tricky bastuuurd fat! hope u can help.

[redwizza]

trying to lose fat, get lean in 12-16 weeks.
my stats = 209 pounds, 5'8 hight. fat im not sure of. where i live its sad that i cant find a fat caliper (or any caliper device) in the whole country. i hate this place so much! (middle east oil-filled tummies here).

i have fat around my stomach and hips and bum. been dieting for about 9 days now. had stopped working out and eating decent proteins for about 5-6 months before that. so i have caused havoc on my body. 1st 9 days i was not able to eat more than 4 meals a day, and not able to take in more than 1600-1700 calories a day. i feel that this has been a mistake. i c that fat is prevelant and muscles are slightly depleted at least! although i have lost some size overall. every diet journal/article/calculator i read says i need atleast 2300 calories to 2500 calories for dieting at my weight right now.
only good news here is that i do carry a very good amount of muscle, i just want to know for sure what amount of foods i need.

my latest hypothesis is that coz ive eaten too little, i may be getting reverse fat loss effects. i work out intensly in the gym.....5-6 times a week, high volumed number of set for all muscle groups (12 sets small muscles 16 sets big), and i do cardio about 3-5 times a week, 10-15 minutes.

so:
-ive eaten too little
-cardio has not been enough
- protiens have been around 140-160 grams, so i think too little!!
- meals are bigger than small, coz they only 4 of them...but god dang it im only getting about 1700 calories.
- i have stayed away from whey protein. should i include it after weight workouts? i have good kind without carbs

its only been 9 days, and im glad the ball is rolling again...but as of today im making changes. i know that ill be in lean shape at 175-180 pounds, but want to get there in 16 weeks maximum and correctly...mathimatically i can see that its a realistic goal.

please enlighten me about the changes i need to make immeidately. do i really need 2500 calories to lose fat and NOT lose muscle? im eating much less than that and i dont feel im losing enough fat anyways!! am i getting reverse effects coz calories are so low? is whey protein wise when dieting? is six solid meals wise, or should atleast a couple of them be liquid-based whey protien meals.

[SMAN12b]

check out the cutting diets in the diet forum, switch your 4 meals a day to 6 minimum

Up the cardio to daily, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach if you can, between 30-45 minutes each session

increase your protein to 1g - 1.5 g per lb of bodyweight

get the book by Chris Aceto, called "Everything you want to know about FAT loss"
that will help you out tremendously