Should I Take a Break?

few things, first of im 6’3’’ weight 154 and 26. i have been lifting for over 11 months FULL BODY greyskull program without any rest week. I HAVE deloaded a bunch of times but its weight deload (example if i miss the reps on certain compound lift i take 10-15% off and go back up but not from all compounds at the same time i have done this with all compounds several times now). other than this i do cardio 2 times a week, stand on my feet during job for over 20 hours a week and walk 4 hours a week, other than this im sedentary.

I have been eating around 2800 daily!

for the past 2 months i’ve been losing strength, feeling tired, fatigued, no motivation.
for example, i could do 8 reps of 165 bench easy and right now i do 8 reps of 145 and struggle.

I do however have a history of low testosterone and last time i checked it was 180 BUT this is no excuse because i had this when i could rep 165 bench for 8 reps.

additional info: i have been stressed a bit for the last couple of days, sleep is 6-7 hours with waking up to pee 2 times, I lost weight (dont know how) from 160 to now 154.

other than that, i switched from greyskull and to 5/3/1 beginners and this is my second week. like i said i hardly push 8 reps 145 bench when i could easily do 8 reps 165 during greyskull.

low test symptoms: have them all lol.

what should i do?

this is what my diet consist off.

protein: lean chicken, grass fed ground beef (2 times a week), 2 eggs in the morning, salmon, greek yogurt, cheese.

carbs: oats, bread, papaya, strawberry, banana, pasta, potato, sweet potato, broccoli, coliflaur, brussel.

fats: pb, cheese, almond milk, ground beef, salmon, coconut olive oil.

breakfast: 2 servings of oats, almond milk, 1-2 eggs depending on what i plan to eat that day, 2-4 servings of egg whites, olive oil.

lunch: .5 servings of gluten free pasta, 5 oz of chicken

dinner: either red potato (350 grams) or sweet potato (300-325 grams) with either cheese, coconut oil if salmon or chicken or just plain grass fed ground beef since its high on fat.

1 hour before bed: 4 slices of bread, 1.5 servings of peanut butter, 2 servings of strawberry, 3 oz of banana 1 serving of papaya, half a serving of greek yogurt, salt, cinnamon.

Try eating much much more.

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Stress and sleep can do huge things. I started working in a different location which requires living remotely and long travel to get there. I went to the gym the second day there and lost ~40-lbs on my military press from what I did the week before. 3 days later, I was able to hit the same weight for a double.

Point being… eliminate as much of the stress as possible, try to sleep a little more if you can, and as @khangles suggested try upping your caloric intake. Add another 500-1000 calories a day for 3 weeks and see how it goes.

Dude you are 6’3 and 154? I’m not huge, not skinny but definitely not huge and I’m 6’3 220. You need to eat more. Like, a lot more. Also, do you drink and smoke?

Can we trade jobs?

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hey may i ask how my diet sounds? do i need more micro?

I know the range of food that you eat, but I don’t know the exact amount you eat- all I know is that it’s not enough. I was around your weight 10 years ago and I had to eat until I was uncomfortably full, 4-5 times a day to gain weight. I bet if we actually measured exactly what you’re eating it would be closer to sub-2000 than it would 2800. Skinny people think they eat a lot but it’s almost never the case. Your test score is alarmingly low but you HAVE to evaluate your lifestyle before you go anywhere near hormone treatment.

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Record what you eat in a typical day and be honest with it, then count up the calories. I did this and found out I was barely meeting 100 calories over maintenance, and it’s all fucked if I skip a meal.

With Flap, I’m 6’3" and 225. Not saying eat whatever you want… but you might want to just worry about getting some calories in under any circumstances.

Tl;dr EAT. MORE.

I’ve been in the 215-235lb range for almost 5 years (with some off time, fatter some years, more muscular on others) and I can tell you I have to eat until I’m literally sick to put on weight, provided im not shoveling McDonalds every day. Even right now I’m eating nothing short of 1500 calories a meal +snacks and protein (limited to 2 full meals a day due to work) and I’ve lost 2lbs. I’m sure its waterweight, but I sure as hell am not putting any weight on.

I watch my roommate (5’8" 120lbs with a long disease) who lifts with me, claim that he constantly eats, and he really thinks he does, but I kill more in one meal comfortably than he does in a whole day.

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are you saying i can actually go up to 600 + test with just gaining weight? because my diet, well you saw it. its pretty good

possible to go from 180 test to 600 tho?

I’ve had test low into the 200s, but don’t know what they are now.

I don’t think you test should be that big of a deal. Even if I have low test, I’ve still made great progress, almost 250lbs on my total since I first got bloodwork done.

This stands out to me. Your diet is okay overall but total intake looks low, and the lunch in particular looks light. Is there a reason (no time to eat more on lunch? can’t eat too much on the job?) or is that just all you eat. I would probably double that for lunch, or get something a little more substantial.

I also don’t think you’re eating very much fat. I would eat more. Anecdotally, I feel like some of the “I think I have low T” folks have felt better once they started eating more fat. Ditch the egg whites and just eat another whole egg. If you’re eating chicken, eat thighs (not breasts).

Also, maybe I missed it, but is there a reason for gluten free pasta?

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it’s not. you’re making reasonably good food choices, but as others have told you, you’re clearly not eating enough of them. You’re severely underweight. If you don’t eat enough to support your lifting, you will feel like shit.

As for your hormone situation, that’s a personal decision, but if I were you, I’d work with a specialist who’s very familiar with testosterone replacement therapy, along with other solutions, and see what you can do. Some folks are able to get into ‘normal’ ranges through the use of Clomid or Nolvadex. Others end up on TRT. I can’t tell you what route you should go, but I can say that I believe this situation should be addressed if you feel bad consistently.

hello. my hormones are out of whack and yes it does require medical attention. the thing is, im a bit scared of trt at age of 27.

i decided to take a break this week and i have two questions, should i keep the bulking calories while not doing anything (literally took a break because no motivation)?
what foods do you recommend adding?

perhaps I wasn’t clear. You don’t need to add more foods, you need to eat larger quantities of the foods you’re eating now. More calories. I don’t care if you think you’re eating enough calories to grow right now. You’re wrong, and your bodyweight reflects that.

you should keep eating as much as you are, because you’re already not eating enough to grow. You’re NOT ‘eating bulking calories’ now. You’re eating at maintenance. So, while you’re not working out, keep eating as much as you are now. When you start working out again, add 500 more calories to your diet per day.

you know what’s scarier than being treated for a hormonal issue at 27? NOT being treated for an issue that you know you have. Grow the fuck up. Don’t be like the idiots who know they have a medical problem and wait til it’s unmanageable to get it checked.

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wow mate true stuff! thanks a bunch!

Yeah others said up your good fats significantly.

Once a week have a mega cheat meal until you hit say 180.(still skinny at your height) Let Uncle Brian show you how…

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