conflicting info on the internet, advice on body fat and nutrition

[Bremster1]

Dear,

This is my first post here. I have looked through the "common posts" & "look before posting", but if this is not the right place for my question, I'm sorry.

I have been trying to get in better shape lately. I am 20 years old, 188cm long male and one year ago I weighed only 66kg (I had ADHD pills that supressed my hunger). Ive since gotten off them, and am now sitting around 74 kg. Since last january, I purchased a metal power station, and begun doing pull ups. I was able to do 0 at first, and now I can do about 7, so theres improvement there. Little over a month ago, the gyms opened up, and I have stopped using the power station, focussing on going to the gym. I have posted my routine in the comments below. I went 3-4 times a week at first, and as of last week I will be going 5 times a week. All my research points towards one thing I need to master in order to grow as efficiently as possible: bulking and cutting.

My problem is that I cannot nail down this body fat thing. We have an electronic scale in our gym, and callippers, but when I google, both of these seem to be inaccurate. I do not have access to other measurement methods. On the other hand, the internet says that if you have below 15% bodyfat, your abs should be visible. The electronic scale says I have 10.5% bodyfat (and the metabolic age of a 12 year old..?), but I do not have clearly visible abs, and also it appears as though I have a small amount of belly fat.

Basically what I am getting at is, how do I find out whether I should cut or bulk? I was hoping you guys could tell from some pictures which of these two would apply. I have attached them below.

For now, my diet is as follows:
Breakfast: 150g Skyr Yogurt, 180g blueberries, 80g oats, a cup of coffee (447 kcal, 28.2g protein)
Lunch: 4 slices of whole grain bread, 4 slices chicken breast, 40g filet americain (479 kcal, 28.2g protein)
Post-Workout: 200ml milk + 30g of whey protein powder (228 kcal, 31.2g protein)
Dinner varies greatly because Im still living at home (for the next 3 months or so, after that it should be easier) and thus do not control what we eat. We do however almost always eat meat of some sorts during dinner.
I have a mostly sedentary lifestyle, except that I workout almost every day for aprox 50-60 mins.
I do snack sometimes inbetween, but its often not healthy - think cheese, salami, chips. Fruit too, but they are such few calories. I am a very difficult eater, due to sensory processing disorder, and heavily favour crispy foods. What can I eat to healthily increase my kcal (In case I should bulk and not cut)? I like pistacchio nuts, would eating a handful of those be beneficial? Or should I take a cup of milk with 30g protein powder before sleeping as well? Also I do not want to be counting calories with everything I eat - I believe this teaches me an unhealthy relationship towards food. Rather I want some wiggle room to eat some unhealthy snacks every once in a while: is this possible?

Once again I am sorry if this is not the right place, if it isnt, could you perhaps points me to the right subforum? Its just that it is legit impossible to find out online whether my body fat levels are of such degree that I should bulk or cut, since its case specific and I cannot find an accurate way of measuring. I figured that some of you health-experts might be able to roughly estimate what applies to me. If you guys can help me on my way I can definetely take it from there, researching the various theories and methods behind fitness is part of the fun!

Many thanks for taking your time to read my long post, any advice is welcome!
Kind regards,
Bremster1

PS: I just posted this and see it says my age is 51 - this is not true! Im going to look where I can change that.

[SuffolkPunch]

I would not say that bulking and cutting is the key to success... doing a proper training routine is. You only mentioned pullups which only trains a small proportion of the muscle in your body. Perhaps you are doing other training you didn't mention but this is still the focus of what you must do.

You don't have to "bulk" and pile on fat to gain muscle. You do have to be in a calorie deficit to lose fat but you don't need to know your exact BF% to do this. And you won't easily get an exact number either BIA scales are pretty useless - as you discovered.

Looking at your pictures, I can see your BF is not very high but you do lack muscle - gaining muscle will be what makes a difference.

As I mentioned, get on a proper whole body routine like Fierce 5. Eat at around maintenance calories and get at least 130g of protein per day.

[Bremster1]

I would not say that bulking and cutting is the key to success... doing a proper training routine is. You only mentioned pullups which only trains a small proportion of the muscle in your body. Perhaps you are doing other training you didn't mention but this is still the focus of what you must do.

You don't have to "bulk" and pile on fat to gain muscle. You do have to be in a calorie deficit to lose fat but you don't need to know your exact BF% to do this. And you won't easily get an exact number either BIA scales are pretty useless - as you discovered.

Looking at your pictures, I can see your BF is not very high but you do lack muscle - gaining muscle will be what makes a difference.

As I mentioned, get on a proper whole body routine like Fierce 5. Eat at around maintenance calories and get at least 130g of protein per day.

Ah sorry, I wasnt sure whether I should include that since this is the nutrition forum. I do:
1: Chest tricep
5x5x45kg bench press
3x12x66kg chest fly
3x12x16,3kg chest fly (bands)
3x12x10kg decline bench press
3x12x32kg triceps pushdown
3x12x14kg pullover (dumbbel)

2: Legs
I do all of these 3x12:
79kg seated leg press
45kg leg extension
52kg seated leg curl
45kg hib abductor & adductor
8kg both hands standing calf raise

3: Back bicep
once again, 3x12
45kg lat pulldown
41kg seated row (machine)
45kg pec deck machine in the reversal mode (so its for your back)
39kg seated row(cable)
9kg bicep curl

4: cardio and abs exercises

I try to do it to muscle failure, which is usually 12, sometimes 11 or 10.

