True, i know some muscle loss is inevitable, but i honestly dont think i have 30 pounds to lose... but hey, i also havent done water depletion since i cut down to 198 for the State Powerlifting Championships... so you very well may be right. thanks for the heads up.
You'd be surprised. I started my cut at 217.
I'm currently 189 and still more than 11 weeks out, haven't even touched clen yet.
In contest, in all likelihood I wouldn't be surprised if I was as low as 155. You would be SHOCKED at how much water you carry hidden away in all sorts of places. For every pound of fat you lose, I almost guarantee you'll lose at least 2, 3 or even 4 pounds of water.
The absolute best advice I can give you is forget about aiming for a weight. Your weight in competition doesn't matter. Shoot for the overall, not the weightclass. The overall winner can win as a superheavy, heavy, light-heavy, or even a middleweight. Heck, there have been cases were even a lightweight wins the overall if he's shredded and symmetrical enough.
So keep that in mind and don't shoot for a weighclass. Weigh yourself only to determine how many calories you are burning and if you are losing weight too fast or too slow. Btw, it's ok to lose fast in the beginning; the only time you'll really want to slow down the weightloss is if you are near the end and are peaking too early; i.e. you don't want to come in flat and depleted. But you'll address that when the time comes. On the amateur level, few are capable of achieving the insane shredded look like Dex or Darem have. If you can manage to come in close to that condition, it won't matter your weight, as long as you're symmetrical, you'll demolish everyone.