Help - my brain is too stubborn!

crazihel

No, I'm not really at the weight that I want - that's my problem! I am 163lbs & 5ft 10 so according to BMI I'm at the high end of the index (not that I really bother with bmi). I've struggled to lose anything more and that is not for lack of trying/counting calories. However I've started thinking about what exercise I'm doing & at what foods makes up my calories and I need a shake up!

Hence the change of goal! It's felt like I've put all the effort in without any progress for a while now which is why I think adding some lean mass might motivate me again and give me a focus! Thanks for the encouragement!

The danger of bulking when your body fat is too high is that you are more likely to add fat than somebody who is leaner:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/initial-body-fat-and-body-composition-changes.html

That being said, I was 27% bf when I started this (so I was really too fat) but I've noticed awesome physical changes and gained a lot of strength.

Also, the struggle to gain and keep a gaining mindset has really helped my perspective about the scale (not that I was particularly insane about fluctuations, but I was firmly in a low=good mindset).

When I said high end of the index I actually meant higher end of the healthy index. My BMI is 23.7! Not sure if I have accidentally confused the issue a little here! I'm not overweight...I don't think...but I am definitely giving that article a read

He recommends 19-24% BF for women as a starting point. BMI doesn't tell you anything about body fat. You could have an "overweight" BMI and be solid muscle.

Yeah, I just meant I made myself out to be fatter than I am by saying I was at the high end of the index!

likitisplit

No, I'm not really at the weight that I want - that's my problem! I am 163lbs & 5ft 10 so according to BMI I'm at the high end of the index (not that I really bother with bmi). I've struggled to lose anything more and that is not for lack of trying/counting calories. However I've started thinking about what exercise I'm doing & at what foods makes up my calories and I need a shake up!

Hence the change of goal! It's felt like I've put all the effort in without any progress for a while now which is why I think adding some lean mass might motivate me again and give me a focus! Thanks for the encouragement!

The danger of bulking when your body fat is too high is that you are more likely to add fat than somebody who is leaner:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/initial-body-fat-and-body-composition-changes.html

That being said, I was 27% bf when I started this (so I was really too fat) but I've noticed awesome physical changes and gained a lot of strength.

Also, the struggle to gain and keep a gaining mindset has really helped my perspective about the scale (not that I was particularly insane about fluctuations, but I was firmly in a low=good mindset).

When I said high end of the index I actually meant higher end of the healthy index. My BMI is 23.7! Not sure if I have accidentally confused the issue a little here! I'm not overweight...I don't think...but I am definitely giving that article a read

He recommends 19-24% BF for women as a starting point. BMI doesn't tell you anything about body fat. You could have an "overweight" BMI and be solid muscle.

Yeah, I just meant I made myself out to be fatter than I am by saying I was at the high end of the index!

I didn't mean to sound like I thought you were fat. I'm 5'9" and started 10 pounds fatter - also your photo looks pretty fit. You just want to start a bulk pretty lean. Also, even though I started higher than recommended, I've had good results.

jason_adams

Some good replies in here. Building lean muscle IS hard. If it were easy, we'd all look like fitness models.
3 Key ingredients - Time, Preparation and willpower.

I put on the most lean mass when I was in university, following the ABCDE principals. It's the Anabolic Burst Cycle of Diet and Exercise. Also free to read about if you google it. I'm male, but I don't know of any reason why it wouldn't work for a female.
There are two phases - bulking and leaning. I always ate 6 meals a day. I just adjusted the sizes of the meals to the phase I was in. But hitting the intake goals during the bulk phase was HARD. I was often eating when I didn't feel like it. Sometimes the end of the bulk phase felt like it would never end. Then the lean phase would feel brutal as well as my body (and my brain) worked to figure out the shift. BUT that hard work payed off. Every 4 weeks I was a little bigger AND a little leaner than I was the month before.

If you don't want to go so far as to follow the ABCDE plan, I would simply take what you're eating now, and add some healthy protein to each meal you are eating. That will help give you the extra calories and protein you need to put on lean mass. Then adjust your workouts in the direction you already specified.

To circle back to my first point:
Preparation - getting things in order to set up your eating for each day. Build your eating plan and stick to it
Time - you need time to do the preparation and the workouts
Willpower - you need the willpower to see you through when things are tough. To help your brain - you need to consistently remind yourself why you're doing what you're doing. Make it a mantra. Make it a password. Make it ALL your passwords!!! Find a reminder that motivates you and run with it.

Good luck!

Zoemoller

I would just include protein shake for the additional calories you need. If you diet is already on point and you would like to just build more muscle, taking additional protein after your work out and right before bed will help your body build and repair muscle and provide additional calories. That would give you another 150-200 calories per shake depending on what kind of protein you use and milk type. If you just add more protein to your diet to increase calories I think it would be very unlikely any of it would store as fat, if anything it will help promote more fat loss while maintaining/increasing your lean muscle.

waldo56

No, I'm not really at the weight that I want - that's my problem! I am 163lbs & 5ft 10 so according to BMI I'm at the high end of the index (not that I really bother with bmi). I've struggled to lose anything more and that is not for lack of trying/counting calories. However I've started thinking about what exercise I'm doing & at what foods makes up my calories and I need a shake up!

