Skinny-fat beginner

[DutchOven89]

Hi guys!

Little background about me and my condition:
I'm a 29 year old dutch guy that has just started off with bodybuilding. Skinnyfat is something i've been living with for the whole time and my goal is to progress out of this skinnyfat state and regain some confidence in my body. Mainly the latter, as I've been struggling with a heart-condition(Atrioventricular block) since my 16th and recently, things have gone south and I had to lay in the hospital for some time. I had really bad eating and living habits that, I believe, not just resulted in my skinny-fat state, but also affected my heartcondition.

Focussing on the goal:
I planned to start in june this year but due the laying in the hospital and close monitoring for some time, I had to delay the goal until the doc gave me a full pass. I've been now lifting for 3 months with a really slow cautious start and, at the time, decided to bulk first. One thing that I allready regret now is that I didn't track my macros (don't know how yet, just found out what macros really stand for) and proofs that I haven't educated myself well before starting. Second thing that I regret is that I didn't start with all the compound movements immediately (had started with benchpress in the first month, second month with deadlifts and squats). On top of that, I am trying to do the pull-ups (with no avail yet) and want to throw in some barbell rows. Regarding calories, I try to have around 300 calories above my normal maintenance.

Now possibly my third regret: I believe that, maybe I should've cut first instead of bulk. As a 6'0” guy, I started at 72 kilograms (158lbs) and am now at 79kg (174lbs) and thought about bulking till 84kg(185lbs) or maybe 82kg(180lbs) and then cut to around 68kg(150lbs). I was planning to bulk till March or April (2019) and slowly cut for 4 months. Furthermore, I don't know what my bodyfat% is or how to best measure this. Nonetheless I'll post some before/after pictures to give you a better picture of my recent and current condition.

Unfortunatly I can't post links or photo's yet and have removed the https from the :. I hope this is still allowed. If now, I'll remove it and post it through a private message if that is allowed.

Before:
://imgur.com/OizWZXX.jpg
://imgur.com/2twh6Rh.jpg
://imgur.com/BLgwzZE.jpg

After:
://imgur.com/XPZ6tL1.jpg
://imgur.com/HSekjkU.jpg
://imgur.com/Ws2VroO.jpg

One thing that I did manage in those three months is straighten my posture and improve my back. Although I've gotten stronger (and keep lifting heavier) with the compound movements, my chest on the other hand hasn't improved that significantly.
Now the question is: how should I further proceed? (Should I keep bulking? Should I try a different training? Follow a program? Should I also start training my abs and If so, how?) I will also post my training schedule in the morning (It's pretty late now here) to give you guys a better idea.

Also sorry if there are some grammar or sentence mistakes. English is not my first language.

I hope you guys can help me out and give some awesome tips or advice!

[anthonynitopi]

Personally I don't train abs right now but if that's something you feel you want to work on then go for it. There are plenty of ab workout videos out there on youtube but when I used to train them I followed Athlean-x's 22 day ab workout. If you still have trouble keeping track of your macros, I would download the app MyFitnessPal and use that app to track everything you eat, I use it to track everything and it does the job pretty well in my opinion.
Good luck with your heart condition. I'm not one to say if you should have started off bulking or cutting but I would definitely say keep going strong. And if you feel like your chest is lacking, then I would train it more and maybe add an extra exercise if you don't train it often in your routine.

[needgains1024]

I'm in the same boat as you, dutchover89. I'm skinnyfat. I went on a lean bulk, and regretted it. Yes I put on some muscle, but you will gain fat on any bulk you do. I've now completed my first month cut, and will carry on until I get to about 10-12%. I've taken my cut slowly, and decreasing calories gradually, I think it's better for your hormones and health doing it that way. I will look skinny in the end. I'll look awful probably, but it'll be healthier than increasing my BF%, and health is my main priority. I also know that me being skinny is my platform to then progress. When you build anything in life, at the beginning it doesn't look great, but in the end the beauty is there for everyone to be amazed at