When to switch to maintenance/bulk?

jtcedinburgh
jtcedinburgh Posts: 117 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all. I'm wondering at what point it makes sense to switch from weight-loss to maintenance or even a bulking phase?

I'm losing reasonably well - ~11Kg since the end of April - and am more-or-less keeping to a net 1500KCal/day (for a 1Kg/week loss, though in practice it's ending up more like a 0.5Kg loss). I've been doing an average of 10 miles walking and running per day, and seeing great improvements in fitness and running ability (my 5K is now down to ~24m and 7K to under 35m) BUT I was never planning to maintain such a high level of cardio forever. My (calculated) TDEE - using Charge HR - averages around 3100KCal, and I eat ~2500KCal most days.

I'm 6' and 81Kg at present (92Kg when I started this); should I push for sub 80Kg (and lower BF) before moving to recomp, or move to recomp now and up my trips to the gym? I reckon I could shoot for a fairly lean 75Kg and then move towards bulking, or move to recomp at (say) 80Kg.

As it happens, we're starting to lose the early morning light, so my 0530 runs will soon be impractical, so it may be the time to move over to more weight-training and start to recompose. However, I enjoy the runs and the walks, and I wonder if it might be easier to lose a bit more before concentrating on the gym stuff....

My diary is open if anyone needs to take a peek. Doesn't show FB stuff, apart from exercise from cals...

Replies

  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
    When you're happy with your current weight and want to increase LEAN MASS BRO
  • jtcedinburgh
    jtcedinburgh Posts: 117 Member
    Well, the weight is neither here nor there, it's the body fat, strength and fitness that matter. I think it probably is time to ease off on the cardio though, as I'm possibly close to the stage where I'll see more visible changes by increasing lean mass than losing more body fat (though I could do with doing this too)....
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    If you enjoy the running and want to increase fitness, keep it as part of your routine. Increase calories slowly (200 per day) to start, see how the scales react and then reassess in 2-4 weeks.
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