TRT and healthy living

qwerticus

Hi all.

I was recently diagnosed with low testosterone and I was prescribed testosterone replacement therapy which I started recently.

Whilst I've asked many questions and read about TRT I'm still new to the concept and I'm looking for advice on how it affects what I should and shouldn't eat.

The diagnosis sprang from the result of blood tests and from a recent episode of severe depression which has lasted 12 months, I was taking antidepressants for 7 of the 12 months.

I would regard myself as being healthy and fit, exercising at least 3 days a week for ~2 hours per session (martial arts). My resting heart rate is ~40, blood pressure is ~100/55. My cholesterol is about 6 (LDL is 1.7) which I recognise as too high. My weight is good, I have visible abs and as a result of being obese in my younger days I would regard myself as being sensitive to sugar and alcohol, finding it easy to put on fat around my love handle area etc.

I find that I crash around 3pm these days. I'm full of energy until then and I just feel sleepy. The quality of carbohydrates I eat is decent, the only really sugary food I eat is honey and fruit.

With the aim of getting myself to the place I feel I should be at my age buth cholesterol and energy level wise I'd appreciate any feedback people have if they've been through the same thing or of they feel they can help advise me on what types of food to avoid or include in my diet.

06:30 Breakfast: porridge (water), a large banana, 4x strawberries, 4x raspberries, table spoon of peanut butter, 100g low fat natural yoghurt. Coffee (black, no sugar). Sometimes 3x large whole eggs or 40g whey (MyProtein unflavoured)

11:00 Snack: apple, porridge (water), 40g whey (MyProtein unflavored)

13:30 Lunch: 200g chicken fillet, ~cup of tilda white rice, 3 or 4 cups of butternut squash or broccoli. Coffee (black, no sugar). Seasoned with sea salt, pepper, garlic, parsley and sometimes a homemade tomato sauce (no added sugar).

3:30 Snack: banana

Either 6 or 8pm Dinner: same as lunch really

Snack: apple

Time of changes depending on if its a training day or not. I add 2-3 dessert spoons of olive oil to lunch and dinner.

qwerticus

Fairly obvious nobody is going to respond after 120+ views, feel free to delete this thread mods.

Mellor

qwerticus wrote: »

Fairly obvious nobody is going to respond after 120+ views, feel free to delete this thread mods.

tbh, its not too clear what your question is.

You're diet id fine. Have you been eating like that for very long, do you eat differently at the weekend.

You are active.
LDL is low lost 1.7, not high. Did you mean HDL?

qwerticus

Mellor wrote: »

tbh, its not too clear what your question is.

You're diet id fine. Have you been eating like that for very long, do you eat differently at the weekend.

You are active.
LDL is low lost 1.7, not high. Did you mean HDL?

I did mean HDL, not LDL.

I've been eating like that for about 2 months.

My question revolves around not being sure what effect any if this will have on me and what can I do to maximise the effect. Do I need to worry about certain foods etc.

I was (massively) overweight before (~140kg) which screwed up my thyroid (overactive), testosterone (low) etc.

Supplements I currently take (daily) are MyProtein AlphaMen, 30mg zinc citrate, 400mg magnesium citrate, milk thistle tincture. I forgot to add that I eat peanut butter with breakfast and sometimes lunch or dinner. It's the Meridian kind (no added salt or sugar).

My cholesterol is high(er) because I was clinically depressed for the last 12 months or so and my diet changed. I still avoided junk food (pizza, white bread) but I ate a lot of saturated fat (steak etc), moreso than I did before. I'd like to lowed my LDL cholesterol but I'm unsure how to do that as there's so many studies available that promote or demonise certain foods. Broscience is what I want to avoid.

So what do I eat/not eat to reduce LDL?

Mellor

qwerticus wrote: »

I did mean HDL, not LDL.

In that case, 1.7 is ok for HDL, target is 1.5+, but LDL is way high at 4.3, needs to be 2.5 or under.

I've been eating like that for about 2 months.

tbh, it will take longer to see significant results. revisit in 6 months time.

My question revolves around not being sure what effect any if this will have on me and what can I do to maximise the effect. Do I need to worry about certain foods etc.

Your diet looks good to me. Make sure you get enough fat in it, from natural unprocessed sources. If protein is the building blocks for muscle and tissue, fats are the building blocks for hormones.

I was (massively) overweight before (~140kg) which screwed up my thyroid (overactive), testosterone (low) etc.

Reversing that kind of damage is a long term plan. But still, every week or month you do the thing, you are making progress in the right direction.

