Gaining weight?

[TyMan14]

Hey guys,

So I've been attempting to diet after my winter bulk, like I always do, and I'm doing everything I normally do which drops fat extremely quickly for me. The problem is, I'm actually GAINING weight and bodyfat! Every year around this time I run Jim stoppanis shortcut to shred and it works wonders. 6-12 weeks usually gets mr bodyfat to a comfortable 14-15% where I then recomp over the summer down to around 12-13% and resume bulking in the next September or so.

I follow his diet "guideline" as I found it normally works for me. It's higher calorie, but it's compensated for by a major increase in cardio. He has you do 1 minute of cardio between each set. Which I am doing. So it comes out to just over 20 min of cardio each session, and each muscle group is hit twice per week with a constantly varying rep range. This program has always shredded 10-15 pounds off in 6-12 weeks for me, which is why I've chosen to follow it for the third year in a row.

I am now 2 weeks in, and I was also beginning to lower calories from my bulk a few weeks prior to starting, and I've actually gained 3 pounds (fluctuates obviously) and my bodyfat percentage has increased by 1.5% based on the readings of my Skulpt. So I've now dropped my calories down by 300 from where I was and started this today in hopes of actually progressing. I also have an appointment with my doc tomorrow to discuss getting bloodwork done (I've definitely played with my hormones more than I would like to admit, and it's time to get everything checked out to make sure I'm within normal ranges on everything), and my family has a history of thyroid issues. Not sure if this could be the cause, but I'd like to get everything checked anyway just to make sure things are operating properly.

Does anyone have any idea what I could do to begin progressing again? This whole thing really doesn't make sense. For reference, I am 6 foot 2, 237 pounds. I have increased body fat like crazy over the last few months (and I really can't explain how. Which is why I'm beginning to believe something is off), and I need to start getting back down. According to my Skulpt today, I was 24.1% which seems about right given my current appearance. If so, this is the highest bf I've been in years and I've been over this weight before, so it would seem my body composition is actually regressing.

Thanks for reading!

 

[LeanEngineer]

I'd just make sure your diet is strict and on point and you have good water intake. You could throw in some HIIT cardio to burn fat to.

 

[TyMan14]

Had blood drawn today. Dropped cals now to where there is no way it won't work unless there is a serious issue. Doc said I will know by the end of the week.

 

[john.patterson]

Had blood drawn today. Dropped cals now to where there is no way it won't work unless there is a serious issue. Doc said I will know by the end of the week.

What are your current macros? You don't want to go too drastic with dropping calories at first, or else you'll have a very difficult time when you plateau

 

[TyMan14]

What are your current macros? You don't want to go too drastic with dropping calories at first, or else you'll have a very difficult time when you plateau

For sure. I'm sitting right around 3k calories (3100), at 250 protein, 110 fat, the rest are carbs and I come within 5-10% of this every day. Never going over by more than 50 cals. I live a very active life, and this count here always has me shredding weight. There are no changes to my protocol from last year besides the fact that I have an adderall script that I take 20mg xr daily and I'm not using any thermogenics. Waiting on bloods to come back

 

[TyMan14]

Had a cheat meal for my birthday today, and about to finish off with a small slice of cheesecake and back to the grind tomorrow. Haven't had a cheat in 3 weeks, so hoping this can kick start something. If not, I'll have the bloods to let me know if anything is off. It just doesn't make sense. I also went from 14% bf to 24% bf while still eating a calorie controlled diet that I run year round. I shot up 10% bf in 2 months! Something has to be off.

 

[john.patterson]

Had a cheat meal for my birthday today, and about to finish off with a small slice of cheesecake and back to the grind tomorrow. Haven't had a cheat in 3 weeks, so hoping this can kick start something. If not, I'll have the bloods to let me know if anything is off. It just doesn't make sense. I also went from 14% bf to 24% bf while still eating a calorie controlled diet that I run year round. I shot up 10% bf in 2 months! Something has to be off.

So are you losing weight eating 3100 calories per day? It would honestly be impossible to be losing body weight and simultaneously put on 10% body fat. How are you tracking your bodyfat?

