112lbs 4’11, 28% body fat don’t know If I should bulk cut or recomp

[jessicaz0218]

For context I’ve been lifting for a year now and while my weight has stayed relatively the same I definetly gained a lot of strength and definition in my arms and leg but none in my midscection. I bought a smart scale and since July it says my body fat stayed around 28 %

Which seems weird because I pretty much doubled the weight I can lift in most exercices.

I want to get some definition in my abs and overall get stronger but I’m not sure of what to do.

I’m not the one preparing most of my meals as I still live at my parents’ house so I can only track so much.

I feel like I’m too heavy to be bulking, but I don’t want a cut to result in a loss of strength ( Especially since my maintenance is around 1800 kcal and I know that eating 1400 kcal or something Will make me more tired)

So I thought body recomp it is right?

Except I kinda feel like I already did it in a way, I mean I didn’t have a scale back then but I can wear again the same pants as when I was a 100 pounds (except it’s a bit tight around my thighs).

So I don’t know what I should do, lift more? I already track my protein, I’m just not sure of what to do.

 

[dreynar]

@jessicaz0218 I'm 5'2, around 123 lbs, 30% BF (according to my bullshit scale heh). I'm in the same place as you. I decided to cut for now just to see how it goes, because up to this point I've been mostly main-gaining, but so far was unsuccessful with maintaining my high deficit (but at least I didn't gain major weight and my lifts somewhat progressed). From this week I've restarted my cut, eat around 1300 kcals, will see how it goes (my plan is to cut for 8 to 12 weeks)

My takeaways so far are:

-- home BF scales are good with showing general trends and can help a lot of people go from obese/overweight to "normal", but if you're short female who tries to go down from 30% to, say, 27% -- they won't help you much.

-- being 22-25% as I like to be is probably unrealistic for me, I'll be miserable and tired getting there, and I won't be able to sustain this % of leanness. Unlest I, like, cycle ana or something. Being 28-30% while continuing to improve my lifts, feeling great, seeing more muscle definition is not so bad.

That's my 5 cents, OP

 

[meteorstorm]

@jessicaz0218 I’m the same height and same weight as you but I believe I’m around 20-22%. Unfortunately for us short girls to maintain at this weight with a recomp requires incredibly hard work. I only managed to get to this stage through years of Muay Thai and lifting. I added in pole dance last year that nailed me a 6 pack recently(but it’s not there all the time unless in good light and after a pump). Lifting alone wasn’t enough to get me abs I figured. Other sports needed to come into play as well to really drill the core area. For me it was the HIIT from Muay thai and also additional cardio and strength work from pole. The process definitely took way longer than a year, however I wasn’t too concerned about aesthetic since I’m more performance based person.

Only other way is to lean out by cutting. Bulking will only make you gain more fat.

 

[jessicaz0218]

@meteorstorm I’m definitely a more performance too in the way that I wouldn’t sacrifice strength for aesthetic, your body is def goal and it looks like you carry fat in a similar way as I do so it’s very encouraging to know it’s possible even if it’ll take years! I’m going to start climbing again soon so I hope that’ll fill this gap

 

[lydiar04]

@jessicaz0218 The BF scales are very inaccurate, please don’t use them to make decisions. Take measurements and go by what you can see in pictures and how your clothes feel.

 

[jessicaz0218]

@lydiar04 Well both measurements and clothes have remained pretty much the same since July :,D

 

[lydiar04]

@jessicaz0218 Ah, bummer. I don’t think you should bulk, especially if your goal is ab definition. Sadly, ab definition is less a result of training core, and more a result of low body fat. Would you consider going down to 1650 calories a day? But hold steady at the protein. That would be a moderate cut that won’t affect your performance (as long as you keep training consistently) but will slowly shave off some extra BF to get those abs showing.

For reference, I’m 5’4” 127 lbs. I eat 1700/day. I train heavy 3 days a week, run 3 days a week, and have visible V lines and side lines on my abs (not a six pack, but it’s something).

 

[garnett64]

@jessicaz0218 For me, what helps trim me down is incorporating steady state cardio like walking (especially incline) or getting on a stationary bike and watching a show or something. I love lifting heavy but I need that extra little bit of cardio to see any change in my midsection.

I’m actually trying to increase my TDEE and eat more, but it’s a slow process. Just focusing on tracking, hitting my macros, and making sure I have energy and power for my workouts.