From cutting to bulking

[swsko]

35m 5"8 150lbs, after cutting for 4 months went from 178lbs to 150lbs today. I'm fairly lean now with top 4 abs showing in good lighting, I'm at 13% BF I think it's time for me to bulk. I tracked all my weight loss journey and on average I was losing 1lbs/week and the equivalent tdee of that rate of loss is 1950, however the last 2 weeks with the same weight loss rate my tdee jumped back to 2000-2100. I could keep cutting for another 2 weeks to start bulking at the beginning of December to mar it easier to track my bulk. Question is, eat at 1900 and see what happens for 2 weeks then +200/day or start at 2100 for 2 weeks?I guess it would be more conservative to start at 1900 as I would still have +500 calories compared to what I'm eating now and will help with my workouts energy then add 200 from there ?also should I keep using same program as the one I was using during the cut ?its mainly full body workout 3x week with accessory work or switch to splits ?

[hardyboysare]

35m 5"8 150lbs, after cutting for 4 months went from 178lbs to 150lbs today. I'm fairly lean now with top 4 abs showing in good lighting, I'm at 13% BF I think it's time for me to bulk. I tracked all my weight loss journey and on average I was losing 1lbs/week and the equivalent tdee of that rate of loss is 1950, however the last 2 weeks with the same weight loss rate my tdee jumped back to 2000-2100. I could keep cutting for another 2 weeks to start bulking at the beginning of December to mar it easier to track my bulk. Question is, eat at 1900 and see what happens for 2 weeks then +200/day or start at 2100 for 2 weeks?I guess it would be more conservative to start at 1900 as I would still have +500 calories compared to what I'm eating now and will help with my workouts energy then add 200 from there ?also should I keep using same program as the one I was using during the cut ?its mainly full body workout 3x week with accessory work or switch to splits ?

Generally I find and have read that you up calories to a couple 100 below maintenance TDEE, this is to allow your hormones to balance before you start adding surplus as your body is primed to add fat after you have been on a cut. As well as this, it is possible your maintenance calories have more then likely changed since you started your cut as you are smaller.

Usually you do this for 2 weeks allow your hormones to stabilize then increase calories by 200-400 and monitor your weight gain, aim to add 1-2lbs a month. Whatever number you pick will play little difference in the long run just try one and up if you see no weight gain after 2/3 weeks or you are getting no strength gains or lower if weight gain is too much.

As for workout generally stay the same as your cut, as long as your strength and volume increases, and only change when you start stalling on your lifts or recovery for full body is too difficult due to the weight/ volume increase for growth.

[getbigordie18]

35m 5"8 150lbs, after cutting for 4 months went from 178lbs to 150lbs today. I'm fairly lean now with top 4 abs showing in good lighting, I'm at 13% BF I think it's time for me to bulk. I tracked all my weight loss journey and on average I was losing 1lbs/week and the equivalent tdee of that rate of loss is 1950, however the last 2 weeks with the same weight loss rate my tdee jumped back to 2000-2100. I could keep cutting for another 2 weeks to start bulking at the beginning of December to mar it easier to track my bulk. Question is, eat at 1900 and see what happens for 2 weeks then +200/day or start at 2100 for 2 weeks?I guess it would be more conservative to start at 1900 as I would still have +500 calories compared to what I'm eating now and will help with my workouts energy then add 200 from there ?also should I keep using same program as the one I was using during the cut ?its mainly full body workout 3x week with accessory work or switch to splits ?

I would recommend increasing calories slowly. Chances are you are 10% body fat or maybe lower. Slower cuts and slower bulks are best in my opinion. I think you should increase to 2100-2200 calories and increase as needed to limit fat gain.

[swsko]

I would recommend increasing calories slowly. Chances are you are 10% body fat or maybe lower. Slower cuts and slower bulks are best in my opinion. I think you should increase to 2100-2200 calories and increase as needed to limit fat gain.

No way I'm lower than 10% I think I'm at least 12-13% and I'm really not sure now if I should continue cutting. All my lifts are starting to stall especially the push ones I was planning to stick to cutting for another month but looks like my noob gains through cutting cane to halt because of my 500cal deficit

[hardyboysare]

No way I'm lower than 10% I think I'm at least 12-13% and I'm really not sure now if I should continue cutting. All my lifts are starting to stall especially the push ones I was planning to stick to cutting for another month but looks like my noob gains through cutting cane to halt because of my 500cal deficit

If you are still losing 1-2lb a week then you could cut for another month and lose another 3-6lbs as that is quite a bit. If you are not losing at this rate and slowed right down then cutting for another month isn't really going to make a lot of difference if you plan to bulk next month anyway. When you start getting deep in a cutting process general lifts do stall and all you can do is maintain them until they start dropping a bit.

If you are happy with your physique (you do look lean) you might as well go into the lean bulk phase and use the rest of November as transition stage before focusing on gaining good lean muscle.

[swsko]

If you are still losing 1-2lb a week then you could cut for another month and lose another 3-6lbs as that is quite a bit. If you are not losing at this rate and slowed right down then cutting for another month isn't really going to make a lot of difference if you plan to bulk next month anyway. When you start getting deep in a cutting process general lifts do stall and all you can do is maintain them until they start dropping a bit.

If you are happy with your physique (you do look lean) you might as well go into the lean bulk phase and use the rest of November as transition stage before focusing on gaining good lean muscle.

Yep still losing 0.5kg or 1.1lbs per week that's why in my mind I want to keep cutting, better be lean at the beginning of the bulk, but my body wants me to start bulking. My BP and squat just went down today by 20lbs dunmo if it's the lack of carbs today, bad day or just reached the limit of my current physique in building muscle. But thanks for the suggestion. I'll stick to my cut for 2 weeks, maintain first 2 weeks in December then start my lean bulk and hopefully get to July with 13lbs of weight gain and a BF of 15%. Any program to recommend?