Fat Loss - When to Do It

Right now, I'm in a strength competition over at Training Anarchy.  I'm not in any shape to win it, of course - there are some very strong guys at that place - but I'm having fun improving my lifts day to day.  My plan is, and has been, to finish out that strength context at the end of October, and then to begin a serious, no-holds-barred fat loss phase.

I'd like to say I've tried fat loss in the past, but I really haven't.  I did Waterbury's 10x3 for Fat Loss for about a month and loved it - and had success at it - but otherwise I've always tried chasing two rabbits at one, getting stronger while getting leaner.  Although theoretically possible, that's really hard to do, and I always ended up chasing my strength goals instead, eventually abandoning the other.  So, while I do think I am leaner than I was when I started all of this about two years ago, I wouldn't say it's much.

So, whenever the time comes, I'm going to do a serious fat loss phase, focusing only on that.  My lifting, my cardio, my diet, all will be geared to that goal. 

Doing this beginning in November has some drawbacks, of course.  The first is that it's around the holidays, a notoriously difficult time to diet.  The second is that the weather will be poor, making running outside difficult. 

Another option has recently presented itself.  My boys want us all - including my wife and I - to dress up as superheroes for Halloween, ten weeks away.  And they want me to be Batman.  I'm not in any shape for that now, but I could be.  Ten weeks of fat loss could put me as low as 210 pounds at that point.  I haven't hit that weight since my wedding.  It wouldn't be ideal, but I'd look a lot better than I do now.  That would give me a real goal to shoot for, and I'd be doing most of the training in better weather.

I could also keep doing what I'm doing, with the added goal of Halloween being the incentive to continue the significant progress I have made in cleaning up my diet.  After all, my wife thinks I look thinner - she commented on it today - even though I've actually put on a few pounds on the scale.  If I continue with this, I could keep getting stronger, hopefully getting my squat to 315 pounds (my goal for the contest) while continuing to lean out a little, thus setting me up even better for the fat loss phase.

Anyway, I'm torn about whether to start serious fat loss now or just continue to clean up the diet while focusing on strength.  I should make a decision this week.