Can a young man have body dysmorphia?

M

Maximiliani

0
Hi all, Im 19, new to the site. Um, I was wondering, can guys have body dysmorphia? I think I might have it...I find myself wretched to look at and as a consequence I have very low self esteem and am kinda afraid to date due to possible exposure and ridicule. I hate myself physically aside from my face and wish my physical self matched my strengths in emotional capacity and talents, which in my opinion are rather awesome. I just cant get a concrete positive opinion about my appearence.

I've been trying to get in shape to try and fix that. I hate looking at everyone and thinking they look better. I don't want to be terribly ripped but, maybe a four pack? Just thin? I don't know anymore. I've just had weight issues since I was 8 and have at one point I think weighed over 210 lbs. I am not athletic, I am artistic and kinda scholarly so it's hard for me to get into sports games and the like. If I knew I would have fun playing a sport, I would enjoy it.

However, I have mannaged to get down to 186 lba last I checked, ten of those pounds lost were lost this past autumn/winter. I am about 6'2 btw.

I have been trying all sorts of programs in the past, only cardio, or only weight training, or neither and only floor exercises and light weights, all sorts of methods.... and currently I have been going to the gym three times a week, utilizing the machines and weights for 30 minutes, alternating areas each time I go (upper body = arms, neck, back, chest) and lower body (parts of thigh, legs and rear) and then going swimming for 30 minutes after each workout. I thought so far this year I was doing great, doing a right thing. Taking protein shakes and lean protein, also upping fiber intake.

For the first time in years I could fit into some cuts of 34 shorts or pants (when I used to wear a 38 exclusively in late middleschool) But lately I asked my friends who are fitness buffs to critique my progress, on a scale of 1-10, 10 being like, fit enough to have a 6 pack.

They both, separately scored me rather low....a 6, and that really got me down. They said I had little definition anywhere and in all just sucked....I know I shouldn't take it to heart but it really hurt. Now I feel like I'm just not doing the right thing, and quite frankly I just find myself hating myself even more than I should.

Do you think I have body dysmorphia? I think im just hideous...and feel it's going to take forever to get where I'd like to be since I'm currently just not good enough. Im not sure how much longer my self esteem can take me beating myself up over not being attractive. I've suggested to my parents that I might have this problem before and if they're anybody we could go to, but they are conistant in telling me I look ok and dont need such severe action.

Please tell me what to do! Do you think I might have body dysmoprhic disorder? Should I take up a new routine? What would be good and simple to follow in order to get some concrete results. My school will have an excellent gym, I'll be able to do a lot there.





Me, as much as Id like to not admit it.
 
You look like most blokes really, not great but not bad either

What training have you been doing? You mentioned only using light weights, why would you do that?

Read the weight training and nutritional stickies on this site. Get yourself a diet plan and lifting plan and start hitting weights.
Most teenage guys seem to waste time with awful training programmes and diets so they put in a ton of effort for little result. Don't be one of them, get a plan and stick to it.

A great book for a guy like you to read would be 'The New Rules Of Lifting'. Follow that and you won't go far wrong
 
At one point I was told to do lighter weights and longer reps per set.

These days I do use heavier weights, divided these exercises up between upper bod days and lower bod days, as to not over work them:

Bench press, both actual bench press and the bench press machine.
Squats ( most likely far too light...is 45 on each side too light?)
Leg Press
Pec Fly Machine
Lat Pulldown
Overhead Press
Lateral Raise Machine
Leg Extension Machine
Seated Leg Curl Machine
Preacher Curl Machine
Ab Machine

I forget the term but the machine where you place the pads on your shoulders and essentially dip on the balls of your feet off a small platform.

I've been doing about 3 sets of each, ranging from 10-15 reps. I was told by a friend actually yesterday to up the weight and reduce the reps to 6-8 or at most 10. The weight I usually adjust to the point by the last rep of the set I have to stop and rest.

I must admit a lack of general floor exercises. At one point I did a whole variety of them over the winter, including ab plank, pushups, and lunges, and dips for the back of my arms.

These days I will be starting back up, adding leg raises and another move for the obliques (forget what its called)

As far as diet I have been taking protein powder and multivitamin. I drink milk, eat 3 servings of fruit or try to a day. I try to get whole grains in and often this summer ate irish oats for breakfast. I do have a bit of a sweetooth, which is perhaps my undoing.

however to get an idea today I ate:

protein shake (cuz I wouldnt be getting a ton of meat today)
egg on whole wheat halves
banana
apple
a few cubes of munster cheese
cup diced peaches (no sugar added)
Little bit of roast beef from the fridge, not a lot.
A little bit of ramen noodles with left over stir fry vegetables. Not a lot, I had packed a lunch for work but ended up not working, so I just took a bite or two when putting it back.)

