When to switch from dieting to bulking?

[soontobefit]

Not sure if this belonged in nutrition or training, so hopefully this is ok....

I am wondering how people decide to switch from dieting to lose fat to bulking to gain muscle. It just seems confusing to me how someone can work so hard for many months to lose fat (and subsequently not gain muscle), then switch to gain muscle. How will I know when I should switch? When Erik tells me?! :P Thanks!

Edit to add: I guess I would just associate winter months with bulking then summer months with dieting...

[Fitwolf]

For me it is all based on the time of year... From May - Nov I'm working and can't really do anything except eat maintenance. Nov, Dec and Jan seemed like a good time to bulk - holidays and all... then I'd like to be fit looking by the time I start wearing less clothes.

Not that I've really dieted yet like some of these folks :oops:

[Audrey]

It depends based on the individual and their goals.

For competitors, dieting often coincides with contest prep while off-season is often the time people choose to bulk.

For people not competing, it can either be based on certain times of the year (i.e. you prefer to bulk during the winter months and diet for the summer). It can also be based on appearance/progress - i.e. when you are satisfied with your degree of leanness and what you achieved with your dieting phase, you may realize that you want to make some improvements muscle-wise and switch gears temporarily to focus on muscle gain.

Also, after so many months/weeks dieting, some people want to change their focus temporarily and focus on gaining strength and muscle (plus not feel so damn hungry :lol:).

I think it is fairly individual. I am not sure there is necessarily a 'good time' to switch from one to the other.

[jaleena]

I am wondering how people decide to switch from dieting to lose fat to bulking to gain muscle. It just seems confusing to me how someone can work so hard for many months to lose fat (and subsequently not gain muscle), then switch to gain muscle. How will I know when I should switch? When Erik tells me?! :P Thanks!.
I'm not a physique person, but I dieted down almost 30lbs for my last PL meet...was good to be in the lower weight class, but I felt like crap. Hunger wasn't getting to me, I was just tired/lazy...sometimes too lazy to want to eat. I couldn't recover from workouts, I huffed and puffed harder when hiking, etc. So...I fluffed back up most of the way, feel tons better.

I'll diet down again for competitions I'm sure, but I can't maintain that since I'm not healthy that way...makes the decision to bulk easy. I know a lot of the physique girls don't feel good when they're fluffy, so you might not have the same experience...but that's it for some of us.
That, and it's easier to get :lifter: with extra food :grin:

[Ali]

For me it's just a natural progression. I got as lean as I wanted to get. No place to go but up. However, I won't ever bulk again to more than about what I am right now.

If you are new to lifting you can still gain muscle while dieting.

If you are feeling you want a break from dieting or you feel like you are not strong or losing muscle...time to up the calories. But I don't think you need to go crazy and add 10 lbs of fat. I think *most* women are not comfortable with that. Especially when you struggle to take it back off.

[soontobefit]

For people not competing, it can either be based on certain times of the year (i.e. you prefer to bulk during the winter months and diet for the summer). It can also be based on appearance/progress - i.e. when you are satisfied with your degree of leanness and what you achieved with your dieting phase, you may realize that you want to make some improvements muscle-wise and switch gears temporarily to focus on muscle gain.

Fair enough...Last year I had planned on entering a comp in October (until I got mono this summer :() Maybe the best thing will be to lean out as much as I can, then maintain throughout the summer or compete in a "model" category then bulk next winter...who knows....I guess I will just have to see how my body shapes up.

Thanks everyone for the input! :)

[Patricia]

For me, it was just a matter of my trainer saying we needed to add 10% more muscle before we diet down for Nationals. I honestly don't think I would've had the gusto to bulk on my own. I hate being fluffy. I would have continously tried to diet off any fat I was gaining...which would've been counterproductive to my goals.
I just got back in town from visiting with him actually, and even being 20lbs heavier than at contest he was pleased with my appearance and told me to keep eating. I feel worlds better now actually.

[soontobefit]

For me, it was just a matter of my trainer saying we needed to add 10% more muscle before we diet down for Nationals. I honestly don't think I would've had the gusto to bulk on my own. I hate being fluffy. I would have continously tried to diet off any fat I was gaining...which would've been counterproductive to my goals.
I just got back in town from visiting with him actually, and even being 20lbs heavier than at contest he was pleased with my appearance and told me to keep eating. I feel worlds better now actually.
Cool....I bet you will look awesome at contest time :) Thanks for your input

[jackieleigh]

I chose to bulk because when I was dieting my upper body got really skinny. I was super lean on top and I almost started to look sickly.

[Ali]

For me, it was just a matter of my trainer saying we needed to add 10% more muscle before we diet down for Nationals. I honestly don't think I would've had the gusto to bulk on my own. I hate being fluffy. I would have continously tried to diet off any fat I was gaining...which would've been counterproductive to my goals.
I just got back in town from visiting with him actually, and even being 20lbs heavier than at contest he was pleased with my appearance and told me to keep eating. I feel worlds better now actually.

Ya, having someone say, "Go ahead, EAT...get stronger." And be in full support of you and still being impressed with some of the things that are happening with your body...getting more muscular, etc. is a good thing. Otherwise, you'd probaby second guess yourself about getting so 'fat'.

It is definitely a different mindset thinking of yourself as little, lean as opposed to strong, muscular.

[Erik]

The answer to the original question comes down to the individual. What goes into determining when you switch gears all stems from your goals and how far you are from achieving them.

If you're dieting down and you're content/satisfied with how lean you are now, yet look at yourself and feel you want some more muscle, then you might consider changing directions and doing a smart bulk.

If you look at yourself and think you're not lean enough and you'd not be comfortable having any more fat than you do right now, then a bulk isn't a good idea yet. You're going to gain at least some fat on a bulk, no matter how smart you do it. No one's partitioning ability is so good that all calories consumed over maintenance are directed towards muscle.

So it really comes down to individual preferences, where you are, what you're comfortable with, etc.

I think the most difficult thing is accepting the fact that you will gain fat. If you don't, chances are you're not going to be gaining much muscle either. It's a necessary evil. That's not to say you have to just get sloppy, as the goal is to still minimize fat gains while maximizing muscular gains.

[soontobefit]

The answer to the original question comes down to the individual. What goes into determining when you switch gears all stems from your goals and how far you are from achieving them.

If you're dieting down and you're content/satisfied with how lean you are now, yet look at yourself and feel you want some more muscle, then you might consider changing directions and doing a smart bulk.

If you look at yourself and think you're not lean enough and you'd not be comfortable having any more fat than you do right now, then a bulk isn't a good idea yet. You're going to gain at least some fat on a bulk, no matter how smart you do it. No one's partitioning ability is so good that all calories consumed over maintenance are directed towards muscle.

So it really comes down to individual preferences, where you are, what you're comfortable with, etc.

I think the most difficult thing is accepting the fact that you will gain fat. If you don't, chances are you're not going to be gaining much muscle either. It's a necessary evil. That's not to say you have to just get sloppy, as the goal is to still minimize fat gains while maximizing muscular gains.
Makes sense. I guess the thing for me to do is keep going the route I am going and once I am happy with my leanness, figure where to go from there (that's where you come in ;))