I just want more control over my caloric intake. What would i do if i hit a plateau in weight loss eating so little a day? I also want to hold onto any mass i have.
First off, if you want to cut down you need to actually know your weight. Within five pounds suggests you don’t know, so you could be a fair bit over 300 lbs.
Or, you could ignore the scale and use the tape measure instead. Waist and hip measurement would be good indicators of your bodyfat reducing. Arm measurement, not so much.
If you’re considering body fat percentages, how did you estimate that 34 per cent? Actual body fat percentage is very hard to measure correctly, with DEXA being about the only accessible method that is accurate. If you have a bodyfat scale, while they are hideously inaccurate they are also quite often consistent so you could use that as a marker - provided you use the same scale at the same time of day. On waking after using the bathroom is often good.
It’s also a bit of a concern that you consider three healthy square meals a day to be very little. This suggests that you eat a huge amount. @ChongLordUno is absolutely correct: at your current size simply reducing how much you eat and eating better food will be all you need to do to lose fat. If you want control over your caloric intake, what you need to do us exercise self control and common sense.
In respect of wanting to keep what mass you have, assuming your body fat estimate is correct, you have around 200 lbs of lean mass. Right now, that leaves you a good 75 pounds of fat to lose before you’re even going have any reason to worry about losing lean mass.
Introducing cardio isn’t something you need to worry about to help with fat loss, but at your size is definitely something that is going to be helpful to your health. Something like four 30 minute brisk walks a week will do wonders.
Things like TDEE and protein sources are not something that even needs to be on your radar right now. All you need to do is cut out junk and processed food and replace it with meat, coloured vegetables and some fruit.
I weigh after my morning piss. My bathroom scale is about 5lbs off thats why i didnt give an exact weight. My bodyfat is from a calculator that uses 1 rep maxes and body weight to estimate %. Are you saying i shouldnt worry about my protein intake? Isnt a gram per pound of body weight the cardinal rule of muscle growth?
Im just concerned because ive always heard you need to use lose weight with the most amount of calories so when you stall you can keep subtracting without getting really low. Forgive me for all the questions i just want to do this right.
I plan to start tommorow morning. Thats why im trying to get all my ducks in a row rn. My diet is gonna consist of beef, rice, eggs and whey, i just need to know how much protein to consume. I imagine i don’t need a gram per pound of bodyweight since im 30+% bodyfat