Daily Fat Intake

whats up guys. finally found an excuse to join the T-Nation forums; i look forward to speaking with most of you.

i’ve been naturally bodybuilding for 4 years; diet and training are better than ever these days. i have, however, been cutting for the last few months from 15 or 16 percent bodyfat, and i’m now approaching the single digits. i’ve never been this defined and it looks and feels better every day.

i have a very slow metabolism. i use obvious methods to combat this (early cardio 4x/week, low to medium carbohydrate intake, high training instensity, you know the drill), and my body has responded better than i had anticipated.

my question is about fat intake. i’m aware of the pro’s of a healthy amount of fat in one’s diet, but how much is TOO much. on such a low-carbohyrdate diet, fats are naturally sometimes a little higher than i’d like. i limit my red meat to 5 or 6 times a week because i’m honestly a pussy about messing this up.

i’m looking for a natural bodybuilder with fat boy genetics’ advice on his fat intake while trying to reach 7 or 8 percent bodyfat. i expected to find tons of articles with good numbers/percentages for an individual in my specific situation, but surprisingly they’re few and far between. thanks in advance, i look forward to hearing from yall.

if you’re trying to cut then worry about carbs, not fat or red meat (unless your fiber intake is low)

sorry, i dont really have much advice, but im wondering if u were able to maintain or even gain strength while u dropped the bodyfat?

Strength in relation to bodyweight - yes.

Strength in relation to numbers - lost a good amount.

Used to have a more powerlifting approach, with a strong desire to reach certain numbers. As my bodybuilding endeavors got more serious, numbers became less and less significant.

If you don’t mind me asking, what does your diet look like. Your weight/height, early morning cardio duration, ect…

I’m about 14% right now and would like to cut down to <10% before the holidays.

[quote]Matt- wrote:
If you don’t mind me asking, what does your diet look like. Your weight/height, early morning cardio duration, ect…

I’m about 14% right now and would like to cut down to <10% before the holidays.[/quote]

My body responds well to 25-30 minutes of steady state cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach 4x a week. I’ll switch it up and add HIIT once or twice a week.

As far as diet is concerned, I eat 6 times a day, I try for 45-60 grams of protein per meal, and will not exceed 15-20g carbohyrdates per meal (5-10g carbohydrates for my last meal of the day).

My math is iffy, but this usually ends up being in the 2300-2800 calorie range. On days I train only (as opposed to early morning cardio and training in the PM), my caloric intake will be closer to the 2300-2500 range.

I’m 6’1", 180 lbs, at about 12% bodyfat.

How much is too much?
Well unfortunately, in my experience, it can be pretty variable. And really when you think about it, considering that the majority of your Calories will be optained from protein and fats when on a low carb diet, too much is likely to be when weight loss has halted, given that all other variables remain equal.

So then the question is what do we do. Simple, increase energy expenditure by doing some more exercise or reduce Calories and keep activity levels the same.

Generally you would want to do the former and increase your energy expenditure.

[quote]NDL0110 wrote:
whats up guys. finally found an excuse to join the T-Nation forums; i look forward to speaking with most of you.

i’ve been naturally bodybuilding for 4 years; diet and training are better than ever these days. i have, however, been cutting for the last few months from 15 or 16 percent bodyfat, and i’m now approaching the single digits. i’ve never been this defined and it looks and feels better every day.

i have a very slow metabolism. i use obvious methods to combat this (early cardio 4x/week, low to medium carbohydrate intake, high training instensity, you know the drill), and my body has responded better than i had anticipated.

my question is about fat intake. i’m aware of the pro’s of a healthy amount of fat in one’s diet, but how much is TOO much. on such a low-carbohyrdate diet, fats are naturally sometimes a little higher than i’d like. i limit my red meat to 5 or 6 times a week because i’m honestly a pussy about messing this up.

i’m looking for a natural bodybuilder with fat boy genetics’ advice on his fat intake while trying to reach 7 or 8 percent bodyfat. i expected to find tons of articles with good numbers/percentages for an individual in my specific situation, but surprisingly they’re few and far between. thanks in advance, i look forward to hearing from yall.[/quote]