hey guys...

i've worked out my meal plan following Scott's YT video, followed it for a couple weeks then made some adjustments (raising protein/fat, lowering carbs), have currently been on that for 3 weeks.

I seem to have lost a little fat! super stoked about that

I'm hitting the gym 4-5 days per week, lifting hard and heavy (low reps, high intensity), hitting 1-2 body parts p/day, cardio once a week. 

my main frustration: not much noticebale solid muscle gain! (always been more of a "hard gainer", meaning i can work hard in the gym and eat right but the gains are very slow to come and dont last long)

i had hoped to see better results but i think i need to perhaps up my overall calories a bit? i was hoping to get some input about in what proportions of carbs,protein,fat i should do this. what do you guys think??  

also, would recommend trying intermittent fasting for someone like me?

thanks!!!

my info:
39yrs old, 6'1", 182lbs, BF approx 14%, Goal: lean muscle gain, fat loss. training off and on for 4 years
daily calories: 2650
daily macros: protein 250g, fat 115g, carbs 160g
ultimate goal: a very lean 180-185lbs

current pics

Raise your carbs, thats too low. Keep raising your carbs slowly until you start seeing the scale go up. 1lb a month is a good place to start. If you want to be a lean 185lb, you're going to need to be consistently training for a couple years to build enough muscle.

thanks for the input man!

should i raise carbs and raise the overall total calories at the same time?

i hear you about putting in a couple consistent years, but thats probably where my frustration stems from. i have trained a lot for the past couple years and am strong in the gym but yet dont look much different physically than 2 years ago. thats why ive been searching for ways to switch the diet up hoping that this gets me out of the stagnation.

would not mind somehow at least getting rid of more BF, as that has also been overall pretty stagnant as well and hasnt moved significantly despite a lot of training/eating right etc.

any thoughts on that?

thanks!

Carbs are calories so if you raise your carbs, your calories will go up.

As for making more gains or losing bodyfat, I would just pick one and stick with it for a while until you get some noticeable result. If you're not looking any different compared to 2 years ago it could be a lot of things. It could be your diet, bad form, not enough sleep, or maybe you're not doing enough volume.

And if you're not losing bodyfat its most likely your diet.

Good to see you are kicking it! With my experience and I would suggest to lower your calorie intake by 250 k/cal per day. If you don't see much of a change, which you should. I would incorporate HIIT at least 3xs/week or after your workouts. IF is great as you will see many here on this site have had great success. Also, carb cycling may be an option. Getting yourself down to 10%bf will make it easier to make them lean gains. You may have to increase your volume in your workouts. Supersetting and pyramid style of workouts are great for volume exercises.