Somewhat Unique Body Comp. Advice?

Training
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Hello. So, I’ve been wanting to post on here for a while now regarding my particular situation but avoided this due to mainly embarrassment/self-confidence issues regarding my body composition, and the fact that I hate seeking help and talking about myself so much…

Long story short, I used to be severely overweight. Once weighed over 200 lbs at 5’6" back when I was a teenager, cut down when I turned 18 probably in a very unhealthy manner. I am left with severe loose skin issues, mainly in my pectoral and waist regions.

I am currently 24 years old, and started barbell training about 3-4 months ago. Prior to this, I did mostly bodyweight/sandbag training in my apartment.

I am currently “bulking” so to speak, and am not sure if this is the correct thing to do with regards to my anthropomorphic situation. I have terrible body image issues, so it has been hard for me to really decide what to do. I want get bigger and stronger (no shit?), and I would like to try to fill out and look/feel better overall. Also, I love training in general. One of the best highs in the world for me is lifting heavy shit, squatting until I feel like I am gonna puke haha.

Oh, stats and such: 5’6", 143 lbs (up from 135 in April when I started Barbell training). I am currently running a program loosely based on 5/3/1, except we do two of the lifts on one day, plus assistance. Usually 3 days a week, hard to fit in with both our work schedules. I also generally will throw in a home workout consisting of Sandbag/circuit training, and will walk in the mornings on my days off.

Recent Lifts: Squat: 230x7, DL: 320x7, Bench 175x8, Press 115x7 (from last cycle of 1+'s)

I will attach below some images to give an idea of what I am dealing with, and would appreciate any feedback/advice regarding bulking/training/nutrition etc. Thank you.

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Obviously light is working in my favor in these photos…

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back

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back flex

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front flex

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First of all, congratulations on losing the weight.

Secondly, I didn’t see a single question mark in your post… so I’m not sure what you’re really looking for. (I take that back, I found one.)

Reading between the lines, it sounds like you’re saying: “I know I need to bulk, but I’m afraid of how that will make me feel about myself”. So, taking that a step further, I’m guessing you like having the definition you have now, and don’t want to lose it… but you also want to put on mass, and do something about the loose skin. Then again, I could be totally wrong.

Many people around here say that 5/3/1 is a great program, but they also caution to do the program exactly as stated. I’ve never done it so I can’t really comment. Your lifts seem good to me, so I’d say keep doing what you’re doing as long as they keep going up.

As far as nutrition is concerned, there are some good articles on here, and the core idea behind all of them is basically: get enough calories to grow but don’t go overboard, and get enough protein – a minimum of 1 gram of protein per day per pound of bodyweight. The details in the diets differ, but there seems to be a push toward having meals that are either Protein + Fat (low carb) OR P+C (low fat). There’s also talk about stuff like carb cycling, which I’m totally clueless on.

My advice? Get your protein every day, and spread throughout the day; increase your overall calorie intake so that your scale weight is going up on a weekly basis; while doing this, make sure your lifts keep going up. That should ensure that the majority of the weight you’re putting on is muscle. Also get your vegetables. Leafy green vegetables like [fresh] spinach, kale, watercress; and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli. Take a multivitamin if you’re not already doing that.

Of course, if you have specific questions on various details, there’s plenty of people around here that can help you on that.

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Thanks for the response… Sorry I was not more clear with a question. Primarily what I am asking is for any advice from people with knowledge or perhaps experience with losing a lot of weight and having loose skin, then trying to gain/bulk. Is this still a good idea with my body type in mind (having enlarged fat cells, etc.)? I know that each is individual, and everyone reacts differently, but just wondering if anyone had gone through this before.

I have read tons on nutrition (so much so that I think I am more confused than when I started lol). Cleaned up my diet a good deal, and try to have mainly P+F or P+C meals. I also try to focus my carb intake in the peri-workout window.

As far as the 5/3/1, I know it’s probably not ideal for me not to follow it to a tee… but we can only work-out 3 times a week with the barbell, so I wanted to add more volume as I feel doing one main lift 3 days a week wouldn’t provide enough stimulus for growth. I should also mention that we are limited in equipment. All we have is an olympic bar and bench with a rack on it, so assistance work is pretty limited, and we have to get quite creative at times. It’s also located at a friend’s house as we can’t keep it in the apartment unfortunately…

An example of a workout would be:
Squat: 165X5, 190x5, 215x5+
Drop Set: 160x2x10
Press: 80x5, 95x5, 105x5+
Drop Set: 85x2x10

Assistance: Front Squat 175x3x5
Row (with plates in each hand, lol) 65x4x7
BB shrug 145 4x7
20 bench dips/10 Pull ups on a tree x3,
BB calf raise 155x4x10,
Klokov press 45x5, 55x5, 70x3x8 (read about this one on here)
Power clean and press into overhead carry around back yard- 95 x5
-some weird shit in there i know, lol.

