Ask me anything! [FROM FAT to FIT]

rjmudlax13

I've been losing weight consistently for about 7 months. I am almost to my goal weight. Eventually, I want to do a bulk. I've bulked up in the past, but I didn't really know what I was doing and it was probably by accident...lol. I have quite a bit of experience lifting as I was an athlete in high school and college.

Can you point me to some good resources on bulking? My goal is to just gain maybe 5-10 lbs of lean mass. I'm not looking to become a bodybuilder. What is the best method in doing this and how long should I bulk for? I've heard to do TDEE + 10%. Also, I keep hearing the terms "dirty" bulk and "clean" bulk being thrown around. What do they mean exactly? Which leads me to my last question: how do I avoid gaining too much fat while bulking?

Stats:
5' 9"
175 lbs
~16% bf with Bioelectric Impedance (although, I haven't measured in a while and have lost quite a bit of weight since)

ritchiedrama

I've been losing weight consistently for about 7 months. I am almost to my goal weight. Eventually, I want to do a bulk. I've bulked up in the past, but I didn't really know what I was doing and it was probably by accident...lol. I have quite a bit of experience lifting as I was an athlete in high school and college.

Can you point me to some good resources on bulking? My goal is to just gain maybe 5-10 lbs of lean mass. I'm not looking to become a bodybuilder. What is the best method in doing this and how long should I bulk for? I've heard to do TDEE + 10%. Also, I keep hearing the terms "dirty" bulk and "clean" bulk being thrown around. What do they mean exactly? Which leads me to my last question: how do I avoid gaining too much fat while bulking?

Stats:
5' 9"
175 lbs
~16% bf with Bioelectric Impedance (although, I haven't measured in a while and have lost quite a bit of weight since)

Pretty much the perfect question! I have just started bulking myself..

The first step is, once you have got to your target weight after losing you want to go back to your maintenance and stay there for roughly 3 weeks. If you are losing 2 lbs a week, you'd add 1000 calories to your current cals, if you are losing 1 lb a week, you'd add 500 and so on (to be at your ROUGH maintenance)

Then you'd let your weight stable, and if it stays roughly the same, you've found your true maintenance.

Now..

Dirty bulk = don't track anything, just eat eat eat eat lift lift lift (this is bad.) you will gain so much fat and probably hardly any muscle and even if you do, you'll just have to cut down again drastically, so its a waste of time.

Clean bulk = track it all, do it SLOWLY, eg, bump your calories up just above maintenance and keep tracking, so you're gaining 0.5 lbs a week, 1 lb MAX. That is how you avoid gaining too much fat,, you can make it so minimal.

If I missed something or you have more questions, just ask! glad to help

michaelmadonna

Save to read later. Thanks!

ritchiedrama

Save to read later. Thanks!

If you have any questions be sure to come and ask!

ritchiedrama

Just got to go out for 30 minutes, if there are any questions I will answer when I am back someone try and keep this bumped so people can freely ask stuff

JessicaBR13

Hi.
I have calculated my TDEE -20% using Scooby's Workshop( I selected moderately active)and it gave me 1,749 calories. Most of my friends (on MFP) eat less than I do. Some are even at maintenace or are male. I'm 27, 5'2" ,137lbs and trying to lose 12lbs. I have a desk job and workout using Jillian Michaels dvds 6 days a week. Is that too many calories for me? Should I select sedentary to calculate?

I would appreciate your help on this.:flowerforyou:

ShellyBrowne

Thanks for this thread. I hesitate even asking questions on this site because I'm not wanting to lose a lot of weight but I want to lose none-the-less. For the last year, I've made an effort to lose 15 - 20 lbs but can't seem to make anything more than a small dent (3 lbs). Yikes, that put a dent in my mental shenanigans. Last year, I was focused on 1200 calories per day but I was hungry all the time, seriously like ALL the time. But on reflection, I think I was eating the wrong things. This year I've really tried to focus on a paleo type of eating and taking in about 1200 - 1250 calories per day (except the weekends I'm not as strict). I've been doing this religiously for the last two months. Still no weight loss :-(

For exercise I run between 35 - 40 miles per week (I like to do marathons - about 2 a year). I've done the gym in the past and I can't tell you how much I dislike that but I'm open to reconsidering my opinion.

