Continue cutting or begin bulking? Beginner needing help. Pictures inside

[inschoolbuzz]

Hey everyone! This is my first post on this very helpful website. I've been looking around for a while now, but have just decided to ask some help. I'm a beginner and have just begun getting fit and changing my lifestyle. I used to be a night musician (playing in bars etc.) but now limit myself to only a night or two/week. In my old lifestyle, I drank and smoked almost every night of the week, going on binges more often than not and accumulating fat around abdominal area. So last month I decided to change my lifestyle, quit smoking and limit my drinking to a couple of bottles of beer every week or two.

During this time, I did bodyweight workouts and cardio for 5 days a week on average for the first couple of weeks. And for the last two weeks I've been doing GSP Rushfit workout interspersed with some workouts from Deltafit. I've changed my eating habit but it is kinda hard to follow western diet here in Thailand with white rice being the staple food.

I'm 5'5'' tall and weigh around 59 kg. (61 Kg when I first started to workout) As you can see in the pictures I attached, I'm pretty skinny but have some fat around my belly. Is that normal? Am I considered skinny fat? What is my body fat%? What course of action do you think I should do next? There isn't any gym around my neighborhood so I am limited to dumbbell workouts. I'm looking to achieve a ripped lean look or somewhat athletic but not bulky.

Your advice will be much appreciated. Thank you.

P.S. Re the pictures... I took them every week with the latest taken last night. So it is a collage of my progression in the last four/five weeks.

[inschoolbuzz]

Bump!

[jimaras22]

if you want to look better for the rest of the summer,cut. If not bulk for 6 -7 months with a 250 calorie surplus[find your tdee] and then cut.

if you want to cut find your tdee for fat loss[google it]

you're a little skinny fat i think but it's not bad. Keep protein at 0.5g per lb at least

[jeremyacox]

It all depends on what your comfortable with, if you just want to get lean but look really skinny without a lot of muscle base then cut to around 10% or so. Or you could bulk up and put some quality mass on but go the way of a slower bulk which will limit the fat gain. You might lose a little bit of fat actually while bulking if you are just starting out. Another option is to just maintain and try and do a body recomp which will take longer but in a sense will lose fat and gain muscle. It all depends on how fast you want results and what you are comfortable looking like until you get to your goal.

[inschoolbuzz]

Thanks for the replies.

I don't want to be really skinny. I want to have some mass but I'm hesitant whether to wait till I lose the fat around my belly or to start now. I seem to have difficulty losing the fat around it. I am already in a calorie deficit and do some resistance training. Can I develop mass and at the same time lose the fat? I'm losing belief that i could lose the fat.

[dmacdonal9]

Either will improve your body composition, so do what feels right. In your position, I'd be looking to gain some size.

[ThinkAndGoHam]

As the man above said, do what feels right for you, I would personally cut until you have abs then clean bulk, Purely on the basis that its easier to judge how much muscle to fat ratio you are gaining when you start bulking from a nice lean base, i also think its helps with motivation looking in the mirror and being super lean.

[and1_balla52]

Whatever you want to focus on. Personally, if I were you, I would bring calories up to around maintenance, and lifting heavy. Gaining lean tissue, while keeping any body fat gain to minimal. Through this time frame, say 12 weeks, or however long you want to do it, only YOU know your periodization schedule...when you want to look/perform your best. Basically what would be considered a "recomp". Now don't get me wrong, IN MOST CASES, you can't gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously, but you dont seem 100% comfortable going with a serious bulk, but yet you're not quite as lean as you want to be it doesnt seem. If you eat around maintenance, lift heavy, you could put on some lean tissue....thus increasing your bmr, and therefor, INDIRECTLY, burning some fat, in the long run. Best of luck! Great job thus far!

[inschoolbuzz]

Whatever you want to focus on. Personally, if I were you, I would bring calories up to around maintenance, and lifting heavy. Gaining lean tissue, while keeping any body fat gain to minimal. Through this time frame, say 12 weeks, or however long you want to do it, only YOU know your periodization schedule...when you want to look/perform your best. Basically what would be considered a "recomp". Now don't get me wrong, IN MOST CASES, you can't gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously, but you dont seem 100% comfortable going with a serious bulk, but yet you're not quite as lean as you want to be it doesnt seem. If you eat around maintenance, lift heavy, you could put on some lean tissue....thus increasing your bmr, and therefor, INDIRECTLY, burning some fat, in the long run. Best of luck! Great job thus far!

Thank you everybody for the further advice. It's true that im not comfortable going with a serious bulk and I am having difficulty getting leaner. My aim is to have an athletic physique like Beckham's (to mention one example). So I should bring back my calories up to maintenance and lift heavy, right? So how heavy should I lift? Is it okay to do just dumbbell workouts?

[MovereTe]

So I should bring back my calories up to maintenance and lift heavy, right? So how heavy should I lift? Is it okay to do just dumbbell workouts?

Train to your preference. Hit up the 6-10 rep range, and keep some variety in your lifts. I recommend barbell and dumbbell lifts, not just one or the other. There are benefits to both.

[Tommy W.]

Put on some mass. You'll just keep looking like a smaller version of the way you are now if you don't

[sharpieblet]

as someone who's the same height i would suggest slowly upping your cals by 100 a day until you are eating 3-500 above maintenance and just focus on gaining muscle mass. i felt like a complete twig when i cut to 139 lbs a couple years ago, i can't imagine being 130.

your slight stomach might not disappear any day soon but when your arms/chest/back/legs are growing it will make your stomach look smaller anyway.

