RDI and body fat percentage

[an00bis]

Hey all, new here.

I'm a 5'7 , and weigh 139. I've started working out 3 months ago, but really only started doing things correctly 2 months ago. I figure I should have a goal, so I'm shooting for that six pack. I use to be 155 before I started working out, so I've lost a decent amount of weight. I have pretty good tone going on right now, and 4-pack as well. current body fat percentage is 12.5%. I finally decided to get serious about this whole thing, so 3 weeks ago I gave diet a complete overhaul. I no longer eat junk food, I never eat fast food, and I try to give myself a nice ratio of carb/protein/fat. So far, I've been getting about 50/30/20. I work out daily for about an hour.

Everything I read suggests that in order to have a plausibly visible 6 pack, I need to have a body fat percentage of below 10%. Can anyone give me advice on how to get there? I have no idea how many calories I should be taking in daily. assumption is that it's different than strict weight-loss, if I just want to reduce body fat percentage. I suppose it'd probably be good if I stayed at the same weight and simply replaced fat with muscle. Any input would be great appreciated.

Thanks.

[an00bis]

What I eat can vary quite a lot, but the timing is generally pretty spot on.

8 AM:
usually either a sandwich with deli turkey breast and a slice of pepperjack cheese or some honey bunches of oats cereal with skim milk

10 AM:
Snack, usually either an apple, banana, blueberries, carrots, or something along those lines

1 PM:
Either the sandwich or the cereal mentioned in the 8 am section (whichever I did not have for breakfast I have for lunch)
A 100 calories light yoplait yogurt cup

6 PM:
Optimum Nutrition whey protein with glass of skim milk.
Banana or apple

8 PM:
This can be anything, really, but usually I try to stay mostly healthy. Rice and chicken, or a chicken teriyaki from subway with lettuce, peppers, pepperjack cheese, and no sauces whatsoever.
Most of the time though, I'll eat 2 or 3 eggs with some chicken breast or beef with bread.

10 PM:
Usually don't eat much late, but I'll have some fruit on occasion. Possibly carrots.

Again, I have no idea how many calories I should be consuming, so generally I've been trying to stay in the 1800-1900 range. I've entered all food in on fatsecret.com, that's where I've been getting ratios/calorie intake readings.

[Boss Man]

8 AM:
usually either a sandwich with deli turkey breast and a slice of pepperjack cheese or some honey bunches of oats cereal with skim milk

(You need more Protein wiht the Cereal, like skinless Chicken for example, or Ham or Egg Whites. Don't have the Cheese for Breakfast it's a bit fatty in the wrong way. I'm pretty sure that Pepperjack stuff is anyway.

You could sub that for a hit of Low Fat Cheese which is better for Fat type)

10 AM:
Snack, usually either an apple, banana, blueberries, carrots, or something along those lines

(You need more Protein than that. Previosu examples would work well. You should give Fruit 10-15 minutes ot help the digestion, before consuming anything else.)

1 PM:
Either the sandwich or the cereal mentioned in the 8 am section (whichever I did not have for breakfast I have for lunch)
A 100 calories light yoplait yogurt cup

(I'd go for the sandwhich option instead, or have something like a Chicken and Veggies type meal, Beans and Rice or something like that. Keep the Cereal for Breakfast)

(Have something around 3-4PM, or you could catabolise some muscle for about 2 hours.)

6 PM:
Optimum Nutrition whey protein with glass of skim milk.
Banana or apple

(You don't need milk. Have Water and then Fruit)

8 PM:
This can be anything, really, but usually I try to stay mostly healthy. Rice and chicken, or a chicken teriyaki from subway with lettuce, peppers, pepperjack cheese, and no sauces whatsoever.
Most of the time though, I'll eat 2 or 3 eggs with some chicken breast or beef with bread.

(Screw the Subway and have the Rice and Chicken or other stuff.)

10 PM:
Usually don't eat much late, but I'll have some fruit on occasion. Possibly carrots.

(Stick to the Carrots and add a bit more Protein in there.)

Your calories are low. By making some of the changes I mentioned you should get around another 300 at least.

[an00bis]

I appreciate the response.

I will definitely make most, if not all, of those changes. I'll change the cheese to low fat or none, and I'll eat that sandwich for lunch. The only reason why I would sometimes skip the sandwich is because I've always been told that bread wasn't exactly the best (too many carbs?)

If you think it's ok, I'll do it.

The only change I might have trouble with is that "no milk with the whey protein" thing. That stuff just tastes so gross with water. I do the glass of milk mixed with the protein strictly for the taste.

So I should be eating 2200 calories a day? That seems a little high, but I'll give it a try.

Thanks, and please feel free to give any more tips you can think of. I'm very disciplined and very determined.

[Boss Man]

Trust me, some people would eat way more than 2,200 and that's a conservative amount, you may find yourself eating more than that.

If the Shake tastes a bit funny with water, mix things in like a bit of Honey, Cinnamon, ground Ginger, ground Nutmeg or Vanilla Essence and see how that pans out.

[an00bis]

That's an excellent idea. I will try all of these things starting today! I'll post back and keep you updated. Hopefully the extra calories won't make me gain too much weight.

Once again, I really appreciate it. You're awesome.

[Boss Man]

You're a under 6ft and weight less than 140lbs, trust me gaining any sort of healthy weight wouldn't be a bad thing, especially for the long-term in say 40-50+ years.