Do you have a clear idea of how many callories you consume daily? It might sound counter intuitive but not eating enough can result in what you describe.
There seems to be very different opinions about this - most stuff I read nowadays tells me that it's a myth and that not eating enough is never the reason for someone being fat. 'Calories in vs calories out' etc. The answer is always to decrease calories if you want to lose fat.
Although a long time ago when I was super interested in getting in shape it was really common on message boards for people to talk about 'starvation mode'. Nowadays, if someone mentions that on a fitness forum, they are laughed off lol
I honestly don't know!
3. Your body’s response to survival adaptation. On days when you eat takeaways and chocolates, your body hoards those extra calories to “sustain you” during the days of leaner pickings.
This is interesting to me since i'm someone who tries so hard to eat really clean 6 days per week, and exercise, but I just can NOT seem to shift the fat, but I am guilty of treating myself on Saturday, at which point my cravings for chocolate and stuff is just unbearable. I try not to go completely mad, but I do over-indulge. I tell myself that it's OK because i've eaten like a saint the prior 6 days and the 80/20 rule etc, but your post makes me think that something might be going on with me whereby there's some weird stuff going on with how my body reacts to these cravings I give in too!!
Personally, I came to the conclusion that I simply must be taking in too many calories (especially as I mentioned above, most literature I read nowadays tells me 'starvation mode' is a silly myth) - I try to eat no more than 1500 calories. And I try to eat clean - limit my carbs and get protein. Try to avoid sugar etc.
A typical day for me would be
wakeup - 25 mins on bike
Breakfast - 3 poached eggs on a piece of wholemeal toast (about 450 calories)
Lunch - piece of salmon with zucchini and brocolli - (about about 400 calories)
Protein shake - (about 150 calories)
Dinner - lean mince/chilli - sometimes with just veggies. Sometimes a sweet potatoe or something )around 500 calories)
I'll also hit the weights maybe 3-4 times per week for 30 mins or so
I'm not super fat, but I just can NOT get lean! I feel like I eat so much cleaner than ever friend I have! Yet some of them seem to be in better shape and they don't even work out lol.
I do suspect that maybe it's a testosterone issue, and that injecting T would make the fat melt off me and give me more muscle (i'm actually fairly strong and can lift more weights than my friends, ,but weirdly I don't LOOK that strong. My muscles get stronger and stronger, but never look bigger)
The only thing stopping me injecting is hairloss, and the fact i've seen testosterone age people (seen many examples online and you even see it on programs like 'love island' where tonnes of the guys who clearly inject, are 22 and look 30+). I'm already old, but look young for my age and can still sometimes sleep with teenagers who i'm able to convince i'm 10+ years younger! I'd hate to lose that ability through looking older from taking T!!