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I don't know how to bulk...so many questions!
Could you guys help me out? I want to do this right and I have some questions. My maintenance intake is roughly 2300-2400kcal. How many more should I eat to bulk? 2550-2650 calories? I lift and train hard 5 days a week...on my off days, should I lower my calories? Or eat the same amount? How long should the 'average' bulk…
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Opinions on John Candito's program?
So I'm thinking of starting John Candito's 6 week strength program - does anyone have any opinions on it? Thanks :smiley:
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What's the best lifting routine to preserve muscle mass and strength on a deficit?
Stronglifts? I've been doing a mix of strength and hypertrophy work on a 5 day split over the last 5 months, but now I want to really get serious with my weight loss so I'm reducing volume...but I want to keep my strength AND muscle mass. Do I need to do any hypertrophy work, or just strength whilst I'm in a deficit?…
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How much will a large deficit impact my muscle mass?
Hey guys. So I've been losing weight achingly slowly (15lbs in the last 10 months), and I still have around 15lbs still to go (give or take a few lbs depending on how I look). I've been heavy lifting over this time, and although I am happy with the fact that I've made progress (waist inches went down from 32 to 26.5), I…
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Cut calories or up my cardio?
Hi! I was wondering which would be more beneficial for me as a method of cutting fat? I lift weights 5-6 days/week, and just want to lose a few lbs (a.k.a that final bit of belly fat :D ) before starting a bulk. I have been eating around maintenance for the last 4 months or so, and weight loss has been very slow but my…
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How come squats are SO HARD for me?
I've been lifting heavy for around 5 months now with a trainer, but was only able to start really increasing the weights significantly within the last 2-3 months, due to SI joint problems because of weak core issues. Anyway, now that I'm trying to get progressive overload on my compound lifts, I've noticed that back…
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Dear MFP-veterans...
So I've been a lurker on these forums for a long time...much longer than I've actually been an MFP member. I'm 19 now, and (yes, yes, against MFP 'rules', I know... ;) ) I've been learning about diet and fitness from all of you knowledgeable MFP veterans since I was 15-ish, and you are the reason I'm now in a happy place…
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Lifting advice please?
Hey guys! I started lifting back in June/July with a trainer, and have followed his workouts since then. I've had several setbacks since day 1 (forearm tendonitis in both arms, and a back injury), so my progress hasn't been nearly as far as I'd have liked, but now that I'm more or less injury-free, I'm hoping to get stuck…
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Should I worry about strength losses whilst recovering from injury?
Ok, so I've had lower back pain for a few months, but when I went to the hospital last week after I wrenched it again in martial arts, I apparently have problems with my right SI joint, along with muscular imbalances for which the doctor has told me to see a physio tomorrow. I usually lift 3 times a week with a PT, whilst…
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Stick with my trainer's routine or...?
Hi all! :) I recently joined a gym (about 2 months ago) to start lifting, and I absolutely love it. My gym offers free personal training, so I've been working with a PT since day 1 - my only issue is that the weights aren't really going up much in the sessions. My deadlift is up to 50kg (5 x 5 reps) , bench 40kg (for 2…
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Shall I lower my calorie amount now that I've started lifting?
At the moment, MFP has set me at 1810 cals for a 0.5lb loss per week, although to be honest I've been eating around 2000-2100 calories since I've been recovering from a binge-eating disorder. I'm losing weight very slowly (around 0.25lbs per week), which I'm ok with, since my inches are going down. However, about 2 months…
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Foods for injury recovery? And how important is fat?
Hi there :) I was hoping to get some insight into whether I should change my diet in any way to facilitate injury recovery - I have several injuries (back injury, broken toe, tendinitis in my forearms), and they're taking ages to heal. Are there any dietary changes that would help aid recovery? Also, I have little fat in…
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Scared of over training, but don't know what to prioritise...
Up until about 2 weeks ago, my routine consisted of calisthenics three times a week, HIIT or interval training on days in between, and martial arts a couple of times a week too. This worked well for me in terms of time, but I recently started lifting (for a change of pace mainly) three times a week, and now I'm struggling…
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Back injury...now what do I do??
A few months ago I injured my lower back - I'm not sure how to be honest. I train with callisthenics, and have only recently been making significant progress to personal goals (pull ups, pistol squats, L sits etc.), and so I didn't take a rest period for it, since if I was careful, there was no pain. A few days ago I had…
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Scared to lower my calories...
I've recently been in recovery after having a binge eating disorder, and although I now have a healthier outlook on food, and I binge rarely, I've only been able to manage eating at my maintenance, and no lower. I'm glad I've managed to cut out the binging, but I'm scared to lower my calories in case it sparks off the…
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Should I eat carbs or protein?
Ok, so thanks to reading several MFP debates, I am well aware that for weight loss CICO is what matters. However, I was under the impression that consuming more protein during weight loss helps to reduce loss of lean muscle mass? I've recently re-incorporated more carbs into my diet (I restricted them previously), but am…
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Workout wardrobe! Suggestions ladies?
Ok, so I'm excited to treat myself to a proper workout wardrobe at last (usually I workout in battered old clothes), and I figured it would be a fun way to 'brighten up' my sweat sessions :smile: I was hoping a few ladies would tell me what your fave workout gear is and where you got it from!
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Stuck in the binge/restrict cycle
I'll keep this as simple as possible. I am already trying to combat emotional overeating, but I (almost without fail) have a relapse one or two days a week. Instead of running away from the binges in fear (which wasn't working...I'd agonise over it which would then trigger a binge), I started making my goal to decrease the…
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Are Body Fat calculators accurate?
Ok, so I know that the readings themselves are notoriously untrustworthy, but I was wondering if the changes would be reliable? Supposing I lost bodyfat, would the reading also go down, and vice versa for if I gained fat? Or will it just fluctuate unpredictably with no method to its madness? Thanks :)
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Does eating less after a binge cause more damage?
I've read somewhere that if you eat a lot fewer calories to 'make up' for a binge the previous day, it encourages the body to store the binge calories as fat, and that it's actually best to eat at maintenance the day after a binge. Is this true? It doesn't seem to tie in to the whole idea of a weekly deficit which many on…
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Do you have a refuel day?
My daily calorie amount is around 1550, and I don't eat back my exercise calories (but I don't worry if I go over by some calories, although I try and avoid it). I've been going strong for about a week, and I thought I should have a "refuel" day - nothing bad, all healthy food but I ate around 2100 calories (I worked out,…
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Anyone else with emotional/binge eating problems?
Ok, so I've been on MFP for a few months, but have been trying to lose weight for about 3 years. My first year saw me restricting calories like an idiot (the usual under 1000 story...), and that sent me off on binge/emotional eating. In the 1.5 years since, when I've been trying to lose weight AND control binge habits,…
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Calisthenics for strength?
Hey there! I'm pretty new to MFP, so bear with me please :) I can't get to a gym, and so have been a loyal calisthenics lover for about 2 years, but I find that I plateau a lot...my ultimate goals are handstand push ups, pistol squats etc...but it's so hard to get to that level, primarily I find because the progressions…
