[Reincarnate]

For me, at 48 inch waist, 74 inch height, neck circumference 16 inches, that puts me at 35% bodyfat or so using the equation:
(495/(1.0324-0.19077*LOG10(2.54*(waist circumference at the navel-neck circumference)) + 0.15456*LOG10(height*2.54))-450)/100 with all units in inches

So at 236 pounds that puts me at about 152 pounds lean mass, 84 pounds body fat. Using the Katch-McArdle formula for calculating BMR, that means basal metabolic rate is 370+9.79759519*152 = 1860 calories.

I am aiming to lose 2 pounds of fat per week. Right now I'd like to get down to 15% bodyfat, which means a target weight of 152/(1-.15) = about 180 pounds, which means I need to lose about 56 pounds of fat. A pound of fat is 3500 calories, so two pounds a week means 7000 calories which means 1000 deficit per day.

Problem is I have little muscle mass, which complicates things a bit.




Anyways, my problem:

I'm not sure what exercise routine to follow or how to adjust BMR to account for caloric expenditure. For sedentary people like myself who have a desk job Monday through Friday, the multiplier to BMR is typically 1.2 -- i.e. without working out, my daily caloric output (maintenance calories) would be 1860*1.2 = 2232 calories.

Problem is that a deficit of 1000 from this number puts me at eating 1232 calories a day, which seems quite low. Of course, I'd need to work out.

I don't know the best way to work out and how to calculate the correct caloric output from that. I am figuring that if I lift weights 3x/week and do cardio twice, that brings the multiplier from 1.2 to 1.4, thus a maintenance of 2604 (and eating 1600 calories each day doesn't sound outrageous).

I don't know if 1.4 is too aggressive an estimate or what. I'm not sure what goals to set currently, since right now nothing seems to be moving the needle.

Also not sure how to determine the macros. I figure a gram of protein per lb lean mass is adequate, but I'm not sure if this is optimal (let alone how many carbs/fats I should be taking in). Always hear about the 40/40/20 rule but that sounds a bit outdated, especially for those with high bf%.


EDIT: As you can probably tell I am a bit obsessed with the math. I need the math to make sense but I don't know enough about the underlying biophysics to gauge certain things.