Bulking and Shredding

aleram94
aleram94 Posts: 7 Member
edited November 20 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I'm a girl, I've been skinny my whole life. Growing up I would get jokes thrown for being so skinny. I am 23 years old now and I've gained weight but the problem is I have gained a lot in my midsection so I guess I'd be what you call "skinny fat". I'm 5'9 and currently at 152 pounds. I'm not worried about the number on the scale but more so where all that weight is distributed. I completely lost the small waistline I used to have. I still want to bulk up my legs and glutes while losing my stomach fat. I'm new to fitness so my question is, since I have all this unwanted stomach fat what is the best way to start my fitness journey? Should I continue eating like I am and begin my bulking phase with minimal cardio? Will my waist still shrink a little or should I try to do a bit more cardio? I just really want to get my legs thicker and get my waist smaller.

Replies

  • CJ_Holmes
    CJ_Holmes Posts: 759 Member
    ^^^ This! Main thing is to start a progressive lifting program. For now, get accurate about logging your food and you can try eating at a SMALL deficit. If you have never lifted before you may have the potential to change your body composition quite a bit and so you don't want to cut down on calories very much. My body looks very different than it did 2 years ago at basically the same weight.
  • misnomer1
    misnomer1 Posts: 646 Member
    edited August 2017
    whether you want to add muscle or cut fat, you will have to incorporate a progressive lifting programme. to preserve muscle in a cut, and to add muscle in a bulk. im in a similar cut/bulk dilemma. ive decided to go at a 10% cal deficit with a good progressive lifting regimen 3x a week. good luck.
  • aleram94
    aleram94 Posts: 7 Member
    Update: here are some pics of where I'm currently at if that helps. Sorry for the bad lighting, it isn't to great at my house and I took these a little late. As you guys can see my midsection carries more fat than the rest of my body.

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  • Rusty740
    Rusty740 Posts: 749 Member
    edited August 2017
    Most of the above posters are correct. You'll need to get into a deficit to lose fat while lifting weights on a good program Strongcurves or Stronglifts is a nice way to start.

    Expect to try to lose fat while keeping the muscle you have, get to a nice bodyfat number you're happy with, then once you're done that try a bulk by increasing your calories to a surplus while still lifting weights.

    For the majority of people the fastest way to the body the need is a cut to lose fat, then a bulk, then one more cut. It varies, but expect a journey of about a year, give or take, but you can get good results in just a few months. It usually isn't possible or optimal to try to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, but if I told you a cut,bulk, cut cycle a year long would get you what you wanted you'd be happy :)

    Ask questions often, read lots. Filter broscience if you dare :)

    Listen to @sardelsa and @psuLemon they know what they're talking about.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    Based on your pictures, some of that is muscle/tone/strength related and some is postural.

    Note how in your second photo, your right side looks more toned/slender... that's because by putting your arm behind your back, you brought your shoulders up and back engaging your shoulder/chest and bringing some tension into your abs/core.

    Shoulders up however isn't a shrug. But if you do that bilaterally, you'll get a better perception of how much of your belly is just sagging shoulders/weak back/shoulders/core..... It will be mildly uncomfortable at first, mostly because it's unfamiliar, but as you practice moving around with your shoulders pulled firmly into their places, you may also find that you feel a little more confident... there's something about the shoulder up and back with a strong chin that brings a bit of a confident air.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,430 MFP Moderator
    edited August 2017
    Based on the pictures, id cut. Muscle gains favor the lean and i think youd get better results by leaning up first and then bulking. And of course follow a good structured progressive overload lifting program.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    Based on the pictures, id cut. Muscle gains fsvor the lean and i think youd get better results by leaning up first and then bulking. And of course follow a good structured progressive overload lifting program.

    I agree with this.

    You look great and are starting at a really good place, as you lean out you will start to see the muscle you have show through.. then when you get closer to goal you can start to think about bulking.
  • aleram94
    aleram94 Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks guys! I definitely have a better idea of where to start now. I always struggled with staying consistent because I didn't know where to start.
  • aleram94
    aleram94 Posts: 7 Member
    On the subject of cutting, what should my diet be looking like?
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    aleram94 wrote: »
    On the subject of cutting, what should my diet be looking like?

    A sufficient caloric deficit to cause weight loss, with adequate protein (1-1.5g/lbs.) and fat (.45g/lbs.) intakes. How you make the rest of the macro dance work is up to you.
  • Rusty740
    Rusty740 Posts: 749 Member
    Gallowmere1984 wrote: »
    aleram94 wrote: »
    On the subject of cutting, what should my diet be looking like?

    A sufficient caloric deficit to cause weight loss, with adequate protein (1-1.5g/lbs.) and fat (.45g/lbs.) intakes. How you make the rest of the macro dance work is up to you.

    This is about right, many people debate the value of protein, I'm a bid proponent of protein during a cut. I thing 1g/lb bodyweight is enough, but you might find more or less works for you. The big value in high protein (1 g/lb is highish) is that it has a noticeable satiating effect. Eat plenty of protein for breakfast and you'll usually eat less throughout the day.

    Find out what your TDEE is (google "what's my TDEE") and reduce calories in steps depending on your comfort level. First try 100 less than TDEE (that won't be a fast enough loss :) ) so then go to 250 less than TDEE (probably still not fast enough for us impatient folks, but it will be noticeable to you), then try 400 or 500 less than TDEE, at that level you'll be dropping about 1 lb per week and it should be pretty sustainable. It's more general to do it in percentages. 75% of your TDEE is usually a good number to shoot for to get decent loss for impatient people like me :)
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