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[rocksteady1983]

Today I was looking online at reviews of Protein bars, seems quest and Met-Rx are the best? Went to Walmart after the gym tonight to grab a few to try out only to realize I forgot my wallet in the parking lot. I tend to do most my stupid snacking after my workout around 8pm and am hoping just eating a good protein bar will curb the snacking.

 

[dralla]

Polyols! Unfortunately some people do not react well to them so they're not suitable for everyone on low carb diets, but since you're more of a calorie counter you should be okay. Also, glad to hear you're digging the bars. I'm a huge fan of theirs so it makes me happy to see other people enjoying their products!

The sugar alcohol they use is very different than the others. Erythritol, it's not digested, it immediately gets absorbed into the blood stream and pissed right out of your system. It makes for a great sugar substitute too, for baking and such.

But the original line does not use them, they use sucralose. The PB Supreme is part of the original line. Some people want to avoid sucralose, that's why they created the all natural line, so it's nice they give you the option

 

[mr2xxx]

To all the Quest bar corporate shills, where is the cheapest price?

 

[LyleLanley]

I wish I could

I guarantee that everyone here who has lost a lot of weight at one point said those exact same words. There's nothing stopping you except for yourself. Start a diet, take advantage of this thread for advice and support and you'll be amazed with what will happen.

 

[FireCloud]

The sugar alcohol they use is very different than the others. Erythritol, it's not digested, it immediately gets absorbed into the blood stream and pissed right out of your system. It makes for a great sugar substitute too, for baking and such.

Don't you have to be careful with non-digestible sugar substitutes? I thought I had read somewhere where they could hinder weight loss by fooling the body into thinking that it is processing sugar but in reality it doesn't. Something about the insulin response to that sort of stuff. Wish I could find that article.

So far, I've been staying away from stuff like that. I picked up some Olestra potato chips once and enjoyed them but worried about what that stuff would do to my system.

Worry-wort, who me? naw.

 

[SeanR1221]

To all the Quest bar corporate shills, where is the cheapest price?

Amazon sells them for 25.00. My GNC also sells them for that price but they are marked 33.00. Just have them ring it up.

 

[Szu]

OK, I was at my in-laws apartment and I found their bathroom has better lighting and a nice sized mirror.

Here's anther set of progress pics that I took this morning. Damn, I needed food when I took them.

Edit: Whoops wrong thread.

Here's a before picture to keep with the topic.

 

[mkenyon]

That's some serious improvement! Looking great man!

 

[dralla]

The biggest improvement is the hair

 

[Seanspeed]

I'm back in guys. Let myself go pretty bad.

Started at 210lbs. Got on a good kick for about 6 months and got down to 175lbs(even with a fair bit of cheating). Was on here regularly. Felt great. But unemployment and depression/anxiety have led me all the way back to 215lbs. Feels terrible! I actually dont look as bad before due to the muscle gains I made last time, but still, 215lbs at 5'10" is getting bad. I'm lucky I carry my weight well or else I'd be a pretty fat-looking guy.

Already down to 207. A bit of water weight, but I've still been eating a fair amount of carbs(finishing off junk left in my fridge/pantry, just portioning better) so most of that is genuine weight loss.

Aiming for 10lbs a month at least until I get to 175. Final goal - 160. Thats kinda low, but I know I can do it. Wasn't that difficult getting to 175 and I easily had another 10 I could drop from there healthily.

 

[mkenyon]

It's a lifetime struggle. Crazy how fast it can sneak back up on you.

 

[oxrock]

OK, I was at my in-laws apartment and I found their bathroom has better lighting and a nice sized mirror.

Here's anther set of progress pics that I took this morning. Damn, I needed food when I took them.

Edit: Whoops wrong thread.

Here's a before picture to keep with the topic.

Just don't forget to exercise stuff other than your arms

 

[SeanR1221]

I'm back in guys. Let myself go pretty bad.

Started at 210lbs. Got on a good kick for about 6 months and got down to 175lbs(even with a fair bit of cheating). Was on here regularly. Felt great. But unemployment and depression/anxiety have led me all the way back to 215lbs. Feels terrible! I actually dont look as bad before due to the muscle gains I made last time, but still, 215lbs at 5'10" is getting bad. I'm lucky I carry my weight well or else I'd be a pretty fat-looking guy.

