Learning something new everyday...

[Sassy69]

Winny, diet, cardio, Lobo's Legs - what am i missing???

I'm in week 3 of my first ever cycle - clen alt w/ ECA every other week and 25 mg injectible winny eod. Eating clean, 6 meals / day, watching the carbs because they like me more than I like them. And thanks to Lobo's "Killer Posts" repost, I started that evil training schedule w/ the 43 sets of legs on Day 5 (day 6 = crawl to work and then crawl to the elliptical machine for "light cardio"!)

I've been lifting naturally for several years, very hard core the last 2 years. Worked with a trainer at the end of last year for a competition, used 10 days worth of clen & T3 to push some bodyfat off, then blew up like a balloon after going off. Been having lousy time losing the fat since. My muscle mass is definintely up, but this fat stuff is getting ridiculous. My current stats are 5'7", 170 lb, 18%bf. Was 145lb, 12% bf in November.

Even with the training, diet and cardio, the fat isn't going away very fast. I don't want to get "bigger" anymore - already scare most of the guys in my gym w/ my calves. I just went to a new doc and ran blood tests for thyroid or anything else funny going on. Results in 2 weeks. Not sure of the short stint of T3 & clen screwed up anything (*this is where I found out how important it is to educate THYSELF instead of letting someone else administer for you*) but 5 months later it shouldn't matter. I definitely feel the effects of the winny as far as hardness / tightness, but not sure about leaning out.

The doc made an interesting comment about how much they don't understand about metabolism, once all other obvious medical causes of weight gain have been eliminated... Well, we'll see what the blood tests say.

Wondered if there's something in the above story that stands out to you guys as an obvious no-no that I have missed by obsessing too much about my weight. Or if any suggestions on altering anything. The frustration level has been high for a couple months now and I see it reflected in my relationships with other people now.

Lobo - I've been lifting hard for a year and half and that workout schedule of yours has left me feeling more pumped and more satisfied when I leave the gym than anything has in a while! Thx man - U ROCK!


~sassy arty:

 

[Sassy69]

Well, gee, yea I guess you could say i'm big.... but, "HUGE"??? Well, I brought it up. They tell me I wear it well. (Is that a compliment?? LMAO!) But actually I do - no heavy fat deposits - just kinda "thick" like retaining water. (God, the more I write the worse I make it sound... sorry)

Here's a sample meal plan:

<3 x / week AM cardio = 45 min>

7 am - 5 egg whites & 1/2 c oatmeal (or oatmeal w/ protein mix instead) + vitamins

11 am - 4-5 oz chicken, spinach + flax seed oil & vinegar

2 pm - nonfat cottage cheese + protein mix (Isopure, 0 carb)

5 pm - 4-5 oz chicken, broccoli + salsa (sometimes a protein bar if starving on the drive home)

<workout + cardio (alt w/ AM cardio)>

8/9 pm - protein mix + 4 oz sweet potato

11-12 midnight - 4-5 egg whites if hungry


BUT WAIT - I admit, its bumming me out to not be seeing bf loss, so my "emotional crutch" is ice cream or when I do better, natural peanut butter. But only on occassion. Diet coke is probably my biggest vice.

So maybe one question is, given a generally consistent clean, 6 meal/day diet, just how damaging is a few breaks? Sometimes I just can't look at another chicken....


I guess not sure if I'm asking questions or letting off steam while impatiently waiting for my blood tests.... But thanks for the board space guys.

 

[Sassy69]

Cardio at night is 45 min. (Yes, I did read the "30 + 30 NOT = 60" thread and loved it...) I generally do this schedule, though sometimes the morning and night cardio sessions get changed around depending on my work schedule, etc.

Is it possible to get so overtrained that you end up rebounding? The full history is a natural competition I did in August, competed at 133 lb 8-9% bf, bad post competition week ate junk, blew up to 150, 16%. Then started training w/ a new guy in September back down to 144, 12% bf by November. This trainer had me eating a lot more carb and protein in general, less cardio, introduce some desperation t3 & clen the last 10 days, definitely built more muscle. Also using ephedrine / NoDoz / Aspirin instead of the usual Ripped Fuel for 4 months 2 days on , 1 day off. Then, in frustration after going into a show I shouldn't have gone into at that wt/bf, I trained even harder through December planning on a competition in March. By the end of December I couldn't get my heartrate past 135 during cardio and could barely make it through a training session. I got some blood work done - everything normal. Then I went to see a guy about GH - one of those anti-aging places. So for huge amounts of money I decided to just go back to the gym. I did get more blood work done - my IGF-1 is on the low side of normal. And higher estrogen levels. So I took 10 days off from training, ECA, everything and started over w/ Adipokinetics. And been stumbling through the diet, training, cardio and frustration (= ice cream moments) ever since. My weight has held steady around 165 and 18-19% bf since December.

