ever been was 14% bf, and had the same shit, ended up dreamer bulking because i felt small, made minimal gains and became obese, now im back down to like 17% from 30+
im 19 so i still have a lot of time, but it's frustrating for sure. i work landscaping and i constantly feel tired and shitty and have to drink water constantly, even more than i already do
>>37282542
yes I know. that's my problem. Unless I cut out like thousands of calories, I cant dip in the body fat levels, and even then I lose all energy for things that actually matter.. I think we're just doing something wrong. I'm looking for a way to still eat the calories I need to feel good (1600ish) and be able to dip into the 10-12% range
>>37282542
plus I went from 27% at my highest to 14% then to 17% then to 15% then to 16% and yada yada yada you know
>>37282541
Well, it does look like you do a shit ton of cardio and don't have the calorie intake to support it. You may want to cut out the high intensity cardio, since that will be hard to recover from when you're also doing so much other cardio and weights.
Keep protein high, take regular diet breaks. Hell, even try to do a nice slow bulk to put on more muscle mass.
>>37282559
Add more leafy green vegetables. Also try to estimate your daily energy expenditure.
>>37282745
cheers, thanks. I will do that
>eat at a constant caloric deficit (500kcal deficit is the average)
>be sure to remeasure the amount of maintenance every so often
>do some cardio to increase calories burned
>do this until you reach desired BF %
>should take anywhere between 3-6 months
>>37283164
>3-6 months of cutting.
I'd rather kill myself.
>>37283221
I'm 4 months in, somewhere at 10% BF.
Really ready to kill myself, but it's really worth it.
>>37283245
How fat did you start to have to cut for 4 months?
>>37283264
I was probably around 17-18% BF
yeaaaa....welll uhhh i just watched Maxx Chewning eat everything in sight and half of it junkfood then get a dexascan putting him at sub 15% bodyfat so obviously we are all doing something wrong
>>37283245
i didnt give you permission to post that pic. let alone to even save it.
delete it pls.
>>37283328
He tracks his calories so what you think is "eat everything" is still on his caloric maintenance.
>>37283245
>mfw been cutting for 6 months and still at 17% bf
>cut 30 pounds and still have 20 more to cut
niggas ain't shit
