Age:22

Height: 6'1"

Weight:224 pounds

BF%:  Somewhere around 18-19% based on past experience, I'll soon be doing a DEXA scan though to get my actual numbers.

Hey guys, this is my first post so I'll try to give a description of my fitness journey and then lead into my current state of mind.  Until about the age of 16, I was a couch potato kid whose only fitness came from basketball and backyard football.  During high school, I realized I was tired of being overweight and wanted to change, especially after I started getting the attention of girls.  So I started hitting the gym and went from 230->190 in about 9 months, utilizing a decent diet, some mixed circuit training/bodybuilding style workouts, and a good bit of HIIT.  I stayed around there for the next few years until a rotator cuff injury set me back until about a year ago.  I had gained all the way back up to 240 pounds and was miserably out of shape, with none of my tailored suits and fitted shirts fitting any more haha.  

Fast forward to today at 224 pounds and I'm trying to make a lifestyle change.  I'm focused on hitting my macro goals, (248g protein, 138g carb, and 73g fat on workout days, adjusted on rest days) and getting a 500-calorie deficit in every day.  My biggest concern is that I could be doing a traditional cut (circuit training and lots of HIIT) instead of the 4-day bodybuilding split I'm doing now with 3-4 days of HIIT thrown in  (I still consider myself an amateur lifter and fell like I'm getting beginner gains even though I'm working with a deficit every day), and after watching a TON of Scott's videos, I'm wondering if I should forgo the bodybuilding routine in favor of the circuits?  I HATE circuit training because I would like to focus on lifting right, possible making some stregnth and size gains, and still be cutting fat, but would I be better off just focusing on cutting the fat as quickly as possible then utilizing a traditional cut and bulk cycle?  Or will my current routine of a 500 calorie deficit, bodybuilding split, and HIIT net me the results I want, albeit at a slower pace?  I know unless I'm hitting a calorie surplus I won't be able to build much, if any, muscle, but I feel like I'm still making gains at this point in my lifting.

In my opinion doing more of a bodybuilding type program would still work fine. As long as you maintain that calorie deficit you'll lose weight. I think if done well you will probably maintain or even gain some strength while cutting. But you probably won't be gaining much size while cutting but it will be much easier to put on muscle once you've cut a little. You don't need to go down to 10% or something. I think aiming for roughly 14-15% is good. That's roughly where I am right now.