keep dropping weight

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Ok, so im 42. been training fairly consistent since i was about 20 except for the past couple years its been on and off. Ive always been up and down in weight but have always stayed somewhat lean even at my heaviest 228 lbs. Im only 5-8". I havent done gear in years and was maintaining about 185 lbs. Was a fairly heavy drinker for so many years also. (vodka). well, i quit drinking almost 6 months ago and within a month i went all the way down to 150. Im eating the same and nothing has changed except im not drinking at all anymore but no matter what i do i cant gain weight back. The doc had bloodwork ordered for me and everything is normal so i just figured maybe its from not drinking anymore but even eating junk like steak and cheese subs etc im still slowly dropping weight. Has this happened to anyone else before or similar? I do have low T but even with that and no gear in the past i have still been able to put some muscle on. The only thing that i had happen that was different was i had pancreatitis right before i quit drinking and was in the hospital for 5 days (3 of which i could only have ice chips). I got out of the hospital and had bloodwork done 2 weeks later and everything was back to normal. Ive never fasted before but since that point is when all the weight started dropping. I know its a unique situation but even the doc has no clue so I figured id ask on here if anyone has heard or had something similar happen. Thanks.
 

maxmuscle1

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Ok, so im 42. been training fairly consistent since i was about 20 except for the past couple years its been on and off. Ive always been up and down in weight but have always stayed somewhat lean even at my heaviest 228 lbs. Im only 5-8". I havent done gear in years and was maintaining about 185 lbs. Was a fairly heavy drinker for so many years also. (vodka). well, i quit drinking almost 6 months ago and within a month i went all the way down to 150. Im eating the same and nothing has changed except im not drinking at all anymore but no matter what i do i cant gain weight back. The doc had bloodwork ordered for me and everything is normal so i just figured maybe its from not drinking anymore but even eating junk like steak and cheese subs etc im still slowly dropping weight. Has this happened to anyone else before or similar? I do have low T but even with that and no gear in the past i have still been able to put some muscle on. The only thing that i had happen that was different was i had pancreatitis right before i quit drinking and was in the hospital for 5 days (3 of which i could only have ice chips). I got out of the hospital and had bloodwork done 2 weeks later and everything was back to normal. Ive never fasted before but since that point is when all the weight started dropping. I know its a unique situation but even the doc has no clue so I figured id ask on here if anyone has heard or had something similar happen. Thanks.

Might be that your body chemistry just needs more time to get back to normal. They say it can take up to 18 months for your brain and hormones to normalize after using substance/s for long periods. Just stay healthy and keep up on your doc visits, bloodwork.
 

DF

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Never heard of I keep getting skinnier. We do have a great member Ryanharvy that keeps getting fatter.
 

automatondan

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Congrats on going sober.

Do you keep track of your calories/macros with a journal or an app like myfitnesspal? Sounds like after you quit drinking, all the stuff that the booze was messing up with your metabolism is fixed now, and you are blessed with a good metabolism. If that is the case, you are just not taking in enough calories. Period. But there is no way to know without keeping track of it. Saying that you eat a ton of food is not objective.
 

CJ

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It might not explain ALL the weight loss, but alcohol has calories too. You did say that you went from heavy drinking to sober. Don't discount all those alcohol calories, plus when being drunk you might've been eating a bunch of shit. Lord knows I do.
 

CJ

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And maybe you've become more active in the time that you used to spend drinking???

Just throwing darts here.
 

PillarofBalance

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"no matter what I do I can't gain weight"

Breakfast:
3 sausage egg and cheese on a biscuit and 3 hashbrowns

Lunch
A large pizza

Dinner
A rotisserie chicken
Half of an 8 inch chocolate cake

Before bed
Quart of chocolate milk

Now I don't actually recommend you do that, but hopefully you see my point.

Most typical cause of weight gain or weight loss is eating too many/too few calories.

Talk to us about what you are eating and what your lifestyle is like (job, how often you lift, sedentary hobby or active)
 
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Congrats on going sober.

