I bulked and just got fat.

lucygoesrawr
lucygoesrawr Posts: 184 Member
edited December 2014 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I've been bulking for a few weeks, maybe a month, I don't know. At first, lifting was a bit easier. Then it went back to how it was before - failures, fatigue. So I kept increasing my calories. Been eating 2300, my maintenance is 1700. I've just put on a few pounds of fat (my scales read body fat percent. And I can see it. My small amount of muscle definition looks the same as before.). I just failed to squat again, I've been failing my dead lifts - it's done no good at all. Why does it work so well for everyone else but not me? I think I'm going to cry now. If anyone has advice to offer, please do.
(For the record, I'm already overweight)
«134567…13

Replies

  • zSandman
    zSandman Posts: 76 Member
    Usually, if you are gaining mostly fat, your surplus is too large. But with a 600 surplus, fat gain should be moderate. Either try to decrease the surplus or reevaluate how you are measuring food or recalculate your TDEE.

    I did a dreamer bulk from 135 to 200 lbs. Fat gains through the roof. It isnt worth it to gain too much excess fat on a bulk as you will suffer when cutting.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Why are you bulking if you're overweight?
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    how much over weight are you? (how tall are you and how much do you currently weigh)

    how long have you been lifting?

    are you running a program?

    What numbers do you have?

    Have you had anyone evaluate you for form?
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Why are you bulking when already overweight? Most people would suggest you wait until you are at a healthy weight before you bulk, maybe even the lower end of healthy.

    Bodyfat scales are NOT accurate. Do not rely on that. The few pounds you are up are most likely water weight and bloating.

    Your lifting issues are apparently not related to your food intake. Are you trying to increase weight too quickly? How's your form? Have you had someone check it?
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    As a female, you will put on muscle slowly, and 4 weeks is not much time. My guess is that you will likely only build 2lbs of muscle in that time if your eating plan and exercise routine are optimal.

    Secondly, scales that measure %bf are very inaccurate and things like water retention can skew their results. You are likely not seeing fat gain that quickly.

    Thirdly, when you say you are already overweight, are you talking about BMI and you have high lean mass, or do you have a high bf%? If it's the latter, why are you bulking? What are your goals?

    And what is your lifting program like?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »
    Why are you bulking if you're overweight?

    This
  • zSandman
    zSandman Posts: 76 Member
    I did see the part where you mentioned that you were already overweight. If that is the case, you wont be happy bulking. You will lose whatever muscle definition you currently have as fat gain is inevitable.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    OP needs to answer the list of questions above before anything further can really be done.

    Also- if OP is working on a high end (I suspect not) and tryign to reach certain physical goals (I suspect not at that point yet honestly) then bulking while over weight is not UN-reasonable- I bulked quiet high- purely for the goal to hit a certain dead lift.
    - Am I paying for it on my cut? youbetcha- but it was worth it at the time.

    But- we won't know until we have further answers and know more about where OP is and why they are bulking- and her training.
  • lucygoesrawr
    lucygoesrawr Posts: 184 Member
    Apparently I'm supposed to go and try again now. So, just a quick answer for now - I'm not terribly overweight and have a medical condition which means gaining the muscle is a lot more important at the moment than losing fat. Thank you for the replies, I'll read them in a bit.
    - After I fail at pressing. Hooray. :(
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    edited December 2014
    Little PMA goes a long way.

    walking in with an attitude of failure means you pretty much already failed. Good luck.

    what's that expression??
    if you believe you can- or you cannot- you are right.


    also- PS- for future reference- when asking for advice on a board- if you have medical conditions- you should include them to begin with- trying to give advice without the whole picture doesn't do anyone any good- it's just a waste of time.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    1. Body fat scales tend to be really unreliable.

    2. Why are you doing a 600-calorie daily surplus? That's assuming 1700 is really your observed maintenance, not just a number you got from a calculator (because those are general guidelines but aren't accurate for each individual person). If you bulked for 4 weeks at that rate, you'd gain 5 pounds in that month, and on a woman, most of that would be fat.

  • beastcompany
    beastcompany Posts: 230 Member
    JoRocka wrote: »
    how much over weight are you? (how tall are you and how much do you currently weigh)

    how long have you been lifting?

    are you running a program?

