Over the last 9 weeks, I've dropped from 208lbs to 200lbs (mid 20's % BF to low 20's) using a pretty moderate approach. 2200 calories, 40% carb, 35% protein, 25% fat. There was one week when I was traveling and pigging out on local food, so that explains the slightly less than 1lb/week rate.
My question is about whether it's a good time to take a maintenance phase, or whether I should keep going. I'd like to get down to about 185-190 (roughly 15% bf) before I go back to a slight surplus and higher volumes to build muscle.
Considerations:
1. I don't feel like I have much in the way of psychological diet fatigue. It's been pretty easy so far, and I'm not having very many cravings. This makes me think I could probably keep going.
2. My appetite is pretty small, and I am not super hungry all the time. This makes me think my metabolism is slowing, which makes me think I should maybe take a break.
3. My energy levels fluctuate between ok and poor, but never high. I typically eat a carb heavy meal before training, and my volume isn't super high, so I can typically get through them without too much trouble...although I did get pretty dizzy yesterday grinding my last rep of the 5th set of presses, which never happens when I'm eating enough.
So I'm conflicted. What do you think Mr. Santana? Take a maintenance phase for a 2-3 weeks, or just keep trucking?
Thanks