Help with bulking/cutting

Hey
 
I posted this topic and didnt get an answer so i will try here. I am 5'6" and weigh 51kg or ~112lbs. I had my boyfriend work out my bf% and he said it was at 22%. What im trying to do is put on a bit of muscle on my shoulders and arms and lose the fat from my thighs and butt. I have been working out 5 times a week, 3 days weights +15 min high intensity cardio, and 2 days a week moderate intensity cardio for 40 min + ab workout. My muscle gain has been satisfactory but my fat loss has been very slow. I am unsure if i should continue this program or start cycling (bulking/cutting). If i do cycle, how long should i do each phase for so i gain the minimal amount of fat. I want to get to about 17% bf (for now..). Any suggestions?
 
Any advice would be really appreciated

tell me what you eat in a day!  I bet we can find something there that needs tweaking.
What is your weight workout......I can help with these tools for sure!
Linda

Come Visit my websites! www.figureteam.com www.lindacusmano.com www.bodyrushpersonaltraining.com

Hey! thankyou so much for replying... i really need help.
 
Well i started out just eating healthy with the odd 'bad' food but now im becoming more strict. Yesterday i ate:
1) oatmeal with rice milk (im allergic to milk)
2) two egg whites and a small salad
3) Half a chicken breast with cumin seasoning and some sweet potato
4) Ham sandwich (wholegrain bread) with a small amount of mustard
5) stuffed eggplant with mince and maroccan seaoning (i know its not the best but i had to try it last night.lol)
6) half a chicken breast and some brocoli. Also had a cup of tea with 2 sugars.
 
I know my diet isnt perfect.. im finding it really hard to know what to eat. I also do get a sweet tooth at night and sometimes crave chocolate which does get the best of me at times.
 
My workout routine is as follows:
Mon - 30-45 min moderate intensity cardio - bike and abdominal workout
Tues - Legs:45 leg press, squats, leg extention, lying leg curls, standing calf raises (superset) and 15 min cardio (high intensity)
Wed - off
Thurs - Back and Biceps: Lat pulldowns, seated cable row, incline bicep curls, cable bicep curls, upright rows and 15 min cardio (high intensity)
Friday - (same as monday)
Sat - Chest shoulders and triceps: Incline smith bench press, Peck deck, chest press, seated shoulder press, uright rows, cable pushdowns, seated tricep extension and 15 min cardio (high intensity)
Sun - off or play sport
 
I have just heard people say that you need to bulk before you can cut, but i am worried that i will gain too much fat while bulking.
 
Thanks
 
 

So is everything in order or have i been really misguided?
 
I just dont know what to do... should i continue this program or start to cycle. I really want to reduce my fat percentage but i kno that it will be incredibly hard without putting on a but of muscle.... so any suggestions?

bump

ok, well because Lynx is away i was hoping to get some answers from u guys so this is my last try...
 
bump

hi puppette..............linda is really very helpful .im sure she hasnt seen the post of your diet yet or she would have responded............Tam

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/womanwonder/

pupette, your weight routine looks pretty good i guess, but i have no idea what a female routine should look like, although it does look very well planed out, what rep range are you using? also the other important thing you need to do is cut out the chocolate, 1 nights worth of chocolate could ruin a few days hardwork. and with the amount of cardio you are doing i dont see why your not losing weight more consistently.
GL

215 lbs
5'10''

hey
 
i do 3 sets of 8-12 reps
 
I find myself really enjoying weights but disliking the cardio. I think i just need to get over that and ill push myself more - plus i have started to play squash every sunday which is pretty casual but i like it and it gets my heart going. I have recently stopped eating all sugar.. except for a teaspoon of honey in my oatmeal.
 
Thanks guys!!

Just a quick reaction, stay away from the piggy. If my understanding is correct pork has a bad fat to protien ratio (oh how tasty a ratio it is).
 
 I used to be very fat and my BFI is not still where I want it to be, It is close though. While I have casually (just making better more healthy food choices)  managed to loose possibly 90lbs over a long period of time.
 
 I recently came to terms with the fact that I need to (I think at least for a little while you need to) calculate exactly what your caloric needs are, (go to Mark's caloric calculaor post, I don't have the time to link it) Then break your calories up into how many fat, protien, and carbs you need, and keep track of exactly what your taking in. I think you'll be surprised as to how many calorries your taking in, and how off from a good ratio you might be.
 
Now I am and will always be a foodie, this eating plan is killing my pallet (not killing but boy is it upset with me right now). But it is very easy to figure out what I can eat for dinner when for example  at the end of the day I am left with 11 g fat , 45 g protien and 4 g carbs to make dinner with.  It becomes a game of what ingrediants I have in the kichen, and how can I combine them in a way that is tasty with out blowing my daily totals.
 
hope that helps

I have refined my diet.
I eat oatmeal for breakfast, a tuna and lettuice sandwich (no butter, wholemeal bread) for meal 2, meal 3 is half or 1/3 of a grilled chicken breast plust some salad, meal 4 is usually something like chicken (same size portion as before) and a bit of sweet potato and meal 5 is grilled fish with brocoli and sweet potato.
 
I do have to see how many calories i eat a day. I know that i need to set a proper meal plan so i stay within this limit. I am supposed to consume 1300cal a day to lose weight but i dont want to lose muscel mass as i dont have much of it. So im in kind of a limbo between the two.
 
Thanks for the help... i was thinking of creating a set meal plan but i wasnt sure if that was a good idea.

Go to fitday.com, its free and you can record you daily calorie intake and plan your meals thru here.   Has everything else been working out for you??? 

Thanks:)

Fran


"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up everytime we fail"--Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have recently got some protein powder, and i have cut out sugars (except those in carrots and other veges) from my diet. I now have about 250 cal per meal and wat every couple of hours.
 
It seems to be working well, i have been stricter with my cardio program as putting on weight was much easier. I think i will begin to cycle next season to see if that works better.
 
thanks for asking

how much is your total intake for the day? cos 250 calorie seems not enough for one meal. does that mean your day worth of food is probz 1500 calories. you need to eat more than that if you trying to put on "some muscle", and since you are working out...you need more food that usually..