Rapid Waist size gains and fat

[tbone]

Hey guys,

I've seen a million threads on this general topic, but I still feel lost in the direction I need to head. I'm currently 34, 223 pounds, 5'11, 26% BF, 41 inch waist.

My lifts are (3x5):
Squat: 305 lbs
Bench: 160 lbs (way low and I'm working on it)
Deadlift: 285 lbs
Shoulder Press: 130 lbs
Power Clean: 175 lbs
Chins at body weight

I'm squarely in the middle of LP and growing, so I'm aware I need to continue to get my lifts up.

My concern is that though I'm gaining weight, which is likely primarily muscle growth, my fat growth has gone up significantly. I've put on 10 pounds over the last month and my waist went from 38 inches to 41 inches in the same time.

My macros are currently 220g protein, 220g carb, 70g fat (2390 calories / TDEE 2515) with a 5% deficit since my BF% is 26%. I track closely on myfitnesspal and I'm generally pretty close to my calorie numbers. Most of the time, however, my fat intake is actually higher than expected (~100g / day), and Carbs generally end up around 100-150g. With that, I hit my calories max quickly.

So I'm looking for advice. Are my macros appropriate? Total calories from those are 2390 daily (significantly below what others are told to go to in the 3000-4000 range), but I'm gaining a LOT more fat than I anticipated. I obviously expected some as I was working through this program, but I think I'm gaining more fat than I should. Some people are told to cut back on carbs a little and see what happens, but at the possible expense of having trouble hitting some 3x5 weight increases.

Some background on myself. I've fluctuated in weight all my life. I graduated high school at 240 lbs (football player), went to the Naval Academy and cut down to a lean 185lbs, after graduation ballooned back up to 240 and came off active duty. When I became a civilian again, I went hard-core paleo for about 5 years and came back down to 192 lbs - but I was extremely weak. I slowly started lifting and doing cardio for a while until I found this program, which I started in early November.

Because of the paleo time (< 50g carbs daily), I believe my metabolism has slowed significantly. At the time I was eating no more than 1700 calories per day and consistently felt full! I can barely stomach going more than the 2390 calories I'm striving for today. Energy levels are good and I have no problem getting myself to the gym.

My first goal, of course, is to get my lifts up - especially Bench and Press. And I know many, many people have asked if it's possible to make gains without gaining fat. I totally understand I will gain fat, but my waist level is growing at such a fast rate that I'm concerned I'm not ingesting the right macros.

Any advice? Thanks all for the help.

[Robert Santana]

Thanks for posting. Your calories and macros are fine to start out. I would not drop to 150 carbohydrate and focus on keeping the fat under 100 g at all times. It sounds like your body tends to want to be heavier so controlling fat will be more important for you. The reason you do not need 3000-4000 right now is because your lifts aren’t incredibly heavy in relation to your weight, especially your deadlift. Speaking of which, why are you only pulling 285? My advice is keep at 2300 and add as the lifts become more difficult.

[tbone]

Thanks - appreciate the guidance. I'll stay the course then and keep working on getting my lifts up. To be frank, with my deadlift, I started the program way to low on that weight. I started on November 7th at 220, added 10 pounds per workout up to 270 and then shifted to 5 pound increments up until my post.

[Robert Santana]

Thanks - appreciate the guidance. I'll stay the course then and keep working on getting my lifts up. To be frank, with my deadlift, I started the program way to low on that weight. I started on November 7th at 220, added 10 pounds per workout up to 270 and then shifted to 5 pound increments up until my post.

You need to fix this. It's going to be hard if your squat tonnage is high relative to your capabilities.