Body Weight Distribution, gain or maintain?

[Jewelcity304]

Hey all,

I'm just getting starting on the NLP. I do have a background of athletics and strength training but have had a huge layoff (5 years) after a car accident really messed my shoulders up.

As I stayed generally sedentary and put weight on, I ballooned up to 310 pounds at 6 ft tall. I have gotten down to 230 lbs since but have a Hank Hill body. All gut, no ass. Waist measurement most recently measured was 44" around naval. Very round in the middle. I noticed when helping a friend move recently how disgustingly weak I'd gotten, so I'm trying to get the strength back

Stats after 2 weeks of NLP
Squat: 245
Deadlift: 310
Bench: 145
Press: 90

After the first training session I hadn't recovered at all by the next session, so I upped my food. Currently eating around 4000 calories and prioritizing getting at least 225 gr protein per day. I am more than happy gaining some weight for strength, but I have no idea how much I should really be eating. I want to eat enough to train optimally, but don't want to gain unnecessary weight as I admit I do have a fear of being a fat slob again.

My gut is the most worrisome part, and it seems like that's where every pound of fat goes

Any help on calorie goal would be appreciated. 4000 calories seems to be working for now but as the weight goes up I'm not sure what I should move on to

[Robert Santana]

Are you losing weight or inches on 4k calories? How are those calories distributed?

[Jewelcity304]

I've only been doing 4k for about 2 weeks. I've weighed myself the last 2 Sundays. My weight has fluctuated from being +1 lb to -1 lb over the two weeks so I don't have enough info to say for sure what it's doing for weight just yet.

Waist measurement is almost identical. Maybe down by 1/8th" in 2 weeks.

Main priority is protein. I shoot for a minimum of 225 grams of protein up to 250 grams of protein per day. I thought getting enough calories would be the easy part, I was wrong. So on days where feeding myself seems like torture I'll go to a minimum of 225 grams.

Current macro breakdown is 40% protein, 35% carbs, 25% fats. Although I am thinking of switching another 5% from fats and add to carbs. Energy levels haven't been great the last week, but that amount of good has allowed me to add 5lbs per workout as intended.

[Robert Santana]

So you are maintaining on that calorie level. I'd push those carbs to at least 40%. You'll feel a lot better. Probably time to take down the calories though if you are holding on the current calorie level.