Is my obsession with getting 'lean' holding me back?

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
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Hey Jordan

I’m 27m, 190cm, 95.8kg with a 80.5cm waist.

I have struggled for many years with how I look, particularly around feeling ‘too fat’, despite actually being fairly jacked (IMO). I often go through very extreme bulking and cutting cycles: over the years going from as high as 109kg to as low as 84kg.

I’ve been on an aggressive cut for the last 3 weeks or so, and today decided to measure my waist based on the advice in your waist measuring YT video. I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome: it made me think that surely it’s highly unlikely I’m carrying too much excess fat with a WC that small.

I tend to hold the majority of my fat around my hips, and even when I was at 84kg with ab veins, the fat around that area was still something that really bothered me.

Anyway… I want to really push myself in terms of getting jacked. I think I look good, but being tall and lanky, I think I have much more potential to grow than I give myself credit for. Do you recommend I bulk given my stats?

I tend to get in my own head a lot when bulking, convincing myself I’m doing it wrong and am just getting unnecessarily fat… I’d be lying if I said this new movement of “you shouldn’t bulk to gain muscle” on social media doesn’t contribute to those beliefs.

What cut-off points do you have for someone who is bulking?

Thanks for your time as always

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If you want to be more muscular, I think a slow and steady increase in bodyweight is a good idea. It’s also likely to work better than explicitly maintaining weight, though I’m not sure that’s what the “you shouldn’t bulk to gain muscle” crowd actually means. Hard to pin the specifics of this approach down.

Cut points for bulking I typically use for men are:

  • BMI should stay under 30
  • WC should stay under ~ 35"
  • No evidence of adiposity-related disease, e.g. elevated blood pressure, lipids (if monitored), etc.
  • An issue that prevents training would also be a reason to avoid intentional weight gain, along with personal preferences.
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