If gaining mass is your number one priority, is single digit bodyfat % silly?

LovingtoLift

LovingtoLift

Banned
To be completely honest with you, I love the gym. I go 5-6 days a week. I eat clean almost every single day, where I don't eat any fast foods or anything. Once or twice a week at the most I do enjoy having a nice juicy cheeseburger or Mexican food. The rest of the time its Chicken and broccoli and brown rice. I really would like to get to single digit bodyfat one day but to be honest with you my goal is just to put on muscle. As much muscle as I possibly can. I love doing cardio also when Im at the gym. Ive been staying away from it for the last couple weeks though due to focusing on adding muscle as much as possible.

Im not really sure if getting to low digit bodyfat is really worth it to me though. I don't even compete and don't have any aspirations to compete on a stage in a bodybuilding contest. I just want to gain mass and strength. Today I was driving around for lunch and pulled into a parking lot of a pizza place. Later this afternoon after work, I Will be working on legs at the gym. So I said to myself that I wanted pizza and lots of it. I said "you must eat to grow." I sat there with the car ignition off for a couple minutes and pondered if I should walk in and eat the pizza or not. Like I was some junkie sitting in front of a bar and making the decision of falling off the wagon again. I mean wtf is wrong with me that I don't even think I can eat pizza anymore because I want to have an 8 pack and perfectly rounded pecs? I know this is a very tough thing for me because of all the weight I worked hard to lose when I was 315 pounds and got down finally to 212. Now after two years of lifting and being in the gym I currently am 226.

I really think this is becoming unhealthy for me. I am about to say **** this sport and just go to the gym and lift and say **** it. Its a love hate relationship. I love how lifting makes me feel, I love eating healthy foods, But at the same time actually feeling like I can't go to a pizza buffet once in a while without ruining my gains? Even if I did have a cheeseburger on Saturday night with fries? WTF is that? Maybe I will take up powerlifting instead cause having to do what I did today where I almost drove myself crazy is not healthy mentally.Powerlifters don't worry about anything but getting stronger! My main focus right now is to gain strength and mass so what the **** am I worrying about going to a pizza buffet for once in a while? Beating myself up over a sport that I don't even make a living at , let alone ever competing in, and just do for fun, is one ****ed up mindset. Do I want to look my best? Of course I do. Do I really need to be 8 % bodyfat to look my best? **** no.

So I did say **** it and went in the pizza place. I went to the counter, paid for the buffet, and ate two entire pizzas on my own with a large diet pepsi.
 
Moderation is key, but its personal preference.

I train mainly for aesthetics so eat clean and diet for up-to 10 - 12 weeks at a time with no re-feeds or cheat to meet goals.

If you can have balance and fit the junk food into your calorie goals you can have the best of both.
 
paul56778 said:
Moderation is key, but its personal preference.

I train mainly for aesthetics so eat clean and diet for up-to 10 - 12 weeks at a time with no re-feeds or cheat to meet goals.

If you can have balance and fit the junk food into your calorie goals you can have the best of both.
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It just pisses me off that I am so obsessed that I feel like IM doing something wrong by going to a pizza buffet. Do you know that was the first pizza buffet I have been to in over 2 years? But here I am sitting in front of the place in my car like a ****ing weirdo trying to convince myself its ok to go inside. All because I had a ****ing burger and fries from Burger King Saturday night?! This is just beyond crazy.
 
If you crave it just have it and move on if you restrict your self too much it can make things worse.
 
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You have made great progress by dropping all that weight, you do not lose fat overnight and do not gain it overnight, therefore cheating now and then is acceptable
 
paul56778 said:
You have made great progress by dropping all that weight, you do not lose fat overnight and do not gain it overnight, therefore cheating now and then is acceptable
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You are correct and its all in my head. I need to relax and just keep on working hard in the gym.
 
A lot of people, including myself, struggle with the guilt of overeating. As paul56778 said, moderation is key. Going all out on pizza one night isn't going to destroy years of progress. It all comes down to your goals, and where you're comfortable. I know for me personally, I hardly ever binge on pizza or fast food. The aftermath (acne, stomach discomfort, etc.) isn't worth the taste to me, and I would honestly rather eat whole foods that I actually enjoy.

If you enjoy eating pizza or going to a buffet you shouldn't feel guilty about it. If its a rare occasion then it isn't a problem at all. Keep yourself in check and make sure that you're continuing to push toward your goals
 
john.patterson said:
A lot of people, including myself, struggle with the guilt of overeating. As paul56778 said, moderation is key. Going all out on pizza one night isn't going to destroy years of progress. It all comes down to your goals, and where you're comfortable. I know for me personally, I hardly ever binge on pizza or fast food. The aftermath (acne, stomach discomfort, etc.) isn't worth the taste to me, and I would honestly rather eat whole foods that I actually enjoy.

If you enjoy eating pizza or going to a buffet you shouldn't feel guilty about it. If its a rare occasion then it isn't a problem at all. Keep yourself in check and make sure that you're continuing to push toward your goals
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I was in the gym last night for an hour and a half doing chest, tris, and legs. I challenged myself and it felt great! Felt much better mentally after my session. Instead of feeling guilty like I did earlier on in the day, I felt like the big meal I had at lunch time was well worth it helping my performance later on at the gym.
 
"Powerlifters don't worry about anything besides getting stronger." SMH. Yeah, you're right, we dont worry about making weight for competitions at all. Being a powerlifter doesn't give you an excuse to eat whatever you want whenever you want.
 
after reaching low digits and the amount of stress it caused me i said the hell with this lean life attitude, now i focus on heavy compounds with a flexible diet... pizza on the regular!
 
hvactech said:
after reaching low digits and the amount of stress it caused me i said the hell with this lean life attitude, now i focus on heavy compounds with a flexible diet... pizza on the regular!
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Yeah, but don't you worry about living up to LivingToLifts expectations?. I mean come on, how can you sleep at night?.
 
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