Gained 30kgs of fat in one year (PLEASE HELP)

[transformerchad]

Well , i dont know where to begin , i was diagnosed with chronic depression disorder October 2014 and was placed on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication for my condition . Thats when i switched from Intermittent fasting and calorie counting to a diet where i didnt care about anything . I stopped going to gym , ate everything and anything i wanted and before i knew it i stood on the scale at 96kgs (212 pounds) from a lean , muscular and a healthy physique 72kgs ( +- 160 pounds) . Initially i transformed my body over a 18 month period , i lost tons of fat (muscle too) and slow bulked from there because i really looked unhealthy i was 143 pounds skinny/fat .

Now i need HELP more than i have ever needed it with regards to my physique . In my Profile picture i was at 12% Bf at 72kg's 175cm +- 5'8 and it took a ton of trial and error .

- I do not want to lose fat+muscle resulting in a flabby skinny fat look . (It happened even when i lifted ) calories were too low
- I do not know where to begin , i have started Intermittent fasting because i enjoy eating big meals and find that it worked for me in the past
- Calories ??? No clue where to begin
- Training will always be weight lifting orientated
- Im considering dropping carbs to drop excess water retention and just give my body a change , perhaps keep my fats and protein moderate to high ?

To add to the above , i feel physically fatigued on a daily basis , motivation is somewhere in another world , i have done it before and know how much work it takes to achieve a healthy, strong physique , only problem is i dont know what route to take this time

I will appreciate and rep responses

[jampottt]

Sorry to hear about your mental health issues, brah. Hard times indeed.


I'd recommend looking into what your estimated TDEE is now, and start a beginners strength program such as Strong Lifts, Fierce 5 or Ice Cream Fitness 5x5. If you can add progressive load whilst eating at maintenance calories (which at your stats should be a decent enough level), I see no reason why you can't build muscle/burn fat at a rate you'll find more aesthetically pleasing. Bare in mind that your progress may be slow, but it's probably the best way to minimise fat gains/maximise muscle gains, without excess loose skin, though bare in mind some is inevitable.

Just eat at maintenance, consuming 1lb per 1lb of protein and 0.45g of fat per lb of bodyweight. Fill the rest of your calories with whatever you like to hit maintenance calories, if it's mainly of whole nutritious food, your health will love you more. Adjust between Carbs, Fats and Proteins depending on your bodies cry for satiety and energy.

Good luck.

[transformerchad]

Thanks for the response man

My TDEE at the moment must be low considering i have a desk Job and i only started training again a few days ago , also feel like the meds i took really did damage to my hormones thats why i was considering upping my fats significantly and dropping carbs to +- 50g for a month or two as a kick start to boost testosterone levels naturally and drop this ****ty water retention too (feel complete lack of testosterone) or its something else .

Whats the best way to work TDEE these days

[jampottt]

I just used the calculator on http://iifym.com/ - it's only an estimate, and I'd adjust from there judging by results on the scale/mirror - but found I didn't need to as it seemed about accurate.

I'd agree with bumping your fats, but there's no reason to slash carbs that much, I'd imagine you'd feel crappy whilst training, but that's my experience going sub 100g Carbs. I went through a similar transformation to yourself, going from 240lbs down to 150lbs in a matter of months, through an incredibly low calorie and low fat diet + cardio putting me in a constant deficit. I found my hormones were battered and my developed PB addiction soon helped fix that.

[transformerchad]

Sitting at an average TDEE of 2950 if i keep it consistent in the gym 3-5days a week

Im going to invest in a home scale and do some weekly weigh ins on the 2950 calories , from there im wondering if i should do 500 calories below maintenance ? Im literally the fattest i have been in my entire life and feel extremely unhealthy

[magician27]

Sitting at an average TDEE of 2950 if i keep it consistent in the gym 3-5days a week

Im going to invest in a home scale and do some weekly weigh ins on the 2950 calories , from there im wondering if i should do 500 calories below maintenance ? Im literally the fattest i have been in my entire life and feel extremely unhealthy

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=156380183 yup, just eat 15-20% below your maintenance calories and keep liftin heavy weights , dont drop carbs dramatically just cut calories from everything once you make sure that you have your protein and fat minimums , you need to lose fat ,not water.

