Feel like I'm already a little fluffy. Not sure what to do with body weight.

[Brandon Hurlburt]

I'm 37 and started bro lifting in January. I'm going on a month since starting SSNLP. I started at 210 pounds and haven't really moved up or down in weight.

Stats (all weights in pounds):
Height 5'11"
Waist 38"
Neck 17.5"
Weight 208
Squat 155 -> 255
Press 85 -> 110
Bench 155 -> 170
Deadlift 195 -> 285

Prior to starting SSNLP, I've always had to be super careful with what I eat to avoid gaining weight which always seemed to come as body fat. I was tracking macros trying to get 1g/lb protein and keep carbs to about 25% of intake because I was still subscribing to magical macro thinking and the low carb mentality. Since I started NLP, I feel like I have to try and eat more just to avoid losing weight. I started this week at 210, so I've obviously not done the job so far.

My office has lunch catered daily. The food is free, so I can't really justify bringing my own. I eat a ton with a focus on meat and carbs with little regard for the fat content since it's near impossible to evaluate visually. I have 1-2 25g protein shakes every day and eat close to a pound of whatever meat we're having for dinner every night plus a large helping of vegetables and a pile of some kind of starch. In spite of not measuring everything, I'm managing to stay +/-2 lbs from my starting weight of 210. My butt, thighs, shoulders, and chest are getting bigger, and my love handles and belly have shrunk according to my wife.

The deadlift is starting to feel very heavy, but I don't appear to be struggling at all when my wife records me doing it. Internally, I feel like I'm going to fail every lift until the bar clears my knees, and then it comes up from there easily. I'll be at 3 plates in 3 more workouts. My goal is to hit 1/2/3/4 plates on the press/bench/squat/dead on or before my birthday in April.

The question is, would you recommend increasing carb intake to keep the lifts going up with my BMI being 29.5 (only a hair below obese), and my waist not lacking much in approaching 40". I know that the catered lunches really kill precision with macro counting. I could measure everything else I eat for more consistency. I guess it's more of a question of the pros vs cons of weight gain approaching a BMI over 30 if there is more strength to be had on the other side.

[Robert Santana]

The linear progression is a short snapshot in time in the grand scheme of things. Adding carbohydrates to run it out is worth it because we are only talking about a few months of time and then you can scale things back again on an intermediate program so you can lose some fat. In short, a temporary uptick in bodyweight is unlikely to cause a heart attack or diabetes for someone your age. I do recommend working on finding ways to regulate fat if you are serious about this for the long haul. I'm happy to help if you are in the market for a nutrition coach :-)

[Brandon Hurlburt]

Thank you for the reassurance. That's what I was thinking and hoping you'd say. I'm having to deliberately eat more than I ever have before just to avoid dropping the random pound right now. It's a problem I've never dreamed of having, but I also just don't want to try and push in the extra calories if it's not really advisable.

I'll be in the market for a lot of things along this vein once I free up resources. We're still recovering from a move and associated wage reset, but it's only a matter of time before things get better. Once I've managed to move more of my income is into the disposable category, I'll be reaching out to you and also to SS Austin for more detailed nutrition and training guidance. For now, I'll just continue to increase calories inaccurately other than to be sure adequate protein is present and make crude adjustments according to lift progress and body weight changes. Once a need for more accuracy is apparent, I'll figure out a way to track these catered lunch macros or just start bringing my own.

[Robert Santana]

Excellent man! I hope the move has worked out for you. Joyce and the crew would love to have you when the time comes as would I. We'll be here when you need us. Keep using the available resources and see keep us posted on how it works out for you.

[Brandon Hurlburt]

Absolutely. It's barely been a month, and my wife and I are both amazed at what is happening. She's doing the program as well and is rocking along. Eating more has been a real challenge to her because she's always been more focussed on cardio and eating "healthy." Her food choices have always been very good, but she's finding that the quantities are totally inadequate for strength training. She missed her deadlift a couple times and is now sending me pictures of her breakfasts and lunches to show off her carbs... Her deadlift is moving up again. She's seeing changes in her shape in one month that she's been trying to achieve since college prior to having 3 kids while being able to eat more than she did when she was pregnant. I've been reading your position papers and keep refreshing myself on technique with Rip's videos. Looking forward to the Carb and Fat papers. Learning a ton. NONE of this stuff is taught in medical school in any way that is practical or even applicable to real people. It's really exciting and life changing stuff to see it simplified and made meaningful.

[Robert Santana]

Thanks for the kind words. I am glad you are your wife are finding value here and I look forward to wrapping up those long needed position papers. Keep us posted if you need anything!