good post maverick (say hello to iceman) i would add DO weigh yourself everyday however to keep a close eye on your eating for that day. if your weight JUMPS UP (>4 or 5lb) take pause might indicate overeating for the day.
Nothing personal but I can tell you're not a lifter and/or not over the age of 25-30. When you lift you can actually feel when you are putting on muscle and you can feel when you are shrinking. And if you cut calories or overtrain or don't get enough protein, you can tell nothing is happening. And have you ever lost weight and tried to maintain you muscle? I doubt it. There was recent study that found 35% protein helped maintain muscle mass during weight loss. Again, the protein helped greatly. Anybody who has put on muscle and then tries to "cut" fat quickly knows that this is a battle. That's why the 35% protein study was a big deal. But I don't even understand for sure what you're arguing about. Are you arguing that you can put on muscle and drop calories? Are you arguing that you can maintain your testosterone and drop calories significantly? You seem like the kind of guy who likes to argue, but I don't even know what the fight is about...
Read everything you can on nitric oxide as far as sexual function. This is more important than testosterone. There are MANY things that affect nitric oxide from diet to sleep to supplements. It's a huge subject and I don't even know where to begin. But your issue almost for sure has nothing to do with body fat and everything to do with nitric oxide (and/or testosterone). Google on endothelial function and you can probably avoid a lot of the hypster sites and get some decent information. As I mentioned above, 35% protein is what was found to maintain that muscle mass: you should not be losing your quad mass. This will make it harder and harder to maintain your weight. I recommend whey protein: preliminary research shows it does not raise IGF-1 levels, which is a cancer risk. Egg whites are a reasonable source, especially if eaten as part of a low fat diet. Google on Ornish Diet. And be careful not to overtrain. You seem like an intense trainer: be sure to read what they Olympic athletes do to avoid overtraining: they typically sleep9-10 hours and then take an hour nap. I know you can't do that, but my point is that they know what they're doing: you can't skip sleep and live stressfully. Remember: cortisol will add fat to those love handles. It targets the midsection and literally adds fat to the most dangerous areas (among many other nasty things). Best of luck...
i'll start here...first of all you can't "feel" your muscle growing. if i'm wrong on this show us your objective evidence. you also stated definitively that anyone eating less than 3000 cals will end up a "muscle wasting mess". still waiting for this from you well?
Judging by what I have seen over the years, I think bodybuilders consume more protein than is good for them, to the potential detriment of their liver and kidneys. As for losing fat, obviously the only way to do so is to consume fewer calories than you expend. I agree it is quite the challenge to build muscle while losing fat at the same time. To the extent that I wanted to lose fat, I wouldn't be eating with a view to gaining size until I got sufficiently lean. I know that some guys just pack on the bulk and then trim down, but that strikes me as messy and just a setup for another challenge. I think size comes in second to leanness, from both a health and aesthetic standpoint. And if I wanted to gain size, which I had done in the past, I would certainly not be willing to sport additional body fat while getting there. But maybe that's just me.
no, it's not just you, it just makes sense. "First do no harm". (DO NO EVIL!) some recognize this as the hypocratic oath ..but this admonition applies as much to the EGO as it does to the medical arts.
Didn't mean to say anyone eating less than 3,000 calories is a muscle wasting mess. Also, realize we're largely on the same team: I am primarily a vegan at heart but supplement with whey and egg whites. Our primary difference is that I eat low fat as well to clear out my arteries as I'm 50.