    What numbers do you have?

    Have you had anyone evaluate you for form?

    OP Please provide answers to the questions above ^^^


    Your post is really far too vague to make an accurate determination of the cause of this issue.
  • PwrLftr82
    PwrLftr82 Posts: 945 Member
    One month? Probably gained more water weight than anything. And I agree with Alice...body fat scales are notoriously unreliable.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    Bodyfat scales are wildly inaccurate.

    You can't possibly know if you've gained just fat in a month. Despite 'failing' at your lifts (not sure what you really mean, failed a new weight? Number of reps?) if you're working hard some of what you gain should be muscle - If you're trying to lift a new weight, not managing it and then going home then yes, you'll just get fat.

    You need longer than a month to judge what's happening and you need a good weight programme (if you don't have one already).

    Like Jo said, more details.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    lucygoesrawr wrote: »
    - After I fail at pressing. Hooray. :(

    ^^^ this is half your problem right here. Go and own those presses!!

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Everyone has already given great advice and of course more details will be helpful. But I just want to say, the negative attitude is not doing you any good!
    Do my PRs suck compared to others? Yup.
    Do I have days where I can't increase or even lift as much as I did the time before? Yup.
    Do I keep on pushing myself no matter what stands in my way and not let negative thoughts get me down? Yup.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    tagging to see if OP ever answers questions...
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    What do you mean you "failed" at your lifts? Building muscle definitely takes time and it's hard to assess your progress in only 1 month (body fat scales ARE NOT RELIABLE FOR THIS PURPOSE). However, you should be getting stronger. If not, then you're doing something wrong.

    Are you eating enough protein? Is your form correct? Are you getting enough rest? Are you sure 1700 is maintenance? 1700 is a pretty low maintenance for somebody doing a lot of exercise.
  • lucygoesrawr
    lucygoesrawr Posts: 184 Member
    I'm back. To answer the questions:

    I'm 5'1 and am fluctuating between 141-143.5 pounds. My body fat is going up faster than the actual weight. Admittedly, I always knew the scales weren't likely to be that accurate for body fat, but I thought they would show CHANGE accurately, rather than the real figure.
    I've been lifting since sometime in August.
    I lift at home with my husband and the program we're doing is Starting Strength, but without power cleans.

    Squat: 34kg / 75lbs (increased by 1kg each session)
    Deadlift: 44kg / 97lbs (increased by 2kg each session - twice a week)
    Press: 20kg / 44lbs (increased by 0.5kg each session)
    Bench press: 24.5kg / 54lbs (increased by 1kg each session)
    Why are you doing a 600-calorie daily surplus?
    Started bulking at just 100 extra. Each time I failed a rep my husband convinced me to increase my calories because he thought I hadn't recovered properly, and this is what I ended up with. There were promises of ice cream. ;)
    (not sure what you really mean, failed a new weight? Number of reps?)
    Both. With deadlifts I get the problem of not being able to lift it at all - with squats and presses I can't manage the entire set/s sometimes.

    As for my form, my husband spots me and says it seems fine, but recently we decided I could probably go deeper with my squats (I was going to parallel/just below before) so it has changed slightly for that. Everything else is apparantly fine. There isn't anyone else we know who could double check, but I trust him.

    I do struggle with feeling pessimistic, but I really am trying as hard as I can.

    I did actually have a look at my back before I had a shower and it does look more muscular - things actually move when I tense it now! Didn't really think to check there before...

    As an aside, I struggle with weight fluctuations anyway because of IBS bloating, so it's hard to really see what's going on at all sometimes.

    Oh, and I'm sorry about not mentioning the medical thing, I just didn't think it would be relevant. Thanks so much for the replies. Didn't mean to keep people waiting so long for a response.
  • FitnessTrainer69
    FitnessTrainer69 Posts: 283 Member
    Eat below MX 250/500 cal. Only consume slow digesting carbs and lean protiens. Get plenty of rest and give it time. If you fail on a rep no biggy, as long as you keep good form with the ones youve completed. Only use a scale for weight but realize it fluctuates daily 1/5 lbs. Stay away from sugars ( soda, candy, ICE CREAM, ect ). I lost 80+ lbs and the best advice I can give is give it time and stay consistant.

Categories