Workout/Diet Adjustments

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

So I'm about 3-4 weeks into eating healthy and exercising again. My 1 month check in is early next week, but it looks like it will pretty much be that I gained 2-3 pounds, but I look the same as my initial pictures. I feel stronger, especially in my hamstrings (from getting my squats down to parallel which I never did in my life). I'm guessing I gained a bit of muscle, but didn't lose any fat.

My workout has consisted of stronglifts 5x5 (you can see my progress from my signature link) 3 times a week, my diet has been eating generally healthy while avoiding grains, getting 3000 to 3500 calories a day. I'm 6'0" and 250 lb, and my maintenance calories without working out is around 2800 calories, so I added some to try to gain muscle, which I think I probably did.

However, my goal other than getting stronger and just as important to me is losing fat and looking good in a bathing suit (going to Florida in March!). I'm thinking that instead of stronglifts MWF, I may switch up to stronglifts every 3 days with 2 recovery days between, and adding cardio in on the second rest day. This way I'll reap the benefits of increased protein metabolism from the lifting as well as the calorie burning form the cardio. I also think I'm going to reduce my calories back down to 2800 to help with weight loss.

I'd like any inputs on these adjustments you guys have on all of it. One specific concern in my mind is how much will reducing to 2800 calories effect my lifting increases and muscle gains. I'll still be getting 150g of protein a day at an absolute minimum.

[Philociraptor]

Instead of dedicated cardio, do something you enjoy and just skip out on the calories you'd burn during it. Doing chronic cardio makes you hungry makes you need to do more chronic cardio makes you hungry makes you... See where I'm going with this? Cardio should never be used as a method of increasing calories expanded. Do some sprints, HIIT, or tabatta sessions, which get your body used to max effort, resulting in increased muscle and reduced fat. That was you'll end up looking like a sprinter (yay!), not a marathon runner (ew).

Also, it's definitely possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Just eat when you're hungry. If you're avoiding foods that drive excess insulin production, your body should regulate how much you need to eat very well.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

By cardio I am not saying treadmill. I used to do it while eating 1800 calories a day and it worked, I dropped 20 lbs, but I hated eating that way and exercising that way and it wasn't sustainable because I didn't enjoy it.

The cardio I am thinking of doing is something like light weight weight training circuits (HIIT), or body weight circuits (I am a fan of the 4 workout card deck routine).

[Knightwatch]

Any particular reason you can't do those kinds of finishers/metcons/strengthcardio after 5x5? Less tweaking necessary, which is good if you're just getting into the swing of the habit. Just a thought. Good luck regardless, sounds like you're going great!

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

The biggest reason is that my wife and I work 9 hour days, so we're up at 6:30 to get ready to go to work and don't get to the gym until 5:30. Getting home by 7 and having dinner ready around 7:30 is the norm, but not eating until 8 isn't uncommon. At that point we only have 2 1/2 hours or so before bed, so spending more time at the gym would cut into that. So, I try to keep the gym to an hour, which is pretty much how long it takes me to do my lifts. Every other day is shorter due to the 1x5 deadlift, so maybe I'll throw in some light weight stuff after that.