How much longer should I cut

[Kn362004]

What's up ripped community?. I'm brand new to this site ad was hoping I could get some experienced advice. Right now I'm measuring in at 5'11" 178lbs and somewhere in the 15-17% bf range. I used to be around 195 pretty bulky but a good amount of fat. I ended up with a hernia so I couldn't do much and with work and all I ultimately ended up taking a year or so off from the gym. Not a great idea. I started dieting before working out and ended up losing a good amount of mass but fat as well and that put me at around 185. As of the past couple months I've been cutting and working out which has put me at where I am presently. I'm on a 50-30-20 macro diet with 2159 daily calorie count. My main question is should i keep cutting until I'm at my preferred bf% which is 7-10% or bulk first because my goal is to be 185lbs at that bf%. It's hard for me to lose fat but easy to gain muscle so with that said just wanted to get some experienced advice from people who've been there done that. Thanks in advance. Btw my profile pic is my most recent pic to see where I'm at now

[matman1813]

It depends on where you want to be in the short term. You will get to your long term goal eventually but short term the choice is yours. Would you rather be lean but small or fat with mass?

[Kn362004]

I def don't wanna drop below 165 if that's where I need to be for my goal bf%. But short term I def prefer the lean small in hopes that after a long clean bulk I can build without putting on too much fat. I've always had a good amount of fat and never really dropped below 20% bf so since I'm so close I figured Id keep going. Just worried about getting too small.

[tronmate]

I def don't wanna drop below 165 if that's where I need to be for my goal bf%. But short term I def prefer the lean small in hopes that after a long clean bulk I can build without putting on too much fat. I've always had a good amount of fat and never really dropped below 20% bf so since I'm so close I figured Id keep going. Just worried about getting too small.

If you are 178 lbs and 16% bf then your goal weight is 163 lbs approx. with 8% bf. Cut or bulk depends on your preference but you should cut down to 10 % bf then clean bulk IMO. Then cut again to reach your goal weight and bf.