How long to bulk

[Zentinel]

Howdy...

Pertinent stats:
Male, 5'6", 28 years old, currently at 170 lbs (and perhaps? 17.5% BF)

Early May I decided to try to seriously gain some weight, and to that end have been training and eating (and eating and eating) like a Monster.
Having put almost 15 lbs of weight on... hopefully half that muscle... I'm getting uncomfortable with the level of fat I;ve hit (more than I've ever had before...and a gut. yuck.)
So the question is: how long do I go? How do I decide it's time to start cutting?
I suspect it's up to me, but what factors should I use to decide this?

Side note: I tried getting BF% test, but got unreliable values... the second value indicating I'ld put on 9 pounds of fat, but lost 2 lbs of muscle... unlikely.

Anyway, just looking for ideas, opinions, whatever. It's been an uphill stuggle for me to gain ANY weight in my life, ever, so I'm not used to it, or sure how to react.
Blech.

--Zent

[Shibby]

Find a place that does Hydrostatic Weighing if you want the most accurate measurement of body fat. It can be pricey though. And as far as when it's time to cut/bulk. I think that's mostly up to you. If your not happy with the fat you have gained, then start cutting. Then if you want go back to bulking.

[Gongshow]

how much does that usually cost Shibby?

[Shibby]

around here it can cost about $80

[Zentinel]

Yikes.
Well, a tech at my gym nicely offered to give me another test, and it came out to the same... 17.5%.
How high should someone let their BF go up while bulking?

[Shibby]

Depends on how much you had before you started.

[Zentinel]

Initial value was 13.5%.

[Shibby]

%4 percent isn't that much. I've known people to go as high as 8-10. But again it has alot to do with how feel with your results your getting and your overall well being.

[Gaul]

Don't stop untill you start breaking chairs.

[Nekrawulf]

I would cut and then focus on lean body mass...

It sounds to me that mabey your insulin sensitive.

Just watch the simple carbs esp at night and you should be able to bulk without putting on too much BF

[Zentinel]

Hmmm... what are simple carbs?
I suspect: Pasta, Breads, Potatoes, Rice (?)

Query: If White Rice is Bad, and Brown Rice is good, what's Basmati Rice?

--Zent

[Nekrawulf]

Something I cant pronounce... lol

Your are correct on the simple carbs... here is a glycemic index for you to browse

http://diabetes.about.com/library/me...i/ngilists.htm