Just can't find balance...

[va_bank]

So last year I lost 40lbs - I'm a 5'11" 35yo male went from 200lbs to 160. I excercised way too much, dieted and ended up overtraining, resulting in an injury. The injury healed, I scaled back on excercise and added a few hundred calories to daily intake, as I've gone past looking healthy and started to look sick

I had almost no fat left, so I decided to use winter season to bulk up in muscle. I quit cardio almost completely and went to weights. I see good progress in building muscle, but the fat around the midwaist is starting to show again as well. I went from a low of 158 to current 165, but can't tell if it's mostly fat or the new muscle. My appetite is also gone through the roof, I find it hard to contain myself - I just didn't have that problem last year.

So what do I do? Let the fat grow along with muscle and then go back to cardio closer to the spring? (I've read here about the bulking/cutting cycles, which is what I'm trying to immitate)

Or do I need to keep doing cardio? Or just eat less? But I've read that will interfere with muscle gain. Is there any techniques to find the right balance other then just trial and error? I'd really like to develop a routine that I can just stick to permanently, rather then constantly think of what I should do next.

 

[malkore]

Bulking tends to make you gain fat, because you need a calorie surplus to pack on muscle. Most of us lack the ability to know EXACTLY how many calories we need to bulk just enough to gain muscle.

I'd knock back your calorie intake 100-200 calories. That should help slow the fat gain, while still giving you enough to add lean muscle.

Measuring bodyfat is going to be helpful. skinfold calipers are the best 'home method', but even the electronic scales (or handheld models) will help you track trends in your bodyfat levels. Keep in mind these kinds of scales aren't the most accurate, but they do a decent job of showing increases or decreases in fat levels. Always use them later in the day when you are well hydrated, as that helps the device measure.

skinfold calipers can be very inaccurate in untrained hands...but if you have someone who knows what they're doing they can be quite accurate.

knowing bodyfat and weight lets you see if weight gain is mostly muscle, mostly fat, an even split, etc.