I posted recently about how I think the cause of my lack of energy and motivation, as well as my relatively poor mood was probably caused by a lack of sleep.
While I still believe it was a contributing factor, I am now thinking that my initial theory was probably correct. I’m simply too lean.
It’s annoying, because I’m not that lean. Sure, I have very visible abs etc., but I’m not even sure I’m below 10% bodyfat. I sort of assumed, having grown up very skinny, that I could naturally handle much lower bodyfat levels than most. I know it varies wildly by person, but I figured I’d be able to handle 8% or even 6% without issue. I now suspect that’s not true.
My symptoms seem pretty consistent with the experiences of others who have been particularly lean. I don’t seem to have the hunger that others experience, but I guess that’s not universal.
So now I’ve been trying to eat a ton and gain wait back, and I think it’s starting to work. My energy and motivation seems to be slowly coming back, and even my weight training performance has started to improve.
I lost a fair amount of strength when cutting, and after that I’ve basically just stalled for months while maintaining weight. I’ve heard that if you’re too lean, it’s almost impossible to put on muscle, and I think I’ve been experiencing that.
So I’m going to just keep eating at a surplus and see how things progress. If I continue gaining strength rapidly in addition to having greatly improved mood, focus, determination, discipline, and energy in general, then I’ll know I’m on the right track.
It’s a bit disappointing to think that the cost of being relatively lean is so high, because I was hoping to stay that way for lengths of time. But I’m not sure it’s worth it. I can’t afford to have all of those things drop so much.
Perhaps every once and a while I can do it for fun, but in general, I need to maintain my energy and discipline. Otherwise everything kind of lags and I don’t get anything done.
I’ll report back with findings going forward.