Lose 20 pounds of fat, gain lean muscle mass

[JMGains]

I recently signed up to here with the aim of gaining some advice of how to achieve this goal.

My initial stats were 6ft, 195 pounds, roughly 17-20% bodyfat. I have been hitting the gym for a while so have gained some muscle but also fat. I have placed my target as 185 pounds at 10% bodyfat and the system has given me the goal of losing 20 pounds of fat and gaining 10 pounds of muscle to achieve this.

I have been cutting calories down, mainly through cutting carbs, and keeping my protein intake high in order to preserve muscle whilst cutting. I am losing weight, which I hope is fat as I can see myself becoming leaner already. I have been able to keep my workouts much the same, even though I am now eating about 2000 calories most days, so I take this as a good sign I'm not losing much strength.

I am wondering how long I should carry on for in the same manner as I am? I have actually lost about 15 pounds since January as I was 205 back then, as I only signed up to here recently, so I'm losing about 1 pound a week. Should I continue until I reach 185, 180, 175 pounds or lower before I start bulking again? When I next bulk I am going to only go about 500 calories maximum above maintenance and hope to do it in a cleaner manner to avoid gaining so much bodyfat. I am happy to keep my current programme up until the end of the summer if necessary, but I do not want to become too skinny and start losing muscle and strength.

I am currently doing weights 5x a week, for about an hour at a time, with 2 core sessions and 1 or 2 sessions of playing football for cardio. I am eating this 2000 calories most days with one re-feed day a week.

Thanks for your help.

[ShoppersRow]

Just eat at a deficit until you are lean, it's really that simple. Hit your minimum protein and fat and you'll have nothing to worry about. If you're not losing weight, lower the calories. If you're losing weight too fast, up the calories.

Take bi-weekly progress pictures, they help a lot.

[PZR]

I'd recommend cutting til you reach your desired body fat, then apply the same discipline you had while cutting and do a lean bulk.. that's what I'm doing currently.

[GeorgeConte]

I recently signed up to here with the aim of gaining some advice of how to achieve this goal.

My initial stats were 6ft, 195 pounds, roughly 17-20% bodyfat. I have been hitting the gym for a while so have gained some muscle but also fat. I have placed my target as 185 pounds at 10% bodyfat and the system has given me the goal of losing 20 pounds of fat and gaining 10 pounds of muscle to achieve this.

I have been cutting calories down, mainly through cutting carbs, and keeping my protein intake high in order to preserve muscle whilst cutting. I am losing weight, which I hope is fat as I can see myself becoming leaner already. I have been able to keep my workouts much the same, even though I am now eating about 2000 calories most days, so I take this as a good sign I'm not losing much strength.

I am wondering how long I should carry on for in the same manner as I am? I have actually lost about 15 pounds since January as I was 205 back then, as I only signed up to here recently, so I'm losing about 1 pound a week. Should I continue until I reach 185, 180, 175 pounds or lower before I start bulking again? When I next bulk I am going to only go about 500 calories maximum above maintenance and hope to do it in a cleaner manner to avoid gaining so much bodyfat. I am happy to keep my current programme up until the end of the summer if necessary, but I do not want to become too skinny and start losing muscle and strength.

I am currently doing weights 5x a week, for about an hour at a time, with 2 core sessions and 1 or 2 sessions of playing football for cardio. I am eating this 2000 calories most days with one re-feed day a week.

Thanks for your help.

When i am cutting (calorie deficit) i never go over 3 months in a row because my metabolism could drop and i may reach a plateau where i cant lose any more fat. Besides that i would go crazy if i am on a diet for too long. Also i have read a research before some years about extended diets that caused hormonal problems but i cant find the link.

Instead i adapt my diet plan after 3 months and get back on maintenance calories for 2-3 weeks then start again. You can do that until you get to a point where you are close at 10% body fat (here are some methods to help you calculate that) and then you can start bulking/cutting cycles in order to add as much muscle as you can (about 2-2.5 pounds per month depending on your genes, exercise intensity/volume and other factors).