Time to CUT! should I go below 175? 25% bf

[omoab]

im currently sitting at 198lbs. obviously my stubborn areas are belly/lower back. Im afraid I'm going to look too skinny if I cut below 175. what's your thoughts on it?

[Spanishdream]

Some good muscle built there man.

Just go as low as you can or you're willing to. I'd honestly ditch the scale and just cut until you're happy.

[air2fakie]

Depends on how you want to look and in what scenarios. If you keep a shirt on, you'll probably look much better with your muscles at your current bf%.

[omoab]

Depends on how you want to look and in what scenarios. If you keep a shirt on, you'll probably look much better with your muscles at your current bf%.

im leaning somewhere in between, literally. what's roughly my BF percentage? %

[air2fakie]

im leaning somewhere in between, literally. what's roughly my BF percentage? %

Probably 24-25%, but you have better muscle development/definition than many at that level and the fat (at least visually) looks like it's hanging mostly around your belly. I'd do a slow-ish cut and use the mirror as your guide with clothes both on and off for when to stop. You don't want to look like a string bean in a tshirt either.

[adimeco]

im currently sitting at 198lbs. obviously my stubborn areas are belly/lower back. Im afraid I'm going to look too skinny if I cut below 175. what's your thoughts on it?

If I were you, I would lose 15 lbs without a thought then reevaluate your goals from there.

[smokinal]

Probably 24-25%, but you have better muscle development/definition than many at that level and the fat (at least visually) looks like it's hanging mostly around your belly. I'd do a slow-ish cut and use the mirror as your guide with clothes both on and off for when to stop. You don't want to look like a string bean in a tshirt either.

If I were you, I would lose 15 lbs without a thought then reevaluate your goals from there.

Yup and yup
You'll look bigger with a shirt on but you'll look far more muscular without a shirt at 170 than you do at 198.
People always underestimate how much weight they have to lose to look lean/muscular. They also always think they'll look smaller at a lighter weight...it's the opposite.

[omoab]

Yup and yup
You'll look bigger with a shirt on but you'll look far more muscular without a shirt at 170 than you do at 198.
People always underestimate how much weight they have to lose to look lean/muscular. They also always think they'll look smaller at a lighter weight...it's the opposite.

how fast would you suggest dropping the weight? at what rate

[smokinal]

At first 1% of your bodyweight per week so around 2 lbs per week, then slow it down to like 1.5 lbs per week once you 180-185.

This is safe. I cut at 1lb per week but I'm a little guy
General rule of thumb is the slower the better, while still making progress.
Remember to continue training like you were bulking though. Don't change your rep pattern to light weight/high rep...big mistake a lot of guys make. Continue lifting heavy and intense...sets of 8-12 with a RPE of 9, just lower your cals