Dieting questions

At 5'10" and 145 you'd be really, really skinny, I wouldn't call it a six pack, you'd just look skinny. But for the record 10 lbs in 6 weeks is a reasonable goal.

Imho you should concentrate on building muscle mass first, once you have muscle mass you will burn calories faster. In order to build muscle with minimal fat gain you don't want to stop eating carbs all together, just have them within a two hour window after your workout. Right after you workout, in you post workout shake have fast acting carbs, ie sugars, I use Bananas, Frozen Strawberries, and OJ. And about an hour and half later have low GI carb like a sweet potato along with lean meat etc.

Well you definitely have to work on your diet to get a 6 pack. You can work your abs to death and never see them if your diet is crappy.

Check out the abs diet, by mens health. Or check out some of the articles on bodybuilding.com. That should be a good start for you.

like mgoose said consume carbs after you lift weights, I usually take a dextrose with protein shake 2:1 ratio and eat about an hr and half later. Your goal is very do-able so stay focused with both cardio and weights and you will get there.

You need to have the ab msucle's for them to show, most men show abs somewhere between 8-12% bf, so it depends on your genetics, for me they start to show around 9-10%.

To get the 6-pack, it will mainly be determined by your diet. Lots of protein, fruits& veggies will speed up the process. I'd say keep it up with the weights, because as mgoose said, it will help to burn the fat easier. Worry about gaining mass now& the cuts can come later I think if you want nice cuts you have to build muscle, but if you just want to be lean (without a ton of definition) and in great shape, concentrate more on cardio.

DO NOT STOP EATING CARBS. You need carbs for muscle growth and fullness. Just stop eating processed carbs ( ie white bread ect) and eat full grains. White and processed carbs are simple sugars which break down too rapidly and add to fat and water retention. Wheras complex carbs ( whole grinas, brown rice, yams ect) take a lot longer to break down and allow the body ample time to process them. Leading to little to no water retention and added fat.

You will shrink like crazy and begin loosing muscle mass if you follow that current plan of no carbs and cardio. Switch from running to eliptical training. You will burn calories around twice as fast and it is better cardio at the same intensity. Plus its not as hard on the knees and joints.

You will loose 10 pounds, but it wont only be fat with the diet you are suggesting. I am guessing around half of that will be muscle, which is not good. Step up your ab excersises, change the carbs you are eating, and stop eating carbs at all after 8:00pm. Your body begins to shut down around that time, and any added carbs will have much omre trouble being absorbed as energy ( considering your body doesnt need energy while you are sleeping)

You need around %8 or lower body fat to see your abs well without flexing. But having good abs at %10 is fine, as long as you loose some water weight and fat.


Plus stop doing weights on and off. Without consistency, you will loose almost everything you have gained. You can loose what took you 1 year to gain, in as little as a few months of improper eating and partying ect.

As always, the best advice. I learn something new from you almost every time you post. Thanks!

cutup that is some good advice. maybe you can help me understand a few things

I was under the impression that you need protein for muscle growth and carbs for fullness.. If there is no carbs in the system then your muscles will appear flat but will get full once you start carbing up which would be on sunday or every 4th day

Can you explain how will one lose muscle mass? Carb cycling is a pretty common regiment nowdays that has shown remarkable results with little or no muscle loss

examples are
Bodybuilding.com > keto section .. has lot of members that employ this method and are successful
Iron addicts is another example

And myself personally i have used this method losing almost 19 lb and 9-10% BF in 3 mos, now i did lose some muscle when i used a measuring tape but i think it was mostly fat trimming not actual muscle..

There are plenty of before/after pics online that shows muscle loss is not an issue if carb cycling is done properly..I did also take in a lot of carbs but mgoose suggested only on the days i lift weights

Wouldnt this be general advice? what if someone worksout after 8 pm?
What if someone job doesnt require physical activity, why would they need extra energy?


I hope you dont get me wrong. I have seen your pics and you are much bigger guy then i am but i am curious to learn. I also realize that there are different ways to reach the same destination.


Good luck to you hanzo stay focused bro!

