donkey9512 Member

Thanks. Is there a way to reach 10% bf without anything extreme like Keto? I'm Italian and cannot fathom cutting out pasta. I am so close at 12% but been stuck at 12% bf. (I will give up bodybuilding before I give up pasta)

What is 'IF' (Moderators: can we get a glossary of terms?)

I hope that I never need to go through keto diet to get to 10%. That is the sweet spot for being asthetically attractive for men anyway. I find it gross when people are full of veins.

I think sleep, nutrition and rest days are the most important factors improving fitness. Excercise is catabolic and weakens you. Excercise is merely the catalyst.

How much do you weigh and what is your height? I am almost the same age as you at 48. I am 5 ft 6 at 142 lbs. My maintenance calories seems to be about 2500 per day. I am cutting on 200/ per day. I think that I am at about 10-13 %. You look pretty good!

Oops

I agree with your assessment. It is much faster to cut then clean bulk. It would be frustrating to just start bulking too eagerly and then get fat. To get more gratification and more motivation from progress, cut then bulk is better. Bulking first would work but take much longer for visual improvements. To the OP, think,…

He may need to experiment. Possibility you could be right. I am more concerned with extra fat being obvious on a small frame. But becoming all gangly and skinny is a risk too. This is why it is so important not to end up skinny fat. It creates such a dilemma.

If he bulks, he will just add more fat and instead of skinny fat, he will be plain old fat. Cut first then lean bulk. But it is obvious that you still need to at least maintain the muscle you have. Therefore you need to only do weight training and limited cardio. You need a very slight calorie deficit. This should be a…

I would cut down. It's a tough call at 16% but in your case, cut. If you bulk and gain 10 lbs consisting of 50% fat and 50% muscle you would weigh 149 lbs and have a composition of 18% bf. Do the math and you will see for yourself. At this point you would be very eager to loose about 8% in bf and be a svelte 10% bf. You…

Omg, we are the same age, more or less. I am 48. But I am only 5'6 and 142lbs. Are you trying to gain weight?

Well you have good genes and consider yourself lucky. Wait till you reach my age and you shall see!

I had the same saggy belly after loosing 20 lbs of fat. The skin sags like one of those wrinkly dogs. It eventually shrank.

That sucks. I guess that's why I hate bulking. However, are you sure that the type of food has really no impact on the proportion of body composition gains? A calorie is a calorie seems like an oversimplification.

Because they are not eating enough calories or expenditure exceeds intake. I get it. Trust me.

I was just guessing on the calories of a MCDonalds meal. You get my point and I get yours.

We can all gain fat quickly. That's the part that sucks the most! I just mean error on the side of reasonable surplus. So yes, if someone is 6 foot 6 and maintains at 4,000 calories, then enjoy that daily big mac. Whatever floats your boat.

..like having an extra 1500-1750 calories per day from MCDonalds. I lived that once and gained 20 lbs of fat. I am a hardgainer for muscle but a fast gainer for fat.

Exactly. And the danger that the average person reads into his comment and does not apply common sense. In other words, to use an outlier extreme case of a hardgainer who CAN get away with eating crap everyday and yet still struggle to gain much weight as a justification for the argument that 2000 calories in junk food…

I agree with everything you said except I take issue with the statement '...but you CAN meet those needs and still eat at McDonald's every single day.'. The average meal at Mcdonalds with a Bigmac, large fries and soft drink is probably about in the neighborhood of 1500 to 1750 calories. So if someone requires, say 2500…

I don't know who first coined the term and the original meaning is irrelevant anyway in regards to this topic. Words change meaning all the time and are a reflection of the culture which gives rise to their use. In today's world and with the sport of bodybuilding, hard gain generally refers to lean muscle. I hope I was not…

Not according to Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardgainer I don't mean to nit-pick but in general, when people say they are a hardgainer, they mean they want to gain muscle. The danger in taking a looser definition is that people who once thought they were hard gainers, will quickly find how easy it is to gain…

I agree. I too have IBD and I lost 10 lbs in 3 weeks. Too many fibrous foods and vegetables can make you feel too full with low calories. It's also a lot of stress on the digestive track for someone with IBD.

Of course I understand that. My point is that it is too easy to overdo junk food and get fat. Replace the word junk food with, say, certain highly processed foods with low nutrient content and empty calories. It's easier to say junk food. Instead of eating McDonalds Bigmac I would prefer to have an avodado which is calorie…

Indeed! Muscle - GOOD Fat BAD Junk food + no resistance training = FAT = BAD

Phew! I am relieved you are not a lady with the other type of ED. Joking aside, sorry I assumed that you were a dude. I don't mean to sound sexist, but I guess I reflexively assumed that you were a guy since most people looking to gain weight are guys. That said, a lady with muscles is sexy!

I just posted a similar comment in anothers thread. Junk food is never the answer to gain weight unless you want to get fat. Clean surplus calarories can be boring and difficult to achieve but the last thing you want is to gain fat. It may be impossible to loose the fat later. Remember a low weight better than overweight.…

Looks like a recipe for getting fat! I would be afraid that it would be impossible to cut back down later. Lots of unclean junky foods listed. I am not sure this is the best advise.

Protein bars should be classified as candy. They will make you fat! At least that's been my experience. I find they tend to be sweetened and expensive. You can make your own protein snack balls and cook them at avery low heat in the oven. Just make a dough with whey protein and greek yougurt and roll balls.