Issue with “bulking”

Training
1

I’ve been spinning my wheels with my lifting so my coach suggested that I do a very slow weight gain phase. I’ve been eating 100-200kcal above my maintenance.

We’ve been doing this for 3 months and I’ve put on 2lbs since the start (2% total or about .7% of my starting body weight per month), which is a pretty conservative pace. Aka, I didn’t go on a dirty bulk.

I weight myself every morning at the same time in the same clothing using the same scale. Placed in the same spot on the floor. The 2lb is from a trend of weekly averages of this daily weigh ins

There’s been two issues

  1. My lifts haven’t been improving (more reps at same weight or more weight at same reps). Some weeks are awesome but it just regresses to baseline.
  2. All I’ve noticed is fat gain. I’m softer and wider and the lack of gym progress seems to corroborate the lack of muscle gain. I would be okay with fat gain if it was leading to proportional increases in strength. It’s not. I’m just getting fatter

The other weird thing is that I seem to “jump up” in weight. I held steady for a while, gained 1 lb overnight, and that 1lb never came off.

I’ve run into these same issues in the past, but my bulking attempts in the past were much less deliberate and not under the guidance of a coach. I was hoping that this time would be different

another note: I haven’t been having a cycle for about 2 years now even though I’m not low body fat (guessing ~25%).

2

What exactly are you eating daily?

As far as the 25% bf that is pretty average for a female. What have the docs said about the no cycle for two years? This is a bit concerning.

When was the last time you had full blood panels including hormones done?

What has coach said?

2lbs in three months is not a lot of weight. You would not even notice this in the mirror unless very lean. Sounds like maybe you’re just shifting water around. This brings me back to your diet.

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3

it depends on the day. I don’t meal prep I have a bad habit of binging if I have large quantities of stuff in the fridge

I also don’t follow the same calories every day. I have 2000-2200kcal on lifting days and cut back the other days for 1900average

lifting days might look something like

680g Greek yoghurt (400kcal)

6 slices of sourdough bread (600kcal)

2 Kirkland bars (~ 400kcal)

1/2 scoop protein powder (~50kcal)

Microwaved spinach, no fat or sauces (do not count)

Fish oil (50kcal)

Omelette practice (4 eggs, 22g butter) (400 kcal)

Prebed snack bc I’m hungry (100-300kcal)

Non lifting day might look something like

6 slices of sourdough bread (600kcal)

3 Kirkland bars (~ 600kcal)

Fish oil (~50kcal)

340g Greek yoghurt (200kcal)

Plain microwaved Spinach (not counted)

1/2 scoop protein powder (~50kcal)

Sometimes, I’ll buy myself a treat, but I’ll adjust calories to compensate. For example, if I have a 400kcal pint of halo top, I’ll take out 400 kcal from the day or take out 200 and take out 200 the next day. Same idea if I get hungry and end up eating butter or something stupid like that. I make sure to get at least 90g protein a day

I haven’t seen a doc about this. It’s complicated with my family.

I have bloodwork done yearly, but I fall into the “normal” range. The low end but it doesn’t get flagged

He says to give it more time.

I’ve heard of the phenomenon during cutting where in the initial period there’s a “fat and flat” effect. Does that happen with bulking too? I’d expects at least SOME good signs

4

I don’t want to be average.

There are many women who are able to stay leaner, be healthy and make much more progress

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5

This comes down to genetics.

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6

Your too hard on yourself…. 25% is actually considered fit for most women.

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7

As an overall response to this.

If you’re not actively keeping a good count and being very consistent with diet then from my experience weight/muscle/fat gain can be super variable. You mentioned a 200cal surplus but on the surface this is a moving target.

If you feel you gaining fat I would tighten things up for a month and make sure you know where your maintenance actually is. Basically do a diet reset. Once you are at baseline then start more of a traditional bodybuilding diet and see where you go from there. I have found my best results come from consistency in diet.

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8

There are many women who are able to stay leaner, be healthy and make much more progress

I’d actually say there are very few that do so. That we see “so many” on social media is the exception that proves the rule. We would not be aware of them if they were not exceptional.

If at all possible, I’d swap those kirkland bars for some sort of single ingredient protein source. They’re a science experiment, and very unkind to gut health.

Which, on that note, you’re consuming greek yogurt daily as someone with lactose intolerance. The “fat” you’re observing could be inflammation.

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9

Age? I would run blood work to check your thyroid and hormone levels just to rule those out.

10

I’ve been consistent with these for years. Greek yoghurt and bar consumption has actually decreased since starting the bulk (more omlette practice) Maybe it’s the accumulation?

I’m 24

I’ll see once my insurance starts in September. This new plan is much crappier than my old student plan :sob:

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11

Yeah, definitely run your blood work. This is far too young to have cycle issues without an obvious cause. I’ve dealt with a lot of female hormone issues with my wife. She’s already in perimenopause at 39.

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12

I’ve been consistent with these for years. Maybe it’s the accumulation?

They also tend to change the recipe/formula with some regularity. Around 2020 they switched the fiber to some sort of soluable corn fiber and, in turn, the net carbs more than doubled. But even if employed consistently, if I was unsatisfied with how my current approach was working, I’d seek to change something I was doing consistently, as consistency wasn’t working as desired.

I can see nothing but positives shifting from Kirkland bars to a single ingredient protein source.

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13

@anna_5588 maybe im remembering wrong… but at one point you were dealing with some intestinal issues am i wrong?

14

I’ve always had digestive issues. They’ve flared up since I moved to Philly despite no change in diet (literally eating the same foods)

15

Hey @anna_5588 , I know you wrote “do not count”, but do you have an idea of how much spinach you eat daily? And how long you’ve been eating it?

16

Had you been diagnosed with say Crohn’s or IBS? I vaguely recall something along that line.

17

I go though a 12oz bag every 2 days.

this hasn’t changed for years. That’s why I don’t count

Spinach is one of the few veggies I can tolerate

18

this hasn’t changed for years.

Any estimate of how many years?

19

I’m concerned to comment, you’re a fairly complicated case (kidney issues, cycle issues, digestive issues and what I would see as fairly long standing body image issues, sorry to blunt).

But I’ll echo the thoughts on diet, it doesn’t seem like an ideal “bulking” diet. Your coach, are they experienced with female clients at the level you are looking to reach? (Also to add have you ever worked with a dietician, maybe someone like @QuadQueen could be helpful here).

Also I’m still not sure, what is your primary goal, body composition or strength?

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20

About 3

I used to eat 2cups of the Kirkland frozen veggie blend/day but decided to cut out cruciferous veggies sometime in 2022