Before i start these are my stats : 24M / 5’11 / 154.3 lbs / current program: 5 day PPL
Pictures 242.5 lbs : Imgur: The magic of the Internet
Pictures 154.3 lbs : Imgur: The magic of the Internet
I started my journey on the 14th of June 2018 my starting weight was 242.5 lbs im your typical guy that tried to lose weight for years, 7 years to be exact. And one day it somehow clicked i started a crash diet for the first 4/5 months also did allot of cardio and resistance training. Weight was flying off at a rapid rate. Since i was on such low calories i developed a binge eating disorder. My fatloss stalled and i even gained weight, after doing allot of research and asking around i upped my calories and continued my journey. And here we are almost one year later i was obese and now im skinny-fat i feel defeated all i wanted is to build muscle and look bigger not look like this.
My family is afraid im developing anorexia since im getting too “skinny” i did not wanted to get too “skinny” all i wanted is to get to a low body fatpercentage so i can clearly see my muscles. Right now im eating between 2300 / 2000 calories a day, i train 5 times per week and also do jogging in the weekend i lose around 2lbs per week (im still losing weight).
My question to you guys is should i continue to lose fat and drop below 150lbs? or should i start a lean bulk? If so how should i do this?
Thank you for taking the time reading my post!
Congrats on your weight loss! You definitely need to add some mass, and you’re going to need to eat a lot of good quality food combined with hard training.
I would also suggest to get your hormone levels checked (read stickies in TRT forum) to be sure there are no deficiencies that could hamper your progress. You’re still pretty young but a number of factors come into play with hormonal imbalance.
This is great advice.
This is unnecessary for a 24 year old male with virtually no muscle mass, before he has made a serious push to gain lean mass instead of cutting. It will only lead to him taking a shortcut instead of fixing what he’s doing wrong.
OP-
Push/Pull/Legs
Upper/Lower
Bro split
Full body
Which one of these sounds best to you? I’d say 5/3/1 would be a great place to start.
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Holy shit Batman, that is some serious transformation. Congrats.
Now, you’re skinny, with some fat, but looking good. I would focus on adding muscle. Left more and eat healthy, do some cardio, but not crazy.
I did what you did. Went from 260 to 170 using keto (crash diet). It was bad. I was an anorexic fat kid. Looked like a meth head but still skinny fat. Depressed ate back to 196 then decided I’d bulk.
I highly recommend keeping the great diet but adding tons of protein and build some muscle.
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I wasn’t suggesting automatically hopping on TRT, unbalanced hormones are very common these days, and unfortunately TRT doctors are the only places that are properly trained in diagnosing and treating.
Thyroid conditions, adrenal issues, etc can all be identified with hormone level
Tests.
Not sure about this one, did i somehow damage my hormones by crash dieting in the first few months?
The eating more part scares me, i already have a belly and i dont want to make it bigger :'D…
So should i continue my cut or start eating more?
Thanks you for replying, 5/3/1 is a full body split right? I was thinking about following one since they are the best for beginners.
As for bulking, im really scared that im going to gain more fat than muscle and further enchanced the skinny-fat look. How should i go about this?
Run through proven programs off this site and you will put on muscle while staying lean. Up your calories over time as your training weights increase.
Either of these a good start…
https://www.t-nation.com/workouts/waterbury-summer-project
So i should stay in a deficit and up my calories when my weight increases?
I’d focus on finding your new maintenance and taking a solid program with progressive overload.
You’ve lost a LOT of weight, and well done too, so focus on maintenance calories and getting strong for a few months.
I’ve seen a lot of former fat guys overdo a bulk immediately after weight loss.
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I lost 67 pounds in college and it fucked me up - was afraid to get fat, am still afraid to get fat. So lifting heavy and eating more is anathema to me, but it is what you need to do. Figure your TDEE and just eat at 250 kCal above that for a month and see what happens.
You will not get fat.
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You and me both, brother. X2 on that advice.
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Oh, I know you weren’t telling him to do that, and I wasn’t trying to criticize you- I think you had a valid point and meant well. I just mean, sometimes hormone levels can be off from years of being overweight and unhealthy, and losing some fat may not be enough to fix those problems. Getting in actual good shape and building some muscle, plus dialing in diet, can make a world of difference in a 24 year old. If he finds he has low-ish T, he’ll be far more likely to go for the shortcut. The vast majority of 30-50 year olds really don’t need TRT, much less 20 year olds. I just figure the guy had enough discipline to lose all that weight, now he can gain some lean mass and if, after years of hard training and good eating, he is unable to gain mass, or is just tired all the time, or whatever, THEN maybe it’s time to get things checked. Nothing here is indicative of any thyroid issues or low T issues. Just a decade or more of high body fat and low muscle mass.
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I think you misunderstand the word “deficit”. Your caloric deficit is not a number that you calculate based on your weight. That’s just a method of finding out what MIGHT be your deficit. Some people calculate their deficit calories, eat exactly that many calories, and don’t lose any weight until they drop their calories further. Losing weight is deficit, staying the same weight is maintenance, and gaining weight is surplus. You can’t eat in a deficit and gain weight, it’s a paradox. @The_Myth is absolutely right. Your body is sensitive to food and will gain fat quickly, but if you eat clean at SLIGHTLY above maintenance (gaining approx. 1 lb every 1-2 weeks), and train hard and heavy, you will not get fat.
Pick a program, go into the training log subforum and go start a training log.
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