i am intimidated by the 6'5" 250 lb ex marine types at my gym. though I'm sure they could spot me with a pinky.

Watch all 7 parts. It's worth the time.

Lol you think i'm lying? First you say you dont know how good my workout is... so i give you basic idea of my progress. Not trying to impress you or anything, i already have a girlfriend i can fuck.

When people talk too much, I put ear buds in without the player. They normally get the idea.

I do that at work and just turn and start doing stuff.

last night i pulled 260. i felt like a man, but then i couldn't do a second.

I went to gym last night to do my 5x5 workout

I had to wait for a while because some guy who looked like Joe Perez' whiter uncle was there doing squats. I didn't stare long enough to fully calculate his load but probably 260 (yes, he used 2.5lb plates). He did 5 sets.

Then he went over to bench. I didn't see how much but I saw him at least hang a 45 and a 25 on each side plus some small plates. He might have been warming up still.

Meanwhile I was busting out my 100 lb squats, 90 lb rows, and 75 lb bench (I dialed back a tad to start Stronglifts with a lower weight).

It was just funny to me that there was a) another guy there doing what appeared to be 5x5, b) he was like 47 years old, c) he seriously had the Perez DNA (hairstyle, mustache, glasses).

I did not work up the courage to ask him about his workout. He was very diligent about writing every set down in his notebook too.

Giada was there again, she was bent over a bench so i didn't really want to approach her with questions about food...

How did you want to approach her??

201.4lbs

A few months back, shortly after returning from my Jamaica honeymoon I weighed in at 199lbs. I've never hit 200 before, so it scared me into dieting (Sort of). I started by cutting back my portions for regular meals, as well as watch what snacks I've been eating and switch to water 90% of the time. I previously drank about 2 glasses of iced tea each night (The really unhealthy powder mix crap). I think cutting out the iced tea helped a ton. I knocked about 10-13lbs off from dieting alone from July to September.

Then last month, I started to go back to the gym (Our association has a clubhouse with a small gym), and I am happy to say that I weighed in last night at 181.6. I'm not nearly as worried about actual weight as I am about being healthy and not being fat.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I almost lost 20lbs so far, and figured I'd share. I plan to keep at it and see where it takes me. Wish I had time to make it to the gym a couple extra nights, but 3 times/wk will have to do for now.

I still can't get back under 180. it's making me sad.

I feel like I was stuck at 187 for a month lol. Might have just been a fluke that I registered in at 181 yesterday. This morning I was 184 but I float around +/- 5lbs throughout the day.

brainzo, why do you think you will LOSE WEIGHT by doing a 5x5 program??

you lift a lot
you eat a lot
therefore you will weigh a lot

but you might lose your gut!

yeah ive noticed my chest and gut has flattened a bit. I dunno, i'd just rather see 179 over 180 :)

here's my weights over the last few weigh-ins:

10/3/2013 181
10/7/2013 183
10/9/2013 183
10/11/2013 181.4
10/16/2013 181.5
10/18/2013 182
10/21/2013 183
10/23/2013 180.8
10/25/2013 181.2
10/28/2013 182
10/30/2013 183.4
11/4/2013 180
11/6/2013 183.4
11/8/2013 182
11/11/2013 180
11/13/2013 181
11/15/2013 182.3

but I went from deadlifting 185 to 260, and sqautting 105 to ~180. and all the halloween candy floating around the office didn't help.

Muscle weights more than fat bro.

I'm at 180 and when I don't work out I drop to 165-170.

I know. that's why i dont care too much, but i still have plenty of fat I need to trim. I'm willing to bet I have abour 20 lbs of fat on my belly alone.

You want to lean yourself out:
People fail because they don't track their caloric intake. Your go to the gym you work out and you get hungry so you eat more and see no reductions. Figure out where you are at and cut is by 500 calories. Don't expect to see strength gains in the gym. I recommend attempting this 2-3 months before beach season (Get strong until this time). TRACK WHAT YOU EAT AND FOCUS ON A GOOD MACRO BALANCE. It becomes easy if your create go to meals.

****Note if you are a scrawny or have overestimated your muscle content under the flab you will reveal your true self to everyone.

lol i have completely the opposite body. I stop working out for a month i drop like 20 lb.

2 summers ago i took a break for like 2-3 months. Went from 170 to 135.

As far as the diet goes. Its either bulking or cutting.. the lean bulk theory is a big waste of time usually spread around by weak people who have hit a platoe and wont accept it. Think of it this way. During bulking focus on increasing muscle mass and strength, during cutting focus on keeping up your strength and losing fat.

Yeah I am waiting to complete my 12 weeks of 5x5, then i was going to focusing on keeping the strength and leaning out.

seriously just eat how you normally eat and eliminate all white processed foods from your diet and it will take care of itself. You'll still have plenty of calories, carbs, and protein but you'll reduce the stuff that makes you manboobilicious