[paul alan]

Also in 2013 I was told by my GP that I was diabetic and should take two Metformin tablets every day indefinitely! I'm 6ft 2 tall and never really thought that I was carrying too much weight my friends always used to say that because I'm tall I didn't look overweight however last year I decided to join Slimming World where within eight months I lost three stone! I'm now off all the medication for diabetes though I do have to take a statin every day to control my cholesterol plus a tablet for my blood pressure!
The joys of getting old!

Any side effects from the statins?

[Klean07]

Also in 2013 I was told by my GP that I was diabetic and should take two Metformin tablets every day indefinitely! I'm 6ft 2 tall and never really thought that I was carrying too much weight my friends always used to say that because I'm tall I didn't look overweight however last year I decided to join Slimming World where within eight months I lost three stone! I'm now off all the medication for diabetes though I do have to take a statin every day to control my cholesterol plus a tablet for my blood pressure!
The joys of getting old!

Any side effects from the statins?

None at all I stopped taking them for two years which meant my level went up from 4 to 5.9 so been back on them for last six months so far so good! Strength of mine is 10mg per day!

[Missing Link]

I have been diagnosed with low testosterone and have just put the treatment off again (been doing this for 4 years) as its life long and comes with complications that can be fatal.

I don't feel too bad as I am (I keep telling myself) but it scares the poop out of me. Its basically low dose steroids which is bad for the heart, also low testosterone comes with some nasty diseases so I'm goosed either way.

Also health anxiety (disease of the mind) horrid.

I don't know if it would help you, but weight lifting, particularly squats and deadlifts create a hormonal change and increase testosterone levels.  Same goes for high intensity exercise.

Being overweight doesn't help; fat decreases testosterone.

[paul alan]

I have been diagnosed with low testosterone and have just put the treatment off again (been doing this for 4 years) as its life long and comes with complications that can be fatal.

I don't feel too bad as I am (I keep telling myself) but it scares the poop out of me. Its basically low dose steroids which is bad for the heart, also low testosterone comes with some nasty diseases so I'm goosed either way.

Also health anxiety (disease of the mind) horrid.

I don't know if it would help you, but weight lifting, particularly squats and deadlifts create a hormonal change and increase testosterone levels.  Same goes for high intensity exercise.

Being overweight doesn't help; fat decreases testosterone.

Thanks tosh,

I pretty much know as much as the endocrinologist on the subject, I have been lifting weights for around 20 years, today was squats and Monday is deadlifts.

I am currently around 15% bodyfat and I'm on a 2500 kcal diet which is -20% maintenance so I should be back down to 10-12% in around 6-8 weeks time.

I eat 180 grams of protein, 90 grams of fats and 240 grams of slow burning carbs. The diet anti-oestrogenic and anti cortisol, both of which compete with testosterone. Its packed with veg and I supplement with fish oil, high strength vitamin d and zinc.

My levels have been as low as 6.5 nmol 4 years ago and on average around 8 nmol, anything below 9 nmol is classed as treatment required. For my age the average is 20 nmol.

I had a test in September last year and my level was 7.8 nmol. I went to the endocrinologist the end of last month and he told me I should start treatment but I asked for 6 more months, he agreed but said there's not much chance of change after 4 years.

He ordered a test whilst there and today I rang for the result's, was really nervous as I'm dieting and that kills your testosterone level's. The test showed 11.1 nmol, I am over the moon as even though its still low for me it brings me out of the red.

below 9 needs treatment 9-11 needs treatment based on symptom's and above 11 is ok.

I am hoping that when the diet is finished and I am at a lower bodyfat my test levels will go higher as bodyfat converts testosterone to oestrogen so the less the better.

Cant say how relieved and happy I am with this.

[Missing Link]

Good luck with it, Paul, and it must be frustrating, especially if you weight train.

One thing that helps me lose weight, quickly, is a low carb high fat diet.  I've done a fair bit of research on it; it's not a fad, but it's a pretty decent way of losing weight.  The magic with it is that - after a few weeks - there's very little hunger, so it's easy to eat less.

There's lots and lots on the net about it, including LCHF for body builders/weight training/endurance athletes/diabetics, etc.

[paul alan]

I have tried that type of diet and it just felt wrong eating that much fat, I know there is plenty of research on it saying its safe as long as your not eating carbs and spiking insulin.

I was doing intermittent fasting until a few weeks ago but started feeling shaky before eating, I think it was something to do with my blood glucose levels.

