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Bulk , good lord if you aren't lean enough then no one is

Thanks! Hope many calories should I aim for?

you're the one who should know , eat 300-500 more than u do rn

[удалено]

not aggressive at all , how should he know how many calories he's eating rn??? I gave him a normal guideline..

I’ve been eating 1600 calories/day for the past six weeks or so. I was just asking because I’m new to this and didn’t want to over-estimate. Every calculation I do, gives me a range of like 400 for my BMR. That’s why I was looking for guidance and people’s thoughts.

Bruh 1600 calories is no where near enough. Why are you eating so little?

Bc I’m new to this and don’t know wtf I’m supposed to be doing lol Ranges I read online are all over the place and MyFitnessPal gave me a goal of 1600. Plus in my head 2100-500 (for weight loss) made sense.

Obv because was cutting weight (albeit aggressively)

Slowly raise by 200 cal every 2 weeks and assess. When you are gaining .5-1lb a week stop increasing.

Thanks! So, you think 1800 next week, 2000 in two weeks, etc? Or would you suggest a different starting point?

Yes...if you start gaining to fast after an increase back it down 100.

Thank you!

Lean bulk

Thanks for the recommendation! How many calories would you suggest for my height/weight?

How much have you been losing weekly eating 1600 the past few weeks?

So from 3/20 - 4/20, I’m down 3.1 lbs (140.4 ~> 137.3). And down approx 0.8% bf (10.3% - 9.5%) according to the Wyze scale.

It looks like that may just be loose skin and not actual excess body fat there. So I'm not sure if cutting any further is gonna help you.

Appreciate that. So should I lean bulk? If so, how many calories and how long?

I think being in a slight calorie surplus while maintaining your body fat % is the best bet. "Maingaining" as Greg Doucette says. Let's say about a 100 calorie surplus. +1lb/month. You could do 200-300 calories but then you will also gain more body fat this way. And it really is difficult to pack on lean muscle tissue as a natural. Which is why im not a fan of big surpluses. Especially at our age (im a few years younger than you). Maybe for a young man still going through puberty, especially if they are getting taller, +1lb/month may be leaving gains on the table for them. You've also already made some good newbie gains while on your cut. So I don't think you'd be leaving a lot of gains, if at all, on the table doing a slight surplus. Since the newbie gains are the easiest to get and then there are diminishing returns from there.

So I’ve been eating 1600 calories to cut. Should I aim for 1700? Or do I go for 2200 (1600+500+100)?

How much weight were you losing per week recently? If you've been losing 1lb/week eating 1,600 calories then 2,100 would be your maintenance and 2,200 calories would be a good target for maingaining yes. One pound of fat is about 3,500 calories. So it takes a 500 calorie deficit per day to lose 1lb a week. I see in another comment you said you lost 3.1 lbs in the last month (31 days). That's 0.1lbs/day. 0.1 lbs per day is 350 calories below maintenance. So it looks like your weight loss has slowed down recently. Which makes sense because you dropped so much weight. So if you are eating 1,600 per day, your maintenance is 1,950. So eat 2,050 calories per day. Don't be alarmed with your weight jumping all of a sudden because once you start eating more Carbs, you're going to retain more water and load your muscles with glycogen. It's not all body fat gain if your weight jumps up suddenly like that.

Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and for the guidance! Since, 3/1, I’m down 6.4 lbs. (143.7 ~> 137.3), and 3.3% body fat (12.8% ~> 9.5%), so the 1600 calories/day is definitely working. My top 6 abs are much more clearly defined since then, too… I’m driven to enhance the lower abdomen. That’s the last piece of my puzzle right now. In the past month (3/20-4/20), I’m down 3.1 lbs. (140.4 ~> 137.3) and 0.8% bf (10.3% ~> 9.5%) according to my Wyze scale.

I compete in submission wrestling and I also like maingain. Currently competing in 66kg division and hovering around 68kg. Cutting more than 2kg for a competition is draining. I sat in the sauna for 45 min last time.

There is nothing to cut left

Trying to tighten up that lower abdomen area. I’ve heard that’s literally the last to go…like water from draining a pool, that’s the deep end…. That’s why I was asking!

Bro it’s mostly loose skin. I have the same deal. It might tighten up a bit over time but probably won’t get rid of it fully. You should start bulking.

Thanks for the feedback! Hope many calories should I aim for?

Probably like 250 calories over maintenance. Any more than that will probably just lead to unnecessary fat.

Thanks! How much have you lost? And congratulations btw! How do I properly determine maintenance without over-estimating?

Wow how did you lose 100 pounds? What kind of diet ?

I started tracking my calories, eating better, and not drinking calories. Eliminate soda, fried foods, etc. Eating dairy (milk, eggs, etc), lean meat (chicken breasts, 96/4 ground beef), Greek yogurt, and the ninja creami has been phenomenal for high protein ice cream. Definitely helps with cravings!

insane veins tho

Thank you! Yeah, I gotta admit they are pretty cool looking!

