Hi Josh – Scott’s comments in this thread might be relevant: https://uphillathlete.com/forums/topic/appropriate-body-fat-range-for-the-uphill-athlete/

Josh- my personal experience, and your mileage may vary as I presume you are a man and I am woman and there are physiological differences that play a big role… But I spent a lot of time trying to drop weight to improve performance and it never really worked like I imagined. This year I sad F it, I’m going to be what weight I am and I’m just going to train and fuel well and not worry about shedding weight and I’m stronger and in better shape then I ever was when I spent a good chunk of time trying to lose weight. As a side effect, I lost about 7lbs in 5 months (so nothing magical) and lost about 2″ around my waist and 3″ around my thighs/butt (where I tend to carry weight). I think bodybuilders call this “recomposition”.

So my opinion from someone with a similar body composition is to just train and fuel your body very well and you’ll be better off than if you try to cut 15 weeks out from your trip. Focus on getting good protein and fueling your workouts and it will pay much bigger dividends, in my experience.

Low Energy Availably (LEA) and Relative Energy Deficit in Sport (RED-S) scientific knowledge and general awareness has grown massively in female athletes, but there is also growing recognition of applicability to male athletes. From my decidedly armchair reading my takeaway is 1) practice good dietary habits + fuel well and train hard and 2) DON’T mess around with caloric deficits while training.