Your opinion... Gain muscle (bulk) or cut?

[jordyanne91]

Hi ladies,
I'm 22 years old, 165cm (5'4") and 70kg (154lbs). I started lifting late 2012 for the first time. At 20 I was quite overweight and Ive only become fit this year really.
My goal so far has always been fat loss. I would like get down to 13%body fat. At the moment I still want to lose fat but I want my muscles to get bigger too. Not just lose fat to see definition, I do actually want to grow them more as well.

My question to those with more experience, should I continue with my fat loss and get a lower body fat % then focus on muscle building?
Or, as I'm in Australia and its becoming winter, should I do a clean bulk and cut come summer time?

My reasons to start questioning is firstly my goals, bigger muscles, and less fat. Secondly a gym friend of mine made the comment that my lifting is pretty tough on a calorie deficit, now I'm worried that might be counter productive (is that a reasonable fear?), and if the boys are going to bulk why can't I? ... Thirdly, some reading I found was talking about fat cells and the pros and cons of bulking- this was a male target article though- and said the body creates more fat cells but doesn't get rid of them, making cuts harder the more bulks are done, and as Ive already been overweight for about three years of my adult life this worried me a bit.

I lift at least four days a week and the only cardio I do is soccer training and games, which is a few hours a week.

If I have left out vital info I will do my best to include it, any opinions and info would be greatly appreciated so I can make a decision on what to do

Thanks in advance,

[megdaig]

You won't gain so much fat on a bulk that you would risk developing new fat cells. You would need a high calorie high carb/fat diet to accomplish that...I'm talking like 50# plus weight gain. If you want more muscle, bulk then cut later.

[stephanielynn76]

I've cut, bulked, cut, bulked, and now I'm cutting again. I've been as low as 120lbs and as high as 153lbs. This last bulk I gained 28lbs. Getting lean wasn't any harder for me this time than it was the last time I did it. In fact, I'm cutting on 1800-1900 calories this time around... last time it was more like 1500-1600 calories. I wouldn't worry about developing new fat cells. If you manage your bulk properly you won't gain THAT much weight. I usually aim for 15-20lbs. Or... instead of bulking consider a recomp strategy. You could eat at maintenance thereby giving your body more fuel for lifting and perhaps even lean out a bit in the process. It may take longer to build mass this way (than it would consuming a consistent surplus) but it would minimize your fat gains. I have never attempted an actual recomp (I have always wanted to gain the most mass possible in the allotted time) but there are others on this forum who have done this successfully. Just a thought!

[jordyanne91]

Thank you both