Springfield1970 Member

Hopefully the fat will come off the bottom half, but if you feel it's making you look too gaunt then reassess. Bulking is actually a very controlled thing. You can abandon ship anytime! Keep learning to lift well and start deciding what progressive routine you may follow.

I agree with the plan. Even though 122lb seems low, you may be very surprised what happens as you dropped the next pound or two. You could look completely different at 120. If you are anything like me, it's like my lower half suddenly shrinks when I am below 20%, it's just so hard to get the balance right (keeping the…

There's so many things I like about this post. I quite often cure frogginess with bacon.

I'm a bit confused.... Do you want to lose weight or gain weight? Did you lose quickly then binge it all back again? I bought a heart rate monitor to figure out my burns, I train for triathlon, and also love yoga and walking. I've got the balance right now but it took ages. I dropped down to 123lbs at one point. I ran so…

I've got pierced ears and I've just drawn a dolphin on my arm in blue biro. Can I play?

I think after you've gotten your calorie counts sorted out you may want to reassess the 1200. At 5'7" and your weight (I guessed around 135-140?)and doing boot camps on 1200 you will be horrible hungry and in danger of using up muscle instead of fat. By the way, you cannot build muscle in such a deficit. It's clear you've…

Exercise sure makes you hungrier. Problem is, if you're starving after exercise its easy to hoover up 1000s of calories and over do it. The last parkrun I did, it was 22 minutes, and I burned a grand total of.....220 calories. Sad. Two bananas. I'm 5'7" 130lb.

Ambrosia custard? Hot or cold? Or vanilla ice cream? Come on September!

I'm 5'7" 130lbs and maintain at 1750 without exercise. I eat all my exercise cals back. Running fast=600 cph fast cycling 500 cph etc. Please remember that when you start eating more your weight may go up from accumulated food and water and glycogen in system, it's NOT fat. Don't freak out! It also strikes me that you…

Your goal should about 50/50 with the fat to muscle ratio, providing you are relatively lean to start with, follow a progressive routine and are meticulous. Weigh yourself every day andaverage every 7, you will soon see a trend. Just do the maths to get it to .5kg gain a week if it isn't hitting it. It may be better to…

You should try and get down to a low body fat percentage before a bulk. Keep cutting slowly and learn how to lift properly until you get there. Women should be about 15 ish %

A lot of us here do well with a kind of 80/20 rule where we eat a good lot of nutritious whole food and fit in favorite treats as well. You don't get extra points once you've reached your protein, fat, vitamin and mineral quotas, but you do have to find a realistic way of eating so you don't throw it all out and have a…

I love smoothies too. On the side of a big meal! I hope I come back as a six foot 5 body builder next time. I'm hungry a lot of the time.

To build abs eat at a sensible calorie excess, and do 3 x week all body weight lifting progressively getting heavier. I have abs, and not a single crunch or isolation exercise was done(I can't as I have injury there and risk tearing muscle). Compound lifting, sprinting, cycling. They'll get covered by a nice layer of fat…

Why can't you just eat the equivalent macros in a meal? I can't imagine giving up the chance to chow down for a .....smoothie??

^^^^^^ I think this is a wise decision. Keep diary and weigh every day and average every 7, and see if this is a good number for you. Don't forget, as you lose weight you are going to need less calories. I'm netting that at the moment and I'm 5'7" 130lbs and losing about a pound a month.

Just never buy food or drinks out, and put the money into a Hawaii fund....

For a person my weight and height and ability to store glycogen, I can make it through about 80 minutes of Triathlon Sprint racing before I run out. I usually hit the gels when I get on my bike though anyway. I really don't have any interest in running low on fuel. What a horrid thing to do to my body. I used to do it and…

Just out of interest, how did you arrive at your body fat level? It seems high, if you think parts of you look thin. I'm the same weight and height, circa 20%.

Are your muscles and measurements the same or not? You seem to contradict yourself. Your midsection would be smaller, with less food and waste in your system. Your organs would have got smaller too from less water and glycogen. to lose 15 pounds of fat in three weeks you would have been on a daily defecit of 2,500…

That's because carbs carry water with them, making your digestive system weigh more, and pumping up your muscles with water and glycogen, which is a good thing and what you strive for for definition. To look cut from a lower fat percentage you need to target FAT loss, not water or muscle loss. There are a few people ready…

I'm afraid to say that you probably lost a heck of a lot of water, glyocogen, waste in digestive tract, some fat, and unfortunately, some hard earned muscle. You cut way way too fast. You probably looked more defined of course. It's a hard lesson to learn, you've done it kind of wrong, good not to encourage others to lose…

An excess of calories will make you fat, whether it's carbs, fats, proteins, mornings, afternoons or nights. Carbs are good before an intense workout though for high performance.

Pre binge is where you learn what went wrong. You're in too big a defecit. That's what usually is the culprit

Yes, it's a work in progress. I learnt most when I made mistakes! As long as you're on a journey that's all that matters.

Eat any calories back from exercise done. Bulks have been derailed by this many a time.

Glad you reassessed this. I'm 45 and have more energy than anyone I know. I haven't always been like this until I counted calories as I was either starving or binging or doing some crazy all you can eat in an hour shizzle, or low carb. Don't let age or having children hold you back. Lots of carbs help here! I cut at a…

Amazing lady!

I think you're underestimating your needs. Why not go for a 300 cal per day deficit for a while? Weigh yourself every day and average out every 7. If you're still losing a pound a week then you've got it. Red flags went off when I read you get ill when you diet and exercise. You're overdoing it that's all. I'm afraid…

Is OP eating back exercise calories? If not, the answers right there. Too much of a deficit.