bassmaster
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Well I'm not quite sure how to start out, so I will just lay down some basics and then ask my questions.
Age: 26
Height: 5-10
Weight: 290
Issues:
Obviously weight is a major concern. I tried the fad diets with little to no success and have been very frustrated with the inability to make something work. Let me tell you where I'm at and where I’ve been over the last few years
Currently I have been maintaining around an 1800 -2200 calorie diet for about 5-6 weeks very faithfully. I don't drink alcohol or smoke and don't drink Cokes regularly either. I'm an ice tea or water guy. I am doing cardio about 3 times a week for about 30 min in the mornings. I know I should be doing more but my job right now is eating up my time for any gym workouts in the evenings.
Total weight loss is around 4lbs.
About a year and a half ago I teamed up with two coworkers at the gym for some accountability and to have a workout partner. This is the hardest I have ever worked out in my life.
At the time I was maintaining around a 2500 calorie diet. It did not take me long to realize that both of my buds were actually in pre-marriage training. The workout routine included 25 min of hard cardio on an elliptical each day and then about 1.5 hrs of heavy weight lifting. This went on for over 8 months and while I did see some progress it was far short of what I expected. At the end of this period I lost a whopping total of 20lbs. (285-265) I did not drop any sizes in clothes and could not tell much if anything in the mirror. I did increase moderately in my weightlifting abilities, although I did not get back to my max in HS power lifting. The frustrating part of it was the two coworkers not only trimmed up but really started getting cut and their diets were not nearly as restricted as mine. Needless to say, they got married and both have moved on to other jobs and therefore I do not have anyone to workout with. I tried to keep going regularly for a while but the job keeps too late these days.
Before that I had tried Atkins and did ok but just could not maintain the very low carbs to lose weight. I have counted points, carbs, fats, moved cards around, charted and tracked meals etc. All were disappointing.
I did try going to a DO for possible thyroid issues but he refused to run any blood work. Sure he asked a bunch of questions and then would take my pulse and temp, adjust the dosage of Armour, then send me on my way. This helped slightly with some other issues I will discuss later but the weight loss was not one of them. (Also is it possible to get a batch of bad Armour? I had a three month supply that did not feel like it was doing anything. There was a significant difference when he upped my dose to 1.5 grain. It was like i was taking nothing. I tried to tell my doc that something wasn't right and he wouldn't even listen to me.)
Fatigue-Tired - Sluggish - Sleep Problems
I am always tired and sluggish it seems. I try to get good sleep but I just can't. I wake up all during the night. I would say about every hour to hour and a half or so. Sometimes I wake up in the mornings an hour before my alarm goes off and can't go back to sleep. (I can sometimes about 4-5 hrs later) This is something the thyroid supp. helped but only moderately. It basically felt like the sleep I did get was more beneficial to me, but I still had the afternoon crash where I got really tired.
Working out is tough on me just for the fatigue. I literally want to take a nap after a workout. (Is that normal?? Maybe it is.) I know that my weight plays a factor into the fatigue side of things but I just don't know.
Mental Clarity - Attention Span - Concentration
Lately (2-3 yrs), it seems as though the old noggin has slowed down quite a bit. In high school and college i was reading a large novel in about 1-2 weeks. Now it takes about a month. I think my reading speed has slowed down but I just don't have the focus to read for any length of time. I find it harder to concentrate at work and constantly find myself having to stop and regroup my thoughts. I used to pride myself in college of just listening to the lectures and not taking notes, because I didn't have to. I could remember that stuff pretty well. Now in taking some extra college level courses for work, I am really struggling.
Random Things - I have no idea if these mean anything or not.
Morning body temp - typically in the low 96* range. If i get to 98.6 I have a full blown fever.
Dry skin and eyes.
Some constipation on a regular basis. The DO I mentioned did introduce me to Chelated Magnesium which seemed to help. I might take this once every week to ten days if I start to notice that its been more than 24 hrs since the last visit to the "throne".
Occasional bouts with depression and foul mood. I am one of the most upbeat guys around but its getting tougher. I don't know if it is just stress or what, but I don't like being negative or in a bad mood.
Family history of Diabetes. Both Granddads had it.
Ok that’s enough of that.
1. Am I just going to have to resign myself to eating half as much as the next guy on a diet and working out twice as long.
I just don't know if I can do it if that’s the case.
2. Does any of this sound like it could be helped with proper diagnosis and treatment for thyroid, HGH, test, estrogen or anything else. I know that it will take a full blood work up to see what if anything is going on but I can't afford to waist money on another doctor like the last one. I don't have any insurance but a high ded plan through work so I sure can't afford to try two or three docs to try and find a good one.
3. Is there a way to go get blood work done without having to see a doctor? Clinics, blood banks anything????
4. Tell me if I am just off my freaking rocker. Tell me if I just need to quit writing long pointless posts and get my @$$ on the treadmill.
I don't want to be a ripped body builder or anything but I would like to be a more normal size for my age, height etc.
Again I am 26 yr old and I do not want to be making the sequel to the 40 yr old virgin (if you get my drift).
This board has been a great read over the last couple of weeks and I have already learned a few things. If anyone has made it to the end of this post I would greatly appreciate some comments, suggestions etc.
