Need Help Prioritizing

[DaddyBravo]

First time doing a body recomp, and here's my basic info.

I'm 44, and I started this about 5 months ago. I fumbled around and it took me awhile to figure out what I was doing (I wasn't even trying to recomp at first, I was just dieting). Anyways, I started to do well and went from 265 lbs/33% body fat to 232 lbs/27. I want to keep going.

I was focusing mostly on calories and 3 days lifting full body/ 3 days doing LISS for over an hour (incline walking to burn 500-900 cals and watching stuff). I wasn't really paying attention to protein.

Then I started getting should issues and forearm pain. So I pumped up protein and switched from 2 days lifting / 4 days LISS. I feel like I am mostly healed up, which is good, because I've been stuck at 27 and my last scan put me at 28.4. Ugh.

To summarize my current stats:

232 pounds
28% BFP
66 pounds of fat
96 pounds of muscle
45 pounds of dry lean mass

Anyways, I know I can't do everything perfectly, so I am trying to prioritize things and I'm hoping you can help me. I just want to start making progress again even if it's not super fast. I am more concerned with losing body fat percentage than anything else, I know the weight will come off in time.

So when I am faced with day-to-day decisions, I am asking which should I lean towards (not to the complete exclusion of the other):

1) Weight lifting or LISS? (I really like LISS but think I should go back to 3 x 3)
2) Protein goals at 2800 calories or calorie deficit with as much protein as I can get in it (my base metabolic is 2,000)?

I know I will continue to have to adapt over time, but right now I am trying to push from the high 20s to the low 20s.

Thanks.

[Plateauplower]

Focus on a calorie deficit and strength training. Mix your LISS in whenever you want, walking on an incline is great because it doesn't add much if anything to recovery burden from strength training. Cardio is great for overall health but it is not an efficient way to reach your fat loss goals. In reality you are burning about 100 cals or a little more per mile, so that 60-90 minutes spent on a treadmill is more or less equal to just reducing calories by 400-500. Following an established routine as a novice is typically a good practice because the program will be well balanced with a logical progression scheme. If you choose to do your own thing, it should be based on established programs to ensure you don't create imbalances that can lead to injuries (i.e. too much pushing not enough pulling can lead to pronation in the shoulders and issues down the road). Full body programs are great and if you are getting after it you are likely burning more calories lifting than doing LISS. I ran full body programs for years and they can be great. I'd recommend if not following a program you mix up your exercises and intensity such as a heavy day, light day and medium day. As an example, barbell movements on Mon 6-8 rep range, maybe some machines on Wed with rep ranges in the 12-15 range, dumbbells on Friday with rep ranges in the 8-10 range. Shoulder and forearm pain sounds like tendonitis, and could be an overuse issue. In the past when I have started to get tendonitis I would try to work through it, which is a bad idea. Find ways to train that allow it to heal as soon as you start noticing it to be able to get back to pain free training ASAP.