Dunno whats wrong with my diet. Any help?

[Elb]

Hey all, im 5'7" 185 lbs...i need to drop about 20 lbs. Been workin out for a long time, always been endomorphic with a notoriously slow metabolism, so i'm keeping total cals on the low side.
Been following the boards for awhile now. I've got good muscle underneath all this fat but cant bring it out.

Breakfast: oatmeal + protein shake -
370 cals
protein: 49 g protein
carbs: 33 g carbs
fat: 6 g fat

snack: myoplex eas low carb bar -
240 cals
protein: 30 gms
carbs: 3 grams
fat: 4 grams

lunch: chicken breast + brown rice
cals: 440 cals
protein: 47 grams
carbs: 45 gms
fat: 7 grams

snack: myoplex as above
240 cals

dinner: chicken breast + mixed vegetables
400 cals
protein: 45 gms
carbs: 1 gm
fat: 7 grams

Totals: ~ 1700 cals
prot: ~ 200 gms
carbs: ~ 86 gms
fat: ~ 30 gms

I wanna get down to about 165-170 or so, but been about stable on this diet for a good month now, pretty clean, cheat day maybe once a week. I do cardio 3x per week for 20-30 mins, and lift 3x per week for about 60 mins. Been following this diet for awhile now with not much result, my weights been basically unchanged.

Any thoughts?

 

[HellsMessenger]

i would guess you need to work on speeding up your metabolism some. You are close to my weight and i would be starving on 1700 calories a day. I am at 2200 right now and I am always hungry (this is dieting for me). Maybe you should try alternating bulking with cutting to try and put on some more muscle, this is called the ABCDE or delta 1250 diet. You might try the variation on this diet in Testosterone Mag see : http://www.testosterone.net/html/59abcde.html . This variation is supposed to be more effective.

 

[ccc]

IMO, your cals are about 500 to low. IMO your cals should be about 2220. If your calories are to low, your body will hold on to fat as a survival mechanism. Also, try a 50/30/20 split p/c/f. In addition, I would suggest replacing those bars with real food.

Just an idea, good luck!

 

[gymrat]

yep up the cals a little...

 

[6 Pack Man]

Either need to up your carbs or fat, with them both that low, you're using protein as energy, IMHO it's a sh!tty source of energy. When cutting I'd up the fat before carbs. I manage to cut a lot easier with low carbs, medium fat, high protein. Just take carbs post workout, pre workout if you feel up to it, but I have been having a better workout session with protein and fat for pre workout. Also it is possible to lose body fat just fine with only taking 1700 calories a day. When I was in a hurry to cut a while back ago for 4th of July at the lake, I was only taking in 1500 calories a day. I dropped any extra body fat I had quickly, but you'll be starving and feeling like complete sh!t all day.

 

[Kid Dynamite]

I think 30g fat w/only 80g carbs (which could actually be 120g/day w/the glycerine in the pro bars) is too low. Like 6Pack said, you're probably burning protein. You need to up your calories, too, or at least try carb cycling. 1700 for prolonged periods will get you nowhere. Also, if you could replace the pro bars w/real food that would be good too.
If I was you I would only eat carbs before and after training, then stick with fat and protein the rest of the day. And definitely up your calories some. You may want to take a week or two off from dieting then start over. Good luck.