Already down to 207. A bit of water weight, but I've still been eating a fair amount of carbs(finishing off junk left in my fridge/pantry, just portioning better) so most of that is genuine weight loss.

Aiming for 10lbs a month at least until I get to 175. Final goal - 160. Thats kinda low, but I know I can do it. Wasn't that difficult getting to 175 and I easily had another 10 I could drop from there healthily.

Just get back to it. It's easy to fall but even easier to pick yourself up.

 

[Seanspeed]

It's a lifetime struggle. Crazy how fast it can sneak back up on you.

Just get back to it. It's easy to fall but even easier to pick yourself up.

Yup. I've dealt with fluctuations of ~15lbs or so but this has been a gradual climb and its like, "Damn, I'm fat again!"

Got back from the store earlier with lots of chicken, fish and veggies. Still have a bunch of protein powder. That stuff doesn't go bad does it?

It shouldn't be too hard. I've learned so much and know exactly what I need to do.

 

[dralla]

Yup. I've dealt with fluctuations of ~15lbs or so but this has been a gradual climb and its like, "Damn, I'm fat again!"

Got back from the store earlier with lots of chicken, fish and veggies. Still have a bunch of protein powder. That stuff doesn't go bad does it?

It shouldn't be too hard. I've learned so much and know exactly what I need to do.

I'm 5'10", I was about 215-220lbs too, so I know that feel bro. What's your eating looking like now? Chicken and veggies is great, but it's not very filling. One of the best things I've learned is eat so you're satiated, you're much more likely to over eat things if you're semi-hungry. Keep fresh veggies around for munching on if you need to eat, just to eat..even though that sounds like strange advice, most people who struggle with weight just for the hell of it, I know I did [and still do], just try and make sure there's good stuff around you in case you do get those urges.

 

[Chris R]

I bounced back too after doing so well for most of last year. My vacation really did me in, and not being able to bike outside has been killing me. My diet is back on track and temptations are again nothing to me (for a while after coming back from my vacation my diet was pretty shit), but the exercise still is lacking. Just wish breakup would come and go already so I can hit the bike trails again!

 

[Horseticuffs]

We all struggle, guys, so don't be too hard on yourselves. MFP had suggested I go to 1,610 calories a day to lose 2 pounds a week but I just couldn't hang with that mess after a month or so. It was just never enough.

I bumped my allowance up to 1,750 calories daily and hopefully I'll hit that sweet spot between satiety and deficit. I felt pretty guilty about it but at the end of the day I'd be sneaking healthy little snacks in and not logging them out of guilt.

I reckon if I was THAT hungry I may as well give myself a realistic allowance and log EVERYTHING so I at least have the statistics I need to make sure I'm making good choices.

I've been caving in on this urge to eat this dried blueberry, raisin and nut mix, lately. It's probably not that bad in moderation but I'm not eating it in moderation (like 1/2 lb + in a day when I give in and buy it). I haven't gained any noticeable weight from it and I do think I need to start bumping up my calorie intake a bit because I am very hungry all the time but this probably isn't the way to do it.

I'm a vegetarian so I'm always looking for decent ways to add protein. I've been adding stuff like Peanut Butter or just plain ol' peanuts to my Oatmeal in the morning lately to do so. As you say, nuts are full of good fats and protein but, MAN, do they pack a wallop in the calorie department! The peanut butter I use is 180 calories for 2tsp and the peanuts I use are like 168 calories for 1 ounce.

The tough thing with nuts is that, not only is moderation of these excellent foods important, but a "moderate" serving is fucking ridiculously tiny :/

 

[Felix Lighter]

I've been caving in on this urge to eat this dried blueberry, raisin and nut mix, lately. It's probably not that bad in moderation but I'm not eating it in moderation (like 1/2 lb + in a day when I give in and buy it). I haven't gained any noticeable weight from it and I do think I need to start bumping up my calorie intake a bit because I am very hungry all the time but this probably isn't the way to do it.

