Females who are bulking or already have

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Hello,

I'm a newbie to this and I'm finding it mentally draining! I need some motiviation to stay on track and not jump into cutting. I'm 9 weeks into bulking, up 8 pounds and inches everywhere!!! (Also, I ate under BMR for years and increased my kcals from 1600 to 2300/day 9 weeks ago)

I'm hoping to stick it out for another few months, if not longer. My goal is 6 months. I've always been fit and found that even when I was eating 1600kcals/day lifting 4 days/week and doing I gainedsome muscle. However about two years ago I overtrained lifting 6days/week, an hour of cardio/day and eating next to nothing and had alot of my hard work stripped away and was unable to train for a 1 1/2 mths. My CNS was shot... what was I thinking?!!!

Overtraining has made me smarter with my training and realize REST and NUTRITION is the key to success. I eat clean 99% of the time and have for the past 2 1/2 years, I had my BF tested back in April and was at 14% and never have been over weight. Right now I'm bigger than I've ever been, since giving birth to my second child...

Right now I would love to hear from you ladies who are currently going through the same thing, as well as success stories to help push me through this phase. I know with each bulk/cut phase it will be easier as I will have some experience.

Cheers,:happy:

Replies

  • Jessicaruby
    Jessicaruby Posts: 881 Member
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    i did not have a good experience with my bulk. according to another great MFP friend i did a fulk! lol which would mean i ate to much of a surplus and gained alot of excess uneeded fat. :grumble: i have been cutting since january and have barely lost any weight. it is driving me crazy! :sad: just my opinion but i wouldnt bulk for six months, especially if you are already up 8lbs in 9 weeks. i aimed for about a 1lb gain a week when i did my bulk and gained 15lbs in 4months, which proved to be too much. you may have had a slighter bigger gain due to undereating for a while. by your pictures (not sure if they are recent) you look wonderful and have a fair amount of muscle. you are fairly lean so you can probably afford to gain more weight. good luck
  • 31prvrbs
    31prvrbs Posts: 687 Member
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    My last bulk was about 4 months, I aimed for a .5lb gain/wk, "gained" about 10-12lbs, 4-5 of which were gone by like the second week of my cut (water), so I don't technically count them, lol.:tongue:

    It seems like bulks are mentally draining for a lot of people. I, personally, love bulking. Idk if maybe my first bulk wore on me mentally, but if it did, I can't remember. :ohwell: I don't have a problem with my scale going up as long as I like how I look. My scale has slowly crept up over the years, but it doesn't really phase me. I started out at 108 (5'2), size 2, and I'm now around 125-130, but still a size 2. I don't really do too much of the math to figure out how much of it is actually muscle or not, all I know is that my clothes still fit, and actually look better. I carry a higher bf% than most women care to, but again, I don't get into the numbers to much.

    I like how I look (most of the time) DH is still attracted to me, I eat pretty much whatever I want. Life is good.

    I prefer to ride my bulks out as long as possible, to make them worth my while...but again, that's just me.