Maintain or bulk??

sinead29

Looking for advice. Ive been lifting weights for about 3 months now and also eating at maintenance, my strength has improved massively but im just not seeing the changes in my body that id like. My question is - should i continue as i am , eating at maintenance or should i bulk and then cut? Picture link below of how i look at the moment. Im female 5'4 127 lbs and my goal is to reduce bf ( esp in tummy area) https://imgur.com/sEuppSX

skymningen

You will not be able to spot-reduce body fat. Either you reduce your overall body fat and this is also visible on your tummy, or it is not going to happen.
How are your macros? Do you eat enough protein? How do you train? What are the changes in your body that you would like? You say to reduce body fat, but planning a bulk is more about gaining muscle.

ManBehindTheMask

TBH if i was you, i'd cut, then bulk in a small calorie surplus from a lean base

sinead29

skymningen wrote: »

You will not be able to spot-reduce body fat. Either you reduce your overall body fat and this is also visible on your tummy, or it is not going to happen.
How are your macros? Do you eat enough protein? How do you train? What are the changes in your body that you would like? You say to reduce body fat, but planning a bulk is more about gaining muscle.

I know i cant spot reduce, i mean i want to shape up my whole body while gaining muscle. I eat 1800 cals per day. 30% protein, 25% fat, 45% carbs. I lift weights three times a week, do 1 circuit class and spend the rest of my time chasing after 4 kids :-). Over the last year ive lost 35 lbs.

sinead29

ManBehindTheMask wrote: »

TBH if i was you, i'd cut, then bulk in a small calorie surplus from a lean base

How much of a cut do you reckon ? I dont really want to lose any more weight as my face gets quite drawn looking. You think 7lbs would do it

Ironandwine69

This is a very personal decision.
Are you okay with gaining more weight while bulking?
Are you okay with waiting longer to see results if you keep maintenance and lift?

ManBehindTheMask

sinead29 wrote: »

ManBehindTheMask wrote: »

TBH if i was you, i'd cut, then bulk in a small calorie surplus from a lean base

How much of a cut do you reckon ? I dont really want to lose any more weight as my face gets quite drawn looking. You think 7lbs would do it

As said above, it's a very personal decision, and there are many ways to skin a cat. It's also impossible to put a number on it, best to go by how you look, rather than a number from a scale IMO

My thought process when determining my goals is something like this (extremely complex and scientific, I know )

sinead29

Ironandwine69 wrote: »

This is a very personal decision.
Are you okay with gaining more weight while bulking?
Are you okay with waiting longer to see results if you keep maintenance and lift?

Tbh after losing so much weight over the last year the thought of bulk really freaks me out! But im not the most patient person and recomp is being painfully slow.

sinead29

ManBehindTheMask wrote: »

sinead29 wrote: »

ManBehindTheMask wrote: »

TBH if i was you, i'd cut, then bulk in a small calorie surplus from a lean base

How much of a cut do you reckon ? I dont really want to lose any more weight as my face gets quite drawn looking. You think 7lbs would do it

As said above, it's a very personal decision, and there are many ways to skin a cat. It's also impossible to put a number on it, best to go by how you look, rather than a number from a scale IMO

My thought process when determining my goals is something like this (extremely complex and scientific, I know )

Simple and straight to the point, i like it

cnbbnc

I can only speak of my experience, but I'm 5'4 and had to drop to 110lbs to be lean enough to bulk. Yes...my face and upper body looked skeletal, but...I wanted to bulk badly enough so I dealt with it. Ideally you want to be as lean as you can get before bulking, so I do agree that you would benefit from cutting a bit more.

Putting weight back on can be hard to handle, BUT...if you can manage to keep the rate of gain to a very small creep then you'll minimize fat gain. Keep in mind that you'll have to go back to cutting afterward too because you will accumulate some fat again. Do you want to commit to all of that?

Having said all this I don't regret having bulked, but...not gonna lie....having to cut again afterward flat out sucks. That's the price everyone has to pay though.....

Lastly...are you following a progressive strength training program? That piece is crucial whichever way you decide to go.

Just wanted to mention that I'm not implying that you would have to drop your weight as low as I did to be able to bulk. Only wanted to point out that I had to lose a lot more than I thought I would have to in order to be ready. Everyone will vary as far as their ideal starting point.

sardelsa

I think deciding when to bulk for the first time can be pretty difficult. You don't have as much muscle base so as you lean out, there isn't as much there to work with. I like starting off pretty lean because I find it makes it easier to deal with the fat gain.

Running a bulk is no cake walk though. It is mentally very difficult to see weight come back on especially if you have worked hard to take it off. So between the initial cutting, the bulk, then cut again.. it is not fast by any means.

So you can either go this route, or continue to recomp, which is also slow but for many it is more comfortable than bulking.

I am also impatient like you, so I chose to bulk/cut... I see results but they do come at a price!

In the end you will just have to decide what you want to do and how comfortable you are doing it.

Rusty740

Whatever you do, don't stop lifting. That will ruin everything.

When we first start weight lifting, we see increases in strength without seeing any increase in muscle mass, this is normal and expected. It is called neurological adaptation and it's basically your existing muscle, joints, and nerves maximizing their potential. When you continue to lift and the weights, sets and reps increase slowly over time, the existing body can no longer adapt in this way and so it starts to build new muscle.

I'm not sure when this switch occurs, but I'm guessing it's approximately 3-6 months in and around the point where you can no longer add weight to the bar any more. The first few times you "stall" in your program.

If you are patient, continue lifting, eat around your maintenance, you'll get there eventually, but it's true that a bulk and cut cycle will be faster. If you decide to bulk, in your case I'd suggest to do it slowly, aim for 0.25 lbs gain per week or less. When you cut, same thing, but maybe 0.5 lbs per week.

Bulking takes a long time, cutting should be about 1/2 to 1/3rd the length of your bulk. You are probably looking at 6 months to 1 year to notice real changes you like. That's ok, I just wanted you to know it takes a long time to gain muscle, but less time to lose fat. Patience is key, none of us have it though

sinead29

Ok so ive decided to commit to a cut. Im going to go 350 cal deficit per day. This wont be easy as i love my food!! Im going to do this for 8 weeks and then see where i am. Most importantly im going to keep lifting to minimise muscle loss. Thanks for all the advice. Now im going to eat some peanut butter cause i wont see any for the next 8 weeks