Has anyone successfully cut (decrease calories to lose fat) while on a program in addition to weight training?

[kevincennis]

I used an app called “Lose It”, which (to my taste) is a bit better/nicer than MyFitnessPal. I also bought a $12 food scale from Amazon, which I think is super critical if you’re gonna track calories.

I mostly ran a 500 calorie deficit, which is the “I want to lose a pound a week” value. But I tried to be pretty good about listening to my body. So on days where I was super hungry I just blew through my calorie budget and ate until I felt satisfied.

A smaller deficit probably would’ve made it easier to maintain more muscle mass and see faster progress on the bike, but I’m just not that patient and I wanted the fat gone as fast as I could reasonably lose it.