Best way to judge if you should lose some fat?

[abett07]

What is the best way to decide if you should stop bulking and lose some fat ?

Scale
Clothes
Mirror
BF%

cheers

[ricka182]

Personal goals. If you want to bulk forever and become a mega-powlifter, keep going. If you want that BB'er physique, start cutting.

But using the stat categories you listed, I'd go with:
Mirror - If you don't like how you look, change it.
BF% - Set a goal range, and try to stay within it. It's too hard to stay at one number, so give yourself a 1-3% margin of error to work with.
Clothes - How they fit is a direct corelation from the above two stats. They should fit properly, sans special sized clothing for awesome muscle gains.
Scale - Can be used as a constant reference, provided you are in the same state each time you weigh. Most people are not, so they get wild flucuations.

[Rich Knapp]

Originally Posted by ricka182

Personal goals. If you want to bulk forever and become a mega-powlifter, keep going. If you want that BB'er physique, start cutting.

But using the stat categories you listed, I'd go with:
Mirror - If you don't like how you look, change it.
BF% - Set a goal range, and try to stay within it. It's too hard to stay at one number, so give yourself a 1-3% margin of error to work with.
Clothes - How they fit is a direct corelation from the above two stats. They should fit properly, sans special sized clothing for awesome muscle gains.
Scale - Can be used as a constant reference, provided you are in the same state each time you weigh. Most people are not, so they get wild flucuations.

[DanB]

The mirror. As ricka182said "if you dont like it, change it". You could monitor through calipers, bioelectrical impedence etc.. but do numbers % really change the way you view yourself in the mirror?. A case of the moobs is always a sure sign to loose a little also

[Tannhauser]

Originally Posted by abett07

What is the best way to decide if you should stop bulking and lose some fat ?

When you can't tie your shoelaces, and not a moment before.

But seriously...speaking for myself, photos can be a revelatory experience. Especially when you're caught unprepared and haven't got time to stand at a flattering angle.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by Tannhauser

But seriously...speaking for myself, photos can be a revelatory experience. Especially when you're caught unprepared and haven't got time to stand at a flattering angle.

^ Excellent point made by Tann.

There is a point where you start to notice that despite your muscularity, you look like a slug in every photo taken of you. When that starts to occur, or you can't tie your shoes or wipe your rear without stretching...

[bruteforce]

When your gut shields your shoes from getting wet, its time. Or two notches on the belt, but thats personal preference.

[TitanCT]

look in the mirror. if you think youre too soft. cut.
if you think youre still small and dont mind carrying the weight you have. bulk.

[5kgLifter]

Originally Posted by DanB

The mirror. As ricka182said "if you dont like it, change it". You could monitor through calipers, bioelectrical impedence etc.. but do numbers % really change the way you view yourself in the mirror?. A case of the moobs is always a sure sign to loose a little also

I think that's an important point to consider and one that sometimes gets ignored in the grand scheme of things.


As highlighted by all the posters so far, there are numerous ways to decide when its time to cut (and indeed, bulk) but ultimately it depends on your goal, which will have some sway over when and how you cut, in addition to how you view yourself when seen in the mirror.

The other aspect to consider is the bodyfat issue itself; at higher bodyweights, slightly more bodyfat can be carried whilst still appearing relatively lean due to the amount of muscle offsetting the slight increase in bodyfat.

[TitanCT]

Originally Posted by DanB

The mirror. As ricka182said "if you dont like it, change it". You could monitor through calipers, bioelectrical impedence etc.. but do numbers % really change the way you view yourself in the mirror?. A case of the moobs is always a sure sign to loose a little also

because no bodybuilder ever gets fat in the offseason?
a case of the "worried about what everyone else thinks" is more along the lines of worrying about moobs in the offseason.