Stronger Vs Sloppier Vs Fatter

This one pertains mostly to men, so hopefully I get my male readers to take a hard look at themselves.
So yes. you've been working out for any amount of time, and hopefully you've been listening to what I've been talking about, technique and progressive resistance.
Things are going good.
your squat weight has doubled.
your inches on your biceps have gone up.
shirts are tighter.

but...

how is that waistline?
how is that neckline?
are you getting stronger, or just getting fatter?

this is a HUGE problem. especially with hilarious terms like
"bulking" or, even worse, "dirty bulking" which I believe refers to eating nothing but crap in attempts to gain weight. (remember my weight post ?)

I remember being 255 lbs. my deadlift was awesome. now currently being 180ish, my deadlift is down. why? LEVERAGE. I'm not a 255 lb strong FAT monster. fat definitely being the keyword.

I got caught up. I admit it. I was getting "stronger"

but...

I looked awful. triple neck/chin, love handles/belly was huge. 36-38 waist pants (yes kids, if you're a male and above 38, you need to have a chat with me)
My hips/waist I currently wear a 28-32 depending on the company, and need a belt. so yes, that was FAT for me. not muscle.

So, on top of that, what do I mean by sloppier? I mean how is the technique?
are you REALLY curling the 63's? or are you SWINGING those bad boys up?
are you going 1/16th of the way down on the leg press?
are you going 1/8th of the way down when squatting?
are you swinging the living heck out of the lat pulldown machine?
dropping the weight on the negative only to rebound on the positive?
using a spotter for 5 reps, saying you got 7 reps?

LOOK AT WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY LIFTING/SWINGING.

Are you getting stronger or sloppier with the technique? ESPECIALLY back and legs.

believe me, been there, done that. if its working now, it'll top out. seriously. I don't care how genetically gifted you are, it'll top out.

sit down with you're log book (if you even have one) and say to yourself "did i REALLY get 7? or was that 6 with one spotted?"