 

[mkenyon]

Sounds pretty good and nutritious. How many calories?

 

[Felix Lighter]

Sounds pretty good and nutritious. How many calories?

It's bulk foods bought by the pound so I can't find any nutritional info. It's peanuts, almonds sunflower seeds, dried blueberries, cranberries and raisins.

 

[mkenyon]

Probably pretty high in calories!

Tons of nutrition though. If there's a way for you to figure it out (they should have the nutrition facts posted at the store), then I'm sure you can moderate it to be appropriate.

All about those calories.

 

[Horseticuffs]

It's bulk foods bought by the pound so I can't find any nutritional info. It's peanuts, almonds sunflower seeds, dried blueberries, cranberries and raisins.

God, those are all great for you but I know right off the top of my head that the nuts, cranberries and raisins are fucking bonkers with calories. You might be able to find a listing for it on a website somewhere.

 

[FireCloud]

It's bulk foods bought by the pound so I can't find any nutritional info. It's peanuts, almonds sunflower seeds, dried blueberries, cranberries and raisins.

Half a pound a day is probably a bit much if you are trying to lose any weight.

I've been very hesitant to introduce nuts back into my diet. I know that they they have the good fats in them but since I've been doing the low calorie thing they are just too calorie dense for me to be able to justify them. I'd still be hungry after eating an "appropriate" amount of them. Still being hungry after eating usually doesn't lead to good diet decisions on my part.

Edit: Even though they aren't technically nuts, I'm going to miss peanuts since baseball season has started back. I used to enjoy watching the game with a bag of roasted peanuts in the shell. (...and a beer or two)

 

[mkenyon]

The thing about nuts is that if you can hold off a little bit, it's almost like your stomach catches up to the denseness that was just introduced. I noticed if I have like ~200 calories of nuts, I might remain hungry for a few minutes afterwards, but it quickly goes away after that.

 

[Felix Lighter]

Oh yeah. They are certainly ridiculously calorie dense. I'm not trying to lose anymore weight but I'm trying to be careful not to start regaining. Gotta control that craving.

 

[mkenyon]

If you aren't gaining weight....

I generally listen to my body now that I'm kind of in maintenance mode. Still want to lose some fat, and am doing it really really slowly at this point. But, if my body thanks me or craves something nutritious like that, I do what it says.

I'm no dummy though, so if my body (or maybe my deep inner fatman) is telling me that a large pizza is what it needs, I call it a liar.

 

[Seanspeed]

I'm 5'10", I was about 215-220lbs too, so I know that feel bro. What's your eating looking like now? Chicken and veggies is great, but it's not very filling. One of the best things I've learned is eat so you're satiated, you're much more likely to over eat things if you're semi-hungry. Keep fresh veggies around for munching on if you need to eat, just to eat..even though that sounds like strange advice, most people who struggle with weight just for the hell of it, I know I did [and still do], just try and make sure there's good stuff around you in case you do get those urges.

After about my first week, my snacking, or 'eat cuz I'm bored' urges tend to get reduced a lot. And chicken and veggies actually do fill me up quite good. Moreso than a bunch of carby foods like sandwiches, subs, pizza or pasta or something, where I can eat a ton of it at once and then still feel hungry a couple hours later.

I also like to do the whole 'eat smaller meals frequently throughout the day thing'. I know that isn't actually proven to be better from a metabolism standpoint, but it does work for me in terms of keeping me from ever feeling starving. I dont usually ever let it get to that point. If I'm hungry, I'm going to eat something, unless its like right before I'm going to bed, in which case I deal with it.

@I treat nuts as 'treat' kind of snacks. Something to munch on if I'm in-between meals or just as a 'fuck it, this is good' sort of thing, but I dont ever eat more than a small handful. Not only are they really high in calories, but most store-bought nuts are usually cooked in vegetable oil, which I'm trying to cut back on too, even though its everywhere.

 

[OG Kush]

That's also called intermittent fasting, unless thatsthejoke.jpg.

Well isn't IF just eating the same as you noramlly would but only during a certain time period of the day. What the poster is saying is hes not eating the same amount, he's eaeting less!

