When should i stop the calorie deficit?

[Rayen9]

Hello!

I've been on and off training for the best 5-6 years, but after i had let myself go for a year(almost 1.5) i had to make a change.
I am 25 years old, 192 CM(6"3),weighed 100kg(220lbs) in oktober(Mostly fat) and at the moment i personally think i'm a Mesomorph.

I've now been in a calorie deficit since then, and i now weigh in at around 82kg(180lbs) with still a small amount of fat at the lower area of my stomach, but except that i've gotten a lot more muslces.
I go to the gym 6 times per week for 1 hour to 1.5 hours (PPL), and walk my dog for 1 hour + every day(I got a medium active job where i sit still 70-80% of the day)
I started of at around 2.600 calories per day (Except Saturday where i just ate what i wanted), and now i am at 2.100 calories(with the same thing Saturday). At this point i feel that i need to change my calories around, as i've stagnated alot in strength, and the rest of my lower stomach fat has started to reduce at a very slow rate(I've also been feeling more tired lately than i normally am).

My question is more or less, at what point should i start going in a slight surplus instead of deficit? I'm not happy with having the small amount of lower body fat left, but i would prefer to gain more muscles/strength than i am at this point.

- I have gotten my bloodwork done, and all my levels are where they should be

[SuffolkPunch]

If you still have fat then you still have to diet... you can take a break from dieting and focus on muscle gain, keeping calories close to maintenance if you want. At some point though, fat will have to be lost and that will have to be done via a deficit again. There is no right or wrong answer, just down to your priorities. If you post a picture, people here might give you an opinion. Upload them to your bodyspace.

[smokinal]

If you still have fat then you still have to diet... you can take a break from dieting and focus on muscle gain, keeping calories close to maintenance if you want. At some point though, fat will have to be lost and that will have to be done via a deficit again. There is no right or wrong answer, just down to your priorities. If you post a picture, people here might give you an opinion. Upload them to your bodyspace.

This is pretty much it OP^^
You stay in a deficit until you like what you see in the mirror. Great job so far though; that's some great progress. You might benefit from taking a short break from the deficit, eat at maint for a while being careful to not gain weight back; then go back into deficit.
Also keep in mind that last bit of lower belly fat is always the hardest to see go away.

[desslok]

This is pretty much it OP^^
You stay in a deficit until you like what you see in the mirror. Great job so far though; that's some great progress. You might benefit from taking a short break from the deficit, eat at maint for a while being careful to not gain weight back; then go back into deficit.
Also keep in mind that last bit of lower belly fat is always the hardest to see go away.

This is what i would do as well

[EliKoehn]

Good job with your progress!

I think your goals are all going to be up to you and subjective. You could have chosen to be overweight through your whole life if you wanted, of course. There's no external coercion going to happen if you decide not to pursue an aesthetic physique, but it's an admirable decision.

Subjectively in this regard, it seems that everyone's different with what they want. I'd rather err on the side of being big and strong with extra fat than chasing a shred at the expense of the former, personally, but there's a balance there and your own preference is all up to you.

[MrCarrot]

My question is more or less, at what point should i start going in a slight surplus instead of deficit? I'm not happy with having the small amount of lower body fat left, but i would prefer to gain more muscles/strength than i am at this point.

When I started again I cut for like 9 months. Looked pretty good but I could not get that last little bit of lower belly fat to disappear, and I felt I was getting very thin everywhere else and starting to lose strength. I asked myself how much longer realistically I could cut for. In the end I gave up on the belly fat and switched to a slow bulk for about a year.

Even after another cut and bulk cycle I still didn't get rid of the lower belly fat completely but what I can tell you is, after bulking for a year, my second cut was way easier (shorter period of time, more calories and more muscle at the end of it).

So I would be inclined to switch to a slight surplus. I wouldn't be alarmed if the lower belly fat increases again slowly because it's bound to happen, but anything you gain there you can lose again later on. And the more muscle you have, the less noticable the belly fat is (providing you don't let it get out of control).

[paulinkansas]

Can you do dog lifts? It's where you cradle your standing dog and pick him up. It's sort of like a deadlift. I would do this with my German shepherd until he got irritated.