Eating to get big while shrinking BMI..help

[Jason5251]

36 years old
6'2"
240lbs

I have read so much great info pertaining bulking/cutting and eating to get big but I cant seem to find any info that would help me out. Here is the issue:

I recently had an evaluation done at the gym I attend and was told that my BMI was 28%. When I joined, I weight in a 234, but fluctuate 8-10lbs depending on the season and other variables so for me that's normal.

I have a little bit of a belly and some love handles and maybe a slight layer of fat covering any muscle in my chest and back but that is about it. I have tried staying at my maintenance of 2400 cpd but it is really getting hard as I am always hungry, I eat 4 mini meals and 2 snacks per day getting the brunt of the carbs out of the way early in the day. I eat pretty clean but I will have a couple raunchy meal days a month.

I am lifting heavy to get big and would like to get my BMI down. I wanna get big, more of a power lifter/strongman physique, and eventually a decent cut but I am not looking to get shredded. So, how do I eat to get big but not so much that I still shrink the mid section?

Thanks all!

[StLRPh]

The only way to get your BMI down is to shrink :). I once read a good quote about BMI. "BMI is useful for populations but useless for people".

What is more important: to "Eat Big" or loss fat? Pick one and go for it. There are a lot of great articles here for both. Carb cycling may let you let loss some fat while occassionally eating large amounts of food.

Good luck,

[mackin]

Did the gym calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index) or your body fat percentage? BMI can be calculated by just height and weight and does not take muscle mass into consideration and so has very little meaning to body builders because you can be muscular and really cut, but still have a very high BMI. Here is a webmd article that explains a little more http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/body-fat-measurement

Body fat percentage is usually measured by little devices or special scales that send very, very small electric charges through the body or with skinfold calipers (more on all this here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage) The body fat percentage measurement does a better job of telling you how much fat is on your body and not just how heavy your are.

I'm in a similar situation as you. I'm 34, 6' tall, and 215lbs and my Tanita scale tells me I have 24% body fat. I don't want to bulk and add to my already noticeably sized belly, but I don't want to cut and risk losing my gains in strength progression, and plus my wife is a really good cook and don't know if I would be able to cut efficiently anyhow :) So, I've just been focusing on strength and lifting heavier and heavier weights, my body fat percentage has been going down slowly over the past 9 months, when I was about 223 lbs and 29% body fat. When I hit 20% body fat, I might consider trying a bulk/cut cycle, depending on how my strength progression is going.

I would suggest reading through a lot of the bulking / cutting articles on here if you haven't already, especially this one http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/to-bulk-or-to-cut-that-is-the-question-or-is-it/

Best of luck to you!