Fat Loss for Ectomorphs
 

I am a 6'1 145 lb college student. I have good strength and BF is 9%. I’m a collegiate distance runner but will be taking the next few months off and won't be doing any cardio. I lift 3 times a week, mostly upper body, and do a lot of core work. Right now I eat 5 to 6 times a day, and my weight has been holding steady at about 2200-2600 calories a day. Diet is high in protein, low-med in carbs and fat. Carbs are fruits, vegies, potatoes, and whole grains and majority are in the first half of the day. I’ve never tried a paleo or low carb diet but am definitely willing to give it a go.
Goal is to get to 6-7% BF, which I realize will be very tough. Initial plan was to try a carb cycling diet. Anyone have any thoughts or advice for a good diet/workout plan? I would greatly appreciate it.
Nick

leangains.com

Why are you trying to lose weight at your height?

You would probably be a better runner if you focused on adding some muscle to decrease your body fat rather than try to lose more weight

You will likely perform better with more fat on you than you would like to see. 6'1" and 145 lbs is not the body type to be trying to cut to 6-7% bodyfat.

It also doesn't mean you should be trying to add a ton of weight either.

I'm not trying to lose weight, just want to improve body fat percentage, even if only a small amount.

I would highly suggest adding muscle instead of trying to lose fat.

You can lower the percentage of body fat you have by increasing the amount of muscle you have.

Squat.

I wouldn't want to add much weight at all, maybe a couple of pounds, as this would have a negative effect on running economy. I would already consider myself much more muscular than most runners. 6'1, 145 lbs isn't exactly tiny in the competitive distance running world. However I do understand where you are coming from. Ideally I would be training to lose a couple of pounds of fat and add a couple of pounds of muscle.
No suggestions on any type of nutrition/workout plan?

Unfortunately right now I can't be doing much with the legs, hence the reason I'm not currently running, nagging hamstring injury.

OK, you want to be a super lean marathoner. I second the leangains recommendations, but it's going to be hard to do without any kind of lower body work.