Building Strength While Losing Weight

[Brian Brenon]

I am a 31-year-old, 6' 0" male and weigh 252 pounds. I am also a Captain in the US Army preparing to transition from the National Guard Infantry to the Active Component JAG Corps in about six months. My goal is to reduce my weight to around 225 (at a pace of 1-1.5 pounds per week) without sacrificing strength. Over the past two years, I have started and restarted the Novice phase multiple times because of irregular schedule disruptions, school demands, and other excuses.

My current lifts are: 255 squat (dropped from 305 due to a sprained ankle in June); 195 bench; 135 overhead press; and 315 deadlift. I just downloaded the Under Armour "My Fitness Pal" app to assist in tracking macros intake and want to know if the caloric goals of ~2700/day (the app tracks approximate calories burned through exercise and offsets the amount to be eaten automatically) while balancing about 30-40% carbs, 35-45% protein, and 35% fat can effectively build strength while losing 1-1.5 pounds per week, or if I should expect to see stalled progress until I get the weight to where I need it?

I have no choice but to cut the weight because of how the Army measures its body composition- we use the neck and waist measurement, and I have gotten too close to the high end of the standard.

[Robert Santana]

Thanks for posting! Those percentages aren't as important as the total calories for weight loss. However, maximizing carbohydrate and protein intake while in a caloric deficit is the best approach if strength and muscle preservation are the goal. In other words, when cutting calories while training the source of those calories should come from fats first, then carbohydrates, then protein. Rarely should you get to a point where you need to cut protein though.