Skinny fat, should I bulk?

jmath0303

Hey guys,

So I made the mistake of losing a ton of weight (150 lbs) but didn't lift like at all. The results are that I am a 5'9 150 lb male with a lot of flab in my stomach. I have next to no muscle now as I lost most of it in my weight loss journey. I am skinny fat now and want to know if I should continue to cut while lifting or if I should bulk up to like 165 and then cut?

StargazerB

I would say to go for a recomp since you will be new to lifting and have lots of potential for "newbie" gains. You need to calculate out the calories you need to maintain your weight. Eat around 0.8-1g of protein per pound of body weight. And lift weights following a program with progressive overload. I say try this for 6 months and you will see much improvement in your body composition. I did this exact method after losing weight without lifting and dropped 2 pant sizes despite staying the same weight. I also gained lean body mass and strength.

sijomial

If you are fat then bulking is a bad idea as you will get fatter.
If you are skinny then cutting is probably a bad idea as you will get skinnier.

Maintaining weight and training hard would seem sensible.

You are about mid-range in the BMI healthy range so you could stand to lose a little if you really want to. As a fellow 5'9 person I would feel dreadfully small at your current weight let alone lighter but of course we may have different builds and physique aspirations.

Overall perhaps worry more about your training, then when you have a few solid months of lifting and progress behind you then start to think about some long term goals including your desired physique and weight.

MostlyWater

yes, you should.

sijomial

MostlyWater wrote: »

yes, you should.

He only started lifting last Wednesday....