Need some guidance
Need some guidance for my next diet
During my last diet, from January to May. I essentially hit every roadblock possible. Having too high a deficit, losing too much muscle, extreme fatigue, and extreme water retention. This resulted in me starting and stopping my diet throughout the past months. In the end, I lost 7 pounds of fat and gained 2 pounds of muscle. Confirmed with dexa.
For my next phase of dieting, what should my direction be? I have two options: first, reduce calories slowly every week, or fast 1 day a week while eating at maintenance.
For some context, I am 6'2", 301lb, and 24% bf. My maintenance calories are roughly 3500kcal.
During my first phase, I had extreme diet fatigue. My brain simply would not work. So I reduced the deficit. After a couple of weeks, the fatigue would return. Rinse and repeat. Due to my size, I should be able to handle a 3-pound deficit, let alone a 0.5-pound deficit. But I couldn't do it. The fatigue would return.
So, for option 1, by slowly increasing the deficit, I am hoping I can push off this fatigue as long as possible. Then, like last time, once I hit that fatigue limit, I would raise the calories and continue on.
For option 2, since my maintenance calories roughly equal 1 pound of fat loss. Every Sunday, or a better day of the week, if someone has a recommendation. I would fast for 24 hours, and for the rest of the week, I would eat at maintenance. I am hoping that by eating my normal calories during the week, I will not experience the same fatigue as last time. I would be losing less weight than Google says I can, but I would be happy with 1 pound per week.
I am leaning towards option 2, but I wanted to consult others for their opinions before moving forward. I plan to start on May 26th or May 31st, depending on whether I do option 1 or 2.
I appreciate any advice, happy Friday.