Help w/ cutting method & BMR calculation

[CarterJ07]

I have been weightlifting for a little while now, and I am curious as to how I should approach my upcoming cut (in terms of deficit scale, etc). No, I am not cutting because I am self-conscious because I think I’m “fat” or something. This is simply a strategic approach to preparing for summer. I plan on tanning for that 3 month period as well as I am a naturally pasty person. Here are my stats:

6′1″, 15M, 178lbs (roughly), 16% body fat (roughly).

Here’s my current plan:

For context (most know this already), when you’re cutting, your body either doesn’t build any muscle or it loses muscle. If you’re a beginner or have a higher body fat %, you can get away with building some muscle on a cut, but that’s not me. My school year ends in June. I want to plan a 3-month cut (starting April 1st) to cut down from 16% body fat to 10–12% body fat. That’s, generally speaking, a healthy body fat % to maintain and still be considered "lean". It’s also probably all I could comfortably maintain for someone with my genetics, I’m not the kind of person that can easily get into the single-digit zone. The reason I want it to be across 3 months is that I want to take it as slowly and as healthily as possible, with no crash dieting, minimal muscle loss, etc. I have around two months left of main-gaining (not deliberately bulking, but still managing to slowly gain weight) before it’s time for me to begin, and I need to know if this is the BEST approach possible to achieve my goal. I’m also a bit lost in terms of how much I should eat (taking into consideration my BMR and stuff) to cut slowly but still reach 10% - 12% body fat in 3 months. Other calculators put my baseline BMR at around 1800 - 2000. Despite my lack of trust in online BMR calculators, the TDEE calculator was what I believe to be the best one I could find as it considered my body fat % and my activity level.

Any help would be much appreciated as to the accuracy of these results, how much I should eat/how much of a deficit I should be in + any recommended changes to my original plan, etc (I need to get this down as thoroughly as possible so there's no guessing when it comes time to actually cut). Thank you!

 

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

I want to plan a 3-month cut (starting April 1st) to cut down from 16% body fat to 10–12% body fat.

So you need to lose between 4-6% Bodyfat? This is 7-10lbs... Just eat less dude.

FYI, you're probably 5%+ higher bodyfat than what you think. Not your fault, most men make this mistake. Dumb internet pictures don't really do a justice.

 

[CarterJ07]

So you need to lose between 4-6% Bodyfat? This is 7-10lbs... Just eat less dude.

FYI, you're probably 5%+ higher bodyfat than what you think. Not your fault, most men make this mistake. Dumb internet pictures don't really do a justice.

Appreciate the advice. Would these pictures help you more accurately determine my rough body fat %? I don't personally think I'm 21%+ (although, perhaps it's possible). Forgive the bad lighting in some pics. Also, these were not all taken on the same day, but I was roughly around the same body fat % in each one (generally speaking).

Also, let's just say my BMR (with my activity level) is somewhere around 3000 calories. To achieve your estimated (we'll put it on the high end of your scale) 10lbs fat loss within 3 months, how much of a caloric deficit would I have to be in?

 

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

Sure, let's say you're 16%. The number is irrelevant, but I'm okay with that number; it's irrelevant because you want to be more lean - so cut until you feel happy with that. FWIW, I think you would do better with a bulk.

Each pound to gain or lose is roughly 3500 calories. At 500 calories deficit/day, this is 1lb/wk.

-Get your 1g/lb BW protein in daily (better to have more than less, but diminishing returns beyond 1g/lb)
-Get at least 0.3g/lb BW fats daily (for hormones and protein carriers ie lipids)
-Carbs to fill the rest (carbs are very anabolic, hard to go wrong with maximizing this in your macros)

If cutting: 500cal per day deficit
If bulking: 500cal per day surplus

 

[CarterJ07]

Sure, let's say you're 16%. The number is irrelevant, but I'm okay with that number; it's irrelevant because you want to be more lean - so cut until you feel happy with that. FWIW, I think you would do better with a bulk.

Each pound to gain or lose is roughly 3500 calories. At 500 calories deficit/day, this is 1lb/wk.

-Get your 1g/lb BW protein in daily (better to have more than less, but diminishing returns beyond 1g/lb)
-Get at least 0.3g/lb BW fats daily (for hormones and protein carriers ie lipids)
-Carbs to fill the rest (carbs are very anabolic, hard to go wrong with maximizing this in your macros)

If cutting: 500cal per day deficit
If bulking: 500cal per day surplus

Awesome, thank you!

 

[CarterJ07]

Sure, let's say you're 16%. The number is irrelevant, but I'm okay with that number; it's irrelevant because you want to be more lean - so cut until you feel happy with that. FWIW, I think you would do better with a bulk.

Each pound to gain or lose is roughly 3500 calories. At 500 calories deficit/day, this is 1lb/wk.

-Get your 1g/lb BW protein in daily (better to have more than less, but diminishing returns beyond 1g/lb)
-Get at least 0.3g/lb BW fats daily (for hormones and protein carriers ie lipids)
-Carbs to fill the rest (carbs are very anabolic, hard to go wrong with maximizing this in your macros)

If cutting: 500cal per day deficit
If bulking: 500cal per day surplus

One more thing, sorry. I could minimize the caloric deficit and just introduce some steady-state cardio after each lifting session to get the same result, correct? 20 - 30 minutes at a moderate pace (maybe an incline too) should do the trick?

 

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

I could minimize the caloric deficit and just introduce some steady-state cardio after each lifting session to get the same result, correct?

Sure. Try it, track your progress and adjust to suit the goal.