From 32'' waist to 38'' waist!

[homerj742]

Damn, the last 2-3 months my waist has ballooned up. I've been squeezing into my 32 or 34 inch pants, but I finally broke down and had to buy new pants.

When I tried them on before buying, and I noticed that 36 inch waist STILL felt too tight! So I went with the 38's.

Before SS
5''10 154lbs 32'' pants

During SS
5''10 204lbs 38'' pants (still a bit tight around the thighs and ass).

I did a bodyfat test out of curiosity (measured neck and waist), turns out I'm up to 22%.

Suggestions on how to clean up diet and still make progress?

my mom and sis are calling me a lard ass, help me out guys! lol.

[milesdyson]

weird that you were able to squeeze into 32" pants but actually needed 38" pants. i can squeeze into large 36" pants but wear the same brand in 38" comfortably. if i were to try other brands, i'd need 40" as my waist is around 39".

i am only 2-3 inches taller than you and weigh 50lb more, btw. so you must have a pretty big gut to be measured 38" at that weight and bodyfat. i'd hope that your lifts have skyrocketed eating at a big surplus over the last 3 months, but i have to wonder.

[Eanderson]

I'll just parrot what I've heard here and on bodyrecomposition.com.

Find out how many calories is your maintenance (14-15 per lb of bodyweight), eat at least 500 per day less than that.

Make sure you're eating around 200g of protein.

Maintain the intensity (% of 1rm) with your lifting, but you may have to reduce the volume (frequency of sets and reps and days) by up to 2/3rds.

That should do it.

[metermanja]

homer , you and msingh will make a fine pair.

seriously, discussed to death. search for all threads started by msingh.

[IWillLiveFreeOrDie]

Damn, you put on 50 pounds! That's one hell of an accomplishment. I wouldn't worry about the waist size unless you are done growing. If you are done you could drop a few inches off in a couple of weeks.

If you want to cut make sure you still get at least 200 grams of protein. You probably still need 3000-3500 calories a day if you still want to make progress.

[Mr.City]

What's your diet and your lifts been like?

[homerj742]

Thanks Dudes.

I guess I should've posted my weights, nothing fantastic, but I've made progress:

Squat - 135 -> 285 3x5
Bench - 95 -> 200 3x5
Dead - 200 -> 345 3x5
Press - 65 -> 135 3x5

And yes, my gut has gotten quite big!

My diet has been GOMAD + see-food diet.

The hell with msingh!

[Mr.City]

And now the diet info

[homerj742]

GOMAD + see-food lol

I've just been eating a lot whether it's my wife's homemade chili, or my grilled chicken, bacon/eggs/toast, milk shakes, homemade burgers, cereal, McDonalds or Wendy's 2x's a week. And chinese buffets two times a month.

[Mr.City]

Welp, I think we found your problem. You hit big man status, so no need to continue like a little man trying to become a big man. Time to reign it in.

[homerj742]

Welp, I think we found your problem. You hit big man status, so no need to continue like a little man trying to become a big man. Time to reign it in.

You are correct sir. I just got so used to eating like this for the past few months.

[banthafodder]

I'm in roughly the same situation as the OP, body growth-wise (though I started a little fatter, so I haven't gained as many absolute pounds). It can be tough to go up in pants sizes so drastically, but it's really worth sticking it out until the novice progression is completely finished. At worst you've got, what, one to three more months of this, and then you can drop the fat? You've come this far; take it all the way!

I've tried the Rapid Fat Loss thing a couple of times when I'd put on more fat than I thought I should, and every time, I end up after the fact thinking that I should've just kept up the gains and deferred the fat loss until later.

It is nice knowing that the really hard part is the heavy squats. I know I can take the fat off pretty darn easily compared to that.

[LondonTiger]

I'm in roughly the same situation as the OP, body growth-wise (though I started a little fatter, so I haven't gained as many absolute pounds). It can be tough to go up in pants sizes so drastically, but it's really worth sticking it out until the novice progression is completely finished. At worst you've got, what, one to three more months of this, and then you can drop the fat? You've come this far; take it all the way!

I've tried the Rapid Fat Loss thing a couple of times when I'd put on more fat than I thought I should, and every time, I end up after the fact thinking that I should've just kept up the gains and deferred the fat loss until later.

It is nice knowing that the really hard part is the heavy squats. I know I can take the fat off pretty darn easily compared to that.

whats the point, you're going to spend 3 months cutting off the fat, you'll also lose muscle and go down on your lifts, why not just diet smartly and not put on all that lard in t6he first place??

[Mr.City]

If you're a dumbfuck about your diet, then it'll be a constant back and forth. Then again, I bet you're one of those fellas who likes to "clean bulk."

[gzt]

whats the point, you're going to spend 3 months cutting off the fat, you'll also lose muscle and go down on your lifts, why not just diet smartly and not put on all that lard in t6he first place??
With some rack pulls, this never would have even been a question in the first place.

[banthafodder]

whats the point, you're going to spend 3 months cutting off the fat, you'll also lose muscle and go down on your lifts, why not just diet smartly and not put on all that lard in t6he first place??

I'd agree, except it doesn't take 3 months to lose the fat you gain on SS. A month. Maybe two. That's nothing compared to lifting hard for 6-12 months, and you end up much stronger than if you try to limit your weight gain to "as close to 100% lean mass as possible" or "whatever it takes to keep my abs" or something similar for those same 8-14 months.

I'm the first person to complain about how fat I am (well, not so much complain as just acknowledge), and pretty much everybody ends up going, "oh, I'm sooo sure," and disagreeing with me because the overall effect of the strength training is still a net positive, appearance-wise. Just wait until I grow some more, then get lean!

