Despite starting out lifting as a stick figure, I spent most of my childhood and early adult life fat. Everyone wants to be a meso, but what about us chumps left with the "fat kid" genes? Here's a few rules over the years I've applied that have really helped keep my body fat in check while gaining muscle. Some are based in science, some just cause they work. Lastly they are my opinion only, so feel free to disagree and discuss the points with me. (FYI I don't want this to be a somatotype debate. I understand that this is a very broad and not very scientific term)

Rule 1 - Be strict about your food intake, even in the off season or gaining phases. Limit your cheats, WEIGH all your food. Not saying you have to live the life style of a monk. but if you are serious about this, then be serious about it. You're not going to get away with eating pizza every night like the ectos do.

Rule 2 - Training FUCKING intensely and hard. This should go without saying, but to add a little bit more to it, find or follow something that pushes you metabolically. Devote part of your training (I have heard some do the last 1/3 of their training day this way) to high reps and short rests. Do drop sets, super sets, trisets, giant sets, cluster sets. Something where you are moving constantly, getting a great pump on, and really stoking the fire of your metabolism.

Rule 3 - Make time for cardio. Even in the off season, it'll help facilitate recovery, make your heart healthy, and make you feel good. Doesn't have to be time on the treadmill either. Go for a hike, take a long walk with your dog. Finally clean out the basement of all that crap your wife has been nagging you about. Just find time to move.

Rule 4 - When gaining, and weight loss stalls, add in calories slowly, shouldn't take much to get you moving forward again, and when adding in calories, first place should be carbs around your training. Once your weight stops again, add in fats away from training. Once again, wash rinse, repeat.

Rule 5 - Take breaks from mass gaining phases. If you are bulking for long stretches of time and starting to get fluffy, take a 4 week break and hit a little mini diet, and hit it hard. You should be able to trim off a good deal of body fat in a short period of time. It'll help your insulin sensitivity and make you feel good, it should also make it easier to add more mass back on once you start gaining again. Don't keep adding to the mess and getting fatter.

Rule 6 - This one is a little more personal for me, but I think it generally applies to most endos. Pro / Fat before lifting, Pro / Carb during and after lifting (for 2 or 3 meals). I've tried many many different "styles" of eating, and this is the one that works best for me. (and I believe most endos). The reason behind it?

First for going Pro / Carb during / after lifting.

1. If you are training hard, you are going to need to refuel glycogen stores. Having carbs post work out increase the rate at which your body replenishes glycogen. So you'll need lots of carbs to do this.
2. Carbs (especially something like a peri-work shake) can blunt cortisol response from your body. This will hopefully allow you to build more muscle.
3. Your body is primed to uptake macos after you train. By reducing fat from post training meals you absorb your carbs and protein easily. The rate at which your can replenish your body's depleted stores is limited only by the rate at which your can digest and uptake food. So the faster and the more easily you can digest the better.

For going only Pro / Fat the rest of the time.
1. Get your fats in and all the health benefits that they can provide (omegas, etc)
2. Increase your capacity to oxidize fatty acids
3. Help your insulin sensitivity. So that when you do reintroduce carbs in around your training they are move effective.
4. There are some studies showing that keeping your carbs to only late at night, will actually reduce body fat levels more than if earlier in the day. This is known as "metabolic flexibility". Not everyone buys into this.

Hope this helps a few endos out there who are feeling left out from all the Mesos.