 

[ManimalPatB]

Had a cheat meal for my birthday today, and about to finish off with a small slice of cheesecake and back to the grind tomorrow. Haven't had a cheat in 3 weeks, so hoping this can kick start something. If not, I'll have the bloods to let me know if anything is off. It just doesn't make sense. I also went from 14% bf to 24% bf while still eating a calorie controlled diet that I run year round. I shot up 10% bf in 2 months! Something has to be off.

What are you using to track your BF? 10% is kind of crazy.

Are you taking anything different? New supplement, new food item, there has to be some kind of new variable into your equation that you're not thinking about

 

[TyMan14]

What are you using to track your BF? 10% is kind of crazy.

Are you taking anything different? New supplement, new food item, there has to be some kind of new variable into your equation that you're not thinking about

I'm using a Skulpt and the calipers from a trainer at the gym that I work at. Both are pretty close to eachother. I'm not taking any new things besides my prescribed adderall, but that should only help fatloss, not stop it. And no I have not lost weight and gained bodyfat. My weight has fluctuated around the same 5 pounds for 3 months now regardless of caloric changes. My calories are now 1k lower than they were at the end of my Bulk, and my physique has literally gotten worse as I have continued attempting to diet.

 

[ManimalPatB]

I'm using a Skulpt and the calipers from a trainer at the gym that I work at. Both are pretty close to eachother. I'm not taking any new things besides my prescribed adderall, but that should only help fatloss, not stop it. And no I have not lost weight and gained bodyfat. My weight has fluctuated around the same 5 pounds for 3 months now regardless of caloric changes. My calories are now 1k lower than they were at the end of my Bulk, and my physique has literally gotten worse as I have continued attempting to diet.

That's strange man. I wonder if your body is telling you YO I NEED A BREAK. Hmm

 

[TyMan14]

That's strange man. I wonder if your body is telling you YO I NEED A BREAK. Hmm

Maybe. I had a back injury in December (very mild inflammation of my bottom vertebra) from squatting that a chiro cleared up really fast, so I had to take a week or so off and then did some light training for another week and a half before diving back into my normal routine. So my body shouldn't be *too* beaten down yet. I'm really just waiting on bloods. I've never had anything tested and my family has a bad history of thyroid problems so i figured it would be best to get it checked no matter what. Better safe than sorry. We'll see how this cal drop goes, and I'll give it a week now since I had that cheat meal yesterday to see if I drop anything at all. I'm hoping for the best!

 

[ManimalPatB]

Keep us in the loop *if you want*. Hope everything works out in the end man!!!

 

[TyMan14]

Keep us in the loop *if you want*. Hope everything works out in the end man!!!

Will do! Appreciate it! Results should hopefully be back today

 

[TyMan14]

Got the call today.
Test-427
Free test-7
Estradiol-14

My full panel will be back to me in the mail hopefully today. Liver, kidney, all the stuff came out great. Don't know what to make of it. 427 and 7 seems really low for a guy why just turned 20. Also, because this was spur of the moment, I had stopped taking CEL Mtest 2 days before (thought my appointment was a consult to schedule a draw but they drew it that day). So I don't know how that plays into it

 

[TyMan14]

Cals are still lower. Weight is fluctuating around the same. Consistently down roughly half a pound or so from 3 weeks ago. Tested body fat. .3% HIGHER. I'm going to chalk that up to inconsistencies in my scans, but still. This is a considerably lower calorie range than I am used to for dieting. I normally get to this level about 3/4ths through my cut when I am already leaner at about 215-220. This is getting insanely frustrating. My test and free test were definitely low. TSH was 1.16 which is also lowish. Could this be from my low hormone levels?? I'm about ready to try stopping my adderall for a little while and do clen/ketotofen but I just can't see my life without using adderall. Since I got the script everything has improved for me immensely, and I am sort of scared to come off. But I have read it can lower test levels and that definitely has me a little freaked out.

 

[TyMan14]

So are you losing weight eating 3100 calories per day? It would honestly be impossible to be losing body weight and simultaneously put on 10% body fat. How are you tracking your bodyfat?

