Unsure of when to start losing weight

I've been working through the NLP, and I'm having some issues related to blood pressure that are causing me to prioritize my weight.

I'm 37 years old, 5'7", and weigh 210 lbs. I started NLP on 1/25/2021 after a 2 year layoff, and I weighed 214 lbs when I started. I've been consistent, increasing the weight, and lifting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I've missed 4 workouts since starting. My weight has fluctuated - starting at 214, down to 204, and now back up to 210. Went down a belt size then back up. I'm hitting 160-200 grams of protein daily 6 or 7 days a week.

My lifts are:
Squat: 145 -> 325 (5 lb increments) (had to drop weight and fix form due to bar position and resulting elbow pain, worked back up to 325)
Press: 90 -> 152.5 (2.5 lb increments)
Bench: 135 -> 215 (5 lb increments)
Deadlift: 185 -> 405 (5 lb increments)
Power Clean: 115 -> 165 (2.5 lb increments)
Chins: 4 at bodyweight
These are all sets of 5 except for Power Cleans, which are 5 sets of 3. I do no exercise/training outside of this (no cardio).

I think I still have a ways I can go on the NLP while maintaining weight. I have not yet introduced any variations (5 sets of 3; 3 sets of 3; assistance exercises), and I'll be hitting all time PRs in a few weeks on all lifts at the current pace. I've considered keeping protein at 160-200 grams and dropping 500 calories a day or so, keep adding pounds to the bar, and seeing what happens, but given how frequently I've heard about how difficult it is to gain muscle and lose weight, I'm not sure it's the best path.

Any guidance? Finish out the NLP at current weight and then start weight loss? Or start on a weight loss goal now and revisit the tail end of the NLP when I have more space in weight?

Thank you for your thoughts.

You should definitely finish out the LP and then move to an intermediate program to trim off the fat. You've done pretty good all things considered. Your bench press will need to slow down at some point. Not sure you are struggling with it but 2.5 lb increases are standard for most of the LP so something tells me you started too light to begin with.

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Originally Posted by Robert Santana

You should definitely finish out the LP and then move to an intermediate program to trim off the fat. You've done pretty good all things considered. Your bench press will need to slow down at some point. Not sure you are struggling with it but 2.5 lb increases are standard for most of the LP so something tells me you started too light to begin with.

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Thanks, Robert. I'll do that. Agreed on the 2.5 lbs on bench. It's always felt the worst of all my lifts. Yesterday's was very close to a dropped rep on the last set.

You are welcome. You may need a reset but first rest 5 minutes or more and add 2.5 per workout.