Working out but look bloated

Symptoms
#1

I’ve been weightlifting fairly consistently for about a year straight, about four or five times per week with considerable gains in strength (I weigh 175lbs and can bench 255lbs). I have a pretty strict diet of mostly just eggs and broccoli. The problem I’m having is that I look like shit. Basically looks like I have a dad bod. Everything is bloated and you can’t really see much of any definition in the muscles I have. I have a lot of sag in my chest and love handles. I don’t get much of any pump in my muscles at the gym or endorphin feeling after. I need to nap after every work out because I feel exhausted.

I have noticed that some days these problems are lessened and things feel a bit tighter. There’s been an increase in body hair across my chest since starting to take lifting more serious. Some days I have body odor but most the time, no.

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#2

I can relate to this. My strength is through the roof, but there’s virtually no definition in my body despite eating relatively healthy. It’s like the this weird, soft layer of fat, but doesn’t seem like fat. It’s more like an odd fluid retention - mushy, spongy muscles.

The positive is that the strength demonstrates that the muscle is still there; there’s just been a change it it’s composition.

#3

Odd fluid retention is exactly how I would describe it. It’s definitely not fat because some days I find it’s a lot better than others and my body feels tighter overall. I think I’ll just keep lifting because I feel like despite how tired it makes me, it is at least exacerbating some sort of struggle in my body that hopefully could kickstart some improvements. The sign of more body hair has to be a good thing.

#4

Interesting. As I think about it, I think I’ve seen a fluctuation in that too. It’s never pre-fun status, but there are days where my muscles do seem tighter than others and my body seems a little more toned… weirdest thing ever. I’ve also had an increase in body hair in recent months.

I’d say keep lifting if you feel you can tolerate it. That’s what I’ve been doing and it’s at least comforting to know the muscle’s still there.

#5

It is odd how it fluctuates and I can’t really seem to notice any triggers as to when it’s better or worse. One thing that comes to mind is that after I workout I usually always have to take a nap and after that nap I find I notice a lot of improvements in mood and sometimes in my physique. I think that my typical sleep is not of a good quality, but that after I work out I get a much deeper sleep. Beyond that though, it’s definitely something endocrine-related. I have frequent urination, as well as dry eyes and dry skin, so I think there’s definitely issues with fluid balancing in my body.

Going to keep working out for sure. It is nice to still be able to get stronger and feel more masculine than how I typically have to feel with this condition. I wouldn’t say I tolerate it particularly well, but the fact that I have a job where I can take a nap after the gym helps a lot.