I'm a dudette, 5'7", 151 lbs. I'm pretty sure my frame is small but I don't know if that's even meaningful to this conversation.

Thanks again for taking the time to do this.

cartoontree

bump

harley1968

bump

shelliemacs

has anyone experienced this. I try very hard to eat either high fiber cereal for breakfast or egg whites with veggies. I have chicken and veggies for lunch and either chicken or egg whites for dinner. I know I don't hit my TDEE calorie goal and that's probably what my Non weight loss problem is but after every meal, without fail. I feel uncomfortably full and my belly blows out. Its uncomfortable like this for a few hours and therefore I skip snacks and then even sometimes skip meals because Im still bloated out from the previous meal. I have tried low carb high protein; I have tried hi fiber, I have tried combining both. It seems the older I get, the more this happens. UGH!, in turn I am not hitting my calorie goals, exercising more and more and weight loss has stalled to the point of slight slight gain.

any suggestions on why im blowing up after meals??
45yrs Female
cardio heavy 7 days a week
weights 3x a week
130 (started at 120) (my goal is to loose so im doing something wrong)
strive for 1200 calories a day but with the bloating im having a hard time, its uncomfortable to eat with this bloating.

diwijo13

Bump

Paleo_newbeginning

has anyone experienced this. I try very hard to eat either high fiber cereal for breakfast or egg whites with veggies. I have chicken and veggies for lunch and either chicken or egg whites for dinner. I know I don't hit my TDEE calorie goal and that's probably what my Non weight loss problem is but after every meal, without fail. I feel uncomfortably full and my belly blows out. Its uncomfortable like this for a few hours and therefore I skip snacks and then even sometimes skip meals because Im still bloated out from the previous meal. I have tried low carb high protein; I have tried hi fiber, I have tried combining both. It seems the older I get, the more this happens. UGH!, in turn I am not hitting my calorie goals, exercising more and more and weight loss has stalled to the point of slight slight gain.

any suggestions on why im blowing up after meals??

Im no doctor but it sounds like you may have IBS or some other type of digestive issue you should consult a doctor and try to get root of the problem. Good luck

ritchiedrama

I am back, will start answeriing Q's now.

ritchiedrama

Hi.
I have calculated my TDEE -20% using Scooby's Workshop( I selected moderately active)and it gave me 1,749 calories. Most of my friends (on MFP) eat less than I do. Some are even at maintenace or are male. I'm 27, 5'2" ,137lbs and trying to lose 12lbs. I have a desk job and workout using Jillian Michaels dvds 6 days a week. Is that too many calories for me? Should I select sedentary to calculate?

I would appreciate your help on this.:flowerforyou:

I personally for myself and clients, even though I train 3x a week,, select sedentary purely because calculators have a habit of over-estimating calories.

You have two options, either track your progress for 3-4 weeks (yes that long is necessary due to water-weight fluctuations etc.) if you are staying the same, that is your maintenance level, if you're gaining you are eating too much and if you're losing, job done.

If you're gaining, lower calories by 200 or something, then give it another run for 2-3 weeks,, and if you're maintaining drop 100-200 calories and the scale should start moving. Don't be impatient, one week you can lose nothing and then the next woosh! it comes off.

ritchiedrama

Thanks for this thread. I hesitate even asking questions on this site because I'm not wanting to lose a lot of weight but I want to lose none-the-less. For the last year, I've made an effort to lose 15 - 20 lbs but can't seem to make anything more than a small dent (3 lbs). Yikes, that put a dent in my mental shenanigans. Last year, I was focused on 1200 calories per day but I was hungry all the time, seriously like ALL the time. But on reflection, I think I was eating the wrong things. This year I've really tried to focus on a paleo type of eating and taking in about 1200 - 1250 calories per day (except the weekends I'm not as strict). I've been doing this religiously for the last two months. Still no weight loss :-(

For exercise I run between 35 - 40 miles per week (I like to do marathons - about 2 a year). I've done the gym in the past and I can't tell you how much I dislike that but I'm open to reconsidering my opinion.

