Hi Jordan/Austin,
Just some background/chronological/anecdotal info for context. Hopefully it’s not too lengthy 
Age:36
Height: 166cm (5’5)
Weight: 67.3kg (~148.5lbs)
Waist Circumference: 32in (I don’t think it’s as bad as it looks)
-
Used to be a heavy smoker, ~15-20 sticks per day over a span of 12years (cumulatively)
-
Dropped smoking and started vaping in Jan 2017. Around mid 2017, I started getting frequent headaches, about 1-3 times a week which I assumed was nicotine poisoning or something along those lines (Yup I was also a heavy, chain vaper. Surprise, surprise)
-
Started lifting in April 2019. Went from 62kg bodyweight to 70kg in 11 months
-
Stopped vaping in May 2019 in the hope that the headaches would stop. They became a little less frequent, but still bothered me a lot
-
Fast forward to covid. Gym closes and I lose about 5kg of bodyweight in 6 weeks despite my best efforts to not lose weight. Surprisingly, headaches are much more infrequent now, representing a significant improvement. The headaches typically occur pre/post meal. Weird thing is, often I don’t actually get hungry, my head just starts feeling “funny” and I take this as a signal to eat. It’s not actually the type of headache that hurts enough to want to take a pain killer, but the discomfort is also enough for it to be noticeable.
-
Brother put together a garage gym in August 2020, I put on 2kg since then. Headache frequency now seems about the same as prior to the 2kg weight gain.
-
The headaches seem to go away with lifting and/or cardio if it is done “early” enough after the onset of the headache.
-
Blood sugar tested in Feb 2021 as recommended by the IM physician that I went to for consultation. Below are the results (I’m putting in everything so there is no confusion about the results):
TEST RESULT NORMAL VALUE
FBS 119.0 70.00 - 100.00 mg/dl
HGBA1C 5.50 4.20 - 6.50%
Given my “medical history” above, I was hoping to get some guidance on a few things:
-
I have not actually revisited the IM MD that I went to previously for whatever reason, but I’m assuming based on the FBS test that I am prediabetes/prediabetic? Or is there not enough information to arrive at that conclusion?
-
Ultimately, I want to get stronger on the DL and Bench Press. I have no desire to gain weight, though I would welcome whatever hypertrophy I get from getting stronger. What would be your “weight” recommendations for a healthier me? Would dropping a few extra pounds help me manage my blood sugar better?
-
If for whatever reason my goals changed from strength to wanting to get jacked, would this still be advisable from a health perspective?
-
I had incurred a number of injuries in the 11 months that I trained consistently starting in April 2019. I know doctors hate it when people self diagnose and act like they know what they’re talking about, but I’ll do it anyway lol. Based on symptoms, I assume I had:
- left hip impingement
- medial meniscus tear on the right knee and
- right shoulder impingement/frozen shoulder (I’m right handed, if that means anything)
I recognize that the injuries were due to poor load management as I was a bit overzealous with training. However, I can’t help but feel like I got injured too many times in such a short time frame of training. That said, is there any evidence connecting joint injuries and long term smoking?
Thanks in advance!
