Body Recomp VS Bulk/Cut Cycles

dakotababy

Hey Everyone!

I am sitting at 5'7, 147lbs and I am thinking I am near 25% BF at this time. I have lost 103lbs so far...and I am quite content with how things are going except for the massive amount of fat still sitting on my belly. Unfortunately, it is not loose skin either.

I am wanting to start looking into the alternatives. I have posted my pic in the past, and I did get recommendations to start a cut/bulk or focus on recomp. My question to you is how would I know which one to go with? PRO/CONS? Personal experience or opinions on each?

I am really struggling to decide at this point. I am also really struggling with the idea of not being in a deficit (after 3 years...my habits are hard to break. Maybe a good thing?)

bioklutz

If you are struggling with the idea of not being in a deficit than a bulk might be terrifying! Why not start with recomp? I might be wrong about this but 25% body fat might just a touch high to bulk?

From this article:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/initial-body-fat-and-body-composition-changes.html/
If you’re above 15% body fat (about 24-27% for women), diet first. If you can get to the 10-12% (19-24%) body fat range or so, I think you’ll be in an overall better position to gain mass. Trying to get super lean will probably end up screwing you in the long run because your body will be primed to put back fat on (and most other physiological systems are screwed up as well) when you get super lean.

I would suggest reading this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

Pinnacle_IAO

bioklutz wrote: »

If you are struggling with the idea of not being in a deficit than a bulk might be terrifying! Why not start with recomp? I might be wrong about this but 25% body fat might just a touch high to bulk?

From this article:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/initial-body-fat-and-body-composition-changes.html/
If you’re above 15% body fat (about 24-27% for women), diet first. If you can get to the 10-12% (19-24%) body fat range or so, I think you’ll be in an overall better position to gain mass. Trying to get super lean will probably end up screwing you in the long run because your body will be primed to put back fat on (and most other physiological systems are screwed up as well) when you get super lean.

I would suggest reading this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

^^^^THIS^^^^
The whole bulk/cut cycles are a bodybuilding thing.
I enjoyed having an alternative which fit into my own training program.

AsISmile

bioklutz wrote: »

If you are struggling with the idea of not being in a deficit than a bulk might be terrifying! Why not start with recomp? I might be wrong about this but 25% body fat might just a touch high to bulk?

From this article:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/initial-body-fat-and-body-composition-changes.html/
If you’re above 15% body fat (about 24-27% for women), diet first. If you can get to the 10-12% (19-24%) body fat range or so, I think you’ll be in an overall better position to gain mass. Trying to get super lean will probably end up screwing you in the long run because your body will be primed to put back fat on (and most other physiological systems are screwed up as well) when you get super lean.

I would suggest reading this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

Definitely this.
At 25% body fat it is probably to early for a bulk. Furthermore it is eating at a surplus which will result in weight gain from both muscle and fat mass increase. It is mentally pretty hard, especially if you are coming from a defecit.

I would really recommend recomp in your case. Eating more calories to eat at maintenance and not seeing the scale move down anymore is mentally really hard on a lot of people. So learning to focus on your fitness goal rather than the scale is a very good start.
Jumping from a calorie defecit into a surplus and seeing the scale move up instead of down when doing a bulk is mentally too hard on most people. So please, learn how to do maintenance first, and work on your body through recomp without having too worry about the scale.

dakotababy

Sounds good! I will start with a recomp perhaps for the winter and re-evaluate in the spring. Thanks so much!

Pinnacle_IAO

dakotababy wrote: »

Sounds good! I will start with a recomp perhaps for the winter and re-evaluate in the spring. Thanks so much!

Right, it's a slow, slow process.
I am into month one of a new session and won't see much change for 6 months.