As far as body weight goes, pay strict heed to body comp. I just found a really cool way to burn fat without terrible stress. It goes along with what
Devany says about caloric restriction/intermittent fasting. Two days a week, space outa 24 hr wait between eating like you were doing. but on on those two days calorie restrict(eat less than normal). Then on your other 24 hr wait(your second fast), eat light before the fast but as heavy as you want after. basically what I am saying is 2-3 days a week you lean out a bit without losing much lean mass.

Did you ever think of trying interval training, sprint 1 min, jog 1 min for 12-18 turns?

these are just suggestions and I am sure you already heard them by now. just thought I'd bounce some ideas, but I am sure you were already aware of them

How about some dumbell snatches? Think I'll try some today.

Yea, he watches for even a slight dip forward at the waist. What I've found is that if I make sure to keep weight on my heals, I don't dip forward at all and have zero lower back strain. If I get too far forward, I feel a slight bit in the lower back. I'm anxious to try it with the bar a bit lower on my shoulders.

Rippetoe is showing his "low-bar" (the bar is quite a bit lower on the back and back is much less vertical) back squat method in the video. Your trainer may not be familiar with this and may freak out. Amongst my fellow CrossFit compatriots, there is much discussion about the relative merits or lack of his technique.

I personally like it.

I suggest Rippetoe's Strength Standards for use in making and judging strength goals:

http://www.crossfit.com/cf-journal/WLSTANDARDS.pdf

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BTW have you or your readers ever read "Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival"? I just started it and it is fascinating. While I think the author makes a few minor error of logic and the writing style can be a bit hyperbolic at times — this book definitely attacks health/weight loss from an evolutionary perspective. My brief description won't do the book justice, but in sum, the author argues that due to cheap/inexhaustible light, we are living in the evolutionary equivalent of eternal summer, therefore we aren't getting enough real sleep in real darkness, which has massive ramifications on our hormonal states i.e. melatonin, dopamine, serotonin, INSULIN, ergo on our overall health.

Richard, I think you would appreciate most of what the book argues and recommend you read it, if you have not done so already.

This is all very interesting. Though I had dabbled with weights in years past, it was never more than for a few months at a time. In May, this will count for two years of consistent weight training in the gym. Though I probably could have begun this way from the outset, it may just have been too intimidating, particularly with squats, cleans, snatches and so forth. However, after this two years of largely isolation moves, it seems I have a pretty decent base for really making things interesting.

Plus, it gives me a lot better perspective for how the beginners might ought to go about it, particularly if they're on their own and not with a trainer, which will be most of them.

1.5x, eh? That certainly seems doable, which would be 270. The 215 was actually pretty easy from a raw weight perspective. I was able to do a couple of sets of 5, and one at 3, I think. I see the challenge being more with the geometry and technique. Well, let's take it in stages. I'll aim for 250 first.

allergies = inflamation = water weight gain
allergy medicine = water retention = water weight gain

As for your training goals – Keith is spot on. Big lifts like deadlift and squat – 2x bodyweight for a single. 1.5x bodyweight for 3-5. Smaller movements like military press – body weight single (both arms) or 1/2 BW with dumbells/kettlebells. These are guides, much like the paleo philosophy, so adapt them to your needs/goals.

That's great. I found that everything became much easier when I got my stance just like he showed his subject.