My main goal is to lower my body fat percentage to 10%. Im 75kg / 176cm. Male. I started since december last year at 77kg.

I'm eating around 1500-1600 calories per day with IF only on weekdays. Hitting around 138g-150g of protein and filling the rest with carbs and fats. I'm starting to losing appetite btw. Is that normal?

My first problem is I don't know what is my body fat percentage right now. My upper body area is fairly lean(no beer belly, abs only visible in certain lighting). My lower body however is still huge and I wish to have thinner legs. The only obvious fat loss that noticeable is on my face.

Another area where I really need help is my training/exercise routine which I lack focus in. I first started with no weights(calisthenics) and cardio my weight dropped a bit to 73kg. I started lifting weights and gained a bit of weight again. Should I stop any strength training and focus on cardio only? Since I'm not looking to build muscles. Just to preserve them.

Balance between cardio and muscle building exercises, doing a lot of cardio will make the body lose more muscles.

Very unlikely you can reach 10% and maintain it. 15% already good enough for most people.

3 months time dropped 2kg is making progress. Continue it. Make sure you're counting calories accurately. Dont cheat.

Normal for you to lose appetite as you already get used to it and you didnt do any intense activities so your body not so demanding on energy.

Your body will tap the easiest source of fat on the upper body. The last bit of fat to lose usually lower belly which is why its called stubborn fat. Everyone is different so some people (mostly women) can be in thigh.

Dont freak out when your body reacts. Give it some time. The reason your weight fluctuates mostly due to water weight. When you do weight training your body will store more glycogen (water weight).

Lastly, you need weight training and protein to preserve muscle mass. Protein alone not sufficient. If your main goal is to get lean then weight training (build muscle mass as it uses more calories) + cardio is the best combo.

Assuming that you are 25 years old, your daily BMR is 1,730 kcal per day.

Right now you are eating less than your BMR which is a big no no.

When you do that, your body will assume that you are in starvation, and it will try to keep the fat as long as possible, using your muscle as fuel instead.

More read on this: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/starvation-mode#tips

Im not doing a lot of cardio. Probably just 2 times per week. I used to just lift all day no cardio. cardio is relatively a new form for me.

Never of heard of this. Something new. That would explain a lot. Given the fat on my face is unaffected. Back to cardio, i only utilise cardio as negative calorie. I'm not sure if it's right to minus the amount of calorie burn from cardio from the total amount I consume that day. Need more help with this one thanks

Im 23. And I didn't know that I was going that low. Because aside from exercise, my daily activities are rather sedentary. Not much movement involved. So it's just my TDEE - 500.

My take on starvation mode is your body will make u lazy. So its less NEAT. You will feel sluggish, less hyped, lazy, etc.. all the things that makes you move less.

Your body still will burn fat and protein broken from muscles not like totally using muscle and store fat instead.

Hence we need to consume more protein & do resistance training to minimize.. not to prevent ..

Using cardio to be on calorie deficit is better approach. If you can do a hell lot of cardio then that's better as your body will get more macro/micro nutrients.. A lot healthier ..

Ppl who totally cut off foods to be on calorie deficit will have less nutrients, moody, hangry, and so much more. Harder to sustain and its not healthy as you lack of nutrients.

I guess the person who mentions water weight was right..I'm 73kg again this morning. Feeling motivated again .

My cardio routine is just running around the neighbourhood in the morning. For at least 30 mins. If the weather is bad I'll do home hiit workout via fitify app. I hope my nutrition is okay though. I get hangry in low carbs.

Don't be afraid to add more calories to feel better. You need a diet that you can sustain. Don't do drastic changes later hard to switch in-between bulking/cutting.

Use cardio or NEAT to burn off the extra calories.