Where should I re-start?

[ShuffleUp]

I am a 34 year old male.
5'7" and 180. Not lean. Waist is about 36".
I carry most fat in belly (not deep within belly, just flab), and upper thighs.
I am down from 230 lbs (very fat) about 3 years ago, largely accomplished by carb restriction, no exercise.

Eventually I started having some problems from being too low carb for too long. My weight loss plateued and blood sugar was pretty low even after eating a meal. My energy was gone, very glycogen depleted and couldn't do shit. Therefore I started more of a paleo type diet with apples, blueberries, and sweet potatos as my primary carb sources. Energy is now better and I feel like I can now do something active again.

I have no problem with very limited food choices and almost daily eat nothing but chicken, grassfed beef patty, sweet potato, green beans, an apple & peanut butter, 1/2 cup blueberries, almonds, beef jerky, 3 whole eggs, turkey sausage, and some whey.

It is also highly relevant to mention that I suffer from anxiety and Panic Disorder, for which I started taking a low dose of Lexapro a few months ago, and very low dose of atenolol for stress-induced palpitations and some other non-pharm anxiolytics like magnesium, high dha fish oil, and various anti-inflammatory herbs/supps.

My lowest weight in the last year was about 172, but as I have added some carbs back in, I've inched back to 180, and I need it to stop or else shift to muscular build rather than fat.

I seem to have some metabolic inefficiencies. I am not diabetic, my fasting BG is in the 80's and post meal BG doesn't rise to more than the 110 range. However it seems that my metabolism is a little off since I eat what I consider a strict paleo diet (no wheat in over 3 years, no hfcs) and yet I still have some weird blood sugar dips which cause me to snack often (I keep snacks to fruit, nuts, or beef jerkey) and my weight is still a challenge. If I ate half the carb load as my 120 lb wife does I'd be fat as shit.

12 years ago I was about this weight but very lean and muscular. My 2RM bench was around 275 and I had never heard of SS so was leg pressing rather than squatting, but I had very good body comp and ~ 31" waist.

As mentioned above, my strength during the last couple of years feels weak. I have been intolerant of exercise due to the anxiety and panic issues as well. An example is that even light work (loading a rick of wood into a truck) would cause me to get extremely foggy headed for days, probably due to inflammation. I know this also sounds pussy but I'm here for help so I disclose what I think of - when my heart rate gets high it triggers an association with panic attacks and leaves me mentally in a scared place which causes me to back off the weights for awhile. (My heart is fine - my resting heart rate is about 60 and I have run the gamut on heart tests due to hypochondria).

Since beginning on the Lexapro my general inflammation feeling is way down now and I do not feel as intolerant to physical activity anymore. I started doing squats & lunges with no bar, pushups, pullups, walking, and some ab work to test myself. Silly as it sounds this stuff would get me foggy before I started on meds. I feel like I want to start trying to lift again. I have a barbell and rack at home, bench, etc.

I don't know if the right approach is strictly SS but I like the idea of using primarily compound lifts for allaround fitness improvement.

No one is ever going to time me for a 40. I just want to get physically stronger and more tolerant of activity, lose some midsection, and firm up if you'll pardon the cliche.

My questions if you've made it this far:
1. My current diet is basically maintaining my current level of fatness, maybe slight surplus due to stress snacking. If I add in compound lifts should I look to increase calories to help with strength gains, or try to stay at the same calories given I need to lose fat?
2. Is the basic SS novice workout what I should be looking to do? Or can anyone recommend an adjustment based on my need to start easier than a HS athlete?
3. What is a normal heart rate on completing a set of 5 squats? This sounds crazy, but I get scared shitless when I finish an exercise and wonder if it is normal to have a racing heart? Yes, I have issues.

[MazdaMatt]

In the very beginning if you take it easy you can start without additional food. Once you get into the groove you will base your food intake based on your recovery ability (ie, if you're starting to fail squats before bodyweight is on the bar, you're not eating enough).

On those easy sets your heart rate will jump a little. You'll puff a bit, but it won't be brutal... till later. On my PR squats I generally have to sit the F down or risk falling down. But you'll be used to it by then - that's part of the effect of Linear Progression; acclimatizing your body to slightly higher physical stress slowly and constantly.

In the beginning, SS is perfect for anybody that wants to get stronger. Your goals dictate what happens after SS.

[RobCor]

1) The "I am fat how should I eat while lifting" topic has been covered to death. Search around the forums.

2) Yes you should do SS.

On those easy sets your heart rate will jump a little. You'll puff a bit, but it won't be brutal... till later. On my PR squats I generally have to sit the F down or risk falling down. But you'll be used to it by then - that's part of the effect of Linear Progression; acclimatizing your body to slightly higher physical stress slowly and constantly.

3) This. After not eating well for my last squat day, squatting 275lbs had my heart sounding like a stampede. When the weight is heavy and recovery becomes an issue (I'm not there yet), you'll find yourself fighting very hard and it's perfectly normal to feel light headed or dizzy after a very heavy set. I can't counsel you on your issues with your heart rate and panic attacks, but know that throughout SS it's normal to have your heart moving. Power Cleans are particularly good at getting it beating, along with heavy squats.

[MazdaMatt]

Heck, weight lifting is a stress-reducer. So combine that with linear progression of your stress trigger and you may damn well cure your issue!

[ShuffleUp]

Thanks guys for the responses. Take care.