maruby95 Member

I am almost your exact height/ weight (but 46 years old) and I maintain at about 1700-1800 with moderate exercise. Seems a reasonable starting point. You can always adjust.

Gaining weight "un-evenly" is part of the Ed recovery. It almost always goes to the abdomen first, and there is usually a lot of fluid/ edema that can show up in the face, legs, etc. Do. Not. Stop. Seriously. I promise it will redistribute to more of your natural body shape but it takes time. It will go faster if you are…

Having been where you are I would advise you to increase your calories as quickly as you can, back waayyyy off on your exercise, and stay off the scale. If you change your focus from the number on the scale to hitting an adequate number of calories, it will serve you better. I have found that the more I restrict, the more…

@summerskier can you post a link to the thread with that spreadsheet? I am totally geeking out!

Does Turkey count?

SDR- definitely keep going! I made the same mistake and bulked from 103 lbs to 110-112 b/c that's all I could mentally take. And, as I've explained I don't feel like I've gotten very far. At the end, after my cut, I had gained 3-4 lbs and lots of strength, but feel like I look the same- which is just annoying. So, if you…

March- May of this year.

You may be right. Although I have been eating under TDEE for the past month (between 200-350 under) with no loss. Only thing I've noticed is less energy in the gym :(. Don't really want to back off much more, but I will if I have to, I guess. I'd like to take another crack at a bulk in the fall but would love to be a bit…

Yep, you're probably right. Although I have been eating about 300 under TDEE for about a month with no loss. So I could either be measuring wrong (in or out)…well..that's probably it somehow. Don't want to go lower because I can already feel the difference in the gym. So if I need to back off calorie more, I may need to…

Yes- on a program. First started with SL 5x5 and did that until I stalled (about 18 months in I guess). Now on 8th cycle of Wendler 5/3/1. And I have made strength gains- my dead is 1.3 my body weight. I consistently go up on reps, then weights for al lifts including accessories. What I'm not really seeing in changes in…

^^^^^ Me too :).

So sorry about the period confusion! Looks like I started that misinformation. It's possible I was confusing you with another post I had read. Anyway, glad it's all good for you :).

I agree. DON'T plan on cutting. Stick with a slow bulk followed by maintenance for a while. My stats were almost identical to your when I started my cut in Oct. 5'3.5" 104-105 lbs, 17-18% BF, maintainting on about 1700 cals. Part of the reason I wanted to bulk in the first place was b/c I knew I didn't have enough LBM to…

I've never been seriously overweight, so I can't chime in on experience. But, I just wanted to say, that as I've read these stories, I am just sickened (and often shocked) by the cruelty of people. I wish none of these incidents had ever happened. They shouldn't have. What in the world gives people they idea they can judge…

I like it. I think I'm gonna steal it right out from under ya. Thanks :).

Sorry for the recent silence. My husband was away last week which leaves me with 4 kiddos and very little time :). OK- so 2 weeks ago, I was deciding whether I could continue bulking for a few weeks. I decided I couldn't- I was starting to feel downright depressed, and even worse about the fact that I was so upset about a…

I agree Dr Nadya…lifting has the biggest help in fighting ED. Way better than counseling, dietitians, etc. I love pushing my body and the rush of a new PR. And I've broken lots of 'calorie records' in this bulk :laugh: . If you told me a year ago I would consistenly eat 1800-1900 calories I would have laughed. So, I am…

@yogaga1- you are dead on. I know I lot of this inability to deal with the fat is ED. And I know ED is the reason I'm stuck unable to get lean without replace all the muscle I, too, wasted away over the years. And part of the reason I wanted to do this bulk in the first place was to flip off old ED and prove to myself I…

At the beginning of the week, this is what I thought I was doing…just backing off a little to lose some bloat from the holidays. I figured there was some significant water stuff going on. But I'm not having your experience. I think that would have helped me enough to motivate to keep going. But when I'm continuing to…

OK- I hear you on having a bad moment/ day. I've been feeling crappy about the fluff for a week or more. But there IS a tiny voice that wants to keep going. I will be sooooo pi$$ed at myself if I cut back down and haven't gained any muscle, which I'm afraid is going to be the case. I just struggle so much with the fluff.…

LOL! I've been waiting for you to show and yell at me :). I know! Totally hypocritical! Meant it when I said it- just woke up one day and can barely stand to look in the mirror :(. I 'want' to hold out in that I want the muscle, but I'm geting so discouraged, even wondering if I've gained ANY muscle. My lifts are better,…

I'm only 5'3.5". And yes, I insist on the .5 :). And I think I look weak and puny, too (except for the love handles. grrr..). Isn't it interesting- I mean our similar measurements but different weights. How is that really possible? What accounts for that?I do have a very small frame (my wrist is 5 in) and basically no…

Yes! Great update! Go get it, girl!!

LOL! Pa-Leeese! Trust me when I say that I hope to look like that after my cut! That picture was 7-10 pounds ago :0. I just keep thinking about how much higher your TDEE must be than mine. Maybe that will make you feel better :). My average TDEE is only 1700, which means a cut is….ugh…don't even want to say it. So just…

I am right where you are with being sick of the belly. I was looking at your measurements and something struck me. I, too, just took measurements and most of them are exactly the same as yours, including how much they have increased. BUT I weigh 110 lbs and you weigh 130 lbs.! Same 'size', but with 20 additional pounds! If…

Happy New Year everyone! I haven't updated this in a couple of weeks, so I'll put both weeks here. Week 12: Dec 23-29 Ave TDEE: 1804 Ave cals: 2042 Ave wt: 109.9 (up .3) Estimated BF 21.6 LBM 86.14 (up 2 from start) Continuing with 5/3/1 4 day split and happy with it. Ate constantly this week! Really feeling bloated and…

I agree with the above poster….if you give it a try, just pay close attention to your body. I decided to try 16/8 last year because it worked well with my natural hunger (usually not hungry in the am). I really enjoyed it, but after about 6 months I started not sleeping well, feeling really tired all the time, and a bit…

I'm totally here with you. I want to get through one more 4-week cycle before starting my cut, but I'm second guessing my willingness to look at the stomach roll. I know some of it is bloat from extra carbs, which I'm sure it is for you as well. So once we start to cut, that part comes off quick. That's what I keep telling…

I'm doing my first bulk using Wendler's 5/3/1 and really enjoying it. I had already maxed out of SL 5x5 and was looking for a change though. Come on over to the women-who-bulk group! Great support for bulking :). Best of luck!

A very polite and sheepish bump for any other specific recommendations :). Added the GMs. Happy New Year!!