A week ago I started 5x5.  I used to powerlift a lot, but that was 20 years ago.  I'm 44 years old now, with ten years of totally sedentary office work on my gut.  Ive done some rock climbing but not in several years.

242 lbs ,5'11"  

Did my third workout today on Stronglifts 5x5. Felt great.

Breakfast after the workout consisted of:

3 large eggs w some mozzarella cheese
30g protein shake mix with 6oz of milk and 2 oz of plain yogurt, and some creatine powder

I am hoping I can stay pretty low carb, maybe 35 grams of carbs per day while maintaining this workout cadence.  I am going to target 200 grams of protein daily, which will be a bit hard to do - does that sound like a reasonable amount of protein?

I know that eggs, chicken and broccoli have high protein, and I will also eat lots of red meat.  Plus 2 protein shakes per day.  The mix has 1g carbs but the milk and yogurt will contribute some.

Goal is to be down to 200lbs by Feb 1st.  I have lost 25 lbs per month doing keto in the past, so this seems doable except that I don't want to totally hobble strength gains.  I have a very weak core, so much so that I have noticed vast improvement in the past week alone and I want to keep at it.  Since Stronglifts 5x5 is very squat centric I think it'll help with that.

I plan to stick with this for 12 weeks minimum, 16 weeks if I see gains.  Then I will reassess and move onto the Texas Method or some other program if needed.

Recommendations?

SL will absolutely help with your core. I had trouble balancing the barbell on my back when I started on July 23rd, and this morning I squatted 185 for 5 sets of 5. I'd done that prior to October, but I tweaked my back because my form wasn't the greatest and I had to back off and build myself up again. I rarely (read: maybe once or twice since July) do any core-specific exercises, so it's all the squats, deads, and OHP.

I can't comment on the diet as I'm still trying to figure mine out too. Currently eating roughly 2100cals a day or less, 5' 9" and 271 pounds, trying to get down to 225 and then 200ish most likely.

Yeah I already feel less stiff and more flexible.  One advantage I have is that my form on the lifts is good already, so I can focus on getting the most out of the workouts.  Quads were pretty sore this am with DOMS from Monday but I pushed through it ok.

Last time I lifted I was eating like a horse.  I am willing to sacrifice some gains in order to be less of a fatass, so I've got that going for me I suppose.

I'm finding I have trouble even hitting 2000 most days unless I gorge myself on cleaner foods, or I allow some garbage.

I don't get it. I've dropped from nearly a 50 pant size, to wearing 40/42's, but some days my gut bloat makes me feel like I haven't lost much around the midsection. Not sure what the deal is but I'm over it. I record all my food in MFP and I haven't found any correlation between certain foods and days I feel I look like shit but I guess I need to dig a little deeper... As I said before I still have another 50-60 to lose ideally so I'm sure it will be one of the last "fat parts" to disappear.

I find that by consuming the protein shakes - which tasted like SHIT years ago but are actually fucking good now, my appetite is way suppressed.  I love it.

What is your BMR? What are your macros?

Studies and literature vary on protein consumption.  The highest amount needed in studies is 0.82 grams per pound of lean body mass.  A range of .64 to .82 grams per pound of lean body mass has been shown as the most needed. More won't hurt you unless you have kidney or other medical issues, but you are sacrificing other macros for protein.

Look up a TDEE calculator. Plug in age, height, weight, etc.  Get a rough idea how many calories a day you need.  Eat 500 to 1000 less calories a day then you need to stay at your current weight.  Every 10 pounds of loss or so recalculate the calories.

I've posted this a few times in similar threads...

I have that image downloaded - its my daily inspiration image, it's a helluva transformation - is that you?

It is, thanks.

10 months on 5x5 now - still a newb in the grand scheme, but if I can answer any questions just ask.

Dropping 42# by February 1st is a pretty extreme goal.  I'm counting like 11 weeks...so you're talking like 3.8#/week.  Doable but man that's gonna suck....like 1900 cals per day deficit suck.  You'll get some strength as you go from untrained to beginner level lifting but at that kind of deficit i imagine you're not going to feel so hot a couple months in.

You'll probably be able to shed weight quickly at 1st, as you're a little heavy right now, but that's going to taper off the leaner you get unless you continually drop your calorie intake or increase activity to match.

Going the lifting route, keto or no keto you need a calorie deficit...so i suggest you learn to count calories.   I prefer to keep my carb intake up when i lift as I believe it helps my energy levels, but to each their own.

.....

FWIW i lost 45# at the start of my journey, but that was over about 7 months.  I've lost around 90 or so over 4 years of bulking and cutting.  My completely honest opinion, is that you should try to set yourself up for a more sustainable long term weight loss program and don't kill yourself to lose all that weight by that date.  Like i said you'll drop weight like a rock at first but it'll taper off pretty quickly.  After that, lock in your calorie intake for 1-2#/week loss and learn how to live a more healthy and active lifestyle.