New to the forums after being told about it by a friend.
Have been working out for about 12 months, happy with the progress there but diet is the bit letting me down.
Currently 120kg (264lbs)
177cm
32% BF
Struggling to find the right calorie number, reading things on here ive seen variations from 3900 cals per day to 2600 cals per day. Goals are trying to get the body fat % down while preserving the muscle as much as possible.
Do you know how much you’ve been eating daily for the past few weeks? Have you been losing weight, maintaining, or gaining weight during that time?
If you don’t know how much you’re eating, track it for 2 weeks and track your weight. If your weight is going down, keep it. If it’s not, lower calories by 300 daily and reassess in 2 weeks.
Basically, pick a number (err on the side of possibly slightly higher than you think) and monitor for 2 weeks and reassess.
Have you tried a calorie calculator? Fill this out to get a ball park daily calorie estimate and then do what @staystrong said
Get myfitnesspal on your phone. Track every damn thing you eat for 2 weeks. Weigh the food and use measuring cups for accuracy. Then adjust based on goals.
Any particular macro breakdown to stick to?
Not sure how to link an article here, but was reading “how to stay strong when dieting”
According to that, the lowest level of bw x 10 is where MyFitnessPal and the other calculator have me sitting calorie wise to drop 0.5kg per week. Is that guide more focused for serious lifters or guys with lower body fat %?
I’m not read up on that article, but I wouldn’t focus on macro breakdown yet. Like said above, record everything you put in your mouth make sure it doesn’t exceed your daily calorie intake.
How old are you?
At 264 you can lose the next 30+ lbs just focusing on busting ass in the. gym and making clean food choices (tons of protein, green veg, no sugar etc). Consider a calorie restriction diet when hit like 210. Also as long as eating a good amount of protein and lifting weights you are miles off having to worry about losing muscle.
Having said all that, carbs is what you should keep an eye on, this is a good plan…