Pay attention to macro's or my body for fat loss? Need advice

Stats

Male
Age: 32
Height: 6ft
Weight: 208
BF%: 22% (based on handheld Omron)

Training: Basically a Max-Ot program shrunk from 5 days to 3

Monday: Legs / Shoulders
Tuesday: Chest/ Biceps/ Forearms/ Abs
Thursday: Back /Traps
Cardio: B-Ball on Thursday mornings, 45 min Eliptical on Sundays. All the other days 20-30 slow walk with the dog

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I am trying to get serious and get this fat off once and for all! Intermittent Fasting has helped me in the past, and I typically also need to keep my carbs lower than most. Low carb and exercise is how I lost most of my weight. Used to be 292 about 6 years ago.

I like to use Myfitnesspal.com to track my food intake. I wanted to get a little more strict on my macros and calorie intake so I took a look at some of the recommended calculators out there, but there are some MAJOR VARIANCES in what each says in order to lose weight and body fat.

On [url=http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/]IF Calculator[/url] (which is touted as a "Leangains Calculator) it says that my minimum calories per day should be 2,303. On training days my cals should be 3,651 with 228g Protein, 386g Carbs, 133g Fat. On Non-Training Days... 2,434 cals with 208g Protein, 200g carbs, 89 g fat.

On Freedieting.com calorie calculator with activity level of 3 X per week... It states my maintenance cals at 2,658, Fat loss = 2,127 and Extreme Fat Loss = 1,664.
On a low carb type macro split i like 25-C / 40-P / 35-F. Sometimes my carbs will go a little lower and fat higher.

I can't imagine eating 3600 calories at any time or 200+ grams of carbs...especially in 2-3 meals.

At the same time I don't want to eat too little and end up gaining weight because of it. Especially when eating IF and only having 2-3 meals per days it is a struggle sometime just to get to 1,800 cals. I find myself eating just to eat many a days to get to my 170-220 g protein, even though I am full and satisfied.

Should I just go with what my body is telling me and eating when hungry trying to keep he focus on protein, fat and enough paleo friendly carbs for workout?

For my size and body fat... What is the least amount of calories i should consume in a day? Least amount of protein?

My whole goal is to be healthy, have enough daily energy, but lose body fat as quickly and safely as possible.

Advice welcomed.

Personally, I believe that your body will let you know if you're eating enough. Eat when and only until you are satisfied. Try it for a few weeks and then look back at any changes you need to make. This isn't a race or a fad diet, so it need not be treated that way. In my opinion, it just leads to unwanted stress. Keep a food log so that you can go back and review your progress.

Best of luck
Jennifer

You and I seem to be similar in body measurements so I'll list my stats and info:

Age: 36
Weight: 206
Height: 6ft
BF% based on handheld omron: 15%

I'm on a M-W-F split. Off days I do absolutely nothing except occasionally walk to the grocery store. Saturday and Sunday I sleep.

On workout days, my calories are between 1800-2000. On non workout days, they can be as low as 500-1200. Workout days I'm more carbs and less fat. Carbs are between 300g-600g on those days. Non workout days anything goes but usually higher fat. moderate to slightly elevated protein all days. Last summer I was 245 and couldn't see my feet, 38" waist. Now I float between 204-206, 34" waist and have a moderately visible 4 pack. I do a modified IF where almost every day, I have a 4-5 hour eating window (19-20 hours fasted) and probably once or twice a month, I'll pick a Sunday and not eat at all. I workout fasted.

When I first started MDA, my calories were similar to your numbers using various calculators though mostly low carb. That got me down to 215-220 with cardio and crossfit style workouts. I stalled for about 6 months. Then I started cutting calories and focused on strength training and ditched cardio. The reduction in calories doesn't seem to have affected my strength or "muscle size". My deadlift last summer @ 245lbs was 135lbs x 5. Last monday, my deadlift is 310lbs x 5 @ 204lbs. Not impressive by power to weight ratio standards but impressive to me considering what I had to start with.

I would be very suprised if you actually gained weight by consuming less calories. So my advice would be to cut your calories.

ummm, all those numbers are waaaaay to technical for me, but I don't think you should eat more calories or carbs in a day than your body is telling you to.

Just eat as much as you can from protein and fat......Then keep your carbs under 150g a day. It really is that easy. Your body will reach an equalibrium that is healthy from that. Now if your gonna shoot for single digit BF from there then we need to make some changes.....just recognize that there is a difference between lean and healthy.

Calories is quite individual and a poor way to attempt to reconstruct composition. Shoot for under 150g of carbohydrates from fruits or starches and eat 2-3 meals a day with the focus of those meals being a good protein/fat source and you will lean out. The lower carb has been proven to favor preserving muscle mass while burning fat. Use it to your advantage