Totally missed this post before. I did not lose weight during the increase in bodyfat. I also did not gain weight. My weight has fluctuated from 233-239 for the last 2 months and this is when the bodyfat increase has taken place. Even people in the gym have noticed and asked me about it. I really can't explain it. I am tracking bodyfat with a Skulpt. Even though it may not be completely accurate, it is atleast consistent.

 

[hamzazaidas]

Cals are still lower. Weight is fluctuating around the same. Consistently down roughly half a pound or so from 3 weeks ago. Tested body fat. .3% HIGHER. I'm going to chalk that up to inconsistencies in my scans, but still. This is a considerably lower calorie range than I am used to for dieting. I normally get to this level about 3/4ths through my cut when I am already leaner at about 215-220. This is getting insanely frustrating. My test and free test were definitely low. TSH was 1.16 which is also lowish. Could this be from my low hormone levels??

Hmm.. I have to say this does seem a little off and surprises me..

Have you made sure it's not water retention? Water retention can look worse than fat to be honest.. and when we reach to a point where we are obsessing over gaining fat, you see nothing but that.

What supplements/gear are you on?

What types of food are you having?

 

[TyMan14]

Hmm.. I have to say this does seem a little off and surprises me..

Have you made sure it's not water retention? Water retention can look worse than fat to be honest.. and when we reach to a point where we are obsessing over gaining fat, you see nothing but that.

What supplements/gear are you on?

What types of food are you having?

Not on any gear. I will admit, I am only 20, and have ran a few different cycles, but all were followed with proper SERM PCT with proper ancillaries for each given compound. I am assuming the few cycles that I have ran lowered my T levels to where they are now and I am paying the price, which is something I have to accept and work through. Supplement wise, I take
20mg Adderall XR
Muscle Pharm Assualt (2nd gen with nitrates and all that good stuff) preworkout
Xtend intra workout
Green Magnitude

I have eliminated almost all supps due to money, but tax time is coming so I will probably grab some things to assist my fatloss.

Water retention shouldn't be too big of an issue. I watch sodium intake, 200g carbs a day, and 1-1.5 gal water ingested.

For food, I generally have chicken, tilapia, 93% ground beef, Rump Roast, protein powder for protein.
Whole Wheat/Flax tortillas (100cal, 13 carb, 9g fiber), Raw oats, whole wheat bread(rarely), Brown Rice, Quinoa for carbs.
Natural Peanut butter, skim milk cheese, virgin olive oil, and meat fats for fat.

I keep a pretty simple diet and only eat a few times per day. I normally start dropping fat on 3600 cals with this exact program, and I also normally start it about 5 pounds lighter than I am right now. I started with these calories a month ago and have been dropping each week as I am not losing. According to every calculator I've used, I should be in a pretty solid deficit, which would line up with my previous anecdotal experiences. I am about to drop to 2850 or so for cals and reassess. I just don't want to go too low with the program I am running. The amount of cardio is wild and I enjoy doing it, so I would like to figure out the diet for the training vs the training for the diet.

I am pretty darn close to getting some spartan lean V2 and running that and then using the PCT as a clomid restart (have found a few protocols that look solid) and get bloods again before, during, and after this. I know that isn't the most responsible option at this point, and I'm most likely thinking that out of frustration. But it is getting to a point where I just can't understand what is happening and I need to do something that I know works.

 

[TyMan14]

Also forgot to mention that I use kratom daily at 6.5g-8g depending on the strain at night to help me relax, sleep, and boost my mood (It is the only thing that has really helped my issues with depression). I have been doing this since last September and it has never had an impact on my progress before, so I can't imagine it is the variable causing issues now.

 

[Juicedeez utz]

Clen or another cycle won't help your situation bro, if anything it could make it worse in the long run. If you think your T3 is low get some 7-Keto or a sup that helps raise serum levels, try something easy before jumping on the hard stuff. You've done a few cycles you said at a young age, silly idea but more cycles aren't gonna fix your cut unlesss you're willing to take trt? First of all I'd say it's probably a lot or water weight, it's not all about salt and how much you drink... you'd find it very hard to be putting on bf while losing a half lb a week! You done a TDEE? You could be still over eating at 2850, metabolisms change, especially after messing with hormones! I'd take a step back and think, sounds like the adderal talking on your last couple posts hah take a week off have a refeed at the end of the week and dial back in, could be all you need

