Fat Gain, Water Retention, or What

I’m having trouble figuring out why my level of vascularity has been diminished as of late…I’m currently on a bulk and have gained 12-15 lbs. My guess is that 30% of it’s water weight but only way to know for sure is to cut carbs for a few days and see how much weight I drop…Anyways, I’ve been monitoring sodium and have tried my best to keep itas normal as possible (2000-2500mg/day). I’m not eliminating it b/c that’ll just release aldosterone and make me retain water, yet not too much sodium either to where I’d again hold it…

I can see the blood vessels but they just seem to not be as prominent and just look to be less superficial than in times past.I just look flat in general.I don’t believe it’s any sort of carb bloat because I haven’t really been binging on them. Off days are BW g/lb and lifitng days I’ll up it to ~250g…I understand that some fat gain on a bulk is inevitable so I will partially contribute it to that, but I think it’s hormones causing it.

I know I’ve been overtrained for a while now and have been doing my best to slowly recover. So i think cortisol may be a contributing factor here. Been supplementing Vit C, B complex, trying dhea, and dandelion for the water…I’m beginning to think that the dandelion is just causing my body to “rebound” and hold more water than before b/c the D-root is acting as a diuretic. Not 100% sure, though.

My supps are just the basics: Protein, creatine, multi, fish oil. I’d really like to get this figured out. I understand it’s a process of elimination pretty much so I will start with taking out the dhea, even though it and cortisol are negatively correlated. Any CONSTRUCTIVE advice, opinions, etc are all welcome…

[quote]BeastMc25 wrote:
I’m having trouble figuring out why my level of vascularity has been diminished as of late…I’m currently on a bulk and have gained 12-15 lbs. [/quote]

I may have found your problem -lol. Seriously, how quickly have you gained these 15 lbs? The human body can only put on about 1-2 lbs of muscle in a month’s time even with the greatest of genetics, so unless this occured in a time frame of over 7+ months, I’d say you’ve put on a bit of adipose along with any potential gains in LBM.

The whole ‘holding water’ issue doesn’t apply unless you’re in the low single digit levels of bodyfat, or unless you’re fairly lean and playing with a few of the more water-retaining performance enhancing compounds that are out there.

S

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]BeastMc25 wrote:
I’m having trouble figuring out why my level of vascularity has been diminished as of late…I’m currently on a bulk and have gained 12-15 lbs. [/quote]

I may have found your problem -lol. Seriously, how quickly have you gained these 15 lbs? The human body can only put on about 1-2 lbs of muscle in a month’s time even with the greatest of genetics, so unless this occured in a time frame of over 7+ months, I’d say you’ve put on a bit of adipose along with any potential gains in LBM.

The whole ‘holding water’ issue doesn’t apply unless you’re in the low single digit levels of bodyfat, or unless you’re fairly lean and playing with a few of the more water-retaining performance enhancing compounds that are out there.

S
[/quote]

W…

w.

Have you ever tasted sweat that wasn’t salty?

^^ Thats what I’m thinking. If I were to go low carb for a few days, chances are I’d lose quite a bit of water. Muscles won’t look as full, but the definition wouldn’t be blurred…When I sit in the sauna at the gym, my sweat has a strong “salty” taste to it. Even with moderate sodium intake…That’s why I’m considering elevated cortisol as a potential cause, as it causes sodium retention…

I think what may have screwed me over is my scale. My scale at my apartment has been saying 165 this whole time…But the electronic one at my gym which I just weighed on the other day said 178 and 180…I can still see all 6 abdominals clearly, as well as the obliques. It’s just the overall vascularity isn’t there.

Lets assume your hypothesis is correct. Should I do a short cut to get bf in check, then continue lean bulking until the beginning of February?

[quote]baseballdude23 wrote:

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]BeastMc25 wrote:
I’m having trouble figuring out why my level of vascularity has been diminished as of late…I’m currently on a bulk and have gained 12-15 lbs. [/quote]

I may have found your problem -lol. Seriously, how quickly have you gained these 15 lbs? The human body can only put on about 1-2 lbs of muscle in a month’s time even with the greatest of genetics, so unless this occured in a time frame of over 7+ months, I’d say you’ve put on a bit of adipose along with any potential gains in LBM.

The whole ‘holding water’ issue doesn’t apply unless you’re in the low single digit levels of bodyfat, or unless you’re fairly lean and playing with a few of the more water-retaining performance enhancing compounds that are out there.

S
[/quote]

W…[/quote]

W…

Well, I figured once all of the sodium was removed, it’d just taste like plain water…

Well, like above poster said, once the salt has been “sweat” out, the water should then just taste normal… At least thats what I thought…Anyways, if part of the increase on the scale is indeed water (let’s say 5 lbs) for a net gain of 10 lbs (say 6 lbm and 4 fat), should I stay bulking till feb or do a 3-4 week cut to get bf in check and slowly creep up the calories this time, instead of just going straight to a +500 surplus…

bumpingg

did you find out the reason for this i am in a similar position however if i go low carb for a day the water goe away and ill drop 10 pounds i am 5-6% bodyfat