I think I need diet insight...

Hi Layne, congrats on doing tri training and picking a plan!

Many of the questions you're asking depends on a lot of info we don't have ... for example, you're fairly new to BT so there's not a lot of log info (but kudos to being diligent about logging since you've been here! That's very helpful!) So anything I write here is pretty much an educated guess.

"I've only dropped 4.5 lbs" and "I've really been pushing it hard" could explain a lot. It's much better, especially starting out, to actually stick with the plan and do the workouts slowly and easily so you are genuinely building endurance and your body's ability to efficiently use oxygen (big payoff when you eventually do tack on workouts that focus more on intensity/speed/strength). By pushing it hard, often, when your body doesn't have an adequate base and you're not engaging in proper recovery, you're training your body to preferentially burn glycogen over fat and you're burning yourself out of workouts early. And that means you're probably not going to lose a lot of weight.

In terms of wanting to maintain muscle strength and do tri--why not focus on the types of strength training that are most relevant to triathlon activities? You will have great muscle definition, incredible core strength, a rockin' six-pack if you want, and better strength for tri'ing. Benching 225x15 is good for benching 225x15, if that's what you want. But it won't help you much in tri.

It's a lot better to have a healthy/useful post-workout snack comprising 4:1 carbs/protein than snork the Macs (boy, do I know that feeling!)--your body really needs it and it will stave off that wolfing feeling. Once you get home, have a solid, balanced meal.

Good luck with your training--and post and ask often!

A few thoughts in no particular order:

"I haven't exactly been sticking to any particular diet, but I have not been over eating either."

Are you sure you're not overeating?  From your post it  seems like you have shifted from primarily weight training to primarily tri training.  Are you sure you have a handle on your caloric needs based on your new regimen?

"Another issue that is bothering me a bit is the loss of muscular strength... I would really like to maintain some of my muscle while training for Tri."

I do a full body weight training session 3-4 time a week.  I just do 1 high intensity set (4-6 reps).  In a few different  places I've read that 1 set is something like 80-90% as effective as three sets, so I'll take the 10% effectiveness hit if I can do the workout in one third the time.  Recovery time is probably lessened as well.  Also, I work my legs less (both in frequency and intensity) as they're so spent from running and biking.  I only bench about 110, but I am steadily able to increase the weight on all my exercises so it would probably be effective for you also.  Note that this regimen probably doesn't improve my tri activities much (if at all), but like you I want to balance all the cardio with weight work.

 "...what can I do to avoid feeling like I want to slam about five Big macs on the way home from the gym after a 1.5 hr. cardio workout?"

Are you sure you've fueled enough before the workout? Also, at 1.5 hours of consistent cardio, fueling during is probably appropriate as well.

True dat.

I switched to a very-close-to-Paleo diet about a year ago. After I cleared the initial hump (about 1.5 weeks), I had more energy and felt better than I ever have. I dropped about 25 lbs, too!

(Having trouble with the formatting here. Gah! I don't think the Paleo diet made me any smarter.)