Skinny fat - Bulk or cut

[Wazzoshi]

Hi,

Sorry if this isn’t the correct section but I’m new to the site and looking for advice. I’m a 26 year old male and up until 2 months ago I’d never really been to the gym, at all. I’ve played football (soccer to you Americans) etc so I’m not unfit but just as I’ve got older I’ve remained skinny and my belly has gradually got bigger.

I’m 5’11 and was 183lbs and about 17.5% body fat. I’m now down to 175lbs (started taking creatine too so imagine without that a tad less) and my body fat has come down too. This is because I’ve been eating about 2000-2100 calories a day and for the first time I’m actually starting to feel a bit better about myself. Even my muscles feel like they have a bit more definition, presumably because I’ve never worked out before. I lift 3/4 times a week and do cardio twice (playing football).

I’m now wondering if I should continue with this cut until I’m quite low fat and then start to bulk, cleanly eating around 3000 calories, or should I just bite the bullet and do it now? I feel really motivated which is great and just in two minds as to whether the cut will plateau and I won’t see as significant fat loss or whether if I bulk just lose motivation because I’ve put weight back on and don’t look too different. I often wonder would I have more energy and be doing bigger lifts in the gym if I ate more. My diet is around 40/40/30 in protein/fats/carbs currently.

Anyone been in my position and if so what would you do?

Thanks all

[SuffolkPunch]

You could pause to do some mass gain since you are going to have to do both in the long run. There is no rule to say you have to get all cutting done in one go. The stuff you might see about gaining mass better from a lean point has been questioned a lot recently - there is thought to be a difference between a naturally lean person vs. someone that has dieted down. Actually, larger people usually find it easier to gain muscle - e.g. rugby players and strongmen.

You won't need to "bulk" in the sense of piling on weight but raising your calories to maintenance or slightly above will help gain muscle.

No need to use ratios to determine macros. Read the sticky threads for more.

[radrd]

If what you are doing now is producing results that make you feel good about yourself, then I wouldn't stop until you stop seeing results or you stop liking the results.

From a body composition standpoint, I was in your shoes when I was in my early 20s - same height and weight. I cut down to about 160 and felt like I was to the point where I didn't want to be that thin. I started eating at maintenance or slightly above and concentrated on lifting. Results were good and I've basically done that for the past 20 years and have been happy between 175 and 190 with low body fat. I don't do dramatic bulking and cutting. Just tweaks to my activities and calories to stay on track with where I want to be.

[TAWS6]

I like to get at least lean enough to the point of having abs. Then enter a very small surplus of about 200 calories (which is all a natural really needs). This allows me to stay in a surplus for 6-8 months and when its over I can mini cut the fat off. So I'm basically always in that 12-15 percent zone. I feel that once you go over 20 you're just a fat guy. Just my opinion but I feel that most people do this to look better. Over 20 percent as a dude just looks sloppy IMO.

[Spanishdream]

I like to get at least lean enough to the point of having abs. Then enter a very small surplus of about 200 calories (which is all a natural really needs). This allows me to stay in a surplus for 6-8 months and when its over I can mini cut the fat off. So I'm basically always in that 12-15 percent zone. I feel that once you go over 20 you're just a fat guy. Just my opinion but I feel that most people do this to look better. Over 20 percent as a dude just looks sloppy IMO.

Hard agree. I think we've talked about this before but best decision I've ever made was slowing my bulk. The shorter your cutting phases the better. For your mental health if anything. I used to be so fixed on 500 under and 500 over for cutting/bulking.