Thanks again.
Bassmaster
Age: 26
Height: 5-10
Weight: 290
Issues:
Obviously weight is a major concern. I tried the fad diets with little to no success and have been very frustrated with the inability to make something work. Let me tell you where I'm at and where I’ve been over the last few years
Currently I have been maintaining around an 1800 -2200 calorie diet for about 5-6 weeks very faithfully. I don't drink alcohol or smoke and don't drink Cokes regularly either. I'm an ice tea or water guy. I am doing cardio about 3 times a week for about 30 min in the mornings. I know I should be doing more but my job right now is eating up my time for any gym workouts in the evenings.
Total weight loss is around 4lbs.
About a year and a half ago I teamed up with two coworkers at the gym for some accountability and to have a workout partner. This is the hardest I have ever worked out in my life.
At the time I was maintaining around a 2500 calorie diet. It did not take me long to realize that both of my buds were actually in pre-marriage training. The workout routine included 25 min of hard cardio on an elliptical each day and then about 1.5 hrs of heavy weight lifting. This went on for over 8 months and while I did see some progress it was far short of what I expected. At the end of this period I lost a whopping total of 20lbs. (285-265) I did not drop any sizes in clothes and could not tell much if anything in the mirror. I did increase moderately in my weightlifting abilities, although I did not get back to my max in HS power lifting. The frustrating part of it was the two coworkers not only trimmed up but really started getting cut and their diets were not nearly as restricted as mine. Needless to say, they got married and both have moved on to other jobs and therefore I do not have anyone to workout with. I tried to keep going regularly for a while but the job keeps too late these days.
Before that I had tried Atkins and did ok but just could not maintain the very low carbs to lose weight. I have counted points, carbs, fats, moved cards around, charted and tracked meals etc. All were disappointing.
I did try going to a DO for possible thyroid issues but he refused to run any blood work. Sure he asked a bunch of questions and then would take my pulse and temp, adjust the dosage of Armour, then send me on my way. This helped slightly with some other issues I will discuss later but the weight loss was not one of them. (Also is it possible to get a batch of bad Armour? I had a three month supply that did not feel like it was doing anything. There was a significant difference when he upped my dose to 1.5 grain. It was like i was taking nothing. I tried to tell my doc that something wasn't right and he wouldn't even listen to me.)
Fatigue-Tired - Sluggish - Sleep Problems
I am always tired and sluggish it seems. I try to get good sleep but I just can't. I wake up all during the night. I would say about every hour to hour and a half or so. Sometimes I wake up in the mornings an hour before my alarm goes off and can't go back to sleep. (I can sometimes about 4-5 hrs later) This is something the thyroid supp. helped but only moderately. It basically felt like the sleep I did get was more beneficial to me, but I still had the afternoon crash where I got really tired.
Working out is tough on me just for the fatigue. I literally want to take a nap after a workout. (Is that normal?? Maybe it is.) I know that my weight plays a factor into the fatigue side of things but I just don't know.
Mental Clarity - Attention Span - Concentration
Lately (2-3 yrs), it seems as though the old noggin has slowed down quite a bit. In high school and college i was reading a large novel in about 1-2 weeks. Now it takes about a month. I think my reading speed has slowed down but I just don't have the focus to read for any length of time. I find it harder to concentrate at work and constantly find myself having to stop and regroup my thoughts. I used to pride myself in college of just listening to the lectures and not taking notes, because I didn't have to. I could remember that stuff pretty well. Now in taking some extra college level courses for work, I am really struggling.
Random Things - I have no idea if these mean anything or not.
Morning body temp - typically in the low 96* range. If i get to 98.6 I have a full blown fever.
Dry skin and eyes.
Some constipation on a regular basis. The DO I mentioned did introduce me to Chelated Magnesium which seemed to help. I might take this once every week to ten days if I start to notice that its been more than 24 hrs since the last visit to the "throne".
Occasional bouts with depression and foul mood. I am one of the most upbeat guys around but its getting tougher. I don't know if it is just stress or what, but I don't like being negative or in a bad mood.
Family history of Diabetes. Both Granddads had it.
Ok that’s enough of that.
1. Am I just going to have to resign myself to eating half as much as the next guy on a diet and working out twice as long.
I just don't know if I can do it if that’s the case.
2. Does any of this sound like it could be helped with proper diagnosis and treatment for thyroid, HGH, test, estrogen or anything else. I know that it will take a full blood work up to see what if anything is going on but I can't afford to waist money on another doctor like the last one. I don't have any insurance but a high ded plan through work so I sure can't afford to try two or three docs to try and find a good one.
3. Is there a way to go get blood work done without having to see a doctor? Clinics, blood banks anything????
4. Tell me if I am just off my freaking rocker. Tell me if I just need to quit writing long pointless posts and get my @$$ on the treadmill.
I don't want to be a ripped body builder or anything but I would like to be a more normal size for my age, height etc.
Again I am 26 yr old and I do not want to be making the sequel to the 40 yr old virgin (if you get my drift).
This board has been a great read over the last couple of weeks and I have already learned a few things. If anyone has made it to the end of this post I would greatly appreciate some comments, suggestions etc.
Thanks again.
Bassmaster