A lot of questions.
 

Let me know if this makes sense...and if it will work. And what I'm doing wrong.

I've stopped gaining weight for the past couple of weeks. I've cut back the calorie intake to around 3000 cals a day. I'm trying to make them cleaner calories also. The ratio is somewhere around 40/30/30 (carbs/fats/protein).

I'm doing a 5x5 routine on Mon/Wed/Fri. I'm going to start doing cardio at the end of each workout. 3 miles at the end of every workout until I get down to 7 minute miles or under in the next week or so. Then I'll swim for 2 or 3 weeks, then cycle for a few weeks, then go back to the treadmill. And maybe mix it up a little also. It will be 20-30 minutes of cardio. Followed by lots of stretching...it's my new favorite thing to do.

Supplements:
Multivitamin
Fish oil
Bromelain & Papaya enzymes
Glucosamin & Chondroitin
CLA
BCAAs
Sesamin Oil

Pre/Post workout:
Dextrose/Malto
(Only pre) Citrulline Malate
(Only pre) Beta Alanine
Creatine

So my questions are....
1. Will I be able to lose weight at 3000 calories doing cardio 3 days a week?
2. Should I do cardio 5 days a week?
3. If 3000 calories is too much, what number should I cut the cals to?
4. At what point will I start to lose muscle mass?
5. Lots of people say it is difficult to cut fat and put on muscle at the same time...but not impossible. Should I be doing my cardio at a specific time of day? I know it will jump start my metabolism if I do it in the morning, but would I burn more calories doing it right after my workout?
6. Carbs & protein in the morning, protein & some carbs @ lunch, and protein, fats & veggies, etc. at night? I'm doing my workouts in the evening.

EDIT: My stats: 5'9", 168lbs, 21 years old.........looking to cut 10lbs...or maybe 15

Thanks!

I don't know all of these, but I could chip in on the ones I do have some limited knowledge of:

2 - I think the general consensus on here is that 5 days a week of cardio is too much if you're just looking to lose fat (I mean as opposed to preparing for a sport, where it's more common). 3-4 is, I believe, what's usually recommended.

3 - 3000 is probably okay - keep in mind that you burn calories at a higher-than-usual rate because of all the workouts you're doing, particularly in the hours (~6-12 hrs., IIRC) right after your workouts.

5 - I don't know this for sure, but it appeals to logic that it wouldn't burn any more calories right after a workout - it is the same work, really; you'll burn more calories because it's after a workout, but you'll burn extra calories after a workout whether you do cardio or not. I'd say keep it for fasted mornings for extra fat burn.

That's just my two cents - the last especially is not expert by any means.

Cool. That makes sense...I had to re-read the response to the fifth question 3 times before it made sense to me. (Hopefully because it's late and I'm tired) You definitely know more about this than I do. I'm just an expert on overdoing cardio and wasting away muscle and the possibility of muscle growth.

I would suggest splitting your cardio from you weight training. ie; cardio morning, training after/night. This will help you keep most of you muscle mass without burning out.

I think you need to shift your understanding of cardio. The goal really is not to "burn" fat while your doing it, but more to support an inhanced metabolism. For instance, when you look at Hiit cardio, it is recomended for fatloss, not because you burn more cals doing it, infact, with the duration you actually burn less then if you were to go run for 30 minutes, but it helps to keep your metabolism high for hours after you have finished.

All that being said, it really wont matter when you do your cardio (night/day). and if it does make a difference, it will be a very small one.

Wow, that makes so much more sense now. I read somewhere about an 8 week study where a group that did some kind of standardized cardio burned 15,000 more calories on average than a group doing HIIT. But the HIIT group lost more weight.

Yeah, hrdgain is right that the difference isn't huge (I used to do evenings and am considering doing it again just because I'm already crunched for time in the morning) but it is there, and I always feel better during the day knowing that I started the day with a hard workout. So part of it is mental, I guess. It also depends on how able you are to get up earlier and/or fit that into your schedule.

^^ yeah mentally it really does help, I was doing fasted solid state cardio for a few months when i lived in GA (and had room for my tredmill). Just knowing that I got up and did it gave me a huge mental boost. The problem was, even after I would shower and get going to work, I'd still be sweating like a hooker in church.

I agree...I love getting stuff done in the morning. Today was the first day that I really cleaned up the diet...except for lunch. I got stuck at work for 5 hours with nothing to eat. Well, I guess there was stuff to eat. But I'm not going to buy regular priced stuff at GNC...even if I do work there. So I went to Arbys and got 4 sandwiches & a soda after work. :lame: