Who has it easier? Bulkers or cutters?

Fithealthyforlife

I personally think bulking is harder. Trying to gain lean mass is difficult especially when you are an active individual. I was eating 4,500 calories at the end of my last bulk. Lots of money for that food and it sucks force feeding yourself.

That being said, bulking is definitely more fun. Seeing your lifts increase drastically and not worrying about going out to dinner from time to time makes the force feeding worth it.

Very true. Well-stated.

robdel302

I think my diary is open, you can give it a check. If I dont have much time in the day, I will eat dirty to get my calories in. Dirty as in a mcwrap from mcdonalds and mcflurry.

I've noticed you're also using a lot of lean ground beef and light cheese, is this to keep saturated fat levels down? You could go for types that have a little bit more fat to bump up the calories. Adding healthy oils, nuts, and peanut butter is another great way of bumping up calories without a lot of volume. You also wouldn't need as large a serving to hit the calorie requirement. The caveat being that it slows down digestion even further. The OPs recommendation of breaking it all up into smaller meals may help get around this. And depending on meal timing catabolism could be an issue.

IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym

those aren't the only 2 groups of people on here, but to answer the OP, neither. Both are hard.

Yeah. It's just a generalization taking into account the two extremes.

ok, so I take back my response, then. For me, bulking is harder, because I overcame being anorexic, so having to go to 2200ish calories and 6-7 meals a day was really hard for me. Not to mention costly. But, I did it a few times, and I am glad I did.

Fithealthyforlife

those aren't the only 2 groups of people on here, but to answer the OP, neither. Both are hard.

Yeah. It's just a generalization taking into account the two extremes.

ok, so I take back my response, then. For me, bulking is harder, because I overcame being anorexic, so having to go to 2200ish calories and 6-7 meals a day was really hard for me. Not to mention costly. But, I did it a few times, and I am glad I did.

As I've said before (I hope I said it in the other thread at least) I feel you did a great job putting in that effort, sticking with it, beating the eating disorder, and building muscle. Very impressive. You're one of the biggest inspirations to any women who are currently suffering from anorexia on this site. And I wish you well to long-term health and in your future fitness goals.

IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym

those aren't the only 2 groups of people on here, but to answer the OP, neither. Both are hard.

Yeah. It's just a generalization taking into account the two extremes.

ok, so I take back my response, then. For me, bulking is harder, because I overcame being anorexic, so having to go to 2200ish calories and 6-7 meals a day was really hard for me. Not to mention costly. But, I did it a few times, and I am glad I did.

As I've said before (I hope I said it in the other thread at least) I feel you did a great job putting in that effort, sticking with it, beating the eating disorder, and building muscle. Very impressive. You're one of the biggest inspirations to any women who are currently suffering from anorexia on this site. And I wish you well to long-term health and in your future fitness goals.

thank you, kindly. I originally said both, because from a general POV, they are both hard, if looked at from both sides, but changed to my own personal take on it. Now that you mention it, I do believe you have told me that before. I appreciate it. :bigsmile:

TheRealParisLove

Even though I can bulk easily-- I have the genetics for easily adding muscle-- I prefer a cut. I love, love, love cardio. I don't mind lifting weights, but find it can sometimes be repetitive. Oh, and all the eating required for a bulk is a bit of a chore for me. I get tired of eating all the time.

So, for me personally, I'd say cutting is much easier.

Fithealthyforlife

Even though I can bulk easily-- I have the genetics for easily adding muscle-- I prefer a cut. I love, love, love cardio. I don't mind lifting weights, but find it can sometimes be repetitive. Oh, and all the eating required for a bulk is a bit of a chore for me. I get tired of eating all the time.

So, for me personally, I'd say cutting is much easier.

Are you one of those women I mentioned in a previous post up further when I was replying to someone about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence? Lol. In case you missed it, I was talking (jokingly, but only half joking) about women who went from soft 26-inch thighs to rock-solid 23-inch ones just by cutting, or something similar. And how the skinny guys like me who just recently started lifting and are bulking envy women like that because of all the muscle they have under their fat without even bulking! ;-)

MrGonzo05

Bulking is more enjoyable than cutting. Still, getting maximum results from a bulk is an awesome challenge.

MercenaryNoetic26

I'd say both are difficult.

alyhuggan

Thanks for the replies.

Maybe another way to think of the question (as some of us have been already) is: which would/do you prefer?

I've found that my appetite adjusts to how much I've been shoveling into my mouth duirng a period of time! When I ate 3-4 times per day at a deficit, I felt hungry only before meal times. Now eating a surplus in 4-6 meals, feel hungry more often than before. So hunger is a poor way of knowing when I've gotten enough, despite what all the diet doctors tell people. (Or maybe I'm one of those rare, metabolically flexible people who is both a natural bulker and cutter.)

I can eat like a beast...talking 1400 to 2000 calories in a sitting, no problem - so I prefer any program that has me eating more ..actually looking forward to my october bulkfest...

I miss having meals that big...

waldo56

For those assuming bulking is easy, have you done it intentionally (not talking about gaining weight recklessly, I'm referring to a strategic bulk where gains are tightly controlled)...?

x2

Seems most of the people saying bulking is easier have never done it.

There is a HUGE difference between a tendency to overeat at times and doing it every single day for months. Its fun for a couple weeks but very much becomes a grind over time.

That feeling when you have 1000 cal to go, you're stuffed from dinner and bed time is 2 hours away. Fuuuuuuuuuu......

Zomoniac

Depends how much you're cutting in my case. Getting from being obese to being in a reasonably decent shape was easy and straightforward. Getting from being 'decent' to cutting off the last bit of BF and ripping is seemingly nigh on impossible. So for me cutting is easier to a point, but once it's down to the end stages then bulking's much easier than the last cut.

JNick77

That feeling when you have 1000 cal to go, you're stuffed from dinner and bed time is 2 hours away. Fuuuuuuuuuu......

That is 100% correct. It is really hard to eat like that.

Cutting is more about willpower and self-control than anything.

csuhar

- Eating at bulking levels sounds fun or easy until you do it EVERY.SINGLE.DAY for months and months.

I run into this same situation even though I'm just really looking to maintain at this point. My size and activity level leave me with a maintenance goal of 3200-4200 a day, depending on how active I am. On one hand, you might say how wonderful it is to have so much room for various kinds of foods and to not worry about an occasional treat.

But then I have some days where I may end up occupied doing something that keeps me from eating or, to be perfectly honest, I may take a long nap. In either case, I can end up having to decide between "cramming" before going to bed or accepting a big defecit. I have often wound up with accidental defecits that can be as high as 1000 calories. While that's not going to hurt me, it would be a challenge if I was specifically looking to bulk.

michail71

I just switched over from bulking to cutting. I was at about 3100-3200 calories maintenance and getting really sick of eating.

I'm now cutting on 2600 calories and I've found my appetite has returned. What a wonderful thing that is! I can enjoy food now.

I think it gets difficult to stay in either mode for a long period of time.

However, I've noticed that it seems fat people can often chisel out some nice definition. In truth the fat people probably spent some years building up some muscle underneath and then have the fuel reserves to cut down. The skinny little people often seem to have a hard time bulking up while not getting too fat. Building muscle takes time, dropping fat is faster.

Fithealthyforlife

However, I've noticed that it seems fat people can often chisel out some nice definition. In truth the fat people probably spent some years building up some muscle underneath and then have the fuel reserves to cut down. The skinny little people often seem to have a hard time bulking up while not getting too fat. Building muscle takes time, dropping fat is faster.

Yup, very common. I call it accidental bulking, and it's common in our society for anyone who accidently eats too much but still works out. People not only gain fat but muscle too and become chubby over time. The skinny people simply don't eat enough to build anything--muscle or fat. Then when it comes time to lift hard, they have no energy because they're calorie-deprived, and no raw materials to build with. Been there, done that when I first started lifting before I discovered "bulking" or "surplus-eating" and how essential it is.

That said, I'm apparently the total opposite of "skinny-fat". Always have definition and muscle tone no matter my weight. And just this past week, I had to stop lifting for over a week. I kept eating a surplus. But guess what...I lost a pound (feels like some of that was water and glycogen and some was fat, but I feel like I kept the 2-3 lbs of muscle I've added over the past few weeks). I have the feeling cutting is going to be such a breeze for me.

verticallyfit

Both are just as strict and challenging. I am a NPC figure competitor and I go through both cycles. Cutting is very demanding because everything has to be exact and there is really no room for error. During the bulking phase I can have a little more "fun" with my diet, I get a MACRO bump but it's still as demanding. Nutrient timing comes into play with both cycles, cycling MACROS depending on what you are training that day, and then not bumping up your MACRO intake to quickly when coming out of the cut cycle. Reverse dieting as it's called is just as strenuous as the cut. I embrace my lifestyle and love the cut and the bulk for different reasons.

I also believe planning is key in making sure you don't end up with unfulfilled or over MACROS at the end of the day. I plan my day the night or days in advance. It makes shopping easier and my life less of a hassle. I eat what I want (as long as it fits my macros) but it is pre-planned.

GODfidence

It sounds like an ectomorph vs endomorph. IMO ectomorphs have it easeir since they can damn near eat whatever they want when they're bluking. Endos still need to keep the diet relatively clean or risk putting on excess fat while bulking. But I'm an endo so it could just be "grass is greener" thinking.

I will admit, I do like the fact that putting on muscle isn't that difficult which would cause some ectomorphs to give up.

I have to agree with this. Bulking is FAR easier. You have to do less (relatively speaking) than those cutting. I have to watch what I eat and do two hours of cardio a day, 3 on Saturdays to just maintain my weight, never mind lose any. I could eat myself silly on any given day and put 15 pounds on eating clean without even trying if I wanted. That would simply entail, more food, less cardio and more sleep. Sounds like win/win to me.

You do realize that NO cardio is necessary to lose weight.
If you have to do that much cardio just to maintain then look at your
Food intake. Thats the controlling factor in weight loss or weight gain.

mndamon

Given my body type and how hard it can be for me to lose, bulkers seem to have it easier in my head.

I can definitely see frustrations from either side though.

michail71

Yup, very common. I call it accidental bulking, and it's common in our society for anyone who accidently eats too much but still works out. People not only gain fat but muscle too and become chubby over time. The skinny people simply don't eat enough to build anything--muscle or fat. Then when it comes time to lift hard, they have no energy because they're calorie-deprived, and no raw materials to build with. Been there, done that when I first started lifting before I discovered "bulking" or "surplus-eating" and how essential it is.

That said, I'm apparently the total opposite of "skinny-fat". Always have definition and muscle tone no matter my weight. And just this past week, I had to stop lifting for over a week. I kept eating a surplus. But guess what...I lost a pound (feels like some of that was water and glycogen and some was fat, but I feel like I kept the 2-3 lbs of muscle I've added over the past few weeks). I have the feeling cutting is going to be such a breeze for me.

I was the "skinny fat" type. It was tough getting out of that. Since I had no strength I had to bulk up a bit while carrying around a gut for a while. Who wants to overeat if they have a gut? Then went on a cut got nice and lean before starting a real a bulk cycle. It's been almost two years since I started lifting and I'm really pleased with the results. It just took me longer than I thought it would.