So /fit/ as a skinny fat should I bulk or cut first ?

Depends how fat you are. What is your %.

>>38056463
Bulk. Unless you're actually fat you never really should cut until you have gains to show off. If you're skinnyfat your body will redistribute everything as you lift so don't worry.

>>38056508
About 19-21%

>>38056594
That is pushing it a bit. I stopped lifting for three years and ate whatever i wanted so i was about 22% and when i started training again i bulked for a year and put on another 3% and i felt disgusted with myself and i need to cut for about five months which sucks.

>>38056662
So, I should cut first ?

>>38056696
You should lift first

>>38056696
If you cut and have no muscle you will look worse than if you were fat. Lift heavy and bulk until you can't look at yourself any more. Then once you have a good frame you can cut.

>>38056704
I already started

Just lift, you'll get newbie gains anyways and be able to tell better in a few months what to do.

>>38056737
Awesome keep at it for like 3-6 months then take a look at where you're at and whether you need to bulk or cut from there

>>38056463
You should always lift on a calorie deficit.
You'll make noticeable muscle gains while still losing fat, you'll feel better about your appearance as you move away from pear and apple shape towards looking like a man.
If you bulk first you're just going to get bigger, not just muscle wise, but that gut and man boobs will stay proportionally bigger also.
You'll look like utter shit and no amount of lifting can make it look better.
Once you think you're reasonably attractive (body wise), make the choice to bulk or cut further.

>>38056764
(not OP here)
What if I don't give a shit about my looks during bulking, as long as I can get stronger and build bigger muscles much faster due to high calorie intake? After bulking right from the start for some time and gaining like 10-15 kg, I could cut down and that would result in a decent physique as well, right?

lift weights at a deficit of course.

>>38056748
shitty advice

If you aren't bulking or cutting you aren't making real progress.

>>38056463
Cut. Since you're a beginner you can build muscle and lose fat at the same time.

>>38057234
If you're already fat and making yourself fatter there will be consequences.
If you don't care about looks i'll skip over the stretch marks, blotches, etc.
The lower your body fat the higher your testosterone, there is a golden ration around 14-16% body fat for optimal health also. Your body needs fat and when you're athletic you're prone to a much more efficient cycle of storing and using body fat (especially if ingesting certain saturated fats, see citations). Once you reach above 20% body fat you have a tendency to lose all the benefits (if any still existed) of storing fat.
You can create a bulk and cut cycle without ever leaving this golden ratio, it requires strict control of your macros and leads to optimal gains. Also because your general body fat is lower, your cut seasons are shorter, meaning you can do mini bulking cycles.
I stay around 15% I just reached my cut weight goal (14% body fat) and now I can bulk 20lbs, repeat short cut process, repeat short bulk.
If you care little about appearance do what you think is best for you, but just be careful if you're going to bulk. It's very easy to go into perma bulk mode and be flat our obese. Justifying it because you can lift some weights.

http://www.smart-publications.com/articles/medium-chain-triglycerides-mcts-the-fat-that-makes-you-lose-fat
http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/

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970KB, 1440x2560px

>>38057385
You're making some decent points there. I'll rethink my strategy then. I've been running regularly since February, got to sub-25min 5K and 50min 10K, but I stopped when I signed up for a gym. I'm doing pull-push-legs split right now after one month of SS. I feel much better doing PPL than SS, and I will stick with it for at least 6 months.

Have a pic of me from last week, I don't have tape measure right now to gauge my BF% levels, but I'm 82kg@183cm, which would be 180lbs@6feet in burger terms. I was 77kg (169lbs) about a month ago.

>>38057458
I will mention if you're doing a program, don't deviate too much from it.

There are a lot of good programs, that even if I don't agree with their nutritional ideology on bulking, have worked for a good number of Anons. If you're not ready to put in the effort for counting every macro and tracking your diet strictly. Please don't listen to a word I say.
It will cause you tons of pain.

>>38057502
The longest I've managed to count calories was a month. I've been dabbling in calorie counting since beginning of this year, but those were mostly 1-3 week long "binges". I was on a 2000 kcal diet, 500 kcal deficit. If I put my mind to it, I can drop alcohol, sweets etc. for a few weeks but I usually break and stop counting/caring. It's mostly because of my friends, either I go to drink with them too often, or I don't go out so I finally cave in and drink alone. Alcohol is the bane of my existence.

>>38056463
Cut while lifting as others said. You're lifting weights to get stronger and look better right? You can get stronger and get closer to how you feel you should look like instead of getting stronger and having people say to you "gee anon i thought you worked out".

When when your lifts stall or even drop it's very motivating to see your waist line get trimmer. You're not going to look like a hungry skelly when you're cutting because you're lifting and will grow something that resembles delts & traps while cutting.

>>38056733
not true. skinny looks better than fat

>>38057535
You can get away with drinking hard liquor and diet soda mixes. That's what I do and I've lost about 25lbs since may.

>>38056463
If what you want is aesthetics: Cut. Think about this. Who looks better, a skinny dude with abs and some muscle definition (remember you get noob gains on a cut too if you eat enough protein) or a fat dude with muscle? Other question, what do you think is harder? Bulking slightly above maintenance for however long you want or cutting at 500 deficit for a fucking long time probably almost half a year, which is what you'd have to do if you started bulking while skinnyfat and end up with 25-30% bf.

I'll do you a favor, OP

cut

You NEVER want to be above 15% bodyfat, your face will go to shit, and you will look like a chubby piece of shit

Cut to 12 while lifting on a 500 deficit, then bulk with a 500 surplus

Just understand that nothing turns a girl off more than a moon faced chubby faggot

>>38056740
>>38056463

This.

Lifting isn't an unending cycle of cutting or bulking.

Just fucking lift and eat as normal, with perhaps some more protein than usual. Stay away from sweets and soda. Your body will become what you make it.

>>38060884
If he can handle a bigger deficit I'd say cut harder.

You aren't going to build any real muscle anyway so get to <15% bf as fast as possible and then slow bulk.

>>38057247
>shitty advice
>gives shittier advice

>>38056696
Yea cut nad lift

>>38057535
>Alcohol is the bane of my existence.

Once you quit (COMPLETELY), you'll realize that alcohol is at the root of a lot of little problems that prevent you from achieving your goals.

Excess calories
Taxed liver and pancreas
Poor sleep
Hormonal imbalances
Less motivation (esp after one drink, you just dont give a fuck)

It all leads up to not having the energy you need, and having abysmal progress, which demotivates.

OP, you have a wine-body. You look like shit. You are probably depressed about it, and when you drink you dont care anymore, right?

Well get past it. Get rid of the alc in your house. Start doing enough things during the day to get too tired to go sit at the bar... pass out and sleep instead.

Find a way to deal with your problems that doesn't use alcohol...because alc might blunt some discomfort temporarily, but it brings in a bunch of other problems that cause more kinds of discomfort.

Don't make silly rules like "I can only drink this drink, or when I'm doing that, or only this many...those are all the biggest lies ever, and they don't work for anyone who is serious about quitting ever.

Just believe me... EVERYTHING in your life will improve within a week of quitting entirely.

Good luck.

Oh, and yeah, you need to be jogging 3X a week breh. Cut. Even with no more muscle than you have, you'd look 200X better if you had a <32" waistline.

>>38056704
Lifting and diet are separate things you fuckin mongoloid