[scotchchris]

Gotta be looking to bulk soon. The cut will start to get harder the lower you go and you won't have a load to show for it. Plus you've done well so far, so i'd be coming off the dieting for a while and use your time to put on a solid base

[IronSh33k]

Do a slow bulk (250 cal surplus). You already lost a good amount of fat and with a slow bulk, you won't be gaining all that fat back as long as your diet & training is good. Then start doing a slow cut at the beginning of 2014 depending on how much fat you want to lose in time for summer '14.

[Ryeno]

I'd keep cutting. You can tell by the crease where your belly fat hits your torso that you still have a good bit of fat left.

[sharpieblet]

I'd keep cutting. You can tell by the crease where your belly fat hits your torso that you still have a good bit of fat left.

don't take this the wrong way, but as someone who is 155 lbs and 6'2", you may be the wrong person to ask for dieting advice from...it seems as though you're ok with excessive dieting. OP is 130 freaking lbs. my gf weighs more than him. he needs a solid 20+ lbs on his frame. and you need a solid 30+ on yours.

[Ryeno]

don't take this the wrong way, but as someone who is 155 lbs and 6'2", you may be the wrong person to ask for dieting advice from...it seems as though you're ok with excessive dieting. OP is 130 freaking lbs. my gf weighs more than him. he needs a solid 20+ lbs on his frame. and you need a solid 30+ on yours.

I'd say the opposite about you. You seem to be okay with excessive amount of body fat.

My personal opinion is that you shouldn't bulk unless you are at 10% and stop around 14%.

[marcos920]

I'd say the opposite about you. You seem to be okay with excessive amount of body fat.

My personal opinion is that you shouldn't bulk unless you are at 10% and stop around 14%.

Do you think it's possible to gain muscle while at 25%+ bf and trying to cut on high deficits? I sent you a pm

[msm00b]

Honestly you couldn't go wrong either way. You still have enough fluff to make gains on a slow cut. On the flip side you don't have so much fluff that eating a bit over maintenance and lifting like crazy is a bad idea - just don't go overboard on the calories.

Do what feels right. Aesthetically you'll get the easiest results by losing a few more pounds, but long term progress is going to require a focus on building at some point.

[Ryeno]

Do you think it's possible to gain muscle while at 25%+ bf and trying to cut on high deficits? I sent you a pm

No. You need to be in a surplus to build muscle or a deficit to lose fat. So you have to pick one.
If you get on a high deficit (500-1000c) you'll lose fat but won't build any muscle.

[marcos920]

No. You need to be in a surplus to build muscle or a deficit to lose fat. So you have to pick one.
If you get on a high deficit (500-1000c) you'll lose fat but won't build any muscle.

What if I stay on a 1200-1400 deficit, can I pull that off given how fat I am? I am thinking of doing that till I hit 15% bf

[msm00b]

I'd say the opposite about you. You seem to be okay with excessive amount of body fat.

My personal opinion is that you shouldn't bulk unless you are at 10% and stop around 14%.

Uh, sharpie is right. He might be puffier right now, but short stack (And i use that nickname amicably) has put on some solid mass over the last few years. He knows how to cut, but more importantly (and unlike you). He knows when cutting further is pointless.

I'm a fan of being lean, but remember this is a bodybuilding forum. Aspiring manorexics need not apply.

[sharpieblet]

I'd say the opposite about you. You seem to be okay with excessive amount of body fat.

My personal opinion is that you shouldn't bulk unless you are at 10% and stop around 14%.

i'm ok with a higher amount of body fat given the individual has enough muscle mass to not look down right silly while holding on to it. excessive is subjective but there's a difference in excessive per bodybuilding standards and excessive per the general society's opinion.

your personal opinion on bulking isn't a bad one-for someone who already has a solid base of muscle. for someone as skinny as you, there's no point in cutting past the point you are now, you should have stopped cutting 20 pounds ago.

[inschoolbuzz]

Thank you everybody for the advice. I've been busy the whole week so haven't checked the thread. It seems that sharpieblet advocates slow bulking and ryeno advocates cutting a little bit more. This bit on my belly is really hard to get rid off. It is also difficult to find healthy food in Thailand given the eating culture here (most people including me meat out almost every meal)

What if I go back to maintenance level and workout? Would that help me build muscle and lose some fat? or is surplus a must in building muscle?

[MikeUK999]

your in a good physique to start bulking i'd say but if you want to lose a little more fat before then go for it

[Tommy W.]

Thank you everybody for the advice. I've been busy the whole week so haven't checked the thread. It seems that sharpieblet advocates slow bulking and ryeno advocates cutting a little bit more. This bit on my belly is really hard to get rid off. It is also difficult to find healthy food in Thailand given the eating culture here (most people including me meat out almost every meal)

What if I go back to maintenance level and workout? Would that help me build muscle and lose some fat? or is surplus a must in building muscle?

If you go to maintenance you'll get nowhere. It's tough getting that last bit of fat off so don't waste your time. Some will go right back on anyway when you add mass so get on your surplus. Go to 500 over. You don't really NEED 500 but it allows a fudge factor in case you calculate wrong and get too close to maintenance an don't make progress.