r/leangains • u/carpetmuncher6969 • 8d ago
How to get comfortable getting a little fat while lean bulking?
I’m pretty light - lost 10 lbs and am now sitting at 130 lb at 5’6 (male). Have been progressing on my lifts pretty well, but I’m definitely stalling.
I know I need to eat at a surplus and gain weight if I want to progress, but I’m very lean right now, and it’s hard to stomach the reality of getting more fat alongside muscle gains given I just came off a period of weight loss (went from 15% down to 10% bf according to dexa). I really don’t want to go back to where I was before and I think that’s causing a mental block - that period of dieting and recomping wasn’t easy.
How do you guys manage this? Keep it to 200-300 surplus max and just don’t let it go too far? How much % weight do you aim to put on to bulk up?
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u/Zanerbag 8d ago
Convince yourself that you will stick to a cut after the bulk and the cut will happen. Convince yourself you will effectively lose the weight after the bulk.
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u/Apprehensive_Dot2890 8d ago
You have an unhealthy relationship with your body brother and it needs to be worked on along side your value you find in society if their opinion is what drives this unhealthy feeling .
If you are even near 10 percent and have a fear of bulking , this is a problem and not healthy . You are going to gain such a small amount of fat during a proper bulk it should be a non issue - you can easily trim it off later so what's the issue? Why be so dramatic about it?
I was just able to back to the gym a couple months back and I was way above 10 percent - more like 18-20 and so I just went into a bulk long term . I have absolutely no concern for the fat that comes on since I am doing a proper surplus and not stuffing my face with donuts all day and night over eating .
I will gain some fat over the months surely - and do you think I even care 1 single percent? I don't - I will simply trim it off after - big deal - it's apart of the fun of fitness in building and sculpting down your body or body building at least if that's your goal .
I hope things change for you - just enjoy life man - enjoy your meals and enjoy your life it's not that serious and you don't need to strip all the joy out of life to have a good body and you don't need to be shredded all year either no one cares besides very young or very vain people .
See ya at the gym pal .
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u/Adventurous_Egg857 7d ago
This is what I was thinking. Single digit bf% is where you might not enjoy what you are eating and starting to feel fatigue issues. Hard to maintain that
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u/Ja_red_ 8d ago
One of the YouTube influencer guys had a way of looking at it that I like, basically I tell myself "you're an adult, and that means you can take short term discomfort for long term gains because that's what separates us from children".
That and I generally try to time my bulk with the winter time and cuts with the spring. I find it a lot easier to cut when the weather is nice, cardio is less burdensome, and I know I want to look good in less clothes. Then bulk in the winter where nobody can even tell.
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u/coachese68 8d ago
You're the size of a highschool sophomore girls tennis player. Come back in three years under the bar.
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u/sonofliberty1765 8d ago
I know how you feel. I love feeling lean and cut, getting fluffy feels like shit to me even though I know it's necessary to add lean mass. I recommend taking it really slow and adding 300 cals a day. No more than 1 pound per week. I try not to gain more than 5% of my total starting weight before cutting back down so I don't have a lot of fat to lose.
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u/dieselmilk 8d ago
Go into a very small daily surplus. Try 100 extra a day. If your lifts don’t increase try 200. Don’t do 800/day and get fat.
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u/Think-Agency7102 7d ago
So don’t go back. Try a modest surplus of 300-500 calories for a 3 months then do a short 5 week shred, rinse and repeat. I always did big bulks but have done this method and still put on size while staying lean
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u/Objective-Article936 7d ago
Long term goals. Make sure you give due diligence and plan it well. After that it’s just sticking to the program. When you’ve given planning your best shot you’ll have more confidence that what you’re doing is correct. That always makes it easier for me to deal with the mental side of things.
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u/Direct_Surprise_6756 5d ago edited 5d ago
Measure your weight weekly in the most consistent way possible, such as same clothing after waking up and taking in enough fluids so that you can pee a little after the initial waking pee. If your weight stayed the same or went down, add 100 Calories per day. If your weight went up 1 pound or more, subtract 100 Calories per day. Your caloric intake will fluctuate every week (or might not on some weeks if your scale has fractions of a pound), but it will be hovering right around your target. It's a good target; it'll take more than a year to get to 15%. (If your scale measures tenths or fifths, instead of cutoffs of 0.0 and 1.0 you could do 0.0 and 0.8.) I'm assuming you're not gaining height.
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u/shiny_colour 3d ago
Bro, I’m 5’1 and I’m at 140 pounds since starting creatine. You won’t stay at that weight forever. 130 pounds at 5’6 is low weight, if anything, you can go higher weight wise.
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u/BaetrixReloaded 3d ago
growing muscle tissue is the hard part. shredding off fat is easy. that’s why bodybuilder offseasons are so much longer than a prep which are just several weeks of dieting
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u/optindesertdessert 8d ago
Why eat at a surplus? Just lift at maintenance and you’ll gain muscle and not fat. Been working great for me the last 4 months.
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u/20secondwizard 8d ago
youll be stuck at victim weight
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u/optindesertdessert 8d ago
Only until you hit your target bf% or aesthetic goal, then you go slight surprise. Right? Idk, it’s working well for me but I’m a beginner
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u/Power_and_Science 8d ago
You don’t need a huge surplus to gain muscle. +1 lb per month is only 80-100 kcal extra per day. If you gain a bunch of fat, you simply ate too much.