What gives?? So after all that, is it possible that I got really screwed up by the end of December from overtraining (or under recovery ...) and I'm rebounding now???

I dont' get it. So that's why I'm off to the doc again, more blood work, continued cardio, etc. I'm very healthy, haven't been sick in 2 years, stopped taking my birth control 3 months ago with no weird side effects, eat clean (except for the times when I just don't see any results) and generally sleep good (except when I get frustrated about the whole thing). This is an evil cycle that I have to get out of because it just perpetuates itself. And BTW, bb is a "lifestyle" and you can get too deep into it sometimes, as TWISTED STEEL noted. I"ve only just stepped into the AS side of it, but don't plan to just rely on that to address my issues here.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has experienced a bad rebound effect from training.

~sassy

 

[Sassy69]

Yea you other guys - chime in!

WarLobo - you have mail.

~sassy

 

[Sassy69]

bump - any experiences? ideas?

 

[Sassy69]

bump bump!

Maybe I should've used a better teaser line on this thread, like "Winny gave me big b( o )( o )bs - wanna see??"

~ sassy

 

[Drifter]

LOL Sassy! That would definitely have gotten more views but I'm not sure the replies would have been what you wanted.

Good luck on getting the info you need.

 

[Superfrk]

Hi am a novice new to all this so take this not as advice but may be presenting this question to the board that I have it might help you. I saw a post by you earlier that you came off birth control with no problems a few months ago. Also you posted that you were on a cycle. it my understanding that birth control acts like an anti estrog. and was wondering if you were useing it on your cycle wouldn't it make you have really high levels of test in your system? Also you said alot of the weight was like bloating. So I wonder if this is a test rebound, or a continueing affect of high test levels. I am new to AS and am male so do not have much experince on this subject just thought I would post so that some of you guys could help her.

 

[mikki(hbdywi)]

wow!
sassy i couldn't have read your post at a better time.
I am fully and thoroughly frustrated. My circumstances aren't exactly the same but i can definitely relate. (right down to the diet coke and natural peanut butter...which are NOT regular things in my diet)
I am training hard, eating clean, drinking massive amounts of water, muscles feel good, muscles grow, fat won't leave
I had a friend suggest getting some bloodwork done. I would think i would have more symptoms than fatonmythighs if i was having some sort of medical problem.
i have to wonder if maybe there is a lot more fat IN my muscles than i thought and i am feeling that difference and not seeing it....
I have gone over everything i am doing 1001 times and can't figure out what it is that *I* am doing wrong other than obsessing
I truly love training but i get so frustrated that i want to say f-it....which i in fact did do last night because of this mind-F of feeling great and looking like a Mimi....

hopefully we can figure this out!
thanks for posting!!

 

[Sassy69]

COOL! Someone read my post!

Superfrk: I went off my bc before starting my cycle, so no interaction there. I actually didn't experience any bloating going off. My ob-gym said if anything I should lose wt from going off. Also my cycle is winny only - which is known for its non-bloating affect.

Mikki: Have you gotten your body fat measured? That's usually a good place to start. Its funny - like this one girl at work is my height and has a very cute shape but no muscle - her bf is like 26% and mine is 18% and I feel like a complete cow. So "feeling fat" is really a relative thing. If you are eating clean and lifting, I would say look at your cardio first - the only thing that really ever made a major difference for me was when I started doing morning cardio on an empty stomach 4 days/week. And with your diet, you might try "cycling" carbs - go a couple days w/ low carb and then a high carb day so your body doesn't get too comfortable working with the same dietary input all the time.

I admit my diet isn't as clean as I'd like right now - this is where the pyschological part of bodybuilding/weight lifting comes into play. Its depressing as hell not being able to drop fat despite doing all the "right" things. And frankly its a lame excuse to say "i am depressed therefore I eat junk". I personally need to refocus and set my sights on a goal. The one thing that is screwing all this up is the fact that I am experiencing some sort of rebound effect from my training last year and I don't know how long it would be before my body actually decides its safe to start letting some of the fat go.

And to top it all off, I got sick - waaaaaaaaaah. I've been out of the gym for 4 days now and hate it. But no one wants you sneezing all over the free weights, so probably better I stay home. Hopefully tomorrow. And also still waiting on my blood tests. At least if you get the blood work done, you will have a baseline and know that you are ok. Blood work from earlier this year showed that I had low (though still normal) DHEA and low GH levels. This would support the fact that I just naturally have a hard time losing weight. It helps to be able to see the physiological reasons why you are the way you are.

Good luck as well and I will keep my status posted.

~ sassy