I'm a dudette, 5'7", 151 lbs. I'm pretty sure my frame is small but I don't know if that's even meaningful to this conversation.

Thanks again for taking the time to do this.

At a first glance, if I'm honest (you won't like this) It sounds like something I come across often,, you are miscalculating your food. If you're doing that much cardio AND eating that little, you should be losing weight regardless.

Weight training IS something I recommend over cardio, everytime. It increases your ability over time to be able to eat more once you obtain some lean body mass (muscle).

I am 5 ft 6 and 140 lbs and I was eating roughly 1600 calories a day and losing weight, so you should definitely be losing weight regardless of gender.

This may also be useful for you: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

ritchiedrama

has anyone experienced this. I try very hard to eat either high fiber cereal for breakfast or egg whites with veggies. I have chicken and veggies for lunch and either chicken or egg whites for dinner. I know I don't hit my TDEE calorie goal and that's probably what my Non weight loss problem is but after every meal, without fail. I feel uncomfortably full and my belly blows out. Its uncomfortable like this for a few hours and therefore I skip snacks and then even sometimes skip meals because Im still bloated out from the previous meal. I have tried low carb high protein; I have tried hi fiber, I have tried combining both. It seems the older I get, the more this happens. UGH!, in turn I am not hitting my calorie goals, exercising more and more and weight loss has stalled to the point of slight slight gain.

any suggestions on why im blowing up after meals??
45yrs Female
cardio heavy 7 days a week
weights 3x a week
130 (started at 120) (my goal is to loose so im doing something wrong)
strive for 1200 calories a day but with the bloating im having a hard time, its uncomfortable to eat with this bloating.

First, you need to address the possibility you are counting your calories wrong/forgetting to count things that you should. A few things that catch people out..

Weighing bread by GRAMS, is better than using "1 Slice".

Cooking oils and sauces

Any sodas, alcohol etc you drink etc.. there are a few others but these are thee main ones I notice..

As for you bloating up, etc. Usually sodium/carbs can have that effect, BUT i don't recommend lowering carbs in anyones diet apart from extreme cases and you said you've already tried it.

You need to make sure you're getting a minimum of 0.4g of fat per pound of bodyweight. Fat is important in our body.

You can also try eating two meals a day, rather than more, if you do eeat more that is..

If i missed anything, let me know and ask any other questions you may have,, hope this helps some..

Kicker12

Hi
I want to lose about 10% of my body fat( I am around the 30% mark now)
I lift and eat at TDEE 20%. So far, even though the scale isn't moving much and the body fat isn't changing I DO see some changes in my body. My question is, if the scale is not 100% accurate how can I ever get an accurate TDEE? I am eating 1800 calories at the moment but how can I know whether this is correct. I am a female, 5'5 and at the last weigh in Monday I was 149lbs ( although by Wednesday this had changed - up)


Thanks

caly_man

thanks for doing this Ritch

deebrown1374

How often would you recommend working out to lose weight? I have heard different opinions, every day to 3 times a week, and so forth? And doing different routines, would that help or would it matter if you did running or the eliptical every day? and on this calorie stuff, if im under my calorie goal, does that matter? or should I be taking in exact amount of 1200 calories?

Thank you!

ritchiedrama

Hi
I want to lose about 10% of my body fat( I am around the 30% mark now)
I lift and eat at TDEE 20%. So far, even though the scale isn't moving much and the body fat isn't changing I DO see some changes in my body. My question is, if the scale is not 100% accurate how can I ever get an accurate TDEE? I am eating 1800 calories at the moment but how can I know whether this is correct. I am a female, 5'5 and at the last weigh in Monday I was 149lbs ( although by Wednesday this had changed - up)


Thanks

If you are seeing changes in your body, that is positive - if your scale has not moved after 2-3 weeks, you need to eat less, usually by lowering carbohydrate intake.

You can check your calories with your stats here - I suggest choosing "Little/No Exercise" for the activity level.

http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

Hope this helps..

ritch