at what point

[engbulldog]

should one try to diet down, meaning after a few bulking cycles over the past 5 yrs my weight has gone from 150 to 200 back down to 185 and now around 198 mid way thru a cycle?? Is it wise to do a comp diet then try to bulk back up to shock my body???? My stats are 5'6 198lb 33yrs lifting for 8 yrs 5 solid , last july ACL repair going back to doctor this friday still having pain in knee Just a little tid bit I would love to compete soon but I feel that I dont have the size to step on stage and make an ass of myself but oh well i can still dream Thanks guys if ya wanna see a pic just do a search under engbulldog a few should come up

 

[oldfella]

Well at some point this all becomes an individual thing. Meaning if you are not happy with the way you look in the mirror, then it is time to change the way you look. If you are carrying too much Body fat then it is time to diet and strip off the excess body fat. You can still build mass while dropping body fat. In fact this is what we all strive to do. Just adjust your diet and find a happy medium to achieve this. I would not say to try a full comp diet if you are not looking at a show in the near future, well not yet anyway. But losing the fat and maintaining muscle is fairly straight forward. Just adjust your macro nutrients to get the job done. So I guess the short answer here is lose the unwanted weitght and start to replace it with lean mass.

 

[engbulldog]

Thanks oldfella, my bf isnt bad .. I just want to know if a diet of 12 wks or so would promote new muscle growth after the 12th week I guess my question is stupid but it makes sense in my head but i 'm having a hard time putting it in words but thanks for takin' the time to read and reply

 

[oldfella]

Thanks oldfella, my bf isnt bad .. I just want to know if a diet of 12 wks or so would promote new muscle growth after the 12th week I guess my question is stupid but it makes sense in my head but i 'm having a hard time putting it in words but thanks for takin' the time to read and reply

No man not stupid at all. Many wonder when, if and how shoulfd they go about trying to add lean mass. SOme resort to the bulking type of approach only to find thye bulked up on fat instead. Then they look for a cutting diet to reduce the fat only to find they did not gain as much lean mass as they wanted or liked to. So do both, add lean mass while dropping BF levels. It can be done!

 

[mike1107]

usually when I stop gaining weight during a bulking, I just diet

it has always worked for me

 

[engbulldog]

Thanks mike and old fella atleast I'm not alone, this is the reason I dont post alot because it seems to me all my questions are dumb or dont make sense!!

 

[gordo14]

This is me.

I have always been bulked up. I started at about 23% bf at 320 pounds. I have been able to add lean mass and lower my bf to around 18% And my weight is still hovering around 310. So you can lose the bf while still "bulking". I call it a body recomposition. People always ask if i'm dieting, i reply "no i just like to eat healthy." Or i notice your losing weight, i look at em and say "not really losing any weight, just losing body fat." And stay off the scale as much as possible.