I'm not really sure what's happening

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Replies

  • dmt4641
    dmt4641 Posts: 409 Member
    It sounds like you want to increase your weight slowly and add muscle instead of fat to get back to a healthy weight. However it seems that the issue is that your body doesn’t like this body fat percentage so you need to gain some more fat not muscle. Adding mostly muscle will just decrease your bf % even further and the process will be too slow. You don’t just need added weight, you need some added fat.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    edited June 2019
    dmt4641 wrote: »
    It sounds like you want to increase your weight slowly and add muscle instead of fat to get back to a healthy weight. However it seems that the issue is that your body doesn’t like this body fat percentage so you need to gain some more fat not muscle. Adding mostly muscle will just decrease your bf % even further and the process will be too slow. You don’t just need added weight, you need some added fat.

    Well... in a lean bulk she will gain fat and muscle. Just at a slower pace. I was once worried about fat cell hyperplasia. If weight is gained slowly, it's most likely not going to happen. As Layne Norton says, "just dont eat like an @hole." OP, I have had to learn that SOME bf is healthy. Sometimes our leanest weight is not always our BEST weight. I hope you find your path.
  • dmt4641
    dmt4641 Posts: 409 Member
    A slow lean bulk would make more sense once your body normalizes and stops gasping for food and having a level of soreness and tiredness beyond what is normal. Trying to continue to tightly control your body when it is in revolt from too much movement and too little food seems counterproductive at this time. Once your level of hunger normalizes and your body is ready for the type of heavy training required to gain muscle, a lean bulk makes more sense. Also possibly not cutting after the bulk is done and maintaining a slightly higher body fat percentage is probably a good idea to prevent this in the future.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,398 Member
    Maxematics wrote: »
    I figured I'd update this post as it's been a month, things have changed, and my experience may help others with similar issues.

    I had a doctor's appointment on 6/27 and got my blood test results back yesterday. I made sure I avoided taking any vitamins for over a week prior to my visit so that I could see if I had any deficiencies. Everything was perfect according to the doctor.

    Prior to my visit, my hunger levels did return to normal and I shot up from 109 pounds to 117 pounds within three weeks. I'm now sitting at around 115.5 pounds which is more than fine with me. I have also been getting seven hours of sleep most nights and eating more now that work is out until mid August. I'll have to work on strategies to get good rest and making sure I eat enough instead of being consumed by work stress. I'm also going to be cutting back on my physical activity outside of work when I return.

    I guess the bottom line is that I was getting too much physical activity and not enough sleep or food. I wanted to thank everyone who contributed and tried to help once again.

    Though I didn't see this when it first was posted, it sounds like you've found a much better place with the work being out of the picture for a while. I've been through similar, though not to quite such extremes with having trouble eating more and such. I can be much more fit and maintain that with all work stresses out of the way. But with work added to the mix my "happy place" is a bit less fit, and a bit heavier.

    As active as you seem to be, finding something that is a workout and also helps relieve stress might be a good option for when you are back at work. Though I sometimes found it boring, and rarely challenging at all, an easy walk with the family helps me de-stress and burns some calories.

    Either way, I'm glad you figured it out for now and seem to have a good plan for when work comes back into the picture. It's a great example of "one size does not fit all"... we all have to find the way that works for us and all the complexities of the whole picture.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 33,853 Member
    edited July 2019
    Maxematics wrote: »
    I figured I'd update this post as it's been a month, things have changed, and my experience may help others with similar issues.

    I had a doctor's appointment on 6/27 and got my blood test results back yesterday. I made sure I avoided taking any vitamins for over a week prior to my visit so that I could see if I had any deficiencies. Everything was perfect according to the doctor.

    Prior to my visit, my hunger levels did return to normal and I shot up from 109 pounds to 117 pounds within three weeks. I'm now sitting at around 115.5 pounds which is more than fine with me. I have also been getting seven hours of sleep most nights and eating more now that work is out until mid August. I'll have to work on strategies to get good rest and making sure I eat enough instead of being consumed by work stress. I'm also going to be cutting back on my physical activity outside of work when I return.

    I guess the bottom line is that I was getting too much physical activity and not enough sleep or food. I wanted to thank everyone who contributed and tried to help once again.

    Thank you for reporting back: It's interesting to me as someone who's read the thread, and I think it makes the thread more informative and useful for all. :)

    I'm glad you're doing better, feeling better!
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    So what you are experiencing is very similar to what bodybuilders experience when they compete. Very low bw or bf can increase ghrelin and reduce leptin. This generally causes extreme hunger. Add in lose of period can compound it.

    In fact, Stephanie Buttermore recently did a video on what i am describing

    https://youtu.be/d_qxQtdRTds

    But you lost weight quickly, you were stressed and you work out a fair amount, with highly daily activity.

    ETA: On top of taking a diet break, i would cut down on the exercise, especially the cardio. You walk a lot and then add a good amount of cardio on top.

    Have you seen her last two videos? I'm looking forward to her month update, I think it should be quite therapeutic for a lot of people.
  • maureenseel1984
    maureenseel1984 Posts: 397 Member
    From what I can see in the pictures...and from what you are describing...a break from logging may be a good idea a this point. Do you feel it's becoming obsessive at all?
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    Not an update from Stephanie yet, but commentary that I enjoyed touching on the trends in women's "fitness" and aesthetics:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWNCpsvL08Q