flipp
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I am 55 years old, 6' and 180 lbs, and totally skinny fat. Skinny most places but fat in the gut, with love handles, and fat in the chest. I sleep 8 - 10 hrs nightly, don't wake up tired but am tired shortly thereafter. Extremely dry eyes. No motivation. Big mental fog.
I exercise in one way or another 4 - 7 days a week. Mostly, it's stand-up-paddle surfing, for up to 3 hrs in a day, which is one helluva cardio and muscle workout. On days that I don't surf, I am working through the Armstrong Chin Up program, throwing in some planks for ab work, and push ups for balancing things out. But here's the deal. I've been doing the surfing thing for 3 years, month in and month out, with NO change in muscle tone. What am I now I was before. All my friends, meanwhile, who've been doing the same thing, have seen tremendous changes. Weight loss, muscle gain, super-duper core. Why not me, I ask?
And then after any of these exercises, I'm beat. After push ups, it's a 1-2 hr nap. After surfing, I'm toast for the day and sometimes toast for the day after. Plain and simple, I'm not recovering well.
My diet is based on 2200 cals min, based on my 55 years and fear of flab. It's a standard lo-carb plan (50 carbs max daily, except before and after exercise, when I do carbo load a little). Lots of chicken, eggs, tuna, good oils, salads, nuts, etc etc.
What I do know, medically, is that I have hypothyroidism.
Latest test results:
T4: 6.9 (range: 4.9 - 9)
Free T4: 1.01 (.58 - 1.20)
TSH: 0.07 (.34 - 5.6)
These are all the tests my doc would give me and said for T3, etc. I'd have to go to an endo for the rest of it. I made an appointment ... but it's not until November. Sheesh.
I am on: 175 mcg Levothyroxine and 12.5 mcg Cytomel (but only for two weeks on the Cytomel, and one week before the test).
My doc says the reason why I can't put on muscle is genetics and it's never going to happen.
So, given all that, what do you think my next move could be, between now and when I see the endo? Anything I can do in the meantime? Should I try to convince my doctor to give me a hormone panel; and if so, what should that panel consist of?
Thanks much for any help you can offer!
I exercise in one way or another 4 - 7 days a week. Mostly, it's stand-up-paddle surfing, for up to 3 hrs in a day, which is one helluva cardio and muscle workout. On days that I don't surf, I am working through the Armstrong Chin Up program, throwing in some planks for ab work, and push ups for balancing things out. But here's the deal. I've been doing the surfing thing for 3 years, month in and month out, with NO change in muscle tone. What am I now I was before. All my friends, meanwhile, who've been doing the same thing, have seen tremendous changes. Weight loss, muscle gain, super-duper core. Why not me, I ask?
And then after any of these exercises, I'm beat. After push ups, it's a 1-2 hr nap. After surfing, I'm toast for the day and sometimes toast for the day after. Plain and simple, I'm not recovering well.
My diet is based on 2200 cals min, based on my 55 years and fear of flab. It's a standard lo-carb plan (50 carbs max daily, except before and after exercise, when I do carbo load a little). Lots of chicken, eggs, tuna, good oils, salads, nuts, etc etc.
What I do know, medically, is that I have hypothyroidism.
Latest test results:
T4: 6.9 (range: 4.9 - 9)
Free T4: 1.01 (.58 - 1.20)
TSH: 0.07 (.34 - 5.6)
These are all the tests my doc would give me and said for T3, etc. I'd have to go to an endo for the rest of it. I made an appointment ... but it's not until November. Sheesh.
I am on: 175 mcg Levothyroxine and 12.5 mcg Cytomel (but only for two weeks on the Cytomel, and one week before the test).
My doc says the reason why I can't put on muscle is genetics and it's never going to happen.
So, given all that, what do you think my next move could be, between now and when I see the endo? Anything I can do in the meantime? Should I try to convince my doctor to give me a hormone panel; and if so, what should that panel consist of?
Thanks much for any help you can offer!