 

[Wafflecakes]

Well isn't IF just eating the same as you noramlly would but only during a certain time period of the day. What the poster is saying is hes not eating the same amount, he's eaeting less!

Not really. IF only really works if you are running a calorie deficit as well. Which means that they probably did reduce caloric intake.

 

[MaximumFlipFlop]

Worked really hard this past month. I'll do my next weigh in on May 15th.

Combining Intermittent Fasting and Paleo has worked amazingly well.

 

[SeanR1221]

Worked really hard this past month. I'll do my next weigh in on May 15th.



Combining Intermittent Fasting and Paleo has worked amazingly well.

Awesome. Your post pushed me to look a little more into IF. I tried it before and kind of half assed it and stopped.

Now I read this

http://www.paleoplan.com/2012/05-03/intermittent-fasting-part-how-to-do-it/

Which kind of paints it in a different picture to me. I never knew a 12/12 options could work eat from 8am-8pm. I could easily do that. I think I'm gonna give it a try combined with strict paleo

 

[Rastafarian42]

WeightLossGaf I have a question, two weeks ago I was 304 ibs, until I started doing cardio and abdominal workouts. My cardio started at thirty minutes and I do four sets of twenty-five reps for my abdominals. After a week I increase it the cardio by five minutes and the reps by five. Now Im 290 ibs, and my main worry is I lose weight very quickly in the beginning until I hit a plateau. Anyhave tips on breaking the plateau ?

 

[MaximumFlipFlop]

Awesome. Your post pushed me to look a little more into IF. I tried it before and kind of half assed it and stopped.

Now I read this

http://www.paleoplan.com/2012/05-03/intermittent-fasting-part-how-to-do-it/

Which kind of paints it in a different picture to me. I never knew a 12/12 options could work eat from 8am-8pm. I could easily do that. I think I'm gonna give it a try combined with strict paleo

I try to make my eating period about 11am to 8pm. Works well. When I am really craving a late night snack I have a casein shake in water to satiate myself.

 

[Piecake]

WeightLossGaf I have a question, two weeks ago I was 304 ibs, until I started doing cardio and abdominal workouts. My cardio started at thirty minutes and I do four sets of twenty-five reps for my abdominals. After a week I increase it the cardio by five minutes and the reps by five. Now Im 290 ibs, and my main worry is I lose weight very quickly in the beginning until I hit a plateau. Anyhave tips on breaking the plateau ?

Change your diet. It has a bigger impact by far on your weight and body composition than exercise. Execise is mostly for health, not weight lose. The vast majority of people here will recommend some sort of paleo/primal diet. I would as well. Cut caloric drinks, cut sugar, and reduce grain (at least, most would recommend cutting it as well)

 

[Wafflecakes]

WeightLossGaf I have a question, two weeks ago I was 304 ibs, until I started doing cardio and abdominal workouts. My cardio started at thirty minutes and I do four sets of twenty-five reps for my abdominals. After a week I increase it the cardio by five minutes and the reps by five. Now Im 290 ibs, and my main worry is I lose weight very quickly in the beginning until I hit a plateau. Anyhave tips on breaking the plateau ?

Imo don't worry about the plateau until you hit it. Extra worrying for nothing imo. If you are eating at a calorie deficit you will lose weight eventually.

Personally I never even had a real plateau until I had lost over 100 lbs. It doesn't happen to everyone.

 

[Rastafarian42]

Imo don't worry about the plateau until you hit it. Extra worrying for nothing imo. If you are eating at a calorie deficit you will lose weight eventually.

Personally I never even had a real plateau until I had lost over 100 lbs. It doesn't happen to everyone.

Change your diet. It has a bigger impact by far on your weight and body composition than exercise. Execise is mostly for health, not weight lose. The vast majority of people here will recommend some sort of paleo/primal diet. I would as well. Cut caloric drinks, cut sugar, and reduce grain (at least, most would recommend cutting it as well)

I cut out fast food and haven't been drinking soda for years. I'd like specfics on the paleo/primal diet. Oh and I'll wait and see if I truly hit the plateau.