Read the full examples of carb cycling. Your body using carbs for energy first, and everything else comes second. If you have no carbs in your system, your body will begin to eat away at itself and your muscle will begin to deteriorate. I should have been more descriptive. With that loss of carbs your muscles will begin to suceed. Its not the carbs themselves that make the muscles grow, your protein consumption does that, but without carbs, you will never grow properly. And the guys that keep every last poundw after a heavy carb cut ( or no carbs) generally are using steroids to compete, and that preserves your muscle mass during cutting.

Reducing carbs and putting yourslef into a state of ketosis, begins to destroy everything not just fat. It will get at the fat first, but you will burn muscle as well. And to me that is unnaceptable unless you are going into competition. You can take a little bit longer with eating slow acting carbs, and not eating after dinner and that alone will be enough to reduce your fat big time. If he was going for comeptitions, I would have suggested a much more detailed and harder to follow carb cutting plan.

If he works out after dinner ( ie 8:00) Im sure he would have brought that up. Many people generally work out right after work, so dinner is usually at around 6:30 or so, so 8:00 is a general time. Basicly you try and get no carbs into your system within 3 hours of before you go to sleep.

And dont worry man, I like being asked questions, especially if I may have made an error and missed something. You sound like you know a pretty good amount of knowledge yourself....

Good luck guys

You are still keeping up with the workout routine because you have so much rest in between workouts. If you are doing weights sparadicly, you are giving yourself plenty of time to rest and regenerate. If you give it more time ( and you are intaking almost no carbs) you will begin to feel extremely run down and weary.

Give me an example of what a typical day of carbs is for you. Be honest and tell me everything you eat and when, as well as when you workout and what you do when you workout.

I can give you a much more detailed description of what to eat and when, as well as sets and excersises...


And loveswatching. I almost forgot to mention, carb cutting is something I dont disagree with. When used properly it works wounders for contest prep ect. But many people cut out almost all of their carbs, and then wounder why they loose fat and muscle. There is no possible way to only loose fat when you are carb cutting unless your hitting the juice. Or unless you are only cutting carbs a little, and changing the types of carbs you eat and the timing ect.

Even if you intake massive amounts of protein to help, you will still loose muscle mass. To me, I would much rather just change carbs to un-processed and whole grains, and still keep ALL of my size. But thats just me...

Just think of it like this, if your body is used to taking in 4000 calories for energy daily, and you cut that by 1000 calories, you are essentialy "starving" your body. Thats is why it begins to eat away at your fat for energy and you begin to get thinner. But you need that amount to maintain the size you have, as well as to give you the energy to grow more muscle by lifting more and heavier weights. So something has to give, and your muscles ( as well as the fat) will begin to melt away.

Mind you its all in proportion to how intense your diet regimen is. You can easily follow some of the steps I outlined and just change your types of carbs and eating habits to get you ripped. But if its contest type ripped your looking at, then you have to be prepared to loose some muscle...

OK. DO NOT SKIP BREAKFAST EVER. Even if you have to have a NutriGrain bar and some juice. Without getting food into your system you put it into starvation mode and it retains calories,water and fat for use later. ( this means your lunch ect)

And after working out you must have protein within 45 minutes or so of finishing. A shake with around 40 grams or a couple pieces of white fish will do. Otherwise you will go into a catabolic state and begin to destroy muscle tissue.

And you need to have more protein daily.

You actually need more then usual when you are having alow carb diet, and just having fruit after your workout will also not cut it. Fruit is generally a high glycemic indiex carb ( from the frustcose) and it will spike your insulin levels and cause you to burn out all of the calories in a short time) Fruit is great for you, but after a workout a more lower glycemic index carb will be a better choice. Yams, sweet potatoes, brown rice ect. Even a slice or 2 of Rye or multigrain bread will do. And be sure to have protein with it.

I would stick with 160 grams daily of protein, spread out evenly. And BE SURE TO HAVE SOME WHEN YOU FIRST WAKE UP, AND WHEN YOU FINISH WORKING OUT. Eggs only have 6.5 grams each of protein ( average large eggs) and some good fats. Eggs is great to ave for breakfast, but add a protein shake to get you to around 40 grams.

Your body burns carbs, then protein, then muscle/fat. So if you increase your protein intake, you will also reduce the muscle wasting and increase your energy while still shedding fat.