First bulk coming soon need help!!!!please:)

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rachelmazour
rachelmazour Posts: 31 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
hi! So I'm a momma to a 10month old and 25 yrs old. 5'3", female, down from 143.5 (January weight) to 126lb (today). I'm in a small town and have been educating myself for cutting and bulking.. Just cuz I like the fitness trainer physique. It's easier to find fat loss stuff for women than muscle building. I've lost the weight FINALLY and am actually really anxious about my first 'bulk' cuz it took a lot of work to get it off (plus summers comin up and I don't wanna be fluffy lol).. I don't know my body percentage if anyone could help me with that and anyone who can shine some light on the process of bulking like when the heck do I do this lol.. I keep putting it off and setting new fat loss goals. When do I know it's time cuz I still have a few stubborn problem areas. What do I need to know to move forward? I'm finally fitting into clothes I haven't in a long time (some of you men might not understand) and am worried I'll feel like a train growing out of them again. I want this. Just mental game is not on fleek ;)
Please be soft on me/more encouraging than critical since this is my first time :) tryin here!! Knowing I'm pry gunna make some mistakes along the way and thanks a bunch in advance:)

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  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    It's hard to tell your body fat % without pictures. But below is a rough pictural.

    body-fat-percentage-women.jpg


    Also, women and men bulk the same. There are programs that are directed towards women, but that is because they have a higher concentration of lower body stuff.

    Program: pick one from here (NROL4W and StrongCurves are some of the favs for women

    Macros: You want .6-.8g of protein per lb of mass, .3-.55g of fat, and the rest carbs. <- rough estimates
    Calories: Use a TDEE Calculator. In the activity field add in your exercise 3x a week is lightly active, 5-6x a week is moderate. And then add 10% on top other results or 250 calories. I perfer % over a standard number. I ran your numbers and it will probably be 2400ish.

    And lastly, read the stickies.
  • Jcl81
    Jcl81 Posts: 154 Member
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    20-22%
  • rachelmazour
    rachelmazour Posts: 31 Member
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    So those are some pics this morning... Judging by the chart about maybe slightly higher than a 25% bf .. Maybe 30% bf

    I decided to cut first cuz I had a lot of Prego weight on me. My macros are 35% protein, 35% carb and 30% fat on a 1200cal diet. (I'm really impatient).. So I've lost muscle and a lot of fat in my booty.

    I also tore my knee (PCL only) grade 2 in league volleyball last September so I've been crazy bummed I'm too scared to squat and bust it up again since I play sand vball this summer twice a week and also want it strong enough to lift all the way eventually (I just do dumbbell lunges and 5x leg press)

    Thanks for the help!!
  • wisenbsd
    wisenbsd Posts: 87 Member
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    Just keep your bulk clean. Up your protein to between .75-1.25 grams per lb of body weight depending on your activity level. Lower your carbs and fat to complete your macros. I personally run a 40-20-40 (carbs, fat, protein), but have seen people run 40-10-50. If you're looking for a real low body fat %, then you'll need to adjust your micronutrients and keep sodium at a low so you're not retaining water (although you should be drinking plenty of it). Bottom line is, do what is best for your body though as you know it better than anyone else. Hope this helps!
  • nicole_j
    nicole_j Posts: 13 Member
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    I follow BioLayne on Youtube. He has some great videos about reverse dieting and is a proven expert. Get your advice from experts and not random people on fitness pal. Laurin Conlin on Youtube has some great videos to. You don't want to add calories too fast or your body will not know what to do with the excess and store it as fat. Coming off of a cut you can literally gain 10 lbs of fat in a week.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    So you are probably in the 22% range, which is towards the top end of acceptable for bulking. So you have a few choices. You can cut down a bit more, to get great ab definition and then bulk (generally, the more lean you are, the better and more primed you are for bulking). You could adjust your calories to maintenance for a little and try some recomp (and more importantly allow you to figure out your true maintenance calories), or you can start adding 250 calories every few weeks until you start consistently gaining.

    It really depends what you are looking for.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    nicole_j wrote: »
    I follow BioLayne on Youtube. He has some great videos about reverse dieting and is a proven expert. Get your advice from experts and not random people on fitness pal. Laurin Conlin on Youtube has some great videos to. You don't want to add calories too fast or your body will not know what to do with the excess and store it as fat. Coming off of a cut you can literally gain 10 lbs of fat in a week.

    No you can't. You would have to eat 35,000 calories above your maintenance level to hit 10 lbs of fat. When you gain weight after coming off a cut (especially an extreme cut), you will increase several things: increase volume of food in the GI system, increase glycogen from subsequent increases in carbs, increase in water due to sodium increase and if you are in a true surplus, a little fat.
  • rachelmazour
    rachelmazour Posts: 31 Member
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    Thank you so crazy much! So would it make sense to continue cutting and then recomp over the summer and 'bulk' over winter if needed? Honestly I just keep seeing the word recomp pop up in my convos and i need to do a little research but it sounds like that's my way to go. Thank you a ton for the direction.. I've always been an 'athletic' 5'3" as my whole family is built short and stocky/muscular.. But I've never dropped muscle like this (1200cal diet) nor been this light in weight in years (was this weight 4 years ago and before a baby) so I suppose I was worried I was getting too light or losing too much muscle. Anyway I know I have a lot to learn and it really helped steer me toward what I need to get more educated on:) thanks again!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    rachelmazour wrote: »
    Thank you so crazy much! So would it make sense to continue cutting and then recomp over the summer and 'bulk' over winter if needed? Honestly I just keep seeing the word recomp pop up in my convos and i need to do a little research but it sounds like that's my way to go. Thank you a ton for the direction.. I've always been an 'athletic' 5'3" as my whole family is built short and stocky/muscular.. But I've never dropped muscle like this (1200cal diet) nor been this light in weight in years (was this weight 4 years ago and before a baby) so I suppose I was worried I was getting too light or losing too much muscle. Anyway I know I have a lot to learn and it really helped steer me toward what I need to get more educated on:) thanks again!

    I would probably do a small cut, then transition and then bulk as you said. I would aim to lose .5 lb per week (a lot more than 1200 calories), have protein set to .8g per lb of weight and follow a solid lifting program like: one of these


    If you wan to research more on recomp, check out our maintaining section.
  • rachelmazour
    rachelmazour Posts: 31 Member
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    Thanks! Will look into it:)
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    I would cut very slowly to under 20% body fat, so maybe half a pound to pound a month until autumn resting and getting your injury better. Cutting too hard is going to screw that healing process up.

    You will also be able to see what your true TDEE is to base your bulk on.

    Try then running a bulk eating 250 cals a day over your Tdee, as long as you're eating 100 grams of protein a day and following a good programme lifting it doesn't matter what your carbs and fat are doing. You need carbs to build muscle. Especially pre and post workout.

    Aim for a half a pound a week gain. Do it until xmas, ready for a January 1st slow slow cut to melt the gained fat off.

    This is how I went from over 30% down to 15% up to where I am now - 17-19% ish, been there for a couple of years now.

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