My Long-Term Plan | Your Advice, Please

[DoubleJ]

2017 was a big success for me - i dropped 36lbs following Jordans' nutritional advice, and got stronger using Alan Thrall's Beginner's Programme and then Bridge v2.0

So - first off - a big Thank You to everyone in the BBM community for your advice and support - really appreciated!

This year i know i need to continue to reduce my body fat, but at some point i'm expecting to be able to switch from a caloric deficit to a caloric surplus, and train purely for strength GainzZz without being recovery-compromised any longer

My question is: when and how do i transition from one to the other? For example, the NHS recommends that at 5' 10" i should weigh 79kg. Should i grind my way down to that weight first? And i'm assuming that i should not just switch from 2200 cals/per day to (say) 3200 cals/day overnight right?

Thanks in advance!

[Leah Lutz]

When you're ready to gain weight, you will increase your macros, adjusting your carbs and fat, just as you would for weight loss-adding 10-30g C and/or 4-10g F every adjustment. You'd keep an eye on your waist measurement as you do this, making sure you're not adding inches too quickly. You will add weight and size as you move to a caloric surplus, so the idea is to keep it gradual. As to when you make this adjustment from losing to gaining, we don't know. Don't have enough info here, but as someone who trains, I would probably not have you get all the way down to 79, unless there are some other reasons to see that happen.

[DoubleJ]

...Don't have enough info here...

Thanks Leah!

What other info do you need?

[Leah Lutz]

Thanks Leah!

What other info do you need?

Well determining NOW when you will be done leaning out and at what point your should reverse is a bit tough to know, right? I don't know your goals, your body comp and waist, I don't know how important strength vs leaning out is...I do know that at 5'10", 79kg or 174 lbs is what I'd consider too small, unless you have some reason I don't know about to get down to that size. For reference, I'm 6 inches shorter and often hang out about 160-163lbs. :-)

[DoubleJ]

Hi Leah,

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

Me: 56yo Male
My goals: To be a healthier, fitter, happier version of me
Body Comp: Total Weight: 86.4 kg, BF %age: ~27 by bioelectrical impedance (so not super-accurate)
Waist: 40" at the umbilicus
Strength vs Leaning Out: i'm advised by my GP that i need to get my "weight" down, as my last blood test showed raised cholesterol so keen to reduce my risk of [insert all the nasty things you can think of here]
FYI the NHS (that's National Heath Service - i live in the UK) BMI calculator recommends that for my age and height, my healthy body weight range should be 58.5kg to 79.3kg, so that's where that number comes from. If it's bogus, then let me know what i should be aiming for, but currently that's the only info i have

I am keen to lose some more bodyfat, as i'm not yet happy with the way i look, but i am also really excited about all the positive changes i've noticed since starting barbell training, and i want some more of that too

i hope that sums things up, but let me know if you need any more info

Thanks so much, Leah!
m

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

You need to lose body fat now, yes, and a calorie deficit is a way to go to help with that and your cholesterol (to the degree it can be managed dietarily).