Damn, 3000 calories is too little for cut

[rastaman69]

Finished my first blast ever, I'm back to TRT levels. I want to cut some fat prior to the next blast/bulk. I started Sunday and thought I'd try 3000 calories. I weigh/measure everything and have been hitting 250-280 grams of protein daily. I've lost a few pounds already and I'm thinking maybe 3000 is too low. Maybe I should bump it up a little. On the other hand, I know I lose a ton of water weight wherever I diet so maybe the loss will slow once I shed the water.

Last month I did a dexa scan. 232 lbs a moment before lying down on the machine (229 that morning). 21.7% body fat.

I lift 3 days a week, cardio 2 days a week. What do you more experienced guys think? Is 3000 calories too steep of a cut?

I gained about 45 lbs during the first year of lifting. Most of that happened after starting TRT 6 months in, and then a 500 test/300 deca blast. Deca was 12 weeks, test 16 weeks.

 

[CaffeineandKilos]

What are your normal maintenance calories? Lol that will determine if 3k is too little

 

[Lee_48157]

LBM is about 181 lbs at 22% body fat.

Protein count seems pretty spot on at around 1.5g per lb LBM

Hard to say whether 3k is enough since you don’t have an idea what your maintenance cals are. Once you find that number you can do around 300 cal deficit which should net you about 1 lb every 11 days & 500 cal deficit a day will give you around a pound every week.

Most people will call BS cuz they start a diet and see all that weight loss, but you gotta remember weight loss is not the same thing as fat loss.

Keep your protein intake up I say, time your carbs around workouts and save a little before bed (helps me sleep) find your maintenance cals, and go lower gradually. The more gradual you do the easier it is and more likely to be able to maintain. Caveat to that is it takes longer & we’re all impatient it seems so keep in mind your goals and you’ll get there.

Fat is least important of the macros IMO and it’s 9cals per gram. I keep those to a minimum if possible minus a good fish oil daily and some here and there, but I don’t really add oil or butters to my food because that really stacks up the cals. Also keep in mind fats are easiest to be stored as fat because your body needs no process to convert them to well…. Fat. Lol

 

[rastaman69]

LBM is about 181 lbs at 22% body fat.

Protein count seems pretty spot on at around 1.5g per lb LBM

Hard to say whether 3k is enough since you don’t have an idea what your maintenance cals are. Once you find that number you can do around 300 cal deficit which should net you about 1 lb every 11 days & 500 cal deficit a day will give you around a pound every week.

Most people will call BS cuz they start a diet and see all that weight loss, but you gotta remember weight loss is not the same thing as fat loss.

Keep your protein intake up I say, time your carbs around workouts and save a little before bed (helps me sleep) find your maintenance cals, and go lower gradually. The more gradual you do the easier it is and more likely to be able to maintain. Caveat to that is it takes longer & we’re all impatient it seems so keep in mind your goals and you’ll get there.

Fat is least important of the macros IMO and it’s 9cals per gram. I keep those to a minimum if possible minus a good fish oil daily and some here and there, but I don’t really add oil or butters to my food because that really stacks up the cals. Also keep in mind fats are easiest to be stored as fat because your body needs no process to convert them to well…. Fat. Lol

Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.