Foo - Losing the last bit of fat

Ok, so here is the deal. I am currently at about 10% body fat. My goal by the end of summer is to be down to about 6%. However, I am having trouble with this. My body wont seem to lose it. So I am going to list out what I do, and if there are any people who are more fitness experts than me, please chime in.

First, let me lay out my workout schedule.. in brief. I work out with weights 5 days a week, 2 body parts per day. I cycle about 5 days per week, usually 3 short(13 mile) rides, which are done in 39mins or less. I ride 2 long rides, usually 30 to 40 miles each. I also, usually once a week, go mountain biking for about 2 hours of heavy trail riding.

I eat very well..
breakfast - 1c whole grain cereal (Kashi), 40g protein shake, one banana, one whole grain granola bar , 48oz water, animal pak vitamins
lunch - 2 servings plain tuna, 1 large can of green beans, diet soda
snack - apple, grapes, 40g protein shake
dinner - 2 tortillas, turkey, 1 slice cheese
snack - 60g protein shake, usually no carbs after 6pm

thats that.. I basically eat that every day. I am 5'11" and weigh 160-162 depending on the time of day. I am trying to maintain this weight and lose 4% fat. Its very dooable... I just want to speed this process up.

what the hell is wrong with you?!

how do you even have the ability to breath on the diet?

hahaha... you'd be surprised! Its actually not that bad of a diet. I've been eating this diet(or somethign very similar) for over a year. I actually have tons of energy... but my stupid body just retains a little fat, which I know is normal, but I really want it gone. Its one of those crazy personal goals we all like to set... or am I the only one who sets crazy goals? Dont know. :D

Looks like your diet could use alot more vegetables. I would also throw in a multi-vitamin . I also wouldn't worry about body weight. As long as you are in shape and exercise daily that 6-10% won't matter. In fact trying to get "rid" of too much can sometimes be a negative thing. The amount of hidden/unknown stress over worrying about it also will have a negative effect on your body :p Remember that health isn't necessarily all about weight and fat :)

after seeing that pic of you shirtless, you're not 10% bodyfat (how are you measuring?). Also, a certified trainer will do wonders to help your crazy goals better than some Foo forum. My 2 cents. oh, here's two more: you need to exercise for long periods to get your body to use its fat stores. That means longer bike rides, e.g. >2hrs. I read somewhere (take that for what it's worth) that 2hrs is the crossover between using glycogen stores and fat stores. Go get a looonnnng bike ride in each week, see what that does....

Hey Superdex.. that pic of me is almost 7 months old right now... im leaner now than I was when that was taken. I just havent posted anything new for a while. I do a minimum of two, 2+ hour rides a week. Unfortunately they are usually, both on the weekend. Id love to be able to do one during the week, but my schedule makes it literally impossible. So instead I take a .5 mile walk at lunch, bike for ~40 mins at a pretty fast pace, and weight train for 1hr(minimum) at night when it is too dark to ride.

To answer the comment before that, I take the Animal Pak for vitamins... which is basically 11 pills which contain every vitamin known to man, amino acids, and digestive enzymes. Ive never heard of a more comprehensive set of vitamins. So I do have that part covered. Im not sure if I mentioned it or not earlier, but I also drink a minimum of 1gal of water a day.

I did an anlysis of my caloric intake, and it comes out to be about 2650 calories. I am starting to think this just might be about 400 calories too high for me to lose fat. Im having trouble debating what to take out though, but I am thinking some of fruit should be replaced with more vegetables. This would lower my sugar intake, and reduce insulin surges. Just a thought.

Thanks so far for the suggestions. Im really looking for something that someone has done to "break the plateau" of fat loss. Dont get me wrong, I am very satisfied with my body as is... but it is just a personal goal for me this summer(I set one every summer).

after seeing that pic of you shirtless, you're not 10% bodyfat (how are you measuring?). Also, a certified trainer will do wonders to help your crazy goals better than some Foo forum. My 2 cents. oh, here's two more: you need to exercise for long periods to get your body to use its fat stores. That means longer bike rides, e.g. >2hrs. I read somewhere (take that for what it's worth) that 2hrs is the crossover between using glycogen stores and fat stores. Go get a looonnnng bike ride in each week, see what that does....

That 2 hours sounds like the 'bonk' criteria - when you run out of glycogen.

Of course, if you don't eat after the two hour ride, and take an eight hour nap, your body will use fat. Not that I recommend it, though, you're putting your body through a lot of stress.

I was going to say that you may still be taking in about 200 or so calories too much a day, but I'm not a doctor or nutritionist. I agree that when I'm doing 3hour plus rides three times a week is when I seem to burn that "extra fat" i.e. "Love handles" that are so hard to get rid of. Good luck with it.

What are the criteria for 2+ hour rides? I could do a 2+ hr. ride and only go 25-30 miles. Where should my HR be for those 2+ hrs?

What are the criteria for 2+ hour rides? I could do a 2+ hr. ride and only go 25-30 miles. Where should my HR be for those 2+ hrs?
35-40 :p

What are the criteria for 2+ hour rides? I could do a 2+ hr. ride and only go 25-30 miles. Where should my HR be for those 2+ hrs?

jyos...are you being serious or sarcastic. This is the internet after all. ;)

I'm being serious. If I take it slow, I could ride for 3 hours and only go 25 miles. If I try to crank it, I could go 34+ miles in 2+ hrs., but I'd be pretty burnt up. So in order to burn through the glycogen stores and cut into the fat stores, where do I need to be heart rate wise for those 2-3 hours?

Dex may have more specific insight on this, but the glycogen stores may be depleted on average, after two hours of cycling at moderate to intense effort/pace. What's moderate? I'm not sure on that one. I do know that when I ride on a trainer in the winter I stay aerobic for two hours(since my max HR is 195: I stay in the 120 to 139 range) to burn the most calories/fat. BTW ...two hours on the trainer is about all I can stand! I know that the 3, 3.5 and 4 hours rides I do two or three days a week during the summer cause my body to drop fat pretty fast. On those rides I usually average about 142 to 145 bpm avg. for a three hour plus ride at arounf 17 - 17.5mph avg pace. I can usually drop some serious poundage this way in about 4 weeks. Two of thses rides will typically be early on Sat and Sun mornings.

I found this calculator for fat loss heart rate zones:
Im going to do it for me as an example

220 - 27 (age) = 193
197 - 60 (resting heart rate) = 133
133 * 65% (low end of heart rate) OR 85% (high end) = 86 OR 113
86 + 65 (resting heart rate) = 151 113 + 60 (rhr) = 173
The target heart rate zone for me would be between 150 to 177

Also, someone stated above that not eating and then napping after an intense workout would make me lose fat. I tend to disagree with this. I think short term my body would consume fat, btu then as soon as I eat I would put extra weight back on as my body would want more stores. From what I can tell, it is best to eat about 200 calories of protein after(within 30 mins) an intense workout in order for my body to replenish the glycogen, and not convert all the food to fat.