Progress Reversed!

[Salboo]

Hi guys,
I’m after a bit of advice or knowledge if I may...
Basically, I am a 29 yo female and have been taking fitness seriously for about 2 years now. Prior to this I was always slender and relatively healthy but just not fit.
I have put masses of work into regime over the past couple of years. I frequent the gym daily, do about 45 mins of hard core cardio 5xa week and do weight training for 30 mins 5xa week.
I saw results fast. muscle mass built very quickly and I was so proud of new form. I was toned all over and very fit.
Then literally overnight, about 6 months ago, I started to plough on weight and developed a range of issues. Without changing anything about fitness regime or diet, I literally went up at 2-3 dress sizes (I never weigh myself purposefully so I can’t give u this info). I also feel totally fatigued constantly, regime is so hard to keep up now despite all the work I have put in getting fit, I sweat excessively all the time, at night especially and skin is red and puffy. I sleep about 12 hours a night because I’m just so knackered and struggled to get up. I eat so healthily and work hard on body and the energy I used to have in abundance is totally gone. So what’s happening?!

I felt I would try and let it pass but like I say this has been occurring for about 6 months now and I just don’t know what to do. I feel so unwell and
I went to the doctors but blood tests came back clear.

Thanks for listening everyone. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

[Boss Man]

Hi Salboo, good to speak to you.

You say you spoke to people from the medical proffession and you say blood tests came back clear, however would it be intrusive of me if I asked whether around 6 months ago you started taking medication of any kind, as some medications can be linked to weight gain.

Is it possible there may be some sort of medical concern that has affected your hormone levels perhaps, something that maybe blood tests wouldn't necessarily pick up? It may also be possible the test results you got back were somehow misreported, I:E: they were someone elses, but you got given them as an administrative error, or indeed the blood tests may have been carried out in an insufficient manner.

These outcomes are extremely slim in terms of being possible, but they are existent possibilities and therefore it would be mindful to at least not dismiss them as being totally impossible.

You may also be overdoing it on the exercise. If you workout 5 times a week then fine, but if you do as you suggested and train daily, by sandwiching 5 sessions of cardio and 5 sessions of weights into a 7 day period, you could be causing yourself issues like overtraining / going stale.

This can manifest itself as lethargy, loss of weight lifting ability, potentially suppressed immune system due to inadequate recovery each week and also as 1lb of added muscle mass burns around an etra 45-50 calories per day and is there good for metabolic health, burning it off through excessive exercise could create the opposite effect, as reduced calorie burning ability in the body could cause fat gain.

The things I have highlighted may be of no connection to what you have exeperienced but one or more of them might be, but anything other things you can think of or remember, please feel free to discuss them if you wish .