Do you keep track of your calories/macros with a journal or an app like myfitnesspal? Sounds like after you quit drinking, all the stuff that the booze was messing up with your metabolism is fixed now, and you are blessed with a good metabolism. If that is the case, you are just not taking in enough calories. Period. But there is no way to know without keeping track of it. Saying that you eat a ton of food is not objective.


Thanks. I somewhat keep track of my calories but not as well as I should. Going to start documenting what I eat better from now on. Ill look into that app as well. Thanks for the info
 
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"no matter what I do I can't gain weight"

Breakfast:
3 sausage egg and cheese on a biscuit and 3 hashbrowns

Lunch
A large pizza

Dinner
A rotisserie chicken
Half of an 8 inch chocolate cake

Before bed
Quart of chocolate milk

Now I don't actually recommend you do that, but hopefully you see my point.

Most typical cause of weight gain or weight loss is eating too many/too few calories.

Talk to us about what you are eating and what your lifestyle is like (job, how often you lift, sedentary hobby or active)

Well, here is what I ate yesterday.

Breakfast: 3 eggs, 2 slices whole wheat toast dry, an apple
Snack: kind bar
Lunch: grilled chicken breast with brown rice and green beans
snack: peanut butter on pita bread
Dinner: turkey burger with brussell sprouts on the side
late night snack: protein shake with dry oatmeal blended in with it.

I usually hit the gym when I can which is about 4 days a week. I work for a catering company so im constantly running around while at work especially when its crazy busy.
 

NbleSavage

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Congrats on going sober.

Do you keep track of your calories/macros with a journal or an app like myfitnesspal? Sounds like after you quit drinking, all the stuff that the booze was messing up with your metabolism is fixed now, and you are blessed with a good metabolism. If that is the case, you are just not taking in enough calories. Period. But there is no way to know without keeping track of it. Saying that you eat a ton of food is not objective.

x2, this. Calculate yer TDEE and log yer food into MyFitnessPal. The math is simple: > TDEE = Weight Gain
 

CJ

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Well, here is what I ate yesterday.

Breakfast: 3 eggs, 2 slices whole wheat toast dry, an apple
Snack: kind bar
Lunch: grilled chicken breast with brown rice and green beans
snack: peanut butter on pita bread
Dinner: turkey burger with brussell sprouts on the side
late night snack: protein shake with dry oatmeal blended in with it.

I usually hit the gym when I can which is about 4 days a week. I work for a catering company so im constantly running around while at work especially when its crazy busy.

That's not a lot of food, probably only around 2000 Cals by my estimation. No wonder you're losing weight.
 

PillarofBalance

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Well, here is what I ate yesterday.

Breakfast: 3 eggs, 2 slices whole wheat toast dry, an apple
Snack: kind bar
Lunch: grilled chicken breast with brown rice and green beans
snack: peanut butter on pita bread
Dinner: turkey burger with brussell sprouts on the side
late night snack: protein shake with dry oatmeal blended in with it.

I usually hit the gym when I can which is about 4 days a week. I work for a catering company so im constantly running around while at work especially when its crazy busy.

I should have specified that I wanted to know quantities of what you ate. A turkey burger has a weight. What is it? Same for chicken and everything else.

If you enjoy what you eat then just bump up the portions.
 

snake

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It's simple. The booze added the extra calories and probably had a negative effect on your body fat along with your estrogen.

You're in a much better place now to start eating and start building. When you get that weight back it's going to look way better than before.
 

transcend2007

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You need to determine your BMR ... to see how many calories your burning now after quitting drinking per day .... download MyFitnessPal and start tracking your calories ... its possible you were eating more while you were drinking and you simply do not remember because you were not tracking … this is going to require effort … just remember you cannot improve what you do not measure ...

Keep it simple ... once you determine the number of calories you're burning then increase that amount by 500 to 1,000 calories per day ... this is really a matter of measuring your calories daily and taking in more every day than you are burning .... once you get a handle on this you will find gaining weight is not difficutl (you'll notice I said gaining weight not muscle).
 

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