I think carbs are ok if you eat the right ones, all low glycaemic index.

Also in my situation you need carbs and blood glucose to stimulate GNRH from the pituary gland, its the signal to the testes to produce testosterone. It's the part of me that is causing the lowered testosterone.

Even though I'm low in T my workouts are great, I can still bench more than my bodyweight and deadlift nearly bodyweight x2 along with other really good lifts. I just have to train accordingly.

[dazmond]

i dont believe in going TOO low carb esp if you weight train on a regular basis.keep the protein high,medium carb intake and a small intake of good fats and a little saturated fat....

if you want to lose weight simply reduce your carbs  a little more esp on your non weight training days(and eat less of everything overall)and increase your cardio a bit in relation to your weight training.....

[Michael Peterson]

Depends on the type of excersise , weight training like daz , yeah definatly what he says , tried and tested as any bodybuilding mag will tell you , however tosh and his wife are long distance endurance athletes low carb high fat diets offer a slow burning energy after you have adapted over two weeks and suits this type of training much better , I have done both but 90 days ago decided to try vegan I dropped two weight catagories (I fight) from 82 kg to 62kg without planning to , never felt stronger and can wrestle an hour without stopping , I deadlift 140kg at 62kg body weight , vegan is the new hotness guys I’m telling ye ! :-)

[Michael Peterson]

Tosh have you tried bcaas on low carb ? If you haven’t you will love it !

[Michael Peterson]

And for all you meat eaters read “the primal blueprint by mark sisson” it’s the best book for on the subject by a million miles

[Michael Peterson]

Hi Paul Alan how much do you weigh bud

[Missing Link]

And for all you meat eaters read “the primal blueprint by mark sisson” it’s the best book for on the subject by a million miles

I'm a fan of Primal Endurance; same author, Mark Sissons; low carb and low heart rate training  for endurance athletes.  I used it to train for an ultra marathon.  Still on it.

[Missing Link]

Tosh have you tried bcaas on low carb ? If you haven’t you will love it !

I've been low carb for over a year (apart from about 6 weeks when we fell off the wagon).

Do you think bcaas would still benefit?

[Missing Link]

however tosh and his wife are long distance endurance athletes low carb high fat diets offer a slow burning energy after you have adapted over two weeks and suits this type of training much better ,

To really benefit from low carb, you have to do it for quite a long time.  Some months even.  The first time we tried it we definitely felt weaker; like we couldn't push the last one-or-two reps of a heavy lift (we lift heavy/low volume so as not to over stress our central nervous system on top of the running).

But as the weeks/months past, this hasn't been a problem.  In fact we don't notice the difference when training low carb, compared to when we've eaten carbs (we're not OCD about it and will have the occasional cheat meal).

You're spot on about it being great for endurance though; I remember I used to get hungry after running for about 90 minutes, and towards the end of ultra marathon training we could go for four hours, non stop, without needing to eat.

We're currently marathon training and we sometimes do our long run with other running club members and it surprises me to see them eating stuff, or consuming energy gels on our long runs.

Fat-adaption is the way ahead.

[Michael Peterson]

Bcaas are commonly used in a calorie deficit so using them if your cutting weight and you feel them massively , what we have found though is sipping them through a long Brazillian Jiu Jitsu session makes a massive difference, it eliminates cramping and for me it feels like I'm drinking caffeine but with out the cafeiene lol I believe suppliers to be mainly bs but bcaas I would reccomend for definite the really help me

[Missing Link]

Bcaas are commonly used in a calorie deficit so using them if your cutting weight and you feel them massively , what we have found though is sipping them through a long Brazillian Jiu Jitsu session makes a massive difference, it eliminates cramping and for me it feels like I'm drinking caffeine but with out the cafeiene lol I believe suppliers to be mainly bs but bcaas I would reccomend for definite the really help me

I'll have a try; thanks.

[Michael Peterson]

I once did the vince geronda steak and eggs diet , nothing but steak and eggs 30 days I was ripped but was comp training 4 hours a day , it was grim :-) the things we do eh

[Michael Peterson]

Oh and if your aching cbd oil man wow it really works  even Holland and Barrett sell it now

[Michael Peterson]

Bcaa don't be tempted to by unflavoured lol they taste really bad , you can get tablets but drinks can be used during , if you have ever seen the other guys with flu recent blue water bottles it will be bcaa

[Michael Peterson]

You got spare resin ? You could just go through the di , it will kill your resin but if you got spare ?