Should you bulk or cut?...probably neither

[grubman]

It’s definitely a good thing to take a look at your starting condition, learn about nutrition, and make a plan. But new lifters, wanting to improve the aesthetics and health asking about “bulking” or “cutting” is a bit misguided. Cutting and bulking information you find online generally seems complicated...and the reason is that it’s not for you.

“Cutting” is a bodybuilder cutting away fat, while maintaining as much muscle as possible, to get to an extremely low (often unhealthy) body fat level, primarily to peek for a competition or photo shoot.

“Bulking” is a bodybuilder gaining a metric ton of excess fat (that later has to be dieted away) in the hopes of adding 1 or 2 pounds of a muscle to an already muscular physique (usually close to their genetic potential). [Note: I’m not talking about bulking for strength training in this thread.]

A beginner has very little initial muscle…so what are you cutting to? You will only end up being scrawny! Why would you bulk? You haven’t reached anywhere near your genetic potential, and gaining a ton of fat at your level is just going to make you look like a slob!

So here are some new terms…Deficit and Surplus

What a beginner needs to do is use a TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) calculator. This tells you (approximately) how many calories you need a day to look the way you do right now.:

https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/cal...ture-tdee.html

SURPLUS: If your first goal is to gain muscle, you need to eat more calories than this.

DEFICIT: If your first goal is to lose weight/fat, you need to eat fewer calories than this.

-Adjust the TDEE by 100-300 calories up (surplus) or down (deficit)

-Eat primarily healthy foods. You know what they are and what they aren’t…no need to be anal).

-Get enough protein (approximately 1 gram per pound of bodyweight is the accepted average).

-Monitor what happens (and how you feel) for a couple weeks or a month, and make adjustments accordingly. It’s really that simple.

You don’t need to CUT, eating a super restricted diet that takes a ton of dedication and willpower, and you don’t need to BULK, eating tons of extra calories when not hungry, feeling bloated all the time, and repulsing your friends with your flatulence.

After you have fine tuned the above, have gained a bit of muscle and shed some unwanted fat (the good news is while you are a newbie, you will usually do some of both at the same time), you can look more into macros and possibly a few legitimate supplements (like a good protein powder), but until you have packed on at least 20 or 30 pounds of muscle, there is no reason to even think about cutting or bulking.

I wish everyone lots of luck in obtaining your goals! Hope this helps.

[rig92]

I thought the 100-500 calorie surplus was considered bulking too.

It's quite ridiculous though the amount of young men on here that are beginner and asking wether they should cut though.

[melDorado]

A protein heavy recomp is a good idea for many skinny fat beginners

[grubman]

I thought the 100-500 calorie surplus was considered bulking too.

Like I said, you will want to modify accordingly...in other words, if you are gaining too much fat too fast, in proportion to muscle, dial back the calories. When "bulking" the bodybuilder, or strength athlete doesn't usually care how much fat they gain...they eat everything in sight.

Generalizing, of course.

[Mike199612]

It’s definitely a good thing to take a look at your starting condition, learn about nutrition, and make a plan. But new lifters, wanting to improve the aesthetics and health asking about “bulking” or “cutting” is a bit misguided. Cutting and bulking information you find online generally seems complicated...and the reason is that it’s not for you.

“Cutting” is a bodybuilder cutting away fat, while maintaining as much muscle as possible, to get to an extremely low (often unhealthy) body fat level, primarily to peek for a competition or photo shoot.

“Bulking” is a bodybuilder gaining a metric ton of excess fat (that later has to be dieted away) in the hopes of adding 1 or 2 pounds of a muscle to an already muscular physique (usually close to their genetic potential). [Note: I’m not talking about bulking for strength training in this thread.]

A beginner has very little initial muscle…so what are you cutting to? You will only end up being scrawny! Why would you bulk? You haven’t reached anywhere near your genetic potential, and gaining a ton of fat at your level is just going to make you look like a slob!

So here are some new terms…Deficit and Surplus

What a beginner needs to do is use a TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) calculator. This tells you (approximately) how many calories you need a day to look the way you do right now.:

SURPLUS: If your first goal is to gain muscle, you need to eat more calories than this.

DEFICIT: If your first goal is to lose weight/fat, you need to eat fewer calories than this.

-Adjust the TDEE by 100-300 calories up (surplus) or down (deficit)

-Eat primarily healthy foods. You know what they are and what they aren’t…no need to be anal).

-Get enough protein (approximately 1 gram per pound of bodyweight is the accepted average).

-Monitor what happens (and how you feel) for a couple weeks or a month, and make adjustments accordingly. It’s really that simple.

You don’t need to CUT, eating a super restricted diet that takes a ton of dedication and willpower, and you don’t need to BULK, eating tons of extra calories when not hungry, feeling bloated all the time, and repulsing your friends with your flatulence.

After you have fine tuned the above, have gained a bit of muscle and shed some unwanted fat (the good news is while you are a newbie, you will usually do some of both at the same time), you can look more into macros and possibly a few legitimate supplements (like a good protein powder), but until you have packed on at least 20 or 30 pounds of muscle, there is no reason to even think about cutting or bulking.

I wish everyone lots of luck in obtaining your goals! Hope this helps.

Then whats the difference between a "cut" and just eating below maintenance(TDEE)? Won't both get you to the same goal; to lose fat?

[Mjf26]

Yes. It’s just proper terms for a ‘cut’ deficit

[grubman]

Then whats the difference between a "cut" and just eating below maintenance(TDEE)? Won't both get you to the same goal; to lose fat?

You might look at it and say, "cut" is just another word for a diet...but that's kind of like saying a bodybuilder is just another word for a "guy who works out".

Eating below tdee (deficite or diet) is a long term plan to lose unwanted or unnecessary fat in a healthy sustainable way.

Cutting is losing a healthy level of fat temporarily in a given time frame in an aggressive and restrictive (and unsustainable) way. Also, the closer a guy gets to the contest there are all kinds of diet minutiae that can be the difference between 1st and second place.

I should say, I've never competed myself, so I've never had to undergo this pre-contest suffering first hand.

For what it's worth, I'm not attempting to nitpick definitions here...I'm trying to help new people choose the proper approach to making positive improvements to thier body.

Hope that helps.