Experienced thoughts/input needed

alondrakayy

I've done all the diets in the world, I feel like, and the one that's been proven to work is counting cals/macros. So after wasting a lot of time on doing what did not work, I want to make sure I start on the right path.

Goals: lose body fat. Currently at 25% is my guess. Don't have tools at the moment to know exactly. I want to see more definition on arms and I used to want abs (to see them) but now know that requires me to be at a low body fat % and I would like to remain sane so it's probably not in the stars for me.

Calories calculated by IFFY.com - 1953
Protein 117
Fat 61
Carbs 234
Fiber 23

Have desk job (8 hours M-F) but spend 1-2 hours at the gym for 4-5 x a week. Lift weights (split upper and lower) and don't do cardio but willing to add 15-20 minutes of it if it's needed.

I am 24 years old. Am I heading down the right path according to my goals?

CafeRacer808

Your stated goal is to lose body fat. But just to clarify, do you want to lose weight at the same time, maintain your weight while decreasing your BF%, or decrease your BF% while gaining weight/muscle mass?

I'm assuming it's the latter because you posted this in the Gaining Weight and Body Building forum, but I just wanted to make sure.

alondrakayy

CafeRacer808 wrote: »

Your stated goal is to lose body fat. But just to clarify, do you want to lose weight at the same time, maintain your weight while decreasing your BF%, or decrease your BF% while gaining weight/muscle mass?

I'm assuming it's the latter because you posted this in the Gaining Weight and Body Building forum, but I just wanted to make sure.

Honestly, I don't really care about my weight. I was confused about where to post this because of that fact.. but the group mentioned body building so I thought maybe this was the way to go! The calculator forced me to state a goal weight so I put 140, but if I get to my goals I don't really care what my weight is. Hope that makes sense.

bioklutz

What is your current weight and height?

Do you have any idea how many calories is required to maintain your current weight (not what a calculator tells you but data that was obtained through trial and error)?

medic2038

One of the easiest ways to keep track of your bodyfat is getting a soft tape measure. It's not the most accurate, but works well enough.
Having a general weight goal is kind of useful for figuring out what kind of deficit you're looking at. Cardio isn't necessary.

As far as your workout, are you hitting the same groups 2x a week (was curious cause of the 4-5 days)?

Most people tend to go with the bulk/cut cycle, some swear by eat at maintenance for recomp (I've never had results trying that method).

Seems like you're going in the right direction and have a good plan so far. Depending on your weight you might want to consider a 250-500/day deficit to lean up a bit.

I base my deficit off of weightx10. So I'm at 174 now, and eating at 1700/day (or roughly -400kcal/day). This works pretty well for me, although it's not exactly rapid.

mswag84

I'm on the exact regimine you have described. Not sure your height but I stick to 2000 calories except maybe 1 day I'll go over...Hitting the weights 6 days a week with roughly 10-15 min of intense cardio a day. 40 days in down 16 lbs and went from 24percent to 19 percent body fat....Best thing to do is dial in your calories formula only gives you a place to start and then it will most likely need adjusted everyone is different....