I might want to add squatting and deadlifting to my routine, however, I am scared of doing this because I have anterior pelvic tilt and am afraid to damage something

[faithbrah]

unless you're training six times a week, you should stick to a simple full body routine 3x/week

i also have APT (anterior pelvic tilt) and can squat normally. conventional deadlifts feel awkward so i do romanian deadlifts instead

[Bremster1]

unless you're training six times a week, you should stick to a simple full body routine 3x/week

i also have APT (anterior pelvic tilt) and can squat normally. conventional deadlifts feel awkward so i do romanian deadlifts instead

For the summer months I want to do 5-6 times a week. Since I am still in the beginning though, would you recommend I go less?

[SuffolkPunch]

I am still recommending a routine like Fierce 5. I realise that you probably put some effort into this but if you were to switch to something like F5 (or one of the other routines from the sticky threads) you will be getting the experience and knowledge of the expert who designed it, specifically for novices. In particular, one of the main benefits is planned progressive overload. The fact that you've specified weights in your routine suggests you are doing the same thing each time - which is not going to lead to improvement.

There are several other issues we commonly see with routines like this but for brevity, I won't trot them out here again.

[Bremster1]

I am still recommending a routine like Fierce 5. I realise that you probably put some effort into this but if you were to switch to something like F5 (or one of the other routines from the sticky threads) you will be getting the experience and knowledge of the expert who designed it, specifically for novices. In particular, one of the main benefits is planned progressive overload. The fact that you've specified weights in your routine suggests you are doing the same thing each time - which is not going to lead to improvement.

There are several other issues we commonly see with routines like this but for brevity, I won't trot them out here again.

I actually have been increasing my weights but its been going slowly, sometimes i was unable to add something the week after. But alright, ill take it from you, ill start doing the fierce5. It just feels a bit sad that i will only be going 3 days instead of 5-6. Would it be ok to do ab exercises on one of the "inbetween" days and cardio on the other?

[faithbrah]

I actually have been increasing my weights but its been going slowly, sometimes i was unable to add something the week after. But alright, ill take it from you, ill start doing the fierce5. It just feels a bit sad that i will only be going 3 days instead of 5-6. Would it be ok to do ab exercises on one of the "inbetween" days and cardio on the other?

yes as long as it doesn't impede your recovery. for example, you could do a workout on monday, then abs on tuesday, but your abs could be sore on wednesday and you have to do squats - not a good idea

[CommitmentRulz]

Looking at your pictures, I can see your BF is not very high but you do lack muscle - gaining muscle will be what makes a difference.

As I mentioned, get on a proper whole body routine like Fierce 5. Eat at around maintenance calories and get at least 130g of protein per day.

This is "spot on" advice OP. ^^^^^

[Bremster1]

I would not say that bulking and cutting is the key to success... doing a proper training routine is. You only mentioned pullups which only trains a small proportion of the muscle in your body. Perhaps you are doing other training you didn't mention but this is still the focus of what you must do.

You don't have to "bulk" and pile on fat to gain muscle. You do have to be in a calorie deficit to lose fat but you don't need to know your exact BF% to do this. And you won't easily get an exact number either BIA scales are pretty useless - as you discovered.

Looking at your pictures, I can see your BF is not very high but you do lack muscle - gaining muscle will be what makes a difference.

As I mentioned, get on a proper whole body routine like Fierce 5. Eat at around maintenance calories and get at least 130g of protein per day.

Sorry for the slight bump of this thread, but I am doing the Fierce 5 and so far its going pretty decent. I just returned from a roadtrip where I was unable to workout of 20+ days while not eating optimally, so I dropped my weights by 15%ish and am now almost back at my pre-departure level. I am also rigorously counting my calories using a scale, but theres one thing I cant readily find an answer to on the internet. I am currently doing the Fierce 5 every other day, meaning the one week 3 times, the other week 4 times (always a rest day in between). However, for the purposes of calculating my calories, are these to be considered "Intense" workouts or normal workouts? Im asking because this would mean a difference of almost 300 kcal per day, and cant find the answer online. I also do sporadic trampoline jumping, which is intense, anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes a session, usually twice a week.

[Tommy W.]

My problem is that I cannot nail down this body fat thing. We have an electronic scale in our gym, and callippers, but when I google, both of these seem to be inaccurate. I do not have access to other measurement methods. On the other hand, the internet says that if you have below 15% bodyfat, your abs should be visible. The electronic scale says I have 10.5% bodyfat (and the metabolic age of a 12 year old..?), but I do not have clearly visible abs, and also it appears as though I have a small amount of belly fat.

BF% is a useless number. Look in the mirror. That will tell you what to do and you need to add muscle and not be trying to lose fat. A slight calorie surplus and a PROPER training program for you.

You could get to below 10% body fat and still not have abs if they aren't developed which yours are not. Get away from ab consciousness and concentrate on overall body development.

[SuffolkPunch]

Sorry for the slight bump of this thread, but I am doing the Fierce 5 and so far its going pretty decent. I just returned from a roadtrip where I was unable to workout of 20+ days while not eating optimally, so I dropped my weights by 15%ish and am now almost back at my pre-departure level. I am also rigorously counting my calories using a scale, but theres one thing I cant readily find an answer to on the internet. I am currently doing the Fierce 5 every other day, meaning the one week 3 times, the other week 4 times (always a rest day in between). However, for the purposes of calculating my calories, are these to be considered "Intense" workouts or normal workouts? Im asking because this would mean a difference of almost 300 kcal per day, and cant find the answer online. I also do sporadic trampoline jumping, which is intense, anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes a session, usually twice a week.

Those kind of arbitrary classifications of activity are only really good for making guesses. If you have already been monitoring your weight and calories for a while (at least 2 weeks, weighing in every day), you have a much better way to estimate your needs - real life data always trumps guesswork from online calculators.

Just adjust your intake so that are gaining weight slowly on average. Maybe 1-2lbs a month.