Best approach to fat loss

[DRSMITH89]

Hi Coach Santana

Firstly apologies if this has been asked before, there's so much great information on this forum I think I have paralysis by analysis. I'm basically wondering what you think is the best approach out of two options I've devised for some fat loss.

Bit of background, I am 29 6 foot 1 and this morning I weighed myself at 245 lbs/111kg. I've had two stabs at LP, first where I definitely did not DTFP and a second for the last 3 months where I've had really good progress. Overall my numbers from the very beginning to now are as such (apologies, they are in kilos):

Squat: 40kg - 120kg
Deadlift: 60kg - 155kg
Bench: 30kg - 70kg (this could be higher but I struggle with my wrists and shoulders use to years of inactivity and a nasty wrist fracture)
Press: 15kg - 53kg
Rows: 40kg - 60kg. I did these instead of cleans due to aforementioned wrist and shoulder issues, plus clocking myself in the jaw one time!

When I first attempted LP I ate and as mentioned did not DTFP and my waist went to 46" but it has always been around that ballpark anyway and my weight was 266 lbs/117kg. I had some great success with IF for around 4 months last summer and went down to 223 lbs/100kg and a 41" waist.

Since redoing LP properly I have gone back up to 245 and my waist has hovered around the 42" mark which has been promising. My current program is a 4 day upper/lower split with a heavy day and a volume day for each of the 4 lifts. I do this as my work set up has changed so I need to get in the gym early and be out within an hour and it's going good, I've got a PR on all the lifts and I'm happy with one a week.

This is where I need some nutritional guidance, as my strength goal is to get to 1/2/3/4 plates on the 4 lifts before I'm 30 in September, however I really want to cut some fat and reduce my waist size. I don't want a six pack but to get below 40 for the first time since my teens would be great. So the two approaches I have devised are:

1 - continue my program as is, but really tighten up my macros. I don't currently track but I aim for 250P/300C/80F. I am probably not hitting these exactly so my approach would be to start tracking and go for 250P/250C/70F and continue to drive up my numbers and add or remove carbs based on my waist size/weight on the bar. Slowly make progress up to my targets and bring my waist size down slowly.

2 - change my program to one lift a day with the aim of maintaining some strength, and add in some conditioning afterwards. And then adapt my diet either to IF as I've had some success in the past or go for the Rapid Fat Loss diet as I've seen people have success with this on here. The approach with this would be to quickly get my waist down and maintain/minimize strength and muscle mass. Then crack on with my strength goals once my waist size is down.

Two very different approaches and a lot of text for you to digest so apologies, I suppose I'm wondering if you've prescribed either approach and if you have a preferred approach/reason to do one over the other.

Thanks for taking the time, your info on here and the podcasts is so valuable for someone who really struggles with nutrition (and making decisions!)

Cheers

Dave

[Robert Santana]

Thanks for sharing. My first question is are you doing lat pulldowns? If not, why not? They will strengthen the muscles around the wrist, give you a nice set of arms, and develop the lats. So make sure you are doing those. Dietwise, why don't you try a low fat diet and see what that does for you. Try eating 30-40 g of fat for a few months and you should be able to add weight to the bar while losing fat provided you eat this much 7 consecutive days per week. I'd keep your other macros the same and just change that one. Will give you a boring diet but the best of all worlds in terms of losing fat while you run the LP. As for that level of fat being low, that's fine because your stored body fat will provide the fats necessary for physiological function as well as some of the fat soluble vitamins (e.g. vitamin D and E) which are sequestered in the fat cells.

[DRSMITH89]

Hi Coach

Thanks for the info, invaluable as always. Forgot to mention I have started to do lat pulldowns on my upper days, another goal is to be able to do one chinup so hopefully the combination of getting these heavier and losing some fat will help.

Thanks for the advice, I'll put low fat into practice and see what happens.

[Robert Santana]

You are welcome! LP the lat pulldowns 2 lb at at time once they get hard. Start with 4 x 10, when you can't hit 10 go 4 x 8, then 3 x 5, then 5 x 3 etc. Once you reach your body weight you'll be able to do a chin up.