[dethgrind]

First some background: I'm 23 6'4" 195 lbs 17% bodyfat. I played high school basketball and college ultimate frisbee. I graduated college last June at 185 and reasonably healthy, then partied a lot, got a full time job in September, and have been sitting on my ass and slowly getting soft ever since. I've done some lifting in the past, but I've never been able to stick to it for more than 3 months or so before quitting for whatever reason. My personal bests: squat 205x10, deadlift 215x10, bench 145x5.

I've started playing basketball again, and I hate how slow I feel out there. I also would like to be able to dunk easily again. After my last season of ultimate I was really cut with a six pack. I'd like to get that back. So my goal is to get down to 10% bodyfat (I only recently started measuring bodyfat so I'm not sure if I've ever been that low, or if that is even a reasonable goal for me). My guess is that if this is possible, I'll weigh somewhere around 175-180 at the end of it, which I'm cool with.

My plan is to eat six ~400 calorie meals a day Mon-Thu and then just eat sensibly Fri-Sun, never letting myself get hungry or full. I drink way too much way too often which I still need to figure out how to moderate. I play basketball 2-3 times a week and plan to lift 2-3 times a week. I recently bought Starting Strength and I started that program yesterday, though I'm not sure if that is ideal for my situation.

Should I use a different lifting program? Should I add some HIIT or other cardio? I'm thinking that if I just make sure to work really hard when I play ball, that should be enough. Any tips or success stories about cutting down your drinking for fitness reasons? Unfortunately I've made pretty much all my friendships through drinking, so that is what I do when I socialize.

Thanks for any help.