Unsure of caloric intake

[Edge]

Hello all.

I am 30 years old, 5'10, and weigh 205lbs. I have a bit of a gut & lovehandles and started starting strength 4 weeks ago.

Squat 115 --> 200
B. Press 125 --> 150
Deadlift 195 --> 255
Press 65 --> 90
Clean 65 --> 90

Since my weight is pretty much where it will be when I'm finished, I'm unsure of a good caloric intake while on the program. It seems like I'm in a grey area that isn't mentioned in the book (don't need to gain a bunch, don't need to lose a bunch).

Everything I've read tells me that gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is very hard/slow.... Should I be eating a surplus, or a maintenance?

My typical days diet is as follows

8am - 2 cups milk + 1 scoop whey
10am - 1/2 pound ground beef + brown rice
11:30am - 2 cups of raw beans, 2 cups of grape tomatoes
1pm - 1/2 pound of ground beef + brown rice
3pm - 4 cups of raw broccoli
5:30pm - 2 cups of milk + protein shake
7pm - 1/2 chicken + vegetables + a potato
9pm - 1/2 cup of almonds (or peanuts) + raisons

It seems with this I am slightly gaining. Thoughts? Tips?

[Greg C]

Where do you weigh in? Same time/place? Are you doing a running average (EXCEL has a nice feature for this)? How long have you been tracking weight? Is your food log complete? By this I mean log EVERYTHING that passes your lips for a month. Where do you get the caloric count from?

[Edge]

I think you miss the point of my question.... I'm up a couple of pounds in 4 Weeks of SS.. will this lack of gains become and issue seeing as I started at around 200... I know skinny folk should gain, and obese folk will lose... But if we're at the weight we want to end up with (althohgh with more muscle mass obv) should you just try and lift and maintain, or will I have to gain and cut for better effficiency?

[tzanghi]

React to your body. No need to change if you're making progress on the lifts. However if you're getting a bit chubby or heavy for your liking, dial back carbs and fat a little bit. Likewise if you're not making progress on the lifts, then up the food a bit.

[Greg C]

React to your body. No need to change if you're making progress on the lifts. However if you're getting a bit chubby or heavy for your liking, dial back carbs and fat a little bit.

This.

[Edge]

Thanks for the input.

[vanslix]

Had the exact same experience. After about 10 weeks on SS, I gained about 5 pounds. Some was definitely muscle since the arms of my shirts were tighter but some was also fat since my pants also fit tighter around the waist. I just said screw it, I'll finish out the 12 weeks and then figure out that magic balance between maintaining lean body mass while losing fat. I'm just starting that phase now. Let me know what works for you.