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Anonymous
hey /fit/, I decided to start bulking a couple of weeks ago. I realized I never made any real gains because I wasn't eating right, and have made more progress (from 80 to 110lbs bench) in a fortnight than the entire three months before that (60lbs first time benching to 80lbs), by eating a shitload of protein and doing 5x5 instead of 3x8-12. I've noticed my 4-pack has disappeared under fat since I started bulking which is what I was afraid of (getting fat), but I'm assuming you have to take the good with the bad and put on fat with the muscle at the same time.

At what point should I start cutting? Is it just the point where I am happy with the amount I can lift, then just stick to that amount of lifting to maintain the muscle gain? Or should I do it at regular intervals (say 3 months) just so the fat doesn't get out of hand?

I've have been able to stop eating lately. It's mostly healthy food (cereal, chicken, wholemeal bread, protein shakes), but it just seems like on my off-day I've been eating the entire day and if I don't I feel starving.
>> Anonymous
you want to make gains or not? obviously you do, and you're trying to bulk, so just keep going, no point pussying out before you've even started
>> Anonymous
This is 100% personal preferance.

I find a 4-month cycle works well for me.
3 months of weight gain
1 month weight loss
>> Anonymous
>I've have been able to stop eating lately. It's mostly healthy food (cereal, chicken, wholemeal bread, protein shakes), but it just seems like on my off-day I've been eating the entire day and if I don't I feel starving.

that's normal. your body is repairing the muscles you worked the previous day, so it's using a lot of nutrients.
>> Anonymous
OP here, so should I eat as much protein on off-days as on a training day?
>> Anonymous
>>422261
you should be eating the same amount.

If anything, you should be eating less carbs on off days.
>> Anonymous
>>422267

yeah, that might be the problem, I've eaten about a loaf of bread as toast with peanut butter, 2 bowls of cereal, a box of muesli bars, chicken, and a bowl of gnocchi.
>> Anonymous
Also, If you have just started working out, the amount of weight you are able to lift is supposed to increase slowly. You can't bombard your muscles with protein and expect then to grow faster than they feel they "need" to. If you have grown a layer of fat under your skin, I would just simply reduce the amount of calories you intake FOR THE TIME BEING. And also, make sure you are getting lean protein and not fatty meats.

In time your resting metabolism will be so high that you can get away with eating whatever you want and you won't get that fatty layer under your skin. But patience and commitment is what it takes to get there.

Overall, back off your calorie intake until you are lifting higher weights.
>> Anonymous
>Overall, back off your calorie intake until you are lifting higher weights.

don't do this. you won't make gains.
>> Anonymous
>>422279

OP here, I understood it to be the opposite. That in the first few months you should make gains faster than you ever will later on. The thing about the fat on my stomach is that I am quite skinny but the last place the fat sticks on my body is my gut. Sitting down I can squish it into a donut that looks to weigh a bit less than a lb. Before I started trying to bulk it was lower than I ever had it and I could visibly see a 4-pack whenever I stood up, not because I had worked out my abs but because of low BF%. Now it's obscured. I've probably only gained about 2lbs of fat max.
>> Anonymous
Not true, if you are putting on weight, you are intaking more calories than your muscles require. You have options here, you can get fat, then your muscles will catch up, like the last post tells you to do. Or you can be more diligent, and not deal with the fat as much in the meantime. Both approaches get you to your goal. You do NOT need to fatten up to make gains. Don't take my work for it, your muscles know this already.
>> Anonymous
Well OP if your goal is to look good, you best listen to me, because the other advice your getting is going to make you fat the entire time your lifting. And most people want to look awesome, not lift awesome and be fat.
>> Anonymous
The thing is, I can already see my arms and chest getting bigger, and it's not fat. Plus, when I posted my "before" pictures here a couple of weeks ago I was told to gain fat and muscle anyway. Probably didn't look too healthy.
>> Anonymous
>>422297
You don't know EXACTLY how many calories your body needs to repair your muscles to their maximum potential.

Eat too little and you're not making the greatest possible gain. It's better to eat a little excess and progress faster, you can cut fat later.