 

[Piecake]

I cut out fast food and haven't been drinking soda for years. I'd like specfics on the paleo/primal diet. Oh and I'll wait and see if I truly hit the plateau.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-101/#axzz2PY5zFwIL

thats a good site

But like i said, it all really boils down to eliminating sugar, grain, and processed foods. What do you eat? Mostly meat and veggies (fat is good). Fruit and dairy is fine if you can handle it or don't care if you lose weight a little slower than the pure meat/veggie guy

 

[MaximumFlipFlop]

For a good reference I bought myself a Paleo book. Kinda lame when everything's on the Internet but it is damn nice to have. Goes extremely in depth and has some cool recipes as well.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936608758/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[Le_Darck]

First time in this thread I've recently started a new diet and exercising as well, I'm currently at 242lbs after starting at 259lbs 5 weeks ago.

I used to be a couch potato, eating way too much sugar (coke/chocolate) and high calories foods but I'm really starting to dig that new way of being and thinking.

My current diet consists of:
- Low carb bread with peanut butter and a glass of juice for breakfast
- Homemade soup (Noodles, chicken, vegetables) and greek yogourt for lunch
- Meat (chicken most of the time) with vegetables for diner
- Lots of water!

I exercise 5 times a week, cardio only for 30 mins periods in order to stay focused on my training schedule (I tend to get bored if I train for longer periods of time).

Any tips or tricks on what do eat or how to exercise are welcomed.

 

[Piecake]

First time in this thread I've recently started a new diet and exercising as well, I'm currently at 242lbs after starting at 259lbs 5 weeks ago.

I used to be a couch potato, eating way too much sugar (coke/chocolate) and high calories foods but I'm really starting to dig that new way of being and thinking.

My current diet consists of:
- Low carb bread with peanut butter and a glass of juice for breakfast
- Homemade soup (Noodles, chicken, vegetables) and greek yogourt for lunch
- Meat (chicken most of the time) with vegetables for diner
- Lots of water!

I exercise 5 times a week, cardio only for 30 mins periods in order to stay focused on my training schedule (I tend to get bored if I train for longer periods of time).

Any tips or tricks on what do eat or how to exercise are welcomed.

Your breakfast kinda sucks. I'd eat the greek yogurt then and just have more meat and veggies for lunch. And weight training is more effective in terms of health and weight loss than cardio. Get squatin!

 

[MaximumFlipFlop]

Your breakfast kinda sucks. I'd eat the greek yogurt then and just have more meat and veggies for lunch. And weight training is more effective in terms of health and weight loss than cardio. Get squatin!

Do you have a link to that study about cardio? Sounds interesting.

 

[Deathmistress]

First time in this thread I've recently started a new diet and exercising as well, I'm currently at 242lbs after starting at 259lbs 5 weeks ago.

I used to be a couch potato, eating way too much sugar (coke/chocolate) and high calories foods but I'm really starting to dig that new way of being and thinking.

My current diet consists of:
- Low carb bread with peanut butter and a glass of juice for breakfast
- Homemade soup (Noodles, chicken, vegetables) and greek yogourt for lunch
- Meat (chicken most of the time) with vegetables for diner
- Lots of water!

I exercise 5 times a week, cardio only for 30 mins periods in order to stay focused on my training schedule (I tend to get bored if I train for longer periods of time).

Any tips or tricks on what do eat or how to exercise are welcomed.

You should visit the fitness thread, SS is amazing for losing weight and building a new, healthy lifestyle. "MyKitchen" is an app for iPhone that has a TON of paleo recipes that are great and easy to do. It never hurts to have new ideas as well as a solid food plan. Juice isn't actually good for you, fruit in general has a ton of sugar in it and fruit juice has additional sugar added.

 

[Horseticuffs]

First time in this thread I've recently started a new diet and exercising as well, I'm currently at 242lbs after starting at 259lbs 5 weeks ago.

I used to be a couch potato, eating way too much sugar (coke/chocolate) and high calories foods but I'm really starting to dig that new way of being and thinking.

My current diet consists of:
- Low carb bread with peanut butter and a glass of juice for breakfast
- Homemade soup (Noodles, chicken, vegetables) and greek yogourt for lunch
- Meat (chicken most of the time) with vegetables for diner
- Lots of water!

