dpr73 Member

I disagree. I get DOMS after I take a week off from the gym but following my exact same training protocol. Sometimes conditioned muscles don’t respond the same as less conditioned muscles. I’m not sure this is the OPs case but your conclusion is an N of 1 (well so is mine, but it is clear that the experience is therefore…

Well what I got wasn’t sweet and syrupy...it had simple syrup which is basically the same as adding Tonic (all sugar) to a gin drink or coke (all sugar) to a rum drink. But I digress. I really try to limit this and not overdo it so I was just trying to find out how best to guesstimate on these day’s...which sounds like I…

Yeah that’s exactly what I do! So I’ll just estimate on those days and try to account for it. I usually set aside between 1000-1200 for these days

So generally, how do you balance social life while trying to build? I find myself going crazy with this and am unsure of how to balance best. This is nearly always the reason why I quit bulking. For example, if someone invites me out on a Tuesday for a drink/dinner, I cannot be accurate on that day. So even if I do try my…

I’m not using alcohol to replace real calories. But sometimes you need to live life moderately and learn how to incorporate it into your larger goals. So yeah...when I have a date about once a week that might involve grabbing a drink, I’m going to try to make that rare alcoholic beverage into my total calorie day...that…

I know some have feelings about meal timing. Does the research not show any benefit to timing calories throughout the day?

Another question: I am in the hospital all day from 4am to sometimes 9pm without much time to eat. On days when I get in so late after the gym (like 10pm or 11) is it ok to just backload my day’s calories and eat like 1400 at once between dinner and a large protein smoothie?

Thanks for the tips!! I am keeping the surplus at 200 based off of me maintaining at around 2500 I went up to 2700. However in just three days I have gone from133 to 136. I’m not sad cause irrespective of my goal I was below my maintenance range but should I be at all worried by that rapid hop?

Haha. Yeah but the side effects of testosterone are tremendous. I see your point. I know I want to bulk and get bigger cause I’ve been complaining about it for years. I just don’t know how to tell myself I’m not getting fat even if I know I’m gaining weight (which is necessarily both fat and muscle)

I care because I also am a young single guy and would prefer to not look unattractive to the opposite sex. I think my physique looks good as is but it could be better and frankly I hate being a man at 5’7 and 133-138 (many women are this size)

As someone in medicine, I just can’t get on board with making myself fat just to build some muscle. Now gaining fat (which I see as different from getting fat) is ok with me. Just as long as people never say “gee ______ is getting fat what is he doing to himself?”

To weigh in, I have been following PHUL for a year now. As I expected I have no real muscle gains due to my fear of gaining weight. I want to be more muscular but I just cannot get over the fact that I fear the fat. I am trying a new program on this current program that was passed along to me by a power lifting trainer. It…

You are right it is not that crazy. Great job btw! If you dont mind me asking, how did you structure this bulk? Did you do 15lbs on and then how much did you cut off?

Thanks for your pointers. In your experience, how bad is the fat aesthetically? I don’t ever want to look fat. I frankly don’t care about being ultra lean. I just don’t want to gain muscle and look pudgy ever again! I want the end of my bulk to showcase the muscle and not have it hidden under loads of fat, if that makes…

I would just love to fill out more and be stronger. But I don’t wanna look super doughy...even if temporarily, and that is my major hiccup. I don’t mind having a tad extra fat but I really would hate looking chubby again

Thanks for the reply. I know I’m fighting my brain so hard rn. But I’m sick of being so thin. I know that I want to be around 150 (current 133, 67in, male). But just can’t get over the fear of gaining excess fat and no muscle

I haven't noticed it affect me when I drink in moderation. But this is rather new that I have been going for a drink more than once a week. Again, these nights are not wild binge drinking nights obviously, but because it is all new I just am a bit apprehensive about it.

Some research has shown that alcohol influences muscle protein synthesis negatively. There are a lot of sources citing this through online searches. I could pin down a couple here but it might take a sec to get them

Another Update: I have returned to the BOTTOM of my weight range this morning (135.6lbs). I have never seen a 10lb fluctuation like this in all my years maintaining, but I guess there is a first for everything, right? I can honestly say it was a nice learning experience about both my body and my ability to adjust on the…

It is crazy! I am now wishing I never went down to 1900 calories, because I overreacted to nothing apparently!

UPDATE: I am down to 138.4lbs today. Finally firmly back in the weight range and can actually feel that the previous bloat is gone. I am looking into finishing out the week at 1900 calories and starting next week back at maintenance~2500 calories. I have learned that my body is also capable of shifting with crazy heigh…

So you think I should just keep it at 1900 for a bit longer and then re-up it? I really heavily debated cutting in the first place because of how long I was maintaining at 2800 (since August) and the rapidity of the weight gain. It is definite a lesson I have learned not to repeat, as I now am in a flux with so many…

I just fell back into my weight range (139.8). I have been eating 1900 calories a day, which historically and based off of nearly every calculator, is too little to maintain. Do you guys think I should give it a couple days for my weight to continue stabilizing or hop back up to 2500 today?

An update— My weight is finally settling! Today I hit the top of my weight range (140lbs) and am feeling less bloat (I could actually feel my midsection bulging last week and grasp it). Swelling in my legs is gone 🤷🏻‍♂️. I cut calories to 1900 per day (have historically been maintaining at 2800 before this fiasco). I am…

That’s an interesting point. This could be true. So in other words, reintroducing coffee might remove the excess weight. But in a sense I’ve always been at this weight? I wouldn’t disagree there

Nope. No meds. I did stop drinking coffee in favor of Matcha around the second week of March and in the third week of March I started having constipation that has since resolved. My sense is the constipation is the culprit but it seems strange that my weight remains elevated while that issue has resolved. I also have…

I weigh in on the low end much more frequently then the high end. I usually don’t go much above 138 lbs normally. This weight gain over the past two weeks is really really really atypical for me Should I cut calories into a deficit next week or not? Logically, all this weight can not be fat in less than a month (10lbs in a…

UPDATE PART II: I just tried a new scale. It’s giving me the same weight. I believe the weight is somehow real but I cannot rationalize how

UPDATE: I am planning to stop by and grab a new scale today. I hopped up another half pound on my scale this morning. All in, I am nearly 5lbs above the high end of my weight range. I am 10lbs above where I weighed 4 weeks ago, on March 2 (despite reducing my calories by 300 and increasing activity by 2-3 miles daily two…