Overcoming Low Testosterone: My Journey to Improve Health and Fertility

@blessedyforgiven Carnivore diet. Look for Dr. Anthony Chaffee or Ken Berry or Sean Baker.
A lot of people here will be against this, but you can't deny hundreds of stories of regaining fertility and testosterone on that diet
 
@tammyinga My T was at 162, I went, carnivore, then "mostly carnivore" (where protein is a good 80-90% of daily food intake.) and in two months my T is up to 299. Still not great but thats literally the only thing I did, so it's awesome to see.

I also lost 25lbs on it.
 
@blessedyforgiven That's low. Are you fat?

Do you not eat enough fats? Do you have sleep apnea? Varicocele (20% of guys have it, mostly the left ball, maybe you can only notice it if you take a deep breath, hold it and try to exhale hard while holding your breath)? Do you get 0 sunlight on skin?

Or low micronutrients like magnesium, zink, boron...
 
@trumpeter2 I am not extremely“Fat” but I am overweight yes I do snore at night so maybe and no to the varicocele if you would like I would be happy to send you my last test with all my levels of everything! I’m 5,6 and weigh 190 but it’s disputed evenly.

Edit: had my wedding and made my goal weight of 175 I don’t know how to attach a picture
 
@blessedyforgiven I’m in the same boat as you. I’ll give you the same two options I’m facing:

Option 1: lower your bmi and introduce heavy compound lifting 5 times a week, increase your sleep to 7-9 hours a day and start eating foods With healthy fats, healthy cholesterol and healthy carbs (home made beef, chicken, eggs, cooked with butter and avoid the following: processed foods, restaurant foods, anything cooked with seed oils) that should raise your testosterone to levels that are defined by your DNA. That might only be 250-300. However, over time, your body, with instructions from DNA, will utilize that level of testosterone much more efficiently. I highly recommend going with this option as this is what I’m doing. I’ve been able to gain about 15-25 lbs of muscle mass over the course of 5 years. I’m above average in lifts and strength compared to average gym goers but I’m still work on my goal of the “1-2-3-4” plate PRs for my compound lifts.

This option is a long term approach to your issue and it will take time for you to increase your testosterone levels and you will need to continue this lifestyle for the rest of your life (occasional 1 month breaks or cheat meals will be fine).

Option 2: get prescribed for TRT (testosterone replacement therapy). I highly advise against this option.

This option allows either your primary care doctor or specialist to prescribe you either a topical cream or an injection of exogenous testosterone that increases your testosterone blood concentrations higher than that which is defined by your DNA. This option is a short term approach to your issue and you will feel the results within the first few weeks of higher testosterone levels.

The reason why I advise against this and I’m personally avoiding this option even after being offered it by two different doctors who’ve checked my testosterone levels is that exogenous testosterone wreaks havoc on almost every system in the body, including cardiovascular, endocrine, and nervous systems. Even at “therapeutic” doses of exogenous testosterone, Your personality will change, your pituitary and leydig cells in your testes will be affected, your blood will literally thicken and you will develop high blood pressure symptoms the longer you take it. The longer you are on TRT, the more your body will shut down it’s natural DNA defined testosterone production, resulting in cell atrophy in the testes and pituitary.

As you get older and essentially “hooked” On exogenous testosterone, you’ll need to introduce other cocktails of hormones to mitigate the damage and adverse effects of long term TRT. Eventually, your heart, which was developed with your DNA instructions that have a specific testosterone target defined, will start to suffer and you may have increased health issues starting in your 50s.

Nonetheless, If you’re really keen on going this route, looking at your testosterone numbers, you definitely should qualify for TRT within most doctors’ opinions. If your current doctor is adverse to prescribing you TRT, ask for a urology referral, since urologists hand out TRT like candy. Do not ask for an endocrinologist referral since they prefer working with diabetics and other patients and seem to avoid male patients specifically seeking TRT.

Good luck with whatever you decide on doing.
 
@blessedyforgiven You’re welcome.

I should add that I also like option 1 because I can have as much as 30% body fat and 35 bmi and be physiologically healthier (according to my blood test numbers) and physically healthier (I can do cardio and lift for longer) than individuals who have a lower bmi and lower body fat.

All in all, I’d say I love my quality of life even if my blood tests indicate low testosterone because I don’t have to worry about injecting myself every week to get the benefits I already have after hard work. I do take supplements including vitamins but that’s much easier to do that trying to manage weekly or biweekly injections.
 
@scarletrozes Right now I’m doing CrossFit six days a week and running 3 miles every day at noon drinking a gallon of water a day and making sure I get all my vitamins, but I just started this routine on 7/10/2023 and I’m asleep by 10:30 and wake up at 4:10 am for workout
 
@blessedyforgiven If the CrossFit community helps you keep consistent then continue it. But I would offer a word of caution. CrossFit has a much higher rate of injury vs standard resistance training. Obviously just my own experience, but I know 5 people who were very into CrossFit for a year or two. Every last one suffered some type of serious injury that resulted in surgery. Which obviously set back the original goal of getting in shape.

Again, if you enjoy it and the community element helps keep you going, then it's better than not moving. But just bear in mind that a lot of CrossFit gyms throw caution to the wind when it comes to proper form and volume.

Which brings me to my next point. Six days a week is also overkill imo, especially if you've always struggled to work out consistently enough to see real results, you will likely burn out in a short time. If you're always in that cycle of all in for a couple months, giving up for a few months, all in for a couple months, giving up for a few months. Try lowering the volume, go to 3-4 days a week for an hour a session. Just try to build the habit of being at the gym with consistency.

You need to make the gym a habit, not a destination. Most research shows that habits form over the span of 3-4 months. We all have those days where we would rather do literally anything than go to the gym. Trying to force yourself to go 6 days is a lot harder than forcing yourself to go 3 days. After you've done 3-4 days for a few months, then add a day if you want to up the volume.

As the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day. Being consistent and going 3 days a week for a year will yield drastically better results than going 6 days a week for 2 months, then barely at all for 2 months etc. You can't rush progress, as much as all of us wish we could.
 
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