Should I end my diet and start bulking?

NRBreit

In my opinion, you need to confirm if you're closer to 14% or 8-10% body fat. That natural physiques calculator uses the same Jackson-Pollack 3 or 4 site skin fold measurements that your trainer would use. So you need to figure out why you got such different results. If you're 14%+, most recommendations would be to cut. If you're 8-10%, you should bulk.

BurtHuttz

I'd like to read this thread more closely in the future; "bump."

djeffreys10

It is virtually impossible to shed 3% body fat in 3 week's time. Handheld body fat testers are not accurate, and measuring with calipers in only 4 places isn't much better. I don't mean to be negative, but if you are going to use those tools for measuring you would be better served looking at the numbers to study trends rather than zeroing in on a specific number.

That was my thought. However, I have lost 5.4 pounds, going from 170.2 to 164.8, during that three weeks. Weighing every Friday morning when I first wake up, wearing nothing but under armour underwear each time. I know weight fluctuates, but that is as close as I can get to being consistent. Assuming my initial measurement of 17.5% was correct, loosing that much fat would put me at 14.8%, just doing the math and assuming my lean body weight stayed the same. Now there is no way to accurately judge whether my lean body weight stayed the same, decreased, or increased. But a slight increase in lean body mass would mean a slightly larger decrease in fat, causing the reading of 14.4%. Now granted I don't have the means available to me to determine the composition of the lost mass, but according to the math a 3% drop is not entirely out of question.

djeffreys10

In my opinion, you need to confirm if you're closer to 14% or 8-10% body fat. That natural physiques calculator uses the same Jackson-Pollack 3 or 4 site skin fold measurements that your trainer would use. So you need to figure out why you got such different results. If you're 14%+, most recommendations would be to cut. If you're 8-10%, you should bulk.

Agreed with your percentage recommendations. I just don't know how to get a more accurate assessment at this time. I know the trainers assessment of 8.5% is absurdly low. That only leaves the calipers method that I have been using, and the Omron handheld. According to the calipers, I should keep dieting and loose another 5-7 pounds. According to the Omron, it would be an ok time to up my calories. I just find this very confusing lol.

LeanButNotMean44

If you have access to only those two methods to measure, then my suggestion would be to use the calipers and measure more than 4 different areas on your body; I have been told that one should measure at least 17 different places because most people do not have an even distribution of fat. My upper body is very lean, my lower body not so much. Also remember that the caliper measurements are only as good as the person doing them, meaning that the measurer needs to be doing them correctly.

Summer_Lunatic

I am thinking the best way for me to approach this may be to start adding 200-300 calories per day to my diet every week. Over the course of 3-6 weeks, I will get my calories up to a better place for gaining muscle. And at the same time, I will be getting used to eating more. I just have a hard time eating clean and still getting much over 2000 calories. That would probably still net me another 2-5 pounds of weight loss during the transition.

Sounds like a great plan.After losing 83 lbs over a 13 month period It was very hard to force myself to eat enough (healthy) food to bulk.

I can totally relate. 3000 cals of healthy food is a lot to take in every day. I feel like I eat constantly. Sometimes having to force it down when I'm not even hungry.