Post-Bulking Progress Pictures (Female)

I did end up switching to Strong Lifts 5x5. The website is a little gimmicky but I've heard it's a great program for strength gains. I really wanna get past 95lbs on my squats!

When did u decide to bulk and what did that mean for your diet.

I want start the lifting heavy but I am new at this. I am 5' 3", 130-135lbs and I have been doing a calorie deficient diet. I want to definitely gain muscle and definition and decrease my body fat %.... does it work like that? Can I do both?

For a newbie what program do your suggest I should follow. And how do I incorporate cardio and yoga? Will that work against the liftin? Also as far as diet, will I have to change it from a calorie deficient diet?

Sorry for all the questions but what you have done had great results.

I actually decided to bulk when I still had about 10lbs of fat to lose. Mainly, I just wasn't in a place mentally to diet anymore and it was fall so winter seemed like a good time to "bulk". I guessed that maintenance for me was about 2300 net since I was losing about a half pound a week eating 2000 net. So I started eating about 10% above that, so 2600 net. I gained about 3lbs right off the bat, then nothing for a long time, so I upped it again to 2800. I follow IIFYM meaning, I try to eat my minimum protein (1 gram for every pound of lean body mass), and minimum fat (0.3 grams for every pound of total mass), and everything else is free game.

It's difficult for most people to increase muscle mass while on a calorie deficit. People new to lifting, can but it won't be by much. You can make great strength gains while dieting however. Since it's summer and you still want to lose some fat, what I'd suggest is eating at a small calorie deficit (500-300) below maintenance and lifting. You'll probably make some decent strength gains, maybe gain a little bit of muscle, and lose some fat over the summer. Then come fall you can decide if you want to do a traditional bulk.

I actually answered your other post about Strong Lifts. I just started this program and think it's great. As long as you start with just the bar, and really pay attention to the videos and the good form tips, this is a great program for beginners. If you can maybe have someone video you at first and have people here check your form. Good form is really important especially on the big lifts like squats and deads. Cardio is great, but don't over do it. You don't NEED to do an hour or more every day like I seem some people doing. A half hour of low-moderate intensity cardio after lifting is fine. Maybe something higher intensity stuff on non-lifting days. Take at least one full rest day a week (or just do yoga or go for a relaxing walk).

I hope that helped. Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm not an expert but I've done a good amount of research and collected a good friends list of the super smart people on this site...