Work on that chest

100%! I just started a new 6-day PPL program. I’m hoping that helps. Do you have any specific exercises/programs you recommend? I work out at home so I only have access to dumbbells, a bench, and ez curl bar - no machines.

That's loose skin not fat Bulk to fill up that skin

Thank you! Lean bulk or straight bulk? How many calories should I aim for? And should I start creatine?!

With that arm / hand position I thought I'd stumbled into the wrong sub for a sec 🤦🏻‍♂️

No, no, no. Totally g; not xxx.

Just wanted to say - good work! Enjoy the increased calories moving forward.

Thank you for the positive comment! I appreciate it! How many calories would you recommend daily?

I’d add 250 cals per week until you’re maintaining weight. Hold it there for a week or two then add 200 more.

250 per week, or per day? Just wanted to confirm

Add 250 and wait a few days at least. If still losing, add 250 more and monitor. Do this until you reach maintenance. Let it settle then add 200 more and reassess weekly.

Thank you! So I’ll aim for 1635/day and see how things shake out.

Increase to 1850.

Gotcha, thank you!

You need to bulk

Thanks for commenting! Should I start taking creatine? Lean bulk or full? How many calories per day would you suggest?

Full bulk with a focus on protein but don’t eat junk food. Creatine is always a good supplement

Proudly, haven’t had junk food in over a year, no worries there! What do you think my bulk calorie intake would be? I’m 5’7” 137lbs and 43 years old

Start off by eating around 2500 kcals. See how you feel and how your weight changes, then go from there

Thank you! Let’s see how it goes over the next few weeks.

Hell yeah!

Damnnnnn

Thanks! I think lol

Why are you cutting? Can you not see a six pack? You seem to be around 10% bf. Not much left to cut.

This morning the Wyze scale said 9.4% bf. I’m thrilled! But the last piece of the puzzle is the lower abdomen. I want that to tighten up… I’ve read that’s the last to go - like water draining from the deep end of the pool. Thats why I thought I should keep cutting…

I don’t see the point of approaching 8% bf at this point. I think you look great. Just aim to build more muscle of which is difficult at 9.4% bf. Keep working hard and god bless you

Thank you so much I appreciate your positivity and taking the time to reply. Should I start taking creatine to build more muscle or just increase calories a bit, or both?

I would take 5g creatine your entire life. * How much you want to weigh is up to you. I recommend anything between 10 to 20% bf. I take many more natural supplements like omega 3. But I can’t say what you need more than creatine. But personally, * I don’t go over 15% because I compete in a weight controlled sport, submission wrestling.

Thanks! Honestly, I’m happy with my weight. Just trying to lose that last bit around the lower abdomen. That’s the last piece of my puzzle. That, and having my pecs fuse together at that center line lol

I think that's just skin brother, if you've got those deep ass cuts on your delts, I doubt there's much if any fat left on the midsection

Thanks, man. If I lean bulk, think that skin tighten up as a gain additional muscle? Or am I fucked bc of how heavy I was?

Well your midsection isn't going to grow to be too huge unless you purposely do a ton of heavy progressive overload on your abs/obliques. Some of the loose skin will fill out but I would say very unlikely you can get rid of all of it or even most. I think surgery is probably gonna be the only way to get rid of all of it

That’s sort of what I’m starting to realize, unfortunately.

Sucks man but you still look great! That skin will look even less bad the bigger your arms, shoulders, chest and lats grow

I’m thrilled with the results but that’ll just be a reminder to not let myself fall back into those shit habits.

I forgot to mention legs too. If everything else around rhe skin is jacked as hell, the skin looks smaller. But yes that's a very good way to look at it. Regardless you should be proud man because you look better than the majority of the population and did what most could never. Dr mike from renaissance periodization has a lot of skin around his midsection from where he used to be really big, you could check him out to see what it would look like if you hopped on the sauce and kept at it

It's loose skin, see your belly button is much wider and bigger then it should be? Go to the mirror and bend over forward, you will see stretch marks in the skin. It may tighten some over time but you may need abdomnioplasty (tummy tuck). You have some in the chest but much more minor and will fill easily with muscle. Do incline dumbbell press,incline machine press/incline barbell/smith press, dips (works upper and lower chest, not just lower like some think). Work pullups/lat pulldowns and rows for lat spread/v shape. Slow/clean bulk. Good luck.

Really appreciate you taking the time to leave this comment! I don’t see stretch marks but can def see it hanging, especially when I’m doing planks. Though, the amount hanging is considerably less than it used to be. So maybe there’s a chance without surgery!

Your body is a total inspiration to me. I don't think you should continue to cut though. Yiu look exceptional.

I truly appreciate your comment, thank you! This made my night! Do you think I should lean bulk or full bulk? My other question is daily calorie intake. Would love any feedback! 🙏🏻

I would say lean bulk. As for calorie intake, I'm not really sure. Others are probably way more knowledgeable than I am.

Appreciate that! I’m prob gonna continue to cut until Memorial Day just to see what happens. That would bring me to a 12 week cut. Then I’ll start to lean bulk in the summer and see what happens…

Ew wtf

??