Hi All,
I was hoping to get some advice on my particular situation. I’m sorry for the length of this post but I’m at my wits end and figure more detail is better.
Over the years I have relied on insane amounts of physical activity to keep lean. A morning and evening session at the boxing gym was typical and worked very well. The problem … well, the rest of life happened.
Between family and work I had to cut out the boxing gym and my activity levels haven’t been kept high enough. So I balloon back up to 180’ish from around 150 - almost all in my middle as I can still see separation in my shoulders and thighs. My waist is currently at 39", when in fighting shape it is around 33" (I am barrel shaped).
This shouldn’t be an issue. Adjust diet and exercise until things situate, right? However my body just is not responding to whatever I try. It seems as though w/o the super high activity levels my body just isn’t cooperating.
It is as if in the past I was able to force it past whatever was the problem. Now, with a moderate calorie deficit and the re-addition of exercise things just aren’t moving at all.
I am consuming about 2700 calories per day (~500 at breakfast, lunch, dinner and ~300 at 4 different snack meals in between). Some days a bit less as I am getting tired of eating so much.
I do a full body gymnastic workout on rings 4 days a week - maximal strength oriented and have also added in some KB swings and joint prehab movements in the morning.
The issue is my weight has gone up since I have been doing this and so has my waist size (so it wasn’t muscle gain AFAICT). My waist prior to all of this was 37.5". It is as if everything is backfiring. I have been strict with diet and workout for the last month and reasonably strict the month and half prior to that. I got real strict for this last month when things weren’t going as they were supposed to, only to have it go even further south.
I am so frustrated. My normal diet before any of these changes was pretty low carb, because of food preferences. However I do have a sweet tooth. I have kept that sweet tooth in check while attempting to get my waistline under control. But, it seems as though whatever diet I have is moot. My weight stays right around 180-190 regardless of what I consume.
Unless I carve out the multiple hours to go to the boxing gym - in which case I eat whatever I feel like (I have to in order to stay that active) but my weight and waistline do come back down in that scenario. I have gone through this once before and solved it with crazy amounts of time in the gym.
Currently, my life just isn’t going to accommodate such extremely high levels of activity despite how much I wish it could. So I am trying to do all the right things to keep weight/fat in check … but thus far no positive results. I have an appointment next Tuesday to get some lab work ordered, but I am not even sure what to ask them to look for.
I tried supplementing with Rhodiala Rosea for a few months, thinking my cortisol might be screwed. But that hasn’t had any affects thus far. I also ordered some ReceptorMax in case my problem is one of Insulin Resistance. But it really feels like I am just shooting in the dark.
What can or should I do? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
- Chris
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Here is a sample of the last couple days meals and supplements:
Day 1:
Morning
3 BCAA
3 RezV
2 Rhodiola Rosea
Breakfast
1 Serving Superfood
1 Serving L-Leucine
1/2 Cup Oatmeal with 1 Tablespoon Coconut oil and brown sugar topping
Morning Snack
2 Slices Mozzerela Cheese
1 Banana
Lunch
1 Serving L-Leucine
Half Rack Beef Ribs
Afternoon Snack
3 Sausage Links
Post Workout
6 BCAA
1 Serving Superfood
Dinner
1 Serving L-Leucine
7 oz Ribeye
Bedtime
3 BCAA
4 Flameout
1 Celery Stick With Peanut Butter
Day 2:
Morning
3 BCAA
3 RezV
2 Rhodiola Rosea
Breakfast
1 Serving Superfood
1 Serving L-Leucine
1/2 Cup Quinoa with 1 Tablespoon Coconut oil and brown sugar topping
Morning Snack
2 Slices Mozzerela Cheese (~2.5 oz)
1 Banana
Lunch
1 Serving L-Leucine
8 oz Tri-Tip
Afternoon Snack
3 oz Beef Sausage
3 Small Mandarins
Post Workout
6 BCAA
1 Serving Superfood
2 Rhodiola Rosea
Dinner
1 Serving L-Leucine
1 Chicken Breast - Pieces Breaded And Pan Fried in Olive Oil
Bedtime
3 BCAA
4 Flameout
1 Celery Stick With Peanut Butter