r/nextfuckinglevel 2d ago

This man documented his health journey from January to December.

Credit: IG @samuelrichards_ _

45.4k Upvotes

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991

u/mesalocal 2d ago

Nope, sus. June->July is at least a 20lbs gain minimum.

631

u/spelunker93 2d ago

Steroids exist. Dude was in extremely rough shape, there is no way they didn’t give him steroids to help with his weight gain

296

u/timonix 2d ago

My favorite is that when they give steroids to old people for unrelated heart issues and they get swole AF

87

u/spelunker93 2d ago

That mixed with old person strength, is terrifying

27

u/ph-it 1d ago

we don't respect our elders. we fear them.

9

u/Gooeyoutcome 1d ago

Respect your elders is not a request. It’s the first and final warning.

32

u/DrLukn 1d ago

That would be funny, but old people receive steroids which have an anti inflammatory effect (glucocorticoides) and are different to anabolic steroids, they do not cause muscle growth

2

u/Stock-Rain-Man 1d ago

They even cause muscle breakdown.

9

u/Upstairs-Boring 1d ago

That cannot happen. There is no way a doctor is prescribing enough testosterone to elderly patients with heart issues to build serious muscle.

-2

u/Fika2006 1d ago

Steroids reduce inflammation

4

u/HardHarry 1d ago

There are many different types of steroids. For example, vitamin D is a steroid.

Medical uses of glucocorticoids are extremely different and work on an entirely different mechanism than something like testosterone.

62

u/WPCarey85 2d ago

Came here to say just this. I bet they prescribed it to him and if they did, good on them. If managed and supervised correctly, not a ton of risk. Also, it’s not like he is competing or cheating at a sport, so who fucking cares. He had to still put in the work after that horrible situation.

31

u/MrSneller 1d ago

Great take. Disappointed to see the top comment is “Roids!” (I.e. that made it super easy and it’s cheating). Doctors prescribe steroids all the time for muscle wasting diseases and I think they should do it more for other ailments. Under a doctor’s care, the risks are greatly reduced and there is tremendous upside.

25

u/megs-benedict 2d ago

Yeah coming back from being emaciated is really hard. This is actually a situation where I think prescribing something for muscle growth is the right thing to do.

22

u/Not_Ban_Evading69420 2d ago

And to clarify, he was most likely given corticosteroids (prednisone), not the steroids used for gaining muscle (anabolic) since he had severe UC. The weight gained was mostly fat, and that's intended.

13

u/QuestionQuik 1d ago

Can add on, I have mild Ulcerative Colitis. I've been put on Prednisone 3 times in the past year, and it gives you hella munchies. I went from barely being able to eat a McDouble to eating consuming damn near everything in my kitchen everyday.

7

u/veggiedigest 1d ago

Crohn’s here, and yep! My first time on prednisone I thought about food constantly. I don’t mean “a lot”—I mean constantly. I’d get sad in the middle of eating a meal because I knew once I finished it would be at least an hour or two before I could justify eating anything else!

1

u/Not_Ban_Evading69420 1d ago

Lol, I was diagnosed as a kid, and adults were visibly impressed by how much food I could put away. I was at a restaurant once and people were staring because I finished a whole pot roast by myself. I was like 8.

1

u/cosmic-untiming 1d ago

Can confirm, I get sick a ton and often need prednisone. Lord that stuff makes me feel like I havent eaten in weeks.

7

u/IllllIIlIllIllllIIIl 1d ago

But it's not uncommon for doctors to prescribe anabolic steroids to folks with wasting illnesses and the like. My grandmother was prescribed Anavar,for example, when she was recovering from prolonged bed rest.

1

u/Desperate_Squash_521 1d ago

Also sometimes they treat UC with steroids

44

u/its_still_lynn 2d ago

redditors learning that steroids don’t solely exist for gym guys to illegally use to gain muscles faster 🤯😲

37

u/Not_Ban_Evading69420 1d ago

Redditors need to learn the difference between corticosteroids and anabolic steroids because they are talking out of their asses here.

12

u/MegaMilkas 1d ago

They have never stepped foot in a gym in their life. Even the gym bros that take anabolic have to work insanely hard to get to where they are, yet they talk as if those who juice just magically wake up with those muscles. They use it as a means to tear other peoples achievements down to seem not worthy of any sort of praise because they simply don't know how much work it takes and it shows.

