How much should I cut before bulking?

[ReneG]

I know this question may have been asked several times but I'm still confused. First off I'm a 34 year old man, 6'4 around 220 pounds with around 25-30% body fat. I have the "skinny fat" body type.
The end goal is to bulk up a bit and put on some good solid muscle. I know I should be cutting first but I'm not sure how much of a calorie deficit I should be in over the next few weeks before transitioning into a clean bulk.
I tried to calculate my BMR online using the BMR calculator and it gave me 2,039
But I'm not sure exactly what to do with this number or if I even calculated correctly. I'll admit I'm a novice. I work 40 hours a week at a retail job and haven't exercised/worked out since college 15 years ago. I need to make a change.
Any good advice would be gold. Thanks guys.

 

[ArnoldS]

There are some real experts here like @Push50 and @Joe Pietaro and @tkD who can hell help. I have no idea.

 

[tkD]

With that much bodyfat I wouldn't think of a bulk. Also there are many calculators online where you can find out the needed amount of calories one needs per day to maintain a bw, and from that total start reducing the calories little by little every week or few weeks, so you stay in a deficit, that is if you want to cut. Do the opposite for bulking, obviously.

More important, in my opinion, is the mirror. Don't let yourself caught in the weight and scale games.

 

[TalkAdmin]

Great answer tkd! I was going to say that about the mirror. Also, start slow.

Thanks for posting guys!

Sent from my SM-S908U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Push50]

I would have to agree with @tkD. Current body fat is too high to begin a bulk. Now you said your BMR is 2039 and that is a correct number +/_ a little depending on rounding and such. You have to understand what you are looking at. BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate, this is the amount of calories that it would take for your body to maintain its current weight if all you did all day was lay in bed. Your RDI (Required Daily Intake) is the number that you need to find in order to know where your calories need to be for weight gain or weight loss. Seeing that your BMR is around 2000 I am assuming that you are using "Active Lifestyle" as your marker. That being said, based on your age, weight height and and active lifestyle, your RDI should be around 3100 calories in order to maintain your weight. This is your base number and regardless of gaining or losing weight it has to be calculated frequently as it will change as your weight does. So if you want to lose weight, cut this number by 500 calories, this will help you to lose on average 1 lb/wk and if you are bulking increase it by 500 for the same but opposite purpose.
My advice! Get the diet dialed in and cleaned up and get the workouts dialed in. You have to be consistent with both of these and then you will see changes. This doesn't happen overnight, especially after a 15 year hiatus. Be patient and work on the basics to start.

 

[TalkAdmin]

You guys are brilliant.