Good job losing some fat, now go add some muscle and boost that metabolism.

Huh? In the 3 month period of lifting I definitely gained muscle.

Right now I'm focusing on the bulk, but it's a clean bulk. I really don't want to put on more fat with an all-out bulk at the moment.

hard nips

mhmm coz I have gyno and if they're not hard then they're puffy and I dislike that

it's only on the nips so it's weird... surgery would probably be simple

Yeah maybe like 3 lbs worth at the most. You leaned out dude; that's pretty much it. You just perceive it as muscle gain because you are now leaner and have more muscle definition.
I'm not trying to hate on you, I'm just saying that now since you've leaned out to a point where cutting wont help much, you should start trying to pack on muscle to boost your metabolism and lean bulk the rest of the way.

Lastly, your clean bulk should result in a net gain in weight at this point. And it sure doesn't look like you put on weight during those 3 months.

I won't pretend like I didn't lose quite a bit of fat in the 3 months, and I won't pretend like I know the amount of muscle I put on, but it was quite a successful 3 months. If I hard bulked, I might've put on maybe a small percentage more muscle, but really I think I put on some good muscle in that time.

I'm no beginner to lifting (that's not to say I haven't been an idiot about it in the past... if I hadn't been careless & ignorant I'd be much further ahead with my physique): I realise what fat reduction can do to the perception of muscle mass on the eye. I'm just basing my muscle gains on the muscle volume I see on my body (the change), and the strength gains. Again, I won't pretend like I know the amount. 3 pounds sounds about right, possibly 4 pounds at most. For me, that's a good number. I think I can continue to put on that kind of weight (a little over a pound per month), or possibly even close to 2 pounds per month if I really hard bulk.

My focus at the moment is to clean bulk, so 1 pound per month for me is wonderful. If I drop my body fat back down (I can really notice the difference between now and then... I weighed in at 175 today, 174 yesterday... I used to be 168 in November)... I might start to bulk harder. I just don't want to be any fatter than I am right now.

My back day was mediocre today. Had to cut it short halfway through and come back to it an hour later (had to pick someone up and do some errands). It was awkward driving with a preworkout in me... does not make you more aware on the road.

Right now I'm contemplating my diet and deciding how many excess calories I really want to be putting in at the moment. Any recommendations would be nice. I'm 173-175 pounds (doesn't fluctuate higher or lower right now), and I'm 5'10, and you see my pictures.

This post was edited by Canadian_Man on Feb 24 2012 09:51pm

I would go maybe 250-500 in excess. But that has to be lean calories. Remember you aren't ripped just yet, so a nice long lean bulk will set you up perfect to reach any goal you have from the point you're currently at. You're in a good place now because you are moderatly lean, and you have the ability to really put on some good lean mass by eatting a clean diet that puts on weight for you. In terms of the scale, the number should increase only very slightly as you lean out until you are where you want to be in terms of bf, and then just up the cals another 250-500 to start packin on more muscle until you are happy with the amount of mass you have.

If I were you, I would stay away from cutting/bulking cycles and just lean bulk all the way up

ive seen worse i kinda have just a weee bit too most people who use to be fat do lol..

Hmmm I may reorganize this whole thing and post a new thread in a couple weeks from now (I think I'll post pics one month from the day that I said I restarted which was the 19th). So a couple weeks from now.

The workouts have been good. Past two leg days have been terrible, so I'm hoping my next one is good.

Just posting an update for my own sake to stay organized, and to say that I'm not forgetting about the thread.

This post was edited by Canadian_Man on Mar 2 2012 02:46pm

It has been 3 weeks and a day or so. Next week some time I'll do updated pictures.

Status so far: the long and short of it is everything is improving and I'm moving along quite well right now. This coming leg day will be good (past ones have not been), but luckily my legs are a strong-suit.

My weigh-in... I'm heavier all-around. I weigh in at between 174 and 177 each day with clothing on (clothing off is 2 pounds less).

This post was edited by Canadian_Man on Mar 7 2012 01:01am