Should I gain or lose weight?

I'm 23, 5'11, male, waffling between 200-205lbs with a 37 inch waist for the last 6 months or so. The U.S. Navy method estimates me at ~24% body fat. I finally got back into the gym a few weeks ago so I'm still trying to gain back the small amount of progress I made previously, and I'm nearly there. My numbers are currently:

Squat: 205 for 5

Bench: 175 for 5

Deadlift: 230 for 5

Press: 105 for 5

Body Measurements:
Chest - 40"

Shoulders - 47.5"

Thighs - 26"

Arms - 14"

Neck- 15"

On the one hand, I feel like I'm carrying a little too much extra body fat, especially around my waist, legs, and ass. It slows me down when I run once or twice a week, and for the Air Force fitness test, and I don't think it looks good.

On the other, I feel like I need more muscle mass and strength, especially in my upper body, which I think is a little disproportionately small compared to my lower body. It's also a lot easier to do an NLP program on a calorie surplus. And finally, it's easier to shed fat later once you've accumulated more muscle, since your RMR will be higher.

I feel like I'm in some awkward stage between skinny fat and a little bit chubby. Can provide pictures for reference if needed. Not sure whether to gain another 15 to 20 pounds of muscle and then cut fat, or try to cut 15 to 20 pounds of fat first and then replace it with muscle. I'm gonna have a hard time with it psychologically either way, but I've been trying and failing to cut weight for months. Just having a hard time with the dietary discipline.

You definitely need to get stronger. Are you making progress right now? I wouldn't lose more than 10-15 lb given your height and do so while eating as many carbohydrates as you can on whatever calorie deficit you need to lose fat.

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Originally Posted by Robert Santana

You definitely need to get stronger. Are you making progress right now? I wouldn't lose more than 10-15 lb given your height and do so while eating as many carbohydrates as you can on whatever calorie deficit you need to lose fat.

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I am making progress, the weights have been increasing on the lower body lifts easily, bench too, but the press is getting a little harder. I've been doing keto this whole time because it makes calorie restriction easier for me, but I'm thinking about changing that up for convenience and because I miss carbs.

I wasn't that strong before quarantine hit either, I was squatting 225 and deadlifting 260. So I'm close to getting back to my previous numbers.

What's the best method to calculate how many calories, and how much fat, I should be consuming, assuming I switch back to eating lots of carbs?

And just to clarify, you're recommending that I drop 10 to 15 pounds? Or, are you saying that that should be the *limit* of my weight loss for now, if I insist on losing weight, and that ideally I should gain 10 to 20 pounds first before cutting body fat?

Keep the calories the same and swap fat for carbohydrates. You made progress because the weight wasn't that heavy. That is changing now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Robert Santana

Keep the calories the same and swap fat for carbohydrates. You made progress because the weight wasn't that heavy. That is changing now.

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Alright, so based on that I'll be eating 2200 calories a day, aiming to lose 0.5 to 1 pound a week, with 198 grams of protein, 49 grams of fat, and 248 grams of carbs. Anything I should adjust there?

That sounds about right to me. You should feel it in your workouts within a few days.