What's wrong with me?

[mightyangus]

Not REALLY a nutrition question -- more of a health question -- but I couldn't find a more accurate section of the the forums to post in.

I've been lifting for 2 years. 1.5 years seriously.

Stats: 20 years old. 6'5" and weigh 220 pounds.

Despite having a perfect diet and training routine I'm not seeing the results I want to be. I stopped making progress many months ago with my main lifts. I'm wondering if anyone knows what was wrong with me or knows which type of specialist I should see since the doctors I've seen are useless. My symptoms are:

- Low energy during workouts (feel like a zombie - take 2 hours to do a 1 hour workout)
-Very low libido (never used to have this)
-Puffy nipples/gyno (been getting worse since starting lifting)
-No motivation
-Depression (which I've had for 5 years)
-Very hard time adding muscle
-Store fat in feminine places (chest and butt)

My diet is as follows:

Breakfast
-6 whole eggs
-1 cup of oats with a scoop of whey
-10 almonds

Lunch
-185g Can of tuna on toast
-1 cup of low fat greek yoghurt
-1 banana

Dinner
-300g Chicken or steak
-1 large potato or cup of brown rice.
-100g broccoli

This is 2500 calories. Which I eat on workout days. On rest days I eat a modified version of this with 2000 calories. (I'm cutting). Since I started low intensity cardio every day my cut has been going really well so no problems there.

This is really starting to get to me since the doctors I've seen have been useless. I'm going to get my testosterone levels checked again -- the last time I got them checked was about 2 years ago. I don't have the results but I remember my test level was JUST within the acceptable range. I feel it has risen since I started taking 5000ui vitamin D supplementation about 2-3 months ago and I have actually maintained some decent muscle since then (while cutting). The symptoms listed above, however, are still as present as ever. Does it sound like low test, or are there other factors do you think? If anyone has any insight on this let me know. Cheers.

[BunkMoreland]

[Gxp23]

185g of tuna every day? I got some bad newz.

[mightyangus]

185g of tuna every day? I got some bad newz.

You talking about mercury levels cause I got them checked a week ago and they're fine.

[Gxp23]

You talking about mercury levels cause I got them checked a week ago and they're fine.

No, I was getting at your breath, it must be howlin.

Ok I was getting at that :P, but thats good they are ok.

Why not try, eating a bigger varied diet, because tbh, that would get old, real fast.

[miacanesfan25]

There's a strong possibility I'm wrong because I just don't know, however, from personal experience you're cutting to aggressively or this is just how your body responds to being in a deficit. I had all the same symptoms on my first cut. Going into a surplus and getting back to my usual weight fixed literally every problem. The next cut I went slower with less of a deficit and never had the problems again. Good luck op.

As far as your diet is concerned, is it that boring by choice? If not, I would suggest reading the stickies and learning how to vary your diet. That will probably have a huge effect on energy levels if you learn what to eat and when to maximize your personal performance.

[ironwill2008]

-- more of a health question -- but I couldn't find a more accurate section of the the forums to post in.

There's a reason for that, opie.

the doctors I've seen have been useless.

So you decided a 'misc' forum on a bodybuilding site was a better place to bring a medical issue?

[snorkelman]

You talking about mercury levels cause I got them checked a week ago and they're fine.

Really? Did you specifically ask to have them checked for that purpose? Did you advise your doctor that you ate that amount of tuna daily? If you have been eating that amount for 2 years, I find your statement shocking, especially in light of a symptom you are experiencing.

[sawoobley]

Please post your "perfect" workout routine.

[Geoloop]

So you decided a 'misc' forum on a bodybuilding site was a better place to bring a medical issue?

[respawn]

what is your training program. exercises, rest, reps, sets
are you changing it?

[Lvisaa2]

Does it sound like low test? Yes, but it may be because you're 6'5'', 220 lbs and eating 2,500 calories. That's not much.

[thekow]

You aint eating enough with the right ratios. Pretty simple really.

[anonymous]

im no dr but doesnt 2500 seem high enough to not cause the kind of problems op describes?
yea, it might be a little low but it doesn't seem like danger zone status


my 2 cents(and don't take me to heart) but maybe its a psycho****tic deal? how anal are you about your diet? do you spend too much time thinking about it? if you go off it, do you harp on it?

[mightyangus]

There's a strong possibility I'm wrong because I just don't know, however, from personal experience you're cutting to aggressively or this is just how your body responds to being in a deficit. I had all the same symptoms on my first cut. Going into a surplus and getting back to my usual weight fixed literally every problem. The next cut I went slower with less of a deficit and never had the problems again. Good luck op.

As far as your diet is concerned, is it that boring by choice? If not, I would suggest reading the stickies and learning how to vary your diet. That will probably have a huge effect on energy levels if you learn what to eat and when to maximize your personal performance.

Thanks man. It's that boring because I'm too lazy to change it and I like to keep my nutrition the same so I can make small tweaks to it based on daily exercise. Say, if I happen to do a lot of walking I'll just add another slice of bread to my tuna sandwich etc.

Really? Did you specifically ask to have them checked for that purpose? Did you advise your doctor that you ate that amount of tuna daily? If you have been eating that amount for 2 years, I find your statement shocking, especially in light of a symptom you are experiencing.

Yes, I told my doctor I was worried about my mercury levels from eating a can of tuna a day and they were checked. They were well within the normal range (on the low side of normal even).

Does it sound like low test? Yes, but it may be because you're 6'5'', 220 lbs and eating 2,500 calories. That's not much.

You aint eating enough with the right ratios. Pretty simple really.

