Tried to get help before with no luck....
 

Hi guys,
I have tried to post my questions on some other websites with absolutely NO one helping me out.

I am 24 years old, a career firefighter, and I am very much into lifting and proper nutrition. I am 5'10" endomorph...220 lbs, 20% BF. I am 3 weeks into a cut diet, I would like to acutally have abs this summer. I am looking for a critique on my current diet. My first 2 meals are shakes, but one is with juice and some healthy fats. I would just like to know what to change in order to reveal my abs for the first time.

Currently in week 3 of a 12 week cutting phase. Starting at 220lbs and 20% BF. Want to lean down to under 200 lbs and have abs showing. Here is my current Diet:

Breakfast:
8 oz Organic Coconut Juice
6 oz Pineapple Juice
2 scoops EAS Vanilla Protein
CLA
Fish Oil
Tribulis Fuel
Cals: 440
Protein: 47
Carbs: 40
Fat: 6

Post-Workout:
2 scoops Syntha-6
12 Oz Gatorade
BCAA
Cals: 480
Protein: 44
Carbs: 51
Fat: 12 with 4 g saturated

Lunch:
2 Chicken Breasts
1 Cup Broccoli or Half a Sweet Potato
Franks Red Hot Buffalo Sauce (O Calories)
CLA
Fish Oil
Cals:?
Protein:?
Carbs:?
Fat:?

Afternoon Snack:
1 scoop Syntha-6 or 1 tub of Deli Turkey
(with Turkey - 1 serving Cheddar Cheese Mini Rice Cakes)

Dinner:
Chicken Breast
Broccoli or Half Sweet Potato
CLA
Fish Oil
Tribulis Fuel


Bedtime:
1 scoop Caesin Protein
1 Mutli-Vitamin

I just started to add a fat burner (Lipo-6) to this as well...
I pretty much want to know if this diet is clean enough to lean up enough to expose my abs. I am lifting 5 days a week heavy and intense, and doing cardio everyday. I do interval training after lifting and on non-lifting days I do more intense HIIT.
Any help would be great!

maybe xour training is a bit too much, lifting 5 times a week alongsides withe daily carrdio may too much, if you´re natural. without juice you better aim fot 4x lifting, 2-3x cardio per week, bur if you don´t feel exhausted and get along with your routine, it´s ok.
so your diet looks pretty good. at your size i´d recomend you to eat 150g of carbs daily, min. 330g protein daily and ~80g fat daily.
eat the biggest part of yoor carbs for breakfast( about 80g), choose here oatmeal rather rhan coconut juice and pineabble juice. add a piece of fruit, preferably, apple or blueberries, but avoid hig-sugar fruits, like banana, raisins etc. eat some 50g of fast carbs after working out and the next meal half a sweet potazo or so. try to eat your carb-meals with less fat, not more than 10-15g and eat your fats only withe protein. combine protein-carbs, protein-fats, but never carb-fat, eat good fats like walnuts, whole eggs and salom. another good way to increas your healthy-fats-intake ist to have some 20-30g of walnuts with your casein shake just before going to bed.

no need to separate carbs and fats....read here starting with post number 28:

http://www.bodybuilding.net/fat-loss...-cut-1160.html


i personally thinking working out 5 days a week, and cardio seven days a week is not going to help you. a big part of losing body fat is allowing the body to recover....and getting enough sleep and water.

are you just doing a bunch of isolation/machine work in the gym?

I am currently doing isolation movements...Here was todays workout;
Back:
Each exercise I pause at the contraction, and do a slow negative...30-45 seconds between each set
Bent Over Rows (Smith Machine): 15, 12, 10, 8,8
Seated Wide Grip Row: 12, 10, 8, 8
Stiff Legged Deadlift: 12, 10, 8, 8
Close Grip Lat Pulldown: 15, 12, 10, 8, 8

Abs, and 12 minutes of HIIT


I just went and bought ON 100% Whey with the idea that I will shave off 140 cals, 24 carbs and 10 grams of fat from the Syntha 6

With breakfast, usually I am in a rush hence the shake, Can I have a shake with oatmeal?? Or do I have to cook eggs or something.

So If I lift 5 times a week, I should only do cardio 3 times a week? Its hard to get in the mentality that doing less work will do more.

that's why most people can't lose fat. you're trying to do alot more work on a caloric deficit. doesn't work that way....your body is just going to get worn out and hold onto everything it can. you may not "feel" worn out...but your just spinning your wheels. i would recommend 3 workouts a week that are full body...not on machines...with freeweights...and 2 days of maybe some hiit cardio...maybe just long steady state cardio. and really nail your diet down....drop a decent amount of carbs.

Ok, so I am going to cut some more carbs from my diet:
Bfast:
2 packets instant Oatmeal
50g ON 100% Whey Protein Shake or Egg Whites
CLA
Fish Oil

Post-Workout:
50g ON 100% Whey
12 Oz Gatorade
BCAA

Lunch:
Chicken Breast
Broccoli
CLA
Fish Oil

Snack:
Fresh Deli Skinless Turkey Breast or 25g ON 100% Whey

Dinner:
Chicken Breast
Broccoli
CLA
Fish Oil

Bedtime:
Caesin Protein
Mulit Vitamin

I need to keep lifting at least 4 days a week (Mon - Chest Tri, Tues - Back, Wed -Off Thurs-Shoulder, Biceps, Friday Legs) I just really enjoy this schedule...I will take the days off and maybe take 2 days to do HIIT Cardio, and take 1 rest day......and maybe add in steady state cardio after lifting instead (low intensity eliptical work)?

@ pitysister: thanks, man, again, i learned something new ;)
if you really don´t do hiit cardio longer than 12 minutes, you can do it after every workout, so 4 times a week hiit cardio. your 4day slip sounds nice and useful, stick to it ! on 1-2 rest days you can do moderate cardio, but longer, 30-45. but take one day completely off and just relax without doing sports. i would not use instant oats, they have a higer glycemic index, stick to raw oats. don´t eat carbs within 3-6 hours before going to bed.

I was doing 30 minutes steady state on the eliptical after each workout...maybe it was too much, but I thought HIIT was supposed to be shorter but more intense? I will do longer steady state cardio on non lifting days and short HIIT cardio on lifting days...saving 1 Day to do nothing at all just recover. Thanks for your help!!!