Aim: sub 15% by Christmas

[havoNI]

So as per title, aiming to get myself sub 15% bf by Christmas of this year, my current bf% stats are a guess at best.

Background

Was an active kid and athletically fit teenager, played rugby for my grammar school, and spent most of my weekends active playing sports with friends or going from A>B walking or cycling. Left school at 16 due to clinical depression and anxiety in 2003, weight pilled on over a number of years. Depression subsided somewhat in 2010, and I was off medication by early 2011, on 1st August 2011 I weighed in at 295 lbs.

I started working out for the first from August onwards and in the space of a year August 2011> August 2012 I went from 295 lbs to 204 lbs. In August 2012 I started seeing my girlfriend and September 2012 I started a new job, however around this time my healthier lifestyle I had come accustomed to started to suffer, partly due to the new responsibilities i held and the ridiculous shift-work (and as such no steady routine) but also partly due to laziness and being complacent. Due mostly to the bad diet ive regained about 1/3 of the weight I lost.

Aims

Ive just amicably quit my job and have a solid 6-8 months free time to sort my body out. The point of this thread is to keep myself accountable, and to keep myself motivated and listen to advice of others who have been through similar journeys.

Ultimately Id like to have around 10% bf with a solid amount of muscle, Im not looking for a full bodybuilder physique, Im more looking towards an athletic body.

For now though im setting the goal of 15% by Christmas, which I believe is definitely achievable with a solid diet and good consistency.


How? (need help here!)

Planned routine is as follows:

Mon Weds Fri: 5x5 stronglifts, ive tried multiple routines and feel the most reward as far as noticable strength gain from 5x5, though im very open to opinions
Tues Thurs Sat: 1 hour LISS walking, again open to opinions, but ill note when i dropped 90lbs my cardio was purely walking, with a hiit session max once per week.
Sun rest

Diet plans:

This is where I always go a lil crazy, so so so many conflicting opinions. every calculator I use online to judge my TDEE is somewhere around 2.8-3.1k for MAINTENANCE. Now that's with me being very honest about my weight height and exercise ( ie ill be working out 3 times a week, as the liss sessions i wouldn't count as a "workout" per se), so even an aggressive cut would be around 2.1-2.3 a day (which feels awful high, as I previously cut on 1500, albeit my energy suffered badly) need advice here definitely.

Ive good access to butchers chicken breast, fresh veg, etc.

Ive tried keto in the past, its a no go, just not able to stay on it. So ill be sticking to a reasonably normal diet, though I need advice on a macro ratio split. Ill also need advice on curbing cravings to see if theres any new tricks i can learn. The only cheatmeals i plan on having will be dinner out with the gf once every couple of weeks.

So it begins

Starting tomorrow morning Tuesday 9th July, ill keep this thread updated at least every other day, and update stats once per week, also will aim to have a photo log.

Starting stats, 245lbs (with massive water retention from a yearly meetup with friends) @ 6ft 2"

Questions to bbers:

How much do you find a good sleep pattern helps your mental resilience and ability to fight laziness/cravings? (ie 11pm to 7am)
Recommendations on carbs? the bare minimum, or focus more on calories and worry less about carb macros?
Ive used whey shakes alot in the past, worthwhile? or better just to eat your protein?
Any tips to stay on a consistent sustainable routine (both diet and workouts)?

Thanks guys, any questions Ill answer as fully as possible.

[havoNI]

Day 1 - 9th Jul 13 (will edit throughout the day where possible)

Going for 4-5 small/medium sized meals spaced out instead of 3 large ones, I find energy crashes if i space them too far apart, and I have the time to prep meals, going to try 2100 cals per day and judge energy and results after 2 weeks.

Meal1 9am

Scrambled eggs, 3 medium eggs and tablespoon whole milk
Peach

Meal2 12noon

Tuna salad with 1 tsp ranch

Meal3

2 Oven baken chicken breast
Broccoli

Meal4 (with gf)

Fishcakes
Salad
Calamari

Totals up to ~1900 cals, felt tired by the end of the day, though realistically could be remnants of the weekend.

[havoNI]

Day 2 - 5x5 Stronglifts

Completed first day restarting stronglifts, form was still great however my lifts have suffered, due to lack of recent training and also recovery from last weekends party blowout, completed the 5x5 for squats/bench/bar row. Aiming to get my goal of 2100 cals today, missed out yesterday on the full amount.

Meal1 7am

Oats and milk
apple

Meal2 10am

Tuna and 1/4 onion

Meal3

Wheat based cereal and milk

Meal4 - (**** meal, retarded i know for day2, but being accountable as i said i would, will fight cravings harder)

Battered chicken, rice, sauce

Impossible to count the calories accurately due to the last meal, the first 3 small meals added up to 1100, annoyed at myself, but I promised myself id keep the log truthful, tomorrow is a new day.