I exercise 5 times a week, cardio only for 30 mins periods in order to stay focused on my training schedule (I tend to get bored if I train for longer periods of time).

Any tips or tricks on what do eat or how to exercise are welcomed.

Hey, good job on starting! Right off the bat I'll suggest you keep off of the juice. All in all it's as bad as soda since it has (at least) all the sugar of a fruit with none of the fiber, which regulates how quickly sugars are absorbed by your system to my understanding.

Also juice is very calorie dense for a drink. Most folks here have completely eliminated any drinks that contain calories. Personally, I only drink black coffee, hot tea, water (Though I can't stand it) and, my personal vice, diet soda. A lot of folks here will recommend against diet soda since apparently it plays with the signals that your brain sends to your body about craving sweet things, but for me I found that I just couldn't hydrate properly without it as I'd never drink anything beyond my morning hot drinks.

Good luck to you

 

[Domino Theory]

Hoping any of you can help me out:

I'm at a crossroads with where I want to go in regards to my eating relative to my lifting routine.

I really want to get bigger muscularly, especially when I look at my arms and see how much a twig they are relative to the rest of my body so then I think "alrighty then, I'll do a slow, steady bulk!"

Immediately afterwards, I look at the remaining chunkiness and fat around my thighs, my lower waist, my chest, and my crotch and think "wait, no I won't bulk, I'll continue my cut!"

I then follow that up with "people say you should be 10% bf or below (I'm somewhere between 13-15% right now) before you start bulking so I'll keep cutting until I reach that!"

THEN I start thinking "but wait, there's plenty of bodybuilders and average lifters who have the same bf% as me and still shredded and muscularly huge bodies because of their extra lean mass compared to me, so I should slow bulk to be like them!"

I'm basically caught in this purgatory where I don't know where I should be heading. I want to have my six pack but I care just as much about being a swole dude. I don't know which to pursue first for my benefit and getting the whole "analysis by paralysis" isn't helping either.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Brolic Gaoler]

Hoping any of you can help me out:

I'm at a crossroads with where I want to go in regards to my eating relative to my lifting routine.

I really want to get bigger muscularly, especially when I look at my arms and see how much a twig they are relative to the rest of my body so then I think "alrighty then, I'll do a slow, steady bulk!"

Immediately afterwards, I look at the remaining chunkiness and fat around my thighs, my lower waist, my chest, and my crotch and think "wait, no I won't bulk, I'll continue my cut!"

I then follow that up with "people say you should be 10% bf or below (I'm somewhere between 13-15% right now) before you start bulking so I'll keep cutting until I reach that!"

THEN I start thinking "but wait, there's plenty of bodybuilders and average lifters who have the same bf% as me and still shredded and muscularly huge bodies because of their extra lean mass compared to me, so I should slow bulk to be like them!"

I'm basically caught in this purgatory where I don't know where I should be heading. I want to have my six pack but I care just as much about being a swole dude. I don't know which to pursue first for my benefit and getting the whole "analysis by paralysis" isn't helping either.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Pick a goal and stick with it. Worry less about what others think. You're only fucking yourself by not sticking to one goal until it's met and letting others dictate what you should be doing.

If you want to get big, get big. If you want to be skinny, continue the cut. Quit worrying about percentages unless that's what you really want to focus on.

Me, personally I'd rather be strong as fuck and happy with what's in the mirror than some arbitrary number/percentage.

 

[Seanspeed]

First time in this thread I've recently started a new diet and exercising as well, I'm currently at 242lbs after starting at 259lbs 5 weeks ago.

I used to be a couch potato, eating way too much sugar (coke/chocolate) and high calories foods but I'm really starting to dig that new way of being and thinking.

My current diet consists of:
- Low carb bread with peanut butter and a glass of juice for breakfast
- Homemade soup (Noodles, chicken, vegetables) and greek yogourt for lunch
- Meat (chicken most of the time) with vegetables for diner
- Lots of water!

I exercise 5 times a week, cardio only for 30 mins periods in order to stay focused on my training schedule (I tend to get bored if I train for longer periods of time).

