Where do I begin?

[MikeRichard]

Dr. J,

I've been doing Starting Strength for just over 2 months and have seen a textbook rise in all the numbers. I am 37 years old, 210 lbs, 5'11". By appearances, I carry most of my weight in my gut unfortunately. I know almost nothing about nutrition, especially while trying to gain strength. There are so many opinions out there, so I have no idea what I should be doing nutritionally.

I started SS with zero barbell training history at 210 lbs and have remained there, all while going from a squat of 95 to 265 lbs and my deadlift has gone from 135 to 290 lbs. While I will just keep plugging away for awhile, I want to focus on "gut loss" at some point. So I'd like to educate myself now as to what I should be doing.

I love the fact that SS tells you exactly what to do. I have done the program as taught and I am getting "strength gain" results. I guess my real desire is to be told exactly what to do nutritionally so I can get similar "gut loss" results. Is there such a resource/program available? Or do you have any tips that I should consider? Your time is very much appreciated!

Thanks!

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Hey Mike,

Welcome to the forum and the iron

I think that as you continue to train, your waist will likely decrease unless your weight rapidly goes up.

I also think that aiming for 200g of protein per day is a reasonable place to start tweaking your diet, and I'd also aim to have a fruit or vegetable with each meal. Start there and we can complicate things later on.

[MikeRichard]

Since your response, I started tracking my diet with myfitnesspal. I was well short of the 200 grams per day. (Averaged between 135 and 150)

I've since drastically upped my protein intake and have lowered my fats as well. I was already eating fruits and veggies a few times a day, so that was easy advice to follow.

My calories are now only averaging 1700 per day though. I am really good about tracking every single thing I eat/drink, so I think it's pretty accurate. For maintenance, myfitnesspal says I should be at around 2,600 per day.

With the protein increase, I am so damn full. I have no desire to eat most of the time, which is a weird feeling for me. Typically, I'm always hungry.

I'm losing about 3/4 lb per day. Is this ok? I am overweight, so it's nice to see the scale every morning, but will it slow my strength gains to lose weight this quickly? I just don't want to sabotage my LP for a silly diet error.

Do you think I should continue this way or go back to having a serving or two of Doritos, pizza and ice cream on a daily basis? 😉

P.S. - Congrats on the victory in Oakland!

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Do you think I should continue this way or go back to having a serving or two of Doritos, pizza and ice cream on a daily basis? ��

Nope.

I'm losing about 3/4 lb per day. Is this ok? I am overweight, so it's nice to see the scale every morning, but will it slow my strength gains to lose weight this quickly? I just don't want to sabotage my LP for a silly diet error.

You should not be losing weight that quickly as you are not morbidly obese or anything.

I would add calories in the form of protein and carbs. Let your weight stabilize, then adjust from there.

Thanks for the kind words!