Arggg...dread. I must finally kick down and CUT. Please read/help!

[Tannoi]

After years of weightlifting (and some cardio) I have made slow but steady progress. Getting much stronger, wider, more defined, lost some fat, my jaw line is back, etc.

Basically, I was 6ft 220lbs (mostly fat...about 30%). And now 3 years later I'm at 200lbs (20%). I eat pretty clean but still go out for beers and bad foods from time to time. My main goal was never to get ultra ripped and devote my life to training hence the far from perfect idea of going out for wings/pizza/burgers/beers/etc. twice a week. But other than those 2 nights, I eat very well.

So here's the dilemma. Now, I'm so close to being "happy" with my body. If I can just lose these love handles I'd be a happy man.

I guess a 2 month cut is in order then? Continue doing my weight workouts but throw in a few extra jogging sessions, no beers, totally clean diet, and perhaps some Animal Cuts? How's that sound?

[blueguitar322]

If you're ~20%, you're (average) 5-6 months of serious work from 10% body fat unless you kill your metabolism and lose lean muscle mass through crash dieting.

It varies from guy to guy, but I think love handles start coming off around 15%, are mostly gone by 12%, ab definition starts getting there around 10%, and you really start seeing abs at 8%. If I were you, I'd go into a 12-week cutting phase with a goal of 0.5% body fat per week and a final body fat of 14%. At this point you can re-evaluate and decide if you want to keep going.

How to cut effectively?
- Cardio every day (~20 min of HIIT or ~45 of medium intensity)
- 20%-30% calorie reduction from your daily calorie requirements (BMR * activity factor)
- Periodic refeeds at maintenence calorie intake or slightly above so reset hormonal levels and keep your metabolism from adjusting downwards
- Keep lifting to maintain your muscle mass
- Diet is where 80% of results come from...skip the alcohol & pizza (or keep it to 1 moderate-sized cheat meal per week) and load up on protein, good carbs (complex carbs + fruit, optionally tapering carbs as the day goes along) and good fats (think natural peanut butter, most nuts, extra virgin olive oil).
- If I were you, I'd skip any fat-burning pills. You certainly don't need them for good results, and it's so difficult to judge who is recommending them because they're on a payroll vs. someone who really believes they work.

There's kinda a Cliff's Notes to fat loss. There's more than enough here to help you...use "search" function and check out free articles on the main page.

[Tannoi]

Cheers mate. Sound advice!