Hey all- I want to get jacked without losing any of the strength I worked so hard to build.

18 years old
Male
160 pounds
~10-12% body fat
Pudgy
estimated VO2max is 73.73 (mL*kg^-1*min^-1)

I row six days per week in a high-level training program with the goal of each day being physical depletion. Each practice is about 2.5 hours and usually involves spending as much time as possible at or near aerobic threshold. We lift twice per week.

Last year I had to diet down to below 150 pounds and found it easily achieved by eating smaller dinners and eliminating sweets. This year I've found that I can eat literally anything I want and never pass 162 pounds. the vo2max was included to perhaps gauge my metabolism.

My goal is to get that six-pack without compromising my training with any kind of reduced-calorie diet. Here's what I currently eat in a day:

7:30 3/4 cup (dry) quaker oats in 1.5 cups 2% milk with a good bit of honey and raisins
9:10 (sometimes) another 1/2 cup oats with water and sweet-n-low or sugar
11:00 lunch - turkey and cheese on rye bread, apple, orange, crackers, nature valley bar
1:30 snack- either apple, bar, or both
2:30 pre-workout muscleMilk 1 scoop - 15g protein 175 calories
6:30 post-workout 1 scoop MuscleMilk
7:00 dinner - varies widely - always healthy though, home-cooked. today I had spaghetti with vegetables on top, mashed turnips, a burger with a fried egg on it, and a bowl of cereal.

This is a healthy day (usually 5 days per week) but on the weekends it's not so pretty (think milkshakes), but hey, I'm a kid.

I have found in the past that I start to feel weak as a result of any consistent calorie-cutting, even when eating low-calorie dense foods, such as the oatmeal in the morning.

A raise in my protein intake and a reduced carb intake has been suggested and I am likely to try it. Any input is appreciated.

That actually looks like a good bit of calories from my perspective...It all looks pretty healthy although you meals look slightly (emphasis on slightly) too close together in the morning..maybe space them out just a tad...and get rid of that sweet and low..Artificial sweeteners are just as bad if not worse than sugar...they cause an increase in insulin levels and of course insulin causes the body to store fat..

on the plus side...if you are at 11% body fat you should be pretty darn close to being able to see those abs...I'm at about 8.5% and mine are very clearly visible..

With all that high intensity training you do ( above ) why would you even think of reducing carbs when carbs are a vital energy source in fueling those workouts towards optimal performance ?

If anything, with the sort of training you do, the bulk of the calories should be coming from carbs IMO.

Given you only lift 2 X a week - and given you eat normal meals along with 2 protein shakes a day as it is - what is the rationale in wanting to raise your protein intake anyway ?

good argument...but i would make certain they are good carbs...milkshakes don't count but we all need cheat days...gotta still enjoy your life!

thanks for the quick responses..

firehorse - yeah I definitely do have some definition and I can see like the top 4 abs (this sounds so vain to me, haha), but the bottom two sort of dissappear into a sea of pudge. I posted this because I think I am just so close and with a few minor diet tweaks I could have the washboard stomach without much more effort than I'm already putting in.

Wrangel - you're right about the necessity of carbo's for the cardio and yes I suppose they do get burned up. I was thinking along the lines of less carbs/more protein at dinner to avoid fat buildup at night? just wondering.

and I do a lot of pushups/pullups/situps daily but I doubt that counts for "lifting"

Seems to me if your daily rowing workouts are as demanding as I suspect they probably are - i.e 2.5 hours / to " physical depletion " - you've probably put a pretty good dent into your glycogen stores.

So most of your carb intake in the afternoon / night is likely going to be dedicated to replenishing those stores and therefore not being stored as fat IMO. Carbs tend to be stored as fat when they represent ' excess ' calories beyond what your body requires..and in your case, you body requires carbs to replenish your glycogen.

Again, if you've got another strenuous rowing workout on deck for the next day, all the more reason to load up on carbs the aft / night before IMO.