Hey,

Lately I've been reading labels on food, trying to avoid a lot of calories and carbs.. I usually only eat carbs right before I lift/cardio... does anyone here have set numbers of daily intakes of each item? I'm trying to shed some body fat if that helps. Thanks a lot.

Matt

It depends on your body fat and body weight. You don't have to cut out carbs Atkins style, just make sure the carbs your eating are things like whole-wheat pasta, sweet potatoes and broccoli. Highly appetizing, I know, but if you're also exercising and lifting weights, you need the energy carbs will give you.

old fashioned oatmeal...probably the best complex carb to start your day. full of fiber and slower digesting carbs, and no sugar.
I put Splenda, cinnamon, and natural peanut butter (1 Tbsp) in. Some essential fats and carbs. Add egg whites or protien shake.

If you're looking at shedding bf, what you ideally want to do is speed up your metabolism while maintaining a clean diet and training. You're obviously already training and others have already given you good options for clean carbs, but I'd recommend trying to get in 5-6 meals a day. Something like this:

Meal 1: Protien & Carbs (egg whites and oatmeal)
Meal 2: Protien (probably a protien shake)
Meal 3: Protien & Carbs (chicken breast, potatoe or rice and vegi's)
Meal 4: Protien (see meal 2)
Meal 5: Protien & Carbs (see meal 3)

This is super generic, but the idea is that you divide your total caloric daily intake into 5-6 meals. By putting moderate amounts of calories into your body throughout the day (every 2 1/2 - 3 hours) it keeps your metabolism stoked. Also, doing cardio first thing in the morning helps burn more calories, so that may be something worth considering.