Help with cutting diet

[hhagzwa]

I'm planning on doing my first NPC Bikini comp in October (17 weeks) and I was wondering what you guys think I should do in terms of cutting. I might get a coach later on but I'm broke so you guys are it

I'm currently consuming 2000 calories on lifting days and 1500 on my one rest day, I also do about 20 minutes of either HIIT or LISS cardio. I've made really great gains in my upper and lower body, my problem area is my midsection.
Macros are at least 130 g protein, 50 g fat, and the rest carbs. I also hit 30+ grams fiber.

Most of the food is "clean" but I do IF and IIFYM.

My stats are 5'5 and fluctuate from 133-137 lbs throughout the week.

By how much should I decrease my calories each week? I was thinking 200 each month, so 1800 starting tomorrow, then 1600 in July and so on. But I have no idea.
Thank you!

[red_cat]

It all depends on how much weight you're losing, how much you need to lose, and what the mirror tells you. If you're losing weight at a consistent rate and look to be on track then there's no reason to cut calories or add cardio. There were times during my prep this year that I went 5-6 weeks without changing my macros or adding cardio. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Posting some sort of full body pictures would help us be able to tell you how far out you look to be. Good job being on top of things as I think a lot of bikini competitors wait too long to start dieting. I actually ran into a girl at a show yesterday that said she dieted for one week...one week.

[hhagzwa]

Thank you! Here are a couple pictures to give you an idea of where I am. I know I need to start cutting fat soon, just need to figure out macros and calories!