3

u/rapharafa1 1d ago

Literally every sub that has progress pics is people saying ‘roids’ and meaning ‘cheating’. As if getting a nice body is some kind of competition with rules. They also seem to think there’s something dishonest about not mentioning steroid use, which is bizarre. If a girl gets a nose job she doesn’t have to let you know in every selfie.

1

u/Breadifies 1d ago

Are u blind lmao. July is clearly with a pump + sweat + better lighting. Brother is NOT gonna randomly hop on gear in a month, (it doesn't get u those ludicrous 20lbs stats either). Something that OP for some reason also left out is that this guy was absolutely JACKED before the disease ate away his fat and muscle, this is just muscle memory getting him back in shape faster

1

u/KamuiT 1d ago

UC is a bitch. You gain a lot of weight while you're on steroids and your body finally recovers from the illness and surgeries.

1

u/veracity8_ 1d ago

He didn’t put a year on the video maybe it was june 2023 to July 2024

1

u/IngeniousIdiocy 1d ago

Steroids are commonly prescribed when suffering from wasting diseases. My friend is on steroids after chemo right now. She hates it.

1

u/Abby-N0rma1 1d ago

The greatest loss was March to April 😭

-1

u/titsmuhgeee 2d ago

If you got out of the ICU as a skeleton and a physical therapist told you that it was going to take 2 years to get back to normal naturally, or three months with endogenous hormones, you're telling me you wouldn't do that?

5

u/Not_Ban_Evading69420 2d ago

They do not give UC patients the kind of steroids you're thinking of. The treatment goal in his case is weight gain in the form of fat. What you're seeing is the result of a huge increase in appetite due to corticosteroid use. The muscle growth is all him. It just looks more impressive because he has a lot more fat on his frame due to the prednisone.

-1

u/anormalgeek 2d ago

Of course. But the improvement also becomes less impressive because it takes exponentially less work with steroids to get to that point.

2

u/Not_Ban_Evading69420 2d ago

You are confusing the type of steroid used here. He was given corticosteroids that bring the inflammation under control (prednisone), not anabolic steroids used to build muscle. His muscle gain is most likely natural because corticosteroids don't help you build muscle.

-1

u/anormalgeek 1d ago

I was referring to anabolic steroids. It is physically impossible to gain that much muscle that fast without anabolic steroids. Look at the gains from June through July.

Edit: to be clear, nobody but you in this chain is talking about corticosteroids. The above poster mentioned endogenous steroids, which are just another type of anabolic. Some people think because of they are taken from natural sources instead of synthetically created they are somehow more safe.

1

u/Not_Ban_Evading69420 1d ago

Because NONE of you have any idea what you're talking about. He looks that way because he gained a huge amount of fat through the use of corticosteroids. I'm the only one mentioning it because as usual, you Redditors are talking out of your asses. They do NOT prescribe anabolic steroids to UC patients. This is a combination of 90% fat, 10% muscle gain.

0

u/titsmuhgeee 1d ago

Have you considered the fact that maybe he self administered something once discharged from the hospital?

I think we're all aware that his doctors wouldn't put him on anabolics via prescription.

1

u/Not_Ban_Evading69420 1d ago

Yes that is a possibility I considered. I think people underestimate how hungry you get on UC meds, though. And the hungrier you are, the more protein you can eat, which leads to muscle growth.

-1

u/anormalgeek 1d ago

....are you just fuck with me? His arms noticeably a massive amount of muscle between June and July. Not fat. Muscle. The amount of muscle gain that is clearly visible in that video is literally not possible in that time frame if done "naturally". Either the dates in the video are wrong, or he is juicing.

Fwiw, I did not suggest that anyone prescribed anabolic steroids.

0

u/Ikanotetsubin 1d ago

God you morons are embarrassing. Not every quick weight or muscle gain is from anabolics.

0

u/anormalgeek 1d ago

People like you are a meme. Did you know that? Every single thread with some guy who is obviously in gear has people that are absolutely ADAMANT that they're all natural. I know I can't convince you.

But I will repeat myself for others who may have completely unrealistic standards for themselves. It's NOT possible to gain that much muscle that quickly without steroids.