Starting Strength + Crossfit + Zone Diet

[maritime]

Mark,

I am 26, 6'-4" 195 lbs with 16% bodyfat. Always was a fat kid in high school, I weighed 200 lbs in 7th grade and probably was 265 at the heaviest. I dropped a lot of weight in college by eating differently but never got as skinny as I wanted to be and didnt have any strength at all.

I have been doing crossfit for ~18 months and have seen some big improvements in all my bodyweight work but slower improvement in my barbell work. I have been on the zone diet in varying levels of strictness for about a year.

I decided to do starting strength to build up a better foundation for my crossfit workouts and just started today. My appetite is WAY up, I decided to up my calorie intake and see what shakes out, it looks like I am clocking in around 3,000 calories for the day and staying right on the zone 40 30 30.

My goals are to drop the bodyfat while gaining strength. Is this an oxymoron? I think crossfit has prepared me well for starting strength, and I would like to keep crossfitting 2x a week and doing SS 3x a week. I am planning on eating ~23 blocks (approx 3000 calories) a day. Anything you would do differently?

[Mark Rippetoe]

I'd plan on 4000, and damn the bodyfat consequences. You've got to eat to train, and train to perform, and let go of thinking you're still a fat kid.

[maritime]

Thanks for the quick reply. You hit the nail on the head. I'll take your advice and try to up it to 4000 for a month or two and see what develops. More milk!

[justinbass]

It is much harder to gain muscle and strength than it is to loose fat. Eat a ton, get stronger, then switch to paleo zone(with lower carbs and much higher fat) + crossfit and you'll shed the unwanted fat.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

It's hard to get too fat when you squat 3 x week unless your diet is just totally out of control, which it sounds like it is not. Even if you do gain some bodyfat who cares....it can be easily shed once you start back Crossfitting again full time. Go get strong.

[Tiburon]

My goals are to drop the bodyfat while gaining strength. Is this an oxymoron?

Yes. Gain 30 pounds.