Hence the change of goal! It's felt like I've put all the effort in without any progress for a while now which is why I think adding some lean mass might motivate me again and give me a focus! Thanks for the encouragement!

The danger of bulking when your body fat is too high is that you are more likely to add fat than somebody who is leaner:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/initial-body-fat-and-body-composition-changes.html

That being said, I was 27% bf when I started this (so I was really too fat) but I've noticed awesome physical changes and gained a lot of strength.

Also, the struggle to gain and keep a gaining mindset has really helped my perspective about the scale (not that I was particularly insane about fluctuations, but I was firmly in a low=good mindset).

When I said high end of the index I actually meant higher end of the healthy index. My BMI is 23.7! Not sure if I have accidentally confused the issue a little here! I'm not overweight...I don't think...but I am definitely giving that article a read

One thing I definitely disagree with Lyle on; or rather the typical assessment of Lyle's views (not sure he has addressed this outside of that article) is when to start bulking.

His basis comes from physiology and systemic insulin resistance, I definitely get that, but I think the context has to be considered.

The state that brought you to your body fat % matters a lot. Some bro starting out at 18% who has been a couch potato for a few years is TOTALLY different than a guy at 18% that has lost 100 pounds and has seen his loss rate dramatically slow (and is getting side effects from his bodies' anti-starvation system). For dude #1, losing fat is definitely appropriate. Dude #2 is almost surely better off bulking.

Its no secret that metabolism slows when you cut. This effect gets stronger and stronger the leaner you are. It also slows far beyond what muscle mass would predict. Many people misguidedly believe this slowing is permanent. Bulking has the opposite effect. Your metabolism will rise, faster than your muscle mass would predict.

The "last 10 pounds" is so hard because you've be been cutting a long time and likely have significant metabolism slowing, along with the real effects of the anti-starvation system starting to kick in and a metal state where you are close enough that many think "good enough". Spend some time bulking then get back to it and it is MUCH easier.

Instead of going for it and trying to hit their goals on their initial cut, most people are better off stopping as they get near, spending some time bulking, then going for it. It may seem like the extra weight is only making your goals further away, but that is not the case, because once you do get back to cutting you'll find it is much, much easier, both mentally and physically.

likitisplit

No, I'm not really at the weight that I want - that's my problem! I am 163lbs & 5ft 10 so according to BMI I'm at the high end of the index (not that I really bother with bmi). I've struggled to lose anything more and that is not for lack of trying/counting calories. However I've started thinking about what exercise I'm doing & at what foods makes up my calories and I need a shake up!

Hence the change of goal! It's felt like I've put all the effort in without any progress for a while now which is why I think adding some lean mass might motivate me again and give me a focus! Thanks for the encouragement!

The danger of bulking when your body fat is too high is that you are more likely to add fat than somebody who is leaner:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/initial-body-fat-and-body-composition-changes.html

That being said, I was 27% bf when I started this (so I was really too fat) but I've noticed awesome physical changes and gained a lot of strength.

Also, the struggle to gain and keep a gaining mindset has really helped my perspective about the scale (not that I was particularly insane about fluctuations, but I was firmly in a low=good mindset).

When I said high end of the index I actually meant higher end of the healthy index. My BMI is 23.7! Not sure if I have accidentally confused the issue a little here! I'm not overweight...I don't think...but I am definitely giving that article a read

One thing I definitely disagree with Lyle on; or rather the typical assessment of Lyle's views (not sure he has addressed this outside of that article) is when to start bulking.

His basis comes from physiology and systemic insulin resistance, I definitely get that, but I think the context has to be considered.

The state that brought you to your body fat % matters a lot. Some bro starting out at 18% who has been a couch potato for a few years is TOTALLY different than a guy at 18% that has lost 100 pounds and has seen his loss rate dramatically slow (and is getting side effects from his bodies' anti-starvation system). For dude #1, losing fat is definitely appropriate. Dude #2 is almost surely better off bulking.

Its no secret that metabolism slows when you cut. This effect gets stronger and stronger the leaner you are. It also slows far beyond what muscle mass would predict. Many people misguidedly believe this slowing is permanent. Bulking has the opposite effect. Your metabolism will rise, faster than your muscle mass would predict.

The "last 10 pounds" is so hard because you've be been cutting a long time and likely have significant metabolism slowing, along with the real effects of the anti-starvation system starting to kick in and a metal state where you are close enough that many think "good enough". Spend some time bulking then get back to it and it is MUCH easier.

Instead of going for it and trying to hit their goals on their initial cut, most people are better off stopping as they get near, spending some time bulking, then going for it. It may seem like the extra weight is only making your goals further away, but that is not the case, because once you do get back to cutting you'll find it is much, much easier, both mentally and physically.

Super, Waldo! Thank you so much!