 

[hamzazaidas]

Clen or another cycle won't help your situation bro, if anything it could make it worse in the long run. If you think your T3 is low get some 7-Keto or a sup that helps raise serum levels, try something easy before jumping on the hard stuff. You've done a few cycles you said at a young age, silly idea but more cycles aren't gonna fix your cut unlesss you're willing to take trt? First of all I'd say it's probably a lot or water weight, it's not all about salt and how much you drink... you'd find it very hard to be putting on bf while losing a half lb a week! You done a TDEE? You could be still over eating at 2850, metabolisms change, especially after messing with hormones! I'd take a step back and think, sounds like the adderal talking on your last couple posts hah take a week off have a refeed at the end of the week and dial back in, could be all you need

Completely agree on this.

 

[TyMan14]

Clen or another cycle won't help your situation bro, if anything it could make it worse in the long run. If you think your T3 is low get some 7-Keto or a sup that helps raise serum levels, try something easy before jumping on the hard stuff. You've done a few cycles you said at a young age, silly idea but more cycles aren't gonna fix your cut unlesss you're willing to take trt? First of all I'd say it's probably a lot or water weight, it's not all about salt and how much you drink... you'd find it very hard to be putting on bf while losing a half lb a week! You done a TDEE? You could be still over eating at 2850, metabolisms change, especially after messing with hormones! I'd take a step back and think, sounds like the adderal talking on your last couple posts hah take a week off have a refeed at the end of the week and dial back in, could be all you need

Like I said the cycle idea was definitely an irresponsible one, but in theory it also kind of makes sense. My understanding is that Epi andro (only hormonal compound in Spartan Lean) causes mild suppression, but it also frees up bound test as it is a DHT precursor. My free test was really low, and my actual test was still low, but within normal. Assuming things worked how they should on paper (but that doesn't always happen sadly), I would drop my total T by just a bit (probably into the 200's) by the end, but free up a lot of bound test to use during the cycle which would aid my fatloss, then hit a nice clomid restart afterwards (long one. Wouldn't mess around with just a simple PCT), which ideally would stick. But the bloods would tell all. Worst case scenario, I make progress while on, try to restart, fail, then test is lower and the doc would have to treat it either with TRT or an endo created restart. I am totally okay with TRT honestly. The more I read into it and talk with people I know that are on it, the less terrible it sounds. I would prefer to not have to, but that was the risk I assumed by cycling and at the end of the day, we all have to accept the consequences of our actions. My main concern would be the inability to have kids (I would like to have one child), but there are ways around that with HCG, Clomid, HMG, etc. Or even if I had to, adoption. My girlfriend was actually internationally adopted (from Belarus!), so that would also be another option.

I really can't imagine *too* much is water weight (I'm definitely holding a bit). Also, the bf% increase was not while losing weight. I have stayed stagnant. I also mentioned that the increase this last week and a half was .3% which could very easily be chalked up to fluctuations and inconsistencies in scanning. I was down 1/2 pound from almost a month ago, not per week.

The clen actually is making sense to me as I have used it successfully in the past (I get amazing results off of only 20-40mg). For thyroid, my T4 was well within normal range but the doc didn't test my T3 like I had asked. Or my LH/FSH like I asked. So it would be nice to have those bloods to run off of.

I'm thinking about scrapping my whole plan that I am running and try something new. This just always works so well and it is my go to plan when I plateau. Maybe my body just isn't responding at all for some reason. I might just finish out this week with it as I search/build something different and then give that a go and see if I can spark some results.

 

[TyMan14]

The first pic was taken a month ago, and the second pic was taken about 5 min ago. Both are empty stomach right upon waking. I personally cannot see a difference in these. This is the highest bodyfat I have been in years

 

[TyMan14]

Decided to start by changing programs. I am now doing an upper/lower split that a coach designed for me awhile back. Hopefully that does the trick. It is based around supersets of the compound lifts. Just finished the first workout today and it was great. It was

4 sets of 8 each
DB bench
One arm db row

Incline bench
Lat pulldown

Seated military
Upright row

Rope pushdown
Rope hammer curl

Tabata pushups.

Absolutely killer!