The point is, to get strong, don't obsess over temporary stuff like being fatter than you think is ideal for a couple of months. It's just Not A Big Deal™ in the scheme of things. Just tell people you're lifting heavy and eating a lot, so you're fatter than you should be, but it's not time to get lean yet. You reach your end goals faster this way, so even if it's difficult to lose teh abz for vanity reasons, you still end up looking better, sooner.

It's not a difficult concept to grasp, to be sure. It does, however, take a fair amount of mental strength to stick to it if you have body image issues. Don't underestimate that part of it, but take that insecurity and channel it into squatting and eating, and you'll reach your leaning out phase all the sooner.

[drlvegas]

my mom and sis are calling me a lard ass, help me out guys! lol.

Earplugs

[Mr.City]

What the fuck is up with all this nutritional brouhaha lately?

[gzt]

Look, guys: http://www.irongarmx.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=461626#p461626
Cake mix and half-and-half. Nutrition is for chumps.

[mcsquared]

What the fuck is up with all this nutritional brouhaha lately?

Dunno, people are freaking cause they're getting bigger and they're not used to being this size? I went from skinny dude to normal size and because of job-related qualifications, I gotta make sure I keep my waist in line so to speak. It takes time to get used to the whole "I'm bigger than I used to be" mindset.

There's a huge cultural emphasis on being skinny and not "big." Its natural that people feel conflicted. We are the insurgents against a cultural mindset that is viewed (On this board) as erroneous. Just gotta make sure that we supply prudent information so people are well-informed and can make good decisions.

[ZKP]

Just be conscious of excess, useless calories, i.e. anything not protein. Everyone grapples with this issue once you start hitting an appropriate weight. Worry about getting stronger for now, and dont eat as much sugar and flour. Not that there's anything inherantly evil about sugar or flour, it's just cutting them is an easy way to avoid empty cal's. Really focus on protein. It'll clear itself up in time...make it your lifes goal for now to add 100 lbs in your squat and DL, and don't buy anymore larger pants. You need to be a huge motherfucker to justify bigger than a 40. Also look into buying relaxed/carpenter fit jeans. You'll find a more acomidating cut will fit the thighs better, and hopefully some of that weight is there, and not just the stomach. Also use your new strength. Chop wood, if you're a sad bastard like me and it's freezing fucking cold outside. Hike, etc.. move around, get a job at a foundry...If it's warm where you are, then...whatever. The best way to lose fat is to not give your body a reason or chance to store it. Good luck.

[homerj742]

ZKP,

Thanks for the useful advice. Right now my linear progression is more important than my waist size/gut size. My plan was just to clean up the diet a little, and what you've said makes perfect sense. I no longer need to be gorging on 5000cals of anything.

[misspelledgeoff]

I don't think a guy with a 110kg 1RM squat is in any position to be dolling out advice on the nutrition required for increasing strength.


whats the point, you're going to spend 3 months cutting off the fat, you'll also lose muscle and go down on your lifts, why not just diet smartly and not put on all that lard in t6he first place??

[gzt]

I don't think a guy with a 110kg 1RM squat is in any position to be dolling out advice on the nutrition required for increasing strength.
But how much can he rack pull?

[homerj742]

lol you guys are rediculous!

[cjangelo]

You're married, what the fuck do you care if you're fat?

[Mr.City]

Got to stay trim for the affair

[Chewie_jrc]

whats the point, you're going to spend 3 months cutting off the fat, you'll also lose muscle and go down on your lifts, why not just diet smartly and not put on all that lard in t6he first place??

Good point. He should instead implement rack pulls and go out to the clubs and get chicks with mustaches. The fat will melt right off and he will get hyoooge.

[Abraham Vandiver]

Got to stay trim for the affair

My thoughts exactly:

What's the point in being the man if you're limited to one woman?

[milesdyson]

Thanks Dudes.

I guess I should've posted my weights, nothing fantastic, but I've made progress:

Squat - 135 -> 285 3x5
Bench - 95 -> 200 3x5
Dead - 200 -> 345 3x5
Press - 65 -> 135 3x5

And yes, my gut has gotten quite big!
so my problem is how much of these gains could have been seen without the surplus? i'm guessing that if you had stayed at around 160, you could have gotten almost this strong. now it's one thing if you have a competent coach there pushing you to the limit every day to take advantage of a surplus, but typically people proceed much slower on their own than when coached.

i personally went 6 weeks on SS before realizing i wasn't low bar squatting, at which point i dropped some weight and worked back up. i then still squatted with sliding knees for months until i suffered from some bad patellar pain that sent me back down again. it wasn't until ~6 months in that i had good enough squat form to progress well and stay uninjured. i imagine it would have taken maybe 10% of that time with a coach watching me every day. luckily, i wasn't skinny to begin with so i wasn't trying to gain weight.

[milesdyson]

though i did "accidentally" gain about 25lb.

[homerj742]

so my problem is how much of these gains could have been seen without the surplus? i'm guessing that if you had stayed at around 160, you could have gotten almost this strong. now it's one thing if you have a competent coach there pushing you to the limit every day to take advantage of a surplus, but typically people proceed much slower on their own than when coached.

i personally went 6 weeks on SS before realizing i wasn't low bar squatting, at which point i dropped some weight and worked back up. i then still squatted with sliding knees for months until i suffered from some bad patellar pain that sent me back down again. it wasn't until ~6 months in that i had good enough squat form to progress well and stay uninjured. i imagine it would have taken maybe 10% of that time with a coach watching me every day. luckily, i wasn't skinny to begin with so i wasn't trying to gain weight.

You're probably right. Now I have to pay the price!