transitioning between a cut and a bulk

[thajeepster]

Ive been ona cut for a while now, low cal low carb, not really a cut because ive been underfeeding, but i would like to start bulking up for winter. Should i just go ahead and increase my cals immediately and start eating all the foods i kept from myself before, or should i slow my self into it. Im partially wondering because im getting deployed and dont think i will be able to eat the way i was after this weekend. Will this give me a big shock and make me gain weight quickly, i suppose id balance out eventually.

Id appreciate any input, im 5-10 150lbs with a daily intake of around 1600 cals in a 20/30/50 f/c/p macro.

thanks in advance.

 

[Jodi]

It all depends on the person. Some people can make that increase and be fine but unfortunately most cannot and it shocks your body and most gain too quickly. It's better to increase cals slowly.

 

[Tha Don]

increase carbs real slow, that is my advice from personal experience, the slower the better (in terms of keeping the fat off)

 

[thajeepster]

the only problem with the slow approach is:

Im a marine who is used to preparing and meticulously weighing my own food. Im going to be stationed on a ship where my choices are very limited, So this kind of sucks. I suppose i should just supplement with a powder.

But real food is so much better and more filling, im gonna miss it.

 

[cletis20]

yep I had to learn that the hard way too. I would recommend eating at maintenance for a couple of weeks before you start to bulk. The mistake I recently made transitioning from cut to bulk was that I overestimated how many calories I needed to gain weight. After youve dieted for a while your metabalism will slow down so what WAS your maintenence caloric intake might be all you need to make gains now.

 

[CowPimp]

I increased gradually, but maybe quicker than some during my transition. While cutting I was eating ~2300 calories per day. For one week I ate 2800 calories per day. The next several days I eat 3200 calories. Then I jumped up to 3700 where I'm staying for now. Some days I eat more (A little over 4K), but I stayed purely at 3700 for a little bit.