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LONG VERSION:
Suppose you need 2000 calories a day to maintain, and you are entering a cutting phase. It's a known fact that if you eat too little your metabolism slows down and you go into a fat conservation mode. It is also (so far as I've heard) considered healthy to lose up to 1.5 pounds per week, which could be accomplished by eating 1200 calories per day. So, theoretically, 1200/day for this person is about as low as you want to go without making the body to resort to conservation. This leads to the question at hand- suppose this person burns about 500 calories per day in cardio, and consumes 1400 calories per day. This would lead to a gross of only 900 calories per day. However, this would theoretically be safe, correct? I say this because the body is still getting enough food, so I wouldn't think it would start to conserve fat. Thoughts?

SHORT VERSION:
If you are cutting and eat 500 below maintenance but also burn 500 in exercise (lets say your maintenance is 2000, so you would in effect be consuming 1000 calories per day), will your body still go into the fat conservation mode that it does when you don't eat enough, even though you are eating a healthy amount, just burning more off?

If your maintenance is 2000 calories...why do you need to cut?

^^^ kane: u r the man....

however, i will point out that i WILL be interjecting every now and then simply to increase my post count

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^^ Lol

Not sure what you mean...

I'm a 20 year old guy, 152lb 70" tall, my body fat is somewhere around 12-13%, maybe a bit lower. I'm aiming to get it down to 7% or so and begin a bulk phase

That's exactly what I was assuming. 70" tall 5'10"...5'10" 152lbs is not the time to cut. It doesnt make sense to drop your bf so low before you bulk. Thats actually the opposite of what you should do. Bulk up, put on some muscle and THEN cut down. You may not even need to cut depending on your metabolism and how you make up your diet. Bulk first, cut later.

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I think he means that 2000 calories isn't a lot to begin with. So if your already lean, why do you need to cut ?

but I can't speak for Kane...

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^^ You posted at the exact same time as me and said basically what I said. So I guess you can speak for me lol

Interesting... It still seems logical, (if you've seen my "different kind of bulk" post a few threads down), in theory if I don't gain as much fat from a slower bulk might as well get rid of the fat first, and look better during the slow bulk phase ;) But perhaps I'm mistaken, I'm not exactly experienced like you/anyone else on the forum

Why go for a slower bulk? Gaining muscle is already a fairly slow process. If it were me I would eat anything that isn't bolted down and lift your ass off. If fat gain becomes a problem then adjust your fat and carbs appropriately. Since you seem to be worried about fat, start with a conservative diet, evaluate it after a month and add or subtract depending on how the original one worked. If you need more, add 500 cals, if you need less subtract that. Protein stays high regardless.