Bulking is hard!

MyiahRose

I have gotten a lot of great advice from some of you.
I was told to wait 2 weeks to see how my weight is changing but how can i accurately track my weight if it never stays steady?

I started my bulk 2 weeks ago after finding out my maintenance calories is 2400, i added 250 to that. In 1 week i gained 2 pounds, this week i gained another 1.5 pounds.

I take creatine and i eat high sodium on weekends but how can i accurately track if im not sure the weight im gaining is just water(which it mostly is) or fat/muscle.

Also my weigh in days are on Mondays because i do not take creatine on the weekend so i didnt want that extra water weight to affect my weigh in. I did however have 7,000 mg of sodium on saturday because i was out celebrating with friends but i drank over gallons of water this whole weekend.

ninerbuff

While the scale is an indication of weight gain, the mirror is your best gauge to see if the bulk is going the right direction.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ndj1979

are you taking measurements too? If you eat high sodium on the weekend and weigh in on Monday that is going to distort your numbers a little bit. I would suggest weighing in on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a few weeks and take an average and see what the numbers look like.

Chieflrg

MyiahRose wrote: »

I have gotten a lot of great advice from some of you.
I was told to wait 2 weeks to see how my weight is changing but how can i accurately track my weight if it never stays steady?

I started my bulk 2 weeks ago after finding out my maintenance calories is 2400, i added 250 to that. In 1 week i gained 2 pounds, this week i gained another 1.5 pounds.

I take creatine and i eat high sodium on weekends but how can i accurately track if im not sure the weight im gaining is just water(which it mostly is) or fat/muscle.

Also my weigh in days are on Mondays because i do not take creatine on the weekend so i didnt want that extra water weight to affect my weigh in. I did however have 7,000 mg of sodium on saturday because i was out celebrating with friends but i drank over gallons of water this whole weekend.

So do you or don't you take creatine on weekends?

First I believe you if you want the full benefits of creatine, you should be taking it daily. Though I would like to add most people that take it aren't going to see nearly the benefits as much as someone who is at the top of the game of fitness. Not that it won't help, but it probably won't be really that noticable to your actual gains.

Second if you are eating 250 more calories more daily, that would equate to 1750 calories weekly which is 1/2 lb of fat or around1lb muscle. Which we know its combo of both probably around 50% muscle for a male at best and more than likely 25% muscle maybe even less since you are female and depending on your training. So you kind of get the picture where it is going.

I personally use the tape measure and progress pics to track my progress. The numbers on the scale are don't really tell the tale of what I want. I know females who are much heavier than there pre-bulk but look much more smaller for the lack of a better word because of the development of their muscles.

MyiahRose

ndj1979 wrote: »

are you taking measurements too? If you eat high sodium on the weekend and weigh in on Monday that is going to distort your numbers a little bit. I would suggest weighing in on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a few weeks and take an average and see what the numbers look like.

Well it kind of would be the same since i take creatine mon-fri which causes water retention. But i will try that just to see how my weight fluctuates.

MyiahRose

Chieflrg wrote: »

MyiahRose wrote: »

I have gotten a lot of great advice from some of you.
I was told to wait 2 weeks to see how my weight is changing but how can i accurately track my weight if it never stays steady?

I started my bulk 2 weeks ago after finding out my maintenance calories is 2400, i added 250 to that. In 1 week i gained 2 pounds, this week i gained another 1.5 pounds.

I take creatine and i eat high sodium on weekends but how can i accurately track if im not sure the weight im gaining is just water(which it mostly is) or fat/muscle.

Also my weigh in days are on Mondays because i do not take creatine on the weekend so i didnt want that extra water weight to affect my weigh in. I did however have 7,000 mg of sodium on saturday because i was out celebrating with friends but i drank over gallons of water this whole weekend.

So do you or don't you take creatine on weekends?

First I believe you if you want the full benefits of creatine, you should be taking it daily. Though I would like to add most people that take it aren't going to see nearly the benefits as much as someone who is at the top of the game of fitness. Not that it won't help, but it probably won't be really that noticable to your actual gains.

Second if you are eating 250 more calories more daily, that would equate to 1750 calories weekly which is 1/2 lb of fat or around1lb muscle. Which we know its combo of both probably around 50% muscle for a male at best and more than likely 25% muscle maybe even less since you are female and depending on your training. So you kind of get the picture where it is going.

I personally use the tape measure and progress pics to track my progress. The numbers on the scale are don't really tell the tale of what I want. I know females who are much heavier than there pre-bulk but look much more smaller for the lack of a better word because of the development of their muscles.

I dont take it on the weekend. I was saying that i take creatine mon-fri but i still eat high sodium on the weekend which both causes water retention. How often should i measure and take pics?

Chieflrg

MyiahRose wrote: »

Chieflrg wrote: »

MyiahRose wrote: »

I have gotten a lot of great advice from some of you.
I was told to wait 2 weeks to see how my weight is changing but how can i accurately track my weight if it never stays steady?

I started my bulk 2 weeks ago after finding out my maintenance calories is 2400, i added 250 to that. In 1 week i gained 2 pounds, this week i gained another 1.5 pounds.

I take creatine and i eat high sodium on weekends but how can i accurately track if im not sure the weight im gaining is just water(which it mostly is) or fat/muscle.

Also my weigh in days are on Mondays because i do not take creatine on the weekend so i didnt want that extra water weight to affect my weigh in. I did however have 7,000 mg of sodium on saturday because i was out celebrating with friends but i drank over gallons of water this whole weekend.

So do you or don't you take creatine on weekends?

First I believe you if you want the full benefits of creatine, you should be taking it daily. Though I would like to add most people that take it aren't going to see nearly the benefits as much as someone who is at the top of the game of fitness. Not that it won't help, but it probably won't be really that noticable to your actual gains.

Second if you are eating 250 more calories more daily, that would equate to 1750 calories weekly which is 1/2 lb of fat or around1lb muscle. Which we know its combo of both probably around 50% muscle for a male at best and more than likely 25% muscle maybe even less since you are female and depending on your training. So you kind of get the picture where it is going.

I personally use the tape measure and progress pics to track my progress. The numbers on the scale are don't really tell the tale of what I want. I know females who are much heavier than there pre-bulk but look much more smaller for the lack of a better word because of the development of their muscles.

I dont take it on the weekend. I was saying that i take creatine mon-fri but i still eat high sodium on the weekend which both causes water retention. How often should i measure and take pics?

How often you feel you need to. Its subjective to the individual. I tend to go every month or two because I see the change better.

Springfield1970

Everyday and average every 7

nicoleromine

I followed Springfield's advice in another thread about weighing myself everyday and looking at the average. This is the way to go! It gives such a better data point and makes it more difficult to stress out about those outlier days where your weight is obnoxiously high or low.