My friend, a real fitness buff is writing me up a new program to follow, but I just wanted to check and actually ask about my poor self confidence and the psychological aspect of it. Its really quite damaging.
 
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Dropping the reps might be a good idea, hopefully this friend of yours will also drop a lot of those machine movements and put in something for your hams like deadlifts and a lot more pulling. Lat pull downs are good but maybe some seated or bent over rows too.

Your diet looks a little thin. You aren't that heavy so weight loss shouldn't be much of a concern, you might benefit from upping calories a bit and adding some muscle.

What do you consume pre and post training, and how frequently do you train?
 
I usually have a protein whey powder shake with milk as a base before and after I work out and swim, which is, I have been aiming for this summer, 3 times a week when I can, an hour each time. If there really isnt protein around on a non working out day, I drink a protein shake to fill that void and need to keep my diet high in protein.

Sometimes I'll have a piece of fruit and maybe an egg and or a bowl of cereal or two for breakfast. I like the maple sugar frosted mini wheats, the ingredients are a whole lot more respectable than the usual cereal mess for a commercial cereal. Earlier in the summer I ate Irish oats a lot in the morning with a smidgen of real maple syrup just to make it taste good. (Replace with Agave syrup?) If I am working out after lunchtime, I have been pretty good or try to eat more protein when available, like a grilled chicken leg or thigh. Somewhat learning to embrace the carnivore kinda thing...at work I bring a whole bag of stuff to eat gradually from 3-9pm, eating the main dish at 6. Usually, sometimes a natural pb&j on whole wheat, cucumbers, fruit, smoked chicken thigh and leg is ringing as one of the meals I've had at work. Sometimes I'll bring leftovers from dinner, for example we had pasta with grilled chicken, tomatoes and peppers last week.

Today was unusually sparse, my family usually has a usually balanced dinner with some sort of vegetable dish, usually a meat main course, and then some sort of starchy side. Some of it is indulgent, like roasted potatoes, noodles or the occasional fried chicken dish , but in all we eat better than most Americans who eat take-out every night. We didnt have dinner that night so I kinda just forgot to eat, which is unusual as I enjoy eating.

With diet my worst area would probably be a sweet tooth.....I had, I forgot to mention, a small handful of Swedish Fish while running out the door, but some days I'm bad and will have cookies or a slice of custard pie, or some sort of ice cream, stuff like that. When I get back to school, on campus access to sweets goes downhill, as their desserts are terrible and I'll turn to fruit as they don't have fruit as accessible to me either and I enjoy apples on a daily basis if I can.

So in all I think I eat ok, just sometimes when I do, I tend to eat maybe one or more than necessary, as in cookies, or just too big of a serving, as in pasta, or cheese. I bring home lotta whole grain or enriched pasta for us to cook, and will be using it at school if food isn't looking good in the dining halls. Luckily I also will be living in the same building as the "healthy" dining hall, which has a lot more health conscious food.
 
sweedish fish are like gummy bear material.. they are yummy!

and to the OP!

dude- you have a canary clock :rofl:

Welcome to the site
FF
 
Anyone can have body dysmorphic disorder. Not liking your body isn't really enough to diagnose as that, BUT if it is literally interfering with your quality of life, such that you obsess over it, and isolate yourself because of fear of ridicule, you might want to talk to a counselor. You look like a normal guy, and if you're seeing something hideous, then there's something going on there that you can get help for. It's great that you're exercising, but if you have BDD, you might never be happy w/ how you look, so I would recommend talking to someone.
 
and dont take the canary clock thing personal.

geeee whiz.....am i being too tuff on this dude?

he looks just fine to me too.
 
You definently don't have body dysmorphia, I think that your over reacting about your body as well. You don't have a terrible build, you can accomplish your goal of getting that 6 pack and definition you want but all this take's time. You seem impatient, this will require the right diet and exersize. I'd suggest a large amount of cardio and lifting for more time. Going to the weight room for half an hour won't accomplish anything. Lighten up on yourself, result's will come in time.
 
You can't say that he definitely doesn't have BDD. If he does, and he is suffering a reduced quality of life because of it, then a professional can diagnose and help. There's nothing wrong with getting help when you need it.
 
Lol, yeah canary clock. I have a kitschy clock collection actually, have one of those kit-kat clocks somewhere too so lol. I'm kinda weird that way so don't mind me...

But yeah, I limit myself to what I can do cause the way that I feel how I I look. Like dating is very hard for me. Self conscious and all.
 
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