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Should I maintain or gain

lrachel011
lrachel011 Posts: 34 Member
edited November 2024 in Goal: Maintaining Weight

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Depends on your goals and physique preferences.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    What are your stats and goals?
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    Depends on what you want/think, not what any of us want/think. Your goals and preferences should dictate what you do.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    Like others said, it all depends on what you want to look like/achieve. I get varied unsolicited comments in both directions depending on what the individual's preferences are. I had a coworker tell me he thought I was starting to look "too bulky" after some recomping/lean bulking last summer and another friend scoff at the notion I should cut fat from that same point under the premise of "you'll just end up looking scrawny".
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    If I was you, I'd recomp. But you're not me, and your ideal physique is probably not the same as mine!
  • IGbnat24
    IGbnat24 Posts: 520 Member
    How do you feel with where you’re at? If it were me, I would work to cut body fat while the weather is warm then focus on gaining muscle when it’s sweater weather.
  • LiftHeavyThings27105
    LiftHeavyThings27105 Posts: 2,086 Member
    So, generic answer (and others have offered better suggestions...)...

    For a man, most would contend - if we were sticking purely to numbers (read: not taking into account personal goals and how you feel) - that you cut until you get down to 10% body fat and then you bulk. Again, very general comment.

    For a woman, most would contend (same general assumption) that you cut until you get down to 20% body fat and then you bulk.

    However, those are very generic numbers. Also, others have suggested recomp. Generally speaking, a recomp is where you eat at your maintenance caloric intake (so, by definition, you are neither loosing or gaining weight...you are staying - according to the scale - at the exact same weight) but you undertake a progressive overload resistance training program. So, while you still weigh 125lbs (for example) your body looks different, your clothes fit differently, and and and. That is a great idea for some, but it can go very slow (which is actually the way I prefer things....generally speaking) and leads to frustration for some as "I am not seeing any changes at all....) is often the complaint.

    So, several options for you. A lot depends - as several have asked - on what YOUR goals and needs are.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    If you are at a healthy weight according to your medical providers, and not underweight, then there is no reason to "gain" unless you want to add some muscle.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,361 Member
    you look thin enough to me...you should maintain...or start lifting weights to tone and define a bit if that is what you want. But you look good right now.
This discussion has been closed.