Any tips or tricks on what do eat or how to exercise are welcomed.

Like others are saying - the fruit juice is no good. Eat an actual fruit instead if you really like fruits. Its still high in sugar, but dont fret about that for a breakfast item. If you're going to eat carbs, try and have them be good carbs and the earlier in the day, the better.

You should mix in weight training on certain days. It doesn't have to take up a lot of time, either. You can do just two or three compound exercises(like pushups/benchpress, squats, deadlifts, pullups/pullup trainer, etc) on these days and it'll make a big difference. It'll also help mix up your routine so there's more variety and new goals to strive for to keep the incentive going.

Hoping any of you can help me out:

I'm at a crossroads with where I want to go in regards to my eating relative to my lifting routine.

I really want to get bigger muscularly, especially when I look at my arms and see how much a twig they are relative to the rest of my body so then I think "alrighty then, I'll do a slow, steady bulk!"

Immediately afterwards, I look at the remaining chunkiness and fat around my thighs, my lower waist, my chest, and my crotch and think "wait, no I won't bulk, I'll continue my cut!"

I then follow that up with "people say you should be 10% bf or below (I'm somewhere between 13-15% right now) before you start bulking so I'll keep cutting until I reach that!"

THEN I start thinking "but wait, there's plenty of bodybuilders and average lifters who have the same bf% as me and still shredded and muscularly huge bodies because of their extra lean mass compared to me, so I should slow bulk to be like them!"

I'm basically caught in this purgatory where I don't know where I should be heading. I want to have my six pack but I care just as much about being a swole dude. I don't know which to pursue first for my benefit and getting the whole "analysis by paralysis" isn't helping either.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

First thing to do would be to lift for size. Decrease the weight you lift and go for more reps.

You could also increase your calorie intake just slightly. This depends on what you're eating now, but you can maybe try and eat closer to your maintenance level so your cut will slow down a bit, but still be there, and you'll be feeding yourself some extra 'size-gain' food. The success of this depends on your ability to put on size, though. For me, I can put size on easily. Others cant and need to eat a ton.

 

[MaximumFlipFlop]

Hoping any of you can help me out:

I'm at a crossroads with where I want to go in regards to my eating relative to my lifting routine.

I really want to get bigger muscularly, especially when I look at my arms and see how much a twig they are relative to the rest of my body so then I think "alrighty then, I'll do a slow, steady bulk!"

Immediately afterwards, I look at the remaining chunkiness and fat around my thighs, my lower waist, my chest, and my crotch and think "wait, no I won't bulk, I'll continue my cut!"

I then follow that up with "people say you should be 10% bf or below (I'm somewhere between 13-15% right now) before you start bulking so I'll keep cutting until I reach that!"

THEN I start thinking "but wait, there's plenty of bodybuilders and average lifters who have the same bf% as me and still shredded and muscularly huge bodies because of their extra lean mass compared to me, so I should slow bulk to be like them!"

I'm basically caught in this purgatory where I don't know where I should be heading. I want to have my six pack but I care just as much about being a swole dude. I don't know which to pursue first for my benefit and getting the whole "analysis by paralysis" isn't helping either.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I was in the exact same boat as you. I decided I would get lean and cut, then once I am happy with that physique, I will do a very slow bulk. I figured if I don't cut the fat now I probably never will.

I'm dedicated to cutting right now and this is what I've accomplished in about 5 weeks.

http://i2.minus.com/i7WoPwyvOmegf.jpg

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

I only drink black coffee, hot tea, water (Though I can't stand it) and, my personal vice, diet soda.

Oh man, why? Its a vice worth trying to drop (which I'm sure you have tried at some point). There are growing number of studies showing a link between diet soda and diabetes. Just weight loss wise, it has a known negative effect on metabolism. Everything in it is garbage. I'm sure you've heard this before, just a reminder as you'll be better off long term and with your weightloss goals once you drop that shit.

 

[mkenyon]

How can you not stand water? That's like hating to breathe clean air.

 

[MentallyCritical]

How can you not stand water? That's like hating to breathe clean air.

Well if there where an alternative to clean air I bet people would flock to it.(well smoking is kinda like that i guess.)