transitioning from 'fat loss' mentality to 'strength' mentality - tips ?

[macabresalad]

i was over 400lb at my heaviest, i got down to about 185 through diet alone, at which point i felt confident beginning a lifting program. ive been doing a stronglifts 5x5 variation called ketogains 5x5 for about 4 months now, but im pretty dissatisfied with my progress:

currently:

squat: 150 (5x5)
deadlift: 175 (1x5)
bench press: 80 (5x5)
close grip bench press: 65 (3x8)
overhead press: 65 (5x5)
shrug: 60lb (3x8)
standing overhead tricep extension: 50 (3x8)
dumbbell curl: 20lb (3x8) 25lb can do maybe 5 reps

im 30/m/6'2"/172lb and have no history of sports or fitness, i am trying to change that now by challenging myself, becoming passionate about being physically fit, and trying to shift my self esteem/self image away from 'being lean', 'losing weight', 'being skinny and not fat' and other sentiments, to 'being big and strong' and aspiring to smoething far more productive. plus, i have so much loose skin, ill probably never have a flat stomach or be able to see my abs without surgery anyway. i think a linear progression approach where i can see concrete evidence of improvement of 5lb a week or whatever would be much healthier. so yeah, that's where im coming from.

im curious if others who got into powerlifting/strongman have had a similar background and how they changed their caloric intake (should i increase 100 a day til i hit maintenance, then see if im still losing weight? or go up to maintenance + 10% calories and hope that i get an explosion of strength after a few days of eating more?) how much does program matter in your experience - does PPL 6x a week have a 70% faster increase in progression vs a full-body workout 3x a week for example, or is it really just personal preference? (id rather stick to what im familiar with if possible). am i gimping myself by staying keto despite being at a low weight, and i will notice a massive difference in lifting heavy by reintroducing things like brown rice/oatmeal/sweet potatoes, or is that more about having more variety to be able to pack in the calories rather than getting another 600 a day through fats?

honestly where i live there are no powerlifting clubs or anything anyway, and i can't afford a personal trainer, so this is more about me wanting to push myself hard, rather than needing it to be perfect or hit 300lb bench press in a year or anything. trying to open my mind to new possibilities and ways of looking at myself and my goals, sorry if these are noobish questions