about progress, please answer

[Buff_Daddy]

How long should a cutting phase last, and how many pounds of fat should i be expected to lose during it, and also how many inches off the waist...

ive been on one for 4 weeks now, lost 2 inches off the waist, and like 5.5 lbs

[Gottagetlean]

Okay I'll take a stab at this one. I don't know that there will be a specific amount of fat or lbs anyone can "expect" to lose during a cutting diet. I think it all depends on 1) what/how you're eating, 2) how you're training, and 3) how much cardio (and how intense) you're doing. From what I've read, most bodybuilders begin their precontest dieting about 16 weeks out from the show, and then they make alterations along the way at about 4 week intervals or so.

Are you training for a contest or just trying to basically lose weight/fat? In either case, I would think you'd have to at least put 12 weeks in to really make good progress.

[Mr.Lean]

Buff it seems youve done pretty well thats 0.5inch a week of your waist which is the better measure than bodyweight, remember your aim is to reduce bodyfat not muscle. Have you recorded your bodyfat before hand?Keep a record of it and check it once a week to moitor progress while you can use a mirror to see any obvious differance in body shape.
Most people set targets- say your target might be to get down from 15% to 10% bodyfat so you stay on the cutting phase until you achieve this goal or you may want to reduce your waist by 4 inches. Remember the lighter you get the lower the calorie intake your body requires so either incerase cardio or reduce calories when you lose wieght.
But my main point would be that set yourself a target and work towards it ( the rate of fat loss varies among individuals, ectomorphs genrally lose fat fast ,while endomorphs slow)Id say your doing fine at present so stick with it- have you lost any muscle mass?.