Weight/Fat Loss Advice?

[snowtrax1]

I've been lifting since high school but after college things slowed down, and I'm getting myself back into it again. I have a good amount of muscle/strength but was never really lean, and I was always more into weights than cardio.

Got divorced last year, so now trying to get as lean as possible...haha!

Back in the day I did a Primo/Winny cycle and it did get me a little more lean but mainly just made me a lot stronger.

Some current background/stat info:
Age: 38
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 245 lbs
Bodyfat: 25%-30% (guessing around here)

I was doing a caloric deficit which consisted of trying to avoid carbs and focus on more protein. I also supplemented one meal a day with a "protein meal replacement" shake. That ended up getting me down to 215 lbs just eating healthy without really getting back to the gym but wasn't really lean but now with the holidays / dating more (more food, alcohol) that brought me back to 245 lbs now.

Now I've been going back to the gym and getting back on a caloric deficit almost like intermittent fasting with low carbs/high protein. At the gym, I've been doing my regular lifting workouts (3-4 sets, 10-15 reps) and added doing 30 mins walking/jogging/running on the treadmill after lifting. I feel strong but I haven't noticed any real weight loss on the scale, not sure if it's because I'm lifting now.

My main goal is to try to get down to 215 lbs but be a lot leaner/lower bodyfat %.

I was thinking of doing a Test E cycle on a caloric deficit diet but now sure if this will help me go down in weight. I don't want to take a Test E cycle and just get up to 265 lbs; even though it would probably be more muscle I just don't want to get that weight.

Just looking for some advice/guide from someone who has been down this path before and what worked for them.

Thank you!

[TRA]

Diet works for me best. I fight genetics like you would believe - I can convert to a pear in a matter of months, and diet makes the most difference. Steroids won't help at all other than to maybe add some lean muscle under all the fat but likely will add additional fat when diet not dialed in. I had to secure the help of an experienced trainer (he's on here actually) to get a diet plan and training program tailored to my plight/body habitus. It's economical and worth more than any steroids on the market. I am pretty schooled on physiology, diet, steroids, etc, but find when I am accountable to someone else and do so humbly I get much better results and can stay more disciplined.

I would recommend, based on experience of cycling to "cut" when I really needed to cut only, get diet, cardio and lifting dialed in for at least a year and then come back to looking at the ancillaries.