Whittling Down BF%?

I’m quite dieted down right now, so I’m adding Calories back in slowly. I will eventually get back up to the point where I’m up to 300-500 over maintenance.

You are overthinking this. You are 17 and tiny. You need to lift heavy stuff regularly and eat well. Nothing more complicated.

1 Like

I shall take your advice and run with it.

I literally was in your position. I was 6’2" and a lanky 170 when I started lifting in high school. The worst thing I did was constantly program hop, think short-term, and try new thing after new thing instead of buckling down and tackling the basics. Also, over-focusing on supplements instead of food. (Thanks a lot, Body For Life Challenge.)

That program is a great choice. Stick to it as-is, so 4 workouts per week for the next 12 weeks. Eat enough to gain bodyweight each week. Adding two eggs per week (150 calories) isn’t going to cut it and is the kind of unnecessarily small step we need to get away from.

After being in a calorie deficit for the last 6 months do you think I’ll get fat again if I bump them up from 1800 to 3000 over night? I can’t think that’s a good idea. Would increasing them that fast after being in a deficit for that long be detrimental?

Depends on a lot of factors, especially considering your metabolism starts to downregulate significantly after about 6 weeks in a caloric deficit.

Adding 150 calories per week won’t come close to cutting it, but don’t go overboard and start eating junk either. Instead I would just add 25g of protein to one of my meals, and 25g of carbs to my peri-workout period. That comes out to an extra 200 calories per day, and 1400/wk. Do that for a month then reassess. My guess is that you will find you can do that two or three more times as well as add some healthy fats without negatively affecting your body composition, as long as your training supports it.

1 Like

Thats actually quite similiar to what I was going to do. Lets say this week i was eating 1800, next week I’ll eat 1950, the week after 2100, and so on until I reach a point that’s good for me. Think I could do it in 200 calorie/week incruments and be alright? So 1800 one week, 2000 the next, 2200 the next, etc

1 Like

I think you could do it in 300 increments. I was saying 200 to be a bit conservative.

I could try 300 and see what happens, thanks man

1 Like

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I figured I’d chime in and let everyone know how I’ve been getting along. I kept reverse dieting to my surplus (currently at 3500 cals, 265g protein, 115g fat, and 350g carbs). Gains have been phenomenal, I think it’s because I was so dieted down. My body must have been primed for weight gain. I am now repping all of my previous PR’s (more on a couple). I also was able to rep 405 for 6x3 on rack pulls last week. I have been steadily gaining weight, fat gain has been a bit more than I’d like, but its really not very noticeable and probably just me being paranoid. Just wanted to thank everyone for the advice they provided me with, I’m glad I followed it.

1 Like