Strength while dieting

Training Bodybuilding
1

This past winter I allowed myself to eat everything I could in an attempt to get big. It worked well, maybe too well.
I am now 6’2" 250lbs. with a bodyfat of 17%. I would like to get back down to the point where I can call myself a bodybuilder and see some definition.
I noticed that the strength gains I made while bulking up were the best I’ve ever see in my five years of training. I am wondering what I should expect in the way of strength loss when dieting.
While I don’t expect to make any further gains while dieting down to ~225 lb, what would be the best approach to maintain strength. I am planning on cutting cals by 500 and doing cardio 3 times a week for 30mins (if I can find where the cardio equipment is)

Thanks for the support

BigMAW

2

If you are in no hurry to get to 225lbs (its only 7% drop) i dont see any reason why you cant keep most if not all of you stength, just take the diet slow. 3 cardio session for a couple of weeks then drop cals under maintanecne. alternate between fat loss type programs (meltdown, GVT etc) and you standard strength based programs and you should be fine.
If you want to get real lean like ~7% go for the long slow diet (say 16-18 weeks) and you will be looking good and lifting big.
$0.02