[RexImperator]

(09-24-2013 08:23 AM)reaper23 Wrote:  

if you've stalled on your progression, just reset back 10-15 pounds and start over. thats part of the linear progression. its ok.

but for some reason there is a part of me that thinks you just might not be trying hard enough.

in your position you are set up for the easiest gains of your life. complete and total newb gains.

and in this scenario you can add strength, cut fat and build muscle, likely even with a calorie deficit. what i would suggest is just trying to eat maintenance calories, do your lifts and some cardio and you'll add muscle and cut fat.

do you know what your maintenance calories are?

Thanks for the advice. I've been trying to figure my maintenance calories out. I've used online calculators/estimators such as this one:

Scooby's TDEE Calculator

According to this it should be around 3300. But perhaps that is a bit high. I am going to try reducing calories slightly further and see what happens.

It could be that I am just beating the sh*t out of myself squatting 3x a week, or maybe I need more sleep. As an experiment, I skipped squatting today (trying to let a slight injury heal) and I was able to push my 3x5 Bench and 1x5 DL higher on fewer calories. So that felt good.

I've reordered many things in my life to make fitness a priority. This is important to me. I'll admit I might be "overthinking" it though... There's certainly a mental challenge to overcome when you put in so much effort, and feel like you look worse. Regardless, I'll push through.