Originally Posted by Machher

I have just finished my fasting month of ramadan as some of you may now. Eid Mubarak to all those celebrating. I lost 8 lbs over that time and plan on holding it.

-there's a good chance that a lot of the weight you lost was water and also muscle and some fat. Losing weight isn't necessarily a good thing. The key is to lose your bodyfat. When you lose muscle, you are lowering your metabolism and thus lower your potential for fat burning.

In the past i have not had much sucess with cutting or slimming. I have numberous question and i would it would be greatle appreciated if you could share the answers based on personal experiences or facts.

When slimming / cutting should one ALWAYS go at a 60-75% heart rate (fat burning state)?
If not, what intensity should one go at? How long, should one pyramad intensity.

-Well here's the thing, there are many different ways for you to cut/slim. Doing cardio isn't the only way. Lifting weights alone can do it as well. The main component to losing weight is your DIET!!! To answer your question, many people like to either do High Intensity Training and others prefer to do longer duration cardio. Some studies have shown that doing HIT shows the same benefits as long duration cardio in a shorter amount of time.

According to recent studies cortisol which is a hormone that break down protien is 3 times more apparent during a 1 and a half hour workout, than a 1 hour workout. Should i keep 1 hour as my maximum timeframe?

-Cortisol is always at a high level after you exercise. Don't worry about the difference between a 1 and 1:30 workout, go for the 1:30 if that's the only thing worrying you. When you finish working out, ingest a post workout drink that has high amounts of insulin-releasing compounds. These include drinks that have dextrose and maltodextrin (sugars). If you don't want to go out and buy them, you can substitute it with just regular sugar, like have a chocolate drink or something and it'll release insulin which counters the effects of cortisol.

Do you lift when you are slimming / cutting?
if so Do you lift heavy, light or moderate during cutting/slimming?
and how many reps/ sets in accordance to your previous training routine do you perform?

-When you are slimming/cutting, many people think that they have to start doing more reps because they want to 'tone'. that's bologne! Train like you normally would. There are different training philosophies, but the main thing is that you have to vary your workout. Intensity is the common trend between all philosophies though. Be intense and work hard!

How many calries if you were to estimate should i eat / burn a day. (i know i should burn more than i eat, but gimme some reliable numbers that i can set goals for).

-The calories will depend on what you do in a whole day and how much you weigh. I know absolutely nothing about youbutIwilltellyou to start at 2500 calories. Unless you are out of this world big or small, that number should work for you.

If you could help me out id like to build an effecting cuttings/slimming routine.
There are many

I think this website has some routines. But check out other people's journals and read up some more man. You can learn a lot here.

i have these cardio machines available:
Treadmill, Crosscountry, Stairmaster, Bike
-lifting weights do that too

Im currently 172 lbs, 5'11" not sure at what my bf% is.

Bicep: 13.75"
Forearm 11.5"
Chest 40"
Waist 36"
Quads 22"
Calves 16"

Those are my current measurements.. give or take about 1/4 inch.

All help is appreciated

thanks.