Hello all, I’m not new to the forum but I am new to posting so if this is in the wrong place please let me know. Overall, I’ve made a lot of progress in my fitness journey but am struggling on where to go from this point forward. I’ll be providing pictures (if I can figure out how to w/ the 50 post minimum) and background info to assist. Also, sorry for the long post... just want to provide as much information as possible.
Background:
I never played sports and was always pretty heavy growing up, and I never touched a weight until I was 16 (just messing around, no consistent diet/program). By the time I was 17 I was definitely one hefty dude and was 203 pounds (I’m 5’10). At this point I decided to try my first real attempt at weight loss and did the worst possible thing I could for my body... I was eating 500 calories, mostly from protein, with small servings of vegetables and no fat. I saw quite a bit of weight loss with this and eventually upped my intake to 1200 calories but the protocol was essentially the same: high protein, very few carbs (just small amounts of vegetables and fruits), and very little fat. I was 160 pounds, but looked absolutely awful and I was going to the gym 5 times per week doing heavy lifting at this point. I wasn’t sure why I still looked like I hadn’t been within a 500 mile radius of a gym in my life despite working out and dieting down to that weight. This, on top of some other issues, led me to seek out a blood test just to see if anything was going on. As it turns out, I had the testosterone levels of an 80 year old man with one testicle. I considered this to be the nail in the coffin because... you know... testosterone... and I essentially have everything up and adapted some pretty unhealthy habits. One of these habits caused uncontrollable hunger (if ya get what I’m saying). I ballooned up again and by March of 2018 I was sitting at around 230 pounds with low testosterone and very minimal muscle mass. I hated how I looked and wanted to make a huge change.
March 2018 picture:
After that, I got a lot more serious as time progressed and slowly started to adapt a more lifestyle. I started getting my fats in, set a good protein goal (1 LB per pound works well for me because I feel satiated), and started taking in more carbs while expanding my sources of carbs from just broccoli and berries to a variety of fruits and vegetables. I started using the gym much more and adopted a much better program that seemed to pay off on top of adding in cardio sessions throughout the week (a few 20 minute sessions of sprinting/walking or a couple 30-45 minute sessions of less intense cardio). My current program looks like this (I neglect legs, don’t worry... something I plan to start working on)
Workout One:
Flat Bench Press: 5 x 5-6
Incline DB Press: 5 x 8-12
Pec Fly Machine: 5 x 12
Cable Flies: 4-5 x 10-12
Seated Shoulder Press: 5 x 6-8
Military Press (more of a burnout): 2 x 8
Lateral raises: 4 x 12-15
Front raises: 4 x 12-15
Dips: 4 x 10
Workout Two:
Hammer Chins : 5 to near failure
Lat Pulldown: 5 x 8-12
Superset with standing pullovers: 12 reps
Low Row: 5 x 8-12
Rope Pull: 5 x 12-15
Standing BB bicep curls: 4 x 8-10
Cable Curls: 3 x 10
Workout 3 (combination of chest / back / arm work)
Flat Bench : 5 x 5-6
Incline DB: 5 x 8-12
Cable Flies: 5 x 12
Lat Pulldown: 4 x 8-12
Same superset as above
Hammer grip lat Pulldown: 2 x 8-10
Low Row: 5 x 8-12
Standing Barbell curls: 4 x 8-10
Superset with dips: 10 reps
When I do legs here and there...
Squat: 5 x 5
Deadlift: 5x 5-6
Leg Press: 5 x 8-12
Hamstring Curls: 4 x 10-12
Quad machine (dont know the name, my b): 4 x 10-12
Calf raises: 4 x 12-15
I do these workouts four times per week in the order listed above. If I don’t do legs (usually don’t) I cycle back to the first. Schedule differs depending on the week... sometimes it’s 4 days in a row, sometimes it’s 2 days on 2 days off, sometimes it’s 3 days on then 1 day off. Either way, I go a max of 4 times per week to allow myself some recovery time. So far... so good.
My diet since April has been to try to lean out (summer, I know I’m kind of small):
1,650 calories
Always getting 145 grams of protein minimum, sometimes go over depending on what else I’ve eaten
Fats: 70g
Carbs: always try to stay below 110 grams
Honestly, I don’t think my body handles carbs very well, and it definitely does not do well with grains. Even on low calories my face will puff up depending on what carbs I’m eating.... maybe a food allergy (having bloodwork to see about some issues next week). I’m going to post a picture after I get this done of myself now, but I’m currently hovering at 145-148 pounds but I’m leaner / stronger than I’ve ever been. I now have pretty decent vascularity and some good definition in my abdominal muscles. Also my testosterone has improved greatly and is now in the high end range for my age (almost 20 years old). Again, my question is where do I go from here? I know a lot of the answers will likely be to bulk, but I’m honestly nervous about bulking. Like I said, I don’t seem to handle carbs well and seem to have some water retention issues and I know bulking comes with that... it sucks to see what I’ve done be ruined by having a fat/puffy looking face (almost instantly changes how I look in the face/abdominal region). Also, I know that bulking comes with some fat gain and that doesn’t worry me too much, but I’m very worried about putting on too much fat and looking like I once did or close to it. The reason I fear this so much is because, like I said, I was pretty hefty up until recently and I wouldn’t be shocked if my body was more susceptible to fat gain than other people. Trust me, I want to gain muscle and get bigger... just not fat. I think I know a decent bit about cutting and leaning out, but I know nothing about how to bulk appropriately with the concerns / circumstances that I have (I suspect I may have a thyroid issue / slow metabolism / as I’ve said carb intolerance). I will find out the medical stuff soon but until then... any advice? Thank you all for taking the time to read this and it means a lot... hope to hear some feedback soon. (photos to come...hopefully)
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