If I eat more than this I just start putting on fat. I have been put on a 4k calorie diet (by a bodybuilding coach) and I got real fat, real fast. I cut down to 3k, which is about maintenance for me so I wasn't losing any fat. Now I'm on 2500/2000 workout/rest and I'm losing about 1lb per week. It does seem strange to be, being so big, that my calories seem relatively low. This is probably linked to the symptoms I'm having.

[Gxp23]

How often do you weigh yourself ?

[mightyangus]

Please post your "perfect" workout routine.

Okay, maybe not perfect lol. But I really don't think it's the problem so I didn't bother posting it.

Here:

Day 1 Push.A
incline press 5x5
flat dumbbell press 2x8
side laterals 3x10
shoulder press 2x6
skull crushers 2x8
rope pull-downs 1x8

Day 2 Pull.A
pull ups x25
barbell row 3x8
rear laterals 2x8
barbell curl 2x8
hammer curl 2x8


Day3 Legs.A
Heavy squats 5x3-5
leg press 3x5
leg extensions 2x8
hamstring curl 2x8
10mins light jog

Day 1 Push.B

bench press 3x5
dumbbell flys 2x8
shoulder press 2x6
triceps overhead press 2x8
dips 1xfailuire

Day 2 Pull.B
pull ups x10
barbell row3x8
rear laterals 3x8
preacher curl 2x8
incline curls 2x10


Day 3 Legs.B
Squats 3x8
leg press 3x8
leg extensions 2x8
dumbbell lunges 2 walks
10mins light jog

This plus deadlifts once a week. I was doing this 6 days a week. Now I'm doing this 3 days a week plus an extra day for arms because they're lagging. (4 days a week)

Lifts are: DL - 400lbs. Squat - 350lbs. Bench -200lbs.

[mightyangus]

How often do you weigh yourself ?

Every time I step in the gym but I keep a weekly tally because maybe one day I drank more water/didn't take a ****, etc.

[Gxp23]

Every time I step in the gym but I keep a weekly tally because maybe one day I drank more water/didn't take a ****, etc.

Stick to a weekly/bi weekly weigh in, in the morning, after the toilet, before the shower, your just going to discourage yourself doing it so often, regardless of the weekly tally.

[mightyangus]

Sounds like a good idea.

[Lvisaa2]

Go get tested. My guess is either Low T or hypothyroidism, but who knows.

[TomBremner]

ok, you're diet sounds boring as hell, but macro wise looks decent, training looks pretty good actually. if i were you i would raise cals too maintenance and get more hormone levels checked. whats your BF% and how long have you been dieting?

[rhadam]

OP have you considered the fact that you may be a wizard?

[MikeTheBiceps]

Oke, i might not be the best person to tell you because im new to this forum.
But how about you do ''1 cheat day'' so that your metoblisme rate is still high.
It can also prevent your low libido. I lost a lot of wieght and didn't eat alot and yet i gained fat.
And i can tell you that for me in that year high cal days realy did the trick.
I was also a little depressed and low on libido but when i did 1 high cal day per 10 days it al went away.
And maybe you have a lack of saturated fats, this is also a libido booster.

I hope this is usefull for you

[mightyangus]

whats your BF% and how long have you been dieting?

BF% is about 14% at a guess. I've been on the diet I listed for about 5-6 months. I was at 25% at the beginning of the year at the end of a long bulk. I go by feel/how much my weight changes though. Like if I feel like REAL **** -- or if I'm losing weight too fast -- then I'll up the carbs and fats a bit til I get back to "normal".

Oke, i might not be the best person to tell you because im new to this forum.
But how about you do ''1 cheat day'' so that your metoblisme rate is still high.
It can also prevent your low libido. I lost a lot of wieght and didn't eat alot and yet i gained fat.
And i can tell you that for me in that year high cal days realy did the trick.
I was also a little depressed and low on libido but when i did 1 high cal day per 10 days it al went away.
And maybe you have a lack of saturated fats, this is also a libido booster.

Funny you should mention a cheat day. I ate a few slices of pizza for the first time in ages today haha. Gonna try upping my calories for a little while -- even if I'm not as cut as I want to be for summer

I have about 60g of fat per day though: 10 almonds, cooking with olive oil, eggs, yoghurt and have half an avocado most days with my tuna sandwich. Would have thought this is enough.

[respawn]

BF% is about 14% at a guess. I've been on the diet I listed for about 5-6 months. I was at 25% at the beginning of the year at the end of a long bulk. I go by feel/how much my weight changes though. Like if I feel like REAL **** -- or if I'm losing weight too fast -- then I'll up the carbs and fats a bit til I get back to "normal".



Funny you should mention a cheat day. I ate a few slices of pizza for the first time in ages today haha. Gonna try upping my calories for a little while -- even if I'm not as cut as I want to be for summer

I have about 60g of fat per day though: 10 almonds, cooking with olive oil, eggs, yoghurt and have half an avocado most days with my tuna sandwich. Would have thought this is enough.

if you can try cook with coconut oil instead. it can be heated higher then olive oil before turning bad. This doesn't mean deep fried chips in coconut oil is good for you it turns bad as well. No oils should be heated so much in reality.

[MikeTheBiceps]

Your amount of fat is oké (21% of your dialy intake) but your body Also needs "bad fats" (not transfat) these fats keep your libido high. A cheatday hits two birds with 1 stone. The high cal day and "bat fats"

[respawn]

Your amount of fat is oké (21% of your dialy intake) but your body Also needs "bad fats" (not transfat) these fats keep your libido high. A cheatday hits two birds with 1 stone. The high cal day and "bat fats"

what you mean bad fats?

[MikeTheBiceps]

Saturated fats (these fats is what i mean with "bad fats")

[Gxp23]

Saturated fats

Not bad fats.