Regaining Weight Lost During Cancer - advice on possible strategy?

[NZJay]

Edit - I just copied this to the steroids questions forum, thought it may come under rehab first.

Hi guys,

I'm a 32 year old male, 182cm and 83kg at 14% bodyfat.

Last November I had surgery for Stage 3 colon cancer and finished chemotherapy about 10 weeks ago.

During my sickness and recovery from operation I went from a beefy 97kg to a skinny 74kg.

I have no residual effects apart from slightly damaged kidneys thanks to the chemo - creatinine sits at 109umol/L as opposed to my old "normal" of 93.

I had half my stomach removed during surgery, so my max calories are around 4300 these days. I can gain weight at 3600.

Oh and I have a cool incisional hernia which will be repaired next year haha. But I have managed to lift around it just fine.

I lifted through chemo and ate as much as I could, but progress has been very slow.

Testosterone levels are 14.9 nmol/L - I will be contacting a Men's Clinic to see whether I qualify for legal therapy, but I am open to options.

The mental trauma of losing size and strength so suddenly has been pretty tough, as a lot of my confidence was based around my training and build. So I am really keen to get back in shape sooner rather than later.

FWIW I trained about 5 years, 3 seriously, wasn't a beast but deadlifted 500lb+ so wasn't weak either.

I don't want to get huge, I really just want to be back over 90kg without being a total lardass.

Can anyone give me some advice on what kind of treatment / gear (legal or illegal) may be suitable for my case? As in the best for regaining previously held muscle? Or am I better off just being patient and doing things naturally?


Any suggestions would be appreciated... thanks

[Times Roman]

all gains come through the kitchen

here is a real basic nutrition plan based on your stats.

Your TDEE is about 3,000 cals, so I'd probably go 700 cals over that for a daily total of about 3,700 cals. You will pick up some fat, but you are lower bf% and you can cut later.

your max protein intake is 236 grams of protein per day. don't go over that, as you won't be able to metabolize it nor burn it for energy. you'll just piss it out.

now go over to the nutrition section and post up your typical daily meals. include macros per meal and total macros per day. work it so that you are hitting the 3,700 cals/day and the 236 grams of protein. Then we can take a look.

Good luck!
---Roman

[Times Roman]

shit. forgot the nutrition plan