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[quote]DrPhibes wrote:
Thanks for the response… Sorry I was not more clear with a question. Primarily what I am asking is for any advice from people with knowledge or perhaps experience with losing a lot of weight and having loose skin, then trying to gain/bulk. Is this still a good idea with my body type in mind (having enlarged fat cells, etc.)? I know that each is individual, and everyone reacts differently, but just wondering if anyone had gone through this before.

I have read tons on nutrition (so much so that I think I am more confused than when I started lol). Cleaned up my diet a good deal, and try to have mainly P+F or P+C meals. I also try to focus my carb intake in the peri-workout window.

As far as the 5/3/1, I know it’s probably not ideal for me not to follow it to a tee… but we can only work-out 3 times a week with the barbell, so I wanted to add more volume as I feel doing one main lift 3 days a week wouldn’t provide enough stimulus for growth. I should also mention that we are limited in equipment. All we have is an olympic bar and bench with a rack on it, so assistance work is pretty limited, and we have to get quite creative at times. It’s also located at a friend’s house as we can’t keep it in the apartment unfortunately…

An example of a workout would be:
Squat: 165X5, 190x5, 215x5+
Drop Set: 160x2x10
Press: 80x5, 95x5, 105x5+
Drop Set: 85x2x10

Assistance: Front Squat 175x3x5
Row (with plates in each hand, lol) 65x4x7
BB shrug 145 4x7
20 bench dips/10 Pull ups on a tree x3,
BB calf raise 155x4x10,
Klokov press 45x5, 55x5, 70x3x8 (read about this one on here)
Power clean and press into overhead carry around back yard- 95 x5
-some weird shit in there i know, lol.
[/quote]

Have you read the book? Jim has several templates for training 3 days a week. Do one of those instead of this, you’re focusing way too much on assistance work and not getting strong.

About the skin, go to the doctor and get it fixed.

About the diet, eat to be strong and awesome and stop worrying about it.

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I Pm’d you! :slight_smile:

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I appreciate the response Chris. Surgery is out of the question for me, both financially and personally I’d rather not go that route anyway … I am hoping to be able to eventually be more comfortable in my skin so to speak rather through hard work and dedication… I mean I am the one who got myself into this place, by eating poorly and being lazy for years when I was young.

Regarding training, yes I should probably read Wendler’s book at some time when I can afford it. I did have a sneaking suspicion that I might be doing too much assistance, so maybe I will tone that down a bit… otherwise I am hitting PRs on reps and weight still readily… though who knows how long that will last.

Does it seem that surgery is truly the only option with loose skin? Is it just a pipe dream that one day I will be able to look somewhat normal through proper diet and training? I certainly hope not, but alas if it is, I guess I will have to accept that… I am still going to keep lifting and getting stronger regardless, as it has improved not only my physical health but my state of mind as well.

Thanks again to anyone taking their time to read this.

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Hey man former FAT ASS OF FAT ASSES right here… I was 252lbs with a 49ish inch waist 5ft 3in at 13 years old. I am still trying to figure out the best way for me to eat considering I can literally gain weight incredibly easy these days. Even when “bulking” I have to keep calories no more than 3200 or so which is pretty low depending on who you ask. Also one thing that works well for me is that I have to really manipulate my Carb intake or atleast be pretty selective in when and what I have. My bulking diet is something along these lines.

0600- 1 scoop whey protein and creatine
0645- lifting
O815- breakfast: 5-6 whole eggs, 16-24oz skim milk, 1/2 cup brown rice, bowl of fruit (Berry’s and pineapple)
1200- lunch: Atleast 8oz of meat(chicken or beef), some carbs( rice or pasta), vegetables
1500- Nutritional shake( 20 pro, 55 carbs, 8 fat) we get them for free at work.
1600- optional afternoon workout
1730 or 1800- dinner- 10oz chicken or fish, vegetables
2100-Homemade Shake (1 scoop whey, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, peanut butter)
2100-Bed

This is pretty clean “bulk” for me. As I said carbs make me blow up with useless water and fat weight in no time so I have to be reasonable about what I eat year around. I have a cheat MEAL once a week but I usually go all out so might as well be aday.

Only thing I could ever find to help tighten up my skin or atleast give the appearance was to get a good tan. Its kinda weird in my opinion but I even go to a tanning bed once or twice a week in the winter correction I used to when I was trying tighten every thing back up. Also I believe you are being way to hard on your self man you don’t look to bad at all much better definition than I have(although I am currently out weighing you by 50+ lbs. Also surgery seems alittle rash at this point… honestly once you have lacked on some mass you may actually tighten up just from that.

As for programs 5-3-1 is awesome from what I have heard never done it my self but, I would follow it the way you should. But in my opinion since functionality is your main concern I would look more into something Total body 2-3 times a week like starting strength or something with a few modifactions. But I am not the one to give the best advice on this subject particularly.