decreasing body fat while maintaining weight

[clubchub]

I am a 42 year old woman, 5'0", 101-103 lb, 18.5 - 19% body fat. Don't know how accurate the fat calculation is. I'm using a Taylor scale, but it has remained at 18.5 - 19 % since September 08.

Here is a typical week nutrition-wise.

Date	Calories	Grams	Fat	Carbs	Protein
03-02	1,627	1,604	57	230	62
03-03	1,493	2,112	48	100	174
03-04	1,389	1,993	48	122	128
03-05	2,573	2,716	68	377	140
03-06	1,716	2,128	50	178	112
03-07	1,832	2,304	62	167	129
03-08	1,645	1,642	50	190	114

As you can see, it is a little erratic. The 2500 cal day happened after going too low the previous two days. I can't seem to handle going under 1500 cals. Do I need to post what I am eating as well? It is a lot of lean meats, fish, fruits and veggies. The day I had 377 g of carbs included processed junk.

I am doing NROLFW. This week of nutrition coincided with Stage 7 in the book which is designed for fat loss. A typical workout consists of 15-20 reps of dumbbell squats, stepups, shoulder presses, bentover rows, and 2 sets of 8 squats or deadlifts. The workouts are three times a week. I walk inbetween workouts and occasionally do HIIT. (I got in HIIT only once in the last two weeks)

My goal is to cut some body fat without losing much body weight. I am small and if I lose weight, I don't look well. I gained some nice muscle mass on the upper body with NROLFW, but I am still carrying too much fat on lower abs and legs.

Since I am finishing up NROLFW, I need a new program. Given my goals and eating habits, what would you suggest? How can I change my eating habits to help achieve my goals.

Thanks.

[clubchub]

Double Post - sorry. Disregard.

[clubchub]

OK, looks like the duplicate got deleted. So now there's just one. Sorry for the confusion.

[LaraT]

Leigh's Opt Remix program sounds like it would be right for your goals. It is a body recomp program designed to do what you are looking for--to shed some fat without much change in weight.

[Leigh P.]

I will agree that Remix seems like it would be good for you. In general though what you kind of got going on isn't horrid. Go low, go high, melt it slow.

In short you just need to focus on a body recomposition dieting strategy. The main principles of something like that is cycling low/high caloric days OR staying in a small deficit. I personally like the first better as you need the excess to best help gain LBM.
Obviously add lifting and going hard with this, but nutritionally speaking that is what I suggest if not following a specific program.

[clubchub]

OK thanks. That's what I was looking for. I'll go it alone a few more months, and if I don't achieve my goals I'll try OPT remix.

[clubchub]

I think I like the idea of doing it slowly by cycling carbs or running a small deficit. When I try to do something too radical, my body rebels. I just don't have the willpower for large deficits or severe carb restricting. But I'll keep these programs on the backburner if I can't reach my goal in a few months.

When cycling carbs, do you know how many grams I should shoot for on a low day and a high day? A recent article in figure athlete mentioned 1 g per pound of body weight for a high day, and .2 g per pound for a low day. Those numbers seem low to me. Will I be able to reach my goals if I am not quite as strict?