michail71 Member

Speaking as a guy I wish more women were not afraid to lift! Sadly so many of them think they'll look like men.

I have no idea where that was in the thread but I think there has been more of a link show between estrogen and aggression in men. Being on steroids can cause a jump in estrogen levels. Modern man also get bombarded with estrogens from the environment and food sources. Low T also may cause irritability in men.

For an untrained person it is possible to grow muscle on a deficit with fat loss but the net result should still be less weight if it was a true deficit. It gets harder to do with the more lean mass you have. Typically people can gain 50/50 muscle/fat when on a surplus and weight training. When cutting a good target for…

I think glycogen and water balance can throw some people off if they get too fixated on the scale. But those parameters should be in balance with a consistent diet and activity level. Just like when people think they gained a pound or two of fat overnight. It's just not possible (or very unlikely).

Kickboxing! It's fantastic, fun and addicting. It will make you laugh at treadmill cardio. But I never smoked.

While the basic laws of thermodynamics apply to everyone the same way (they have to, it's a fundamental part of the universe) what can differ significantly is an individuals BMR and TDEE. Different people can respond and adjust their BMR and TDEE according to intake to some extent. While research shows it's minor I don't…

True, but I think it usually better to start off with a strength program before tackling hypertrophy. For a novice to intermediate lifter on a strength program there will be hypertrophy gains too. I'm doing Wendler 5/3/1 right now. It finishes off with some volume training as an accessory. That's a killer after the high…

From a lifting perspective, especially for switching to a strength program, you can consider yourself new. Being new means your body can make rapid gains, even while dropping some fat. The muscle memory should kick in rather quickly but if you didn't squat heavy before you're in for a treat. :) Squats and deadlifts hit the…

Are you on any specific lifting program? Typically if you are an experienced lifter you want to stay heavy and reduce volume. However, since you are new to lifting you have the ability to gain muscle while reducing fat if your deficit isn't too harsh. The body fat will help fuel the growth. This doesn't last forever but…

I first saw my abs when I hit 10% body fat on my first cut. Now they seem to stay with me on a bulk up to 14%. Once I hit 14% I go back on a cut. Now that I strength train the fat seems to go back on differently.

Don't worry about water weight so much. It's daily fluctuation is way outside the bounds of daily body fat changes. So it's difficult, if not impossible, to detect daily body fat changes. If you were low on carbs and had a big carb day it would cause your glycogen supplies to refill. This is a good thing. Muscles full of…

I experienced some "Adaptive Thermogenesis" when I tried to get to about 9% body fat on my first cut. It sucked. The best I can describe is it's like having the flu, where you just don't want to move. Dropping 10-20 lbs if you are overweight is rather easy. Dropping a pound or two of fat when you are lean is hard and can't…

The profile picture you have doesn't look to be anywhere near 35% body fat that you have listed. It's hard to tell from a head shot but a man at 35% should have a fat looking face. You need to lift weights and eat!

Everything Waldo said. Besides, from a thermodynamic perspective you would have had to consume an excess of 3,500 calories and process it all in one day to gain a pound overnight. That's not likely. We can't violate the laws of thermodynamics.

Do a beginners strength program that focuses on compound lifts (such as squats, deadlifts, rows, bench, overhead presses) and has a defined progression scheme. It's not as hard as it sounds. Stronglifts and Starting Strength are good programs. Those programs are designed to maximize strength gains for beginners. Beginners…

I was the "skinny fat" type. It was tough getting out of that. Since I had no strength I had to bulk up a bit while carrying around a gut for a while. Who wants to overeat if they have a gut? Then went on a cut got nice and lean before starting a real a bulk cycle. It's been almost two years since I started lifting and I'm…

I think exchanging out the carbs for fat and protein is a step in the right direction. I'm not anti-carb. I'm just pro getting the minimum recommendations of the 3 macro nutrients. It also helps with appetite control. Carbohydrates are the macro nutrient that's the least essential to get minimum targets. We can live…

I just switched over from bulking to cutting. I was at about 3100-3200 calories maintenance and getting really sick of eating. I'm now cutting on 2600 calories and I've found my appetite has returned. What a wonderful thing that is! I can enjoy food now. I think it gets difficult to stay in either mode for a long period of…

Good luck! But what is your current body fat %? I've done Lyle McDonald style PSMF liquid diets but only to go from like 12% down to 9-10%.

What's are your daily macro nutrient targets? Judging from what you listed it sounds like you could be high on carbs and low on fats and protein. People should get a minimum of about 0.4 grams per pound of body weight. Granted it's all about total calories but having a macro nutrient imbalance could cause body composition…

Wow, so many informed people on here! That's kind of unusual and quite refreshing.

My kids find my weighing everything out kind of funny and annoying. But then they'll compliment me on being buff. 120 lbs at 5'2" seems like a great starting point for strength training. Back off the cardio some and train like a man! Don't worry, it won't make you look like one.

Is it possible you were recomping? Basically, where your weight remains the same but you're gaining some muscle from increased activity. That's actually a good thing. Also, what's your mental state and energy level like? Do you feel sluggish or in a mental fog? Sometimes going too low will trigger your metabolism to slow…

By the way, do you use a scale to weigh your food portions? That helps considerably.

Basically: Meal timing and frequency do not matter. Weight is Calories in minus Calories out. Fat isn't bad Keep you macronutrients balanced

I think that's why so many of us who were children back then have hormonal issues today. Diets that were low fat, high carb, hydrogenated oils, etc.

Good luck! I hope everything is ok. Those numbers look really low. Also, make sure to not adjust for exercise and just let the activity level do it's thing.

Assuming the weigh gain had no water component that would be a daily excess of 311 calories over maintenance.

I'm not even sure if that is possible, which should be good news for you. Breathing and brain activity alone should be more than that. There had to be some miscalculations. Were you trying to adjust for exercise? That can get some people in trouble.

My son, mother and myself have tested out low on D3 and we live in South Florida.