[transformerchad]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=156380183 yup, just eat 15-20% below your maintenance calories and keep liftin heavy weights , dont drop carbs dramatically just cut calories from everything once you make sure that you have your protein and fat minimums , you need to lose fat ,not water.

Im going to keep protein at 180grams , fats at 94grams , carbs at 345grams puts me around 2950calories

So ill drop 20% from carbs which will put me at around 275grams of carbs and i should still be able to be below maintenance

This is going to be a years work minimum just to get into a decent shape fuuuk

[gibbss]

these things are a known side effect from SSRI's or other anti depressants.
(Lack of energy , no motivation , weight gain , and tons of other stuff)
Not saying that if you improve training , and nutrition like you did before is not gooing to improve this but it can have something to do with your medicins.

So i suggest go and talk to the doctor that gave you this medication.
( because i think feeling depressed about your physique is not helping you to deal with depressed feelings)

And a nother thing is did you tried to drop down is your dosses or even stop taking medication? ,and looked for good mental coaching?
Ofcourse i don't know your personal situation but a lot of docters just give these medications like it's no big deal.


There are some real good results with :
- Mindfullness based Cognitive therapy
( don't trip over the word mindfulness i've seen this work more then ones on soldiers with ptss , and all source of other problems.)
There's a good book aswell : ''the mindfull way true depression''

There are also a lot of other supplements you can try
- St John wort.
- Rhodiola
- LTO3
- Higher doses of a good magnesium supp.

All these things combined can help.
I react like this because i've worked with people dealing with depression , and i give mindfullness based training to people with anxiety problems.
and i know that it's possible that if you give yourself time you can learn how to deal with everything!!

So healthy livin' is one thing but there's more you can do about this besides fixing your food , and training..
Hope it helped a little

[transformerchad]

these things are a known side effect from SSRI's or other anti depressants.
(Lack of energy , no motivation , weight gain , and tons of other stuff)
Not saying that if you improve training , and nutrition like you did before is not gooing to improve this but it can have something to do with your medicins.

So i suggest go and talk to the doctor that gave you this medication.
( because i think feeling depressed about your physique is not helping you to deal with depressed feelings)

And a nother thing is did you tried to drop down is your dosses or even stop taking medication? ,and looked for good mental coaching?
Ofcourse i don't know your personal situation but a lot of docters just give these medications like it's no big deal.


There are some real good results with :
- Mindfullness based Cognitive therapy
( don't trip over the word mindfulness i've seen this work more then ones on soldiers with ptss , and all source of other problems.)
There's a good book aswell : ''the mindfull way true depression''

There are also a lot of other supplements you can try
- St John wort.
- Rhodiola
- LTO3
- Higher doses of a good magnesium supp.

All these things combined can help.
I react like this because i've worked with people dealing with depression , and i give mindfullness based training to people with anxiety problems.
and i know that it's possible that if you give yourself time you can learn how to deal with everything!!

So healthy livin' is one thing but there's more you can do about this besides fixing your food , and training..
Hope it helped a little

Baie Dankie boetie

I will look into all of the above , personally i hate the meds but i have to take them else i have depressive episodes . SSRIs have changed my life for the better in some aspects , i can keep a steady Job and i dont ponder over bulllchit all day long and worry , downside is a 30kg fat gain in one year and ZERO motivation and hardly a sex drive ... Makes me begin to think if its actually worth it , if it was up to me id stay away from the SSRIs trust me , far too many side effects that i just hate .

The Goal is to go off them completely eventually

[Iphoneuser777]

I just used the calculator on http://iifym.com/ - it's only an estimate, and I'd adjust from there judging by results on the scale/mirror - but found I didn't need to as it seemed about accurate.

I'd agree with bumping your fats, but there's no reason to slash carbs that much, I'd imagine you'd feel crappy whilst training, but that's my experience going sub 100g Carbs. I went through a similar transformation to yourself, going from 240lbs down to 150lbs in a matter of months, through an incredibly low calorie and low fat diet + cardio putting me in a constant deficit. I found my hormones were battered and my developed PB addiction soon helped fix that.

question about iifym calculator (i know its not accurate), if i go to the gym just weight lifting 5 times a week and sedentary outside the gym. do i put sedentary or lightly active?