Supplements I currently take (daily) are MyProtein AlphaMen, 30mg zinc citrate, 400mg magnesium citrate, milk thistle tincture. I forgot to add that I eat peanut butter with breakfast and sometimes lunch or dinner. It's the Meridian kind (no added salt or sugar).

i can't comment on those supps specifically, but they are by no means hinderign you. And at the very least, more bioavailble zinc and magnesium is a good thing.

My cholesterol is high(er) because I was clinically depressed for the last 12 months or so and my diet changed. I still avoided junk food (pizza, white bread) but I ate a lot of saturated fat (steak etc), moreso than I did before. I'd like to lowed my LDL cholesterol but I'm unsure how to do that as there's so many studies available that promote or demonise certain foods. Broscience is what I want to avoid.

I think the whole idea that sat fat is bad has been thoroughly debunked by now.
also, foods that have cholesterol in them don't necessarily contribute to bloodstream cholesterol. Eat your eggs.
My diet consists on eggs, meat (all kinds), veg, fruit, - basically as much real food as possible. I eat plenty of avocado, coconut (high in sat fat). Last year my cholesterol was fine (i can dig out exact numbers if you like) and high cholesterol runs in my family.

qwerticus

Real food is all I eat. As you said avocados I get four a week or thereabouts, coconuts (oil and milk) every few weeks. Most of my dietary fat comes from olive oil, nuts and I take an omega 3 supplement (4x 1g capsules a day).

I lost the weight over the last 10 years, 55kg in total (I'm 90kg now @ 6'2"). Based on how I now feel I've surely had low T for years!

So where does cholesterol come from if not from dietary sources? I eat lean meat, I'm thinking vegetable oil is a bad item in my diet (sunflower oil) because I eat some food that has it such as curry paste etc.

I eat plenty of eggs, I never bought into the paranoia about them.

Mellor

qwerticus wrote: »

I lost the weight over the last 10 years, 55kg in total (I'm 90kg now @ 6'2"). Based on how I now feel I've surely had low T for years!

Out of curiosity. Was the low T based on the results of a single blood test or a few?

So where does cholesterol come from if not from dietary sources?

It's produced by your liver. Same way it gets into the eggs and meat. There little or no cholesterol in a chicken or cow's diet. It's self produced.

I eat eggs and steak (a lot of steak) and drown everything in olive oil and my cholesterol came back as low, in both cases. I wouldn't mind trying to raise my HDL but I don't know how yet either. In any case I can suggest that steak isn't the problem
Your diet looks generally fine to me, sorry I can't be more helpful

qwerticus

Mellor wrote: »

Out of curiosity. Was the low T based on the results of a single blood test or a few?


It's produced by your liver. Same way it gets into the eggs and meat. There little or no cholesterol in a chicken or cow's diet. It's self produced.

The low T result was from one test, taken as part of a general blood test for all the usual things like liver and kidney function, cholesterol, thyroid etc. At the time I was rested and fasted. My doctor suggested TRT as a treatment, saying that low testosterone does provide a good indication of why I've been feeling the way I have. She suggested it based on my lifestyle (plenty of exercise, sleep and good food) and my psychological history in recent times (depression, anxiety for >12 months)


So you could theoretically avoid fats and still generate cholesterol levels to rival that of someone who does eat that type of food?

How do I lower it then, assuming my diet at the moment is healthy (which I feel it is)?

Mellor

qwerticus wrote: »

The low T result was from one test, taken as part of a general blood test for all the usual things like liver and kidney function, cholesterol, thyroid etc. At the time I was rested and fasted. My doctor suggested TRT as a treatment, saying that low testosterone does provide a good indication of why I've been feeling the way I have. She suggested it based on my lifestyle (plenty of exercise, sleep and good food) and my psychological history in recent times (depression, anxiety for >12 months)

To be honest, I find it crazy that you could b prescribed TRT off the back of one test. Was there an endocrinologist involved?
I had two blood tests last year and my testisterone was grossly different from one to the next.

qwerticus

Mellor wrote: »

To be honest, I find it crazy that you could b prescribed TRT off the back of one test. Was there an endocrinologist involved?
I had two blood tests last year and my testisterone was grossly different from one to the next.

There wasn't an endocrinologist involved.

In general I would look for a pattern, I get my bloods done every 3 months.

Ultimately, I trust my doctor. In the past 12+ months I've been depressed, suicidal, suffering from anxiety and very bad brain fog and lack of concentration, not to mention fatigue like I've never felt.

In the last five days I feel a big difference in my energy levels and my ability to focus and concentrate, my OH mentioned that I seem much more alert and I seem better in general.

I feel better, whilst taking testosterone will likely make most men feel better, I notice a difference in less than a week, and it's generally accepted that its a 2-3 week time period for it to take full effect.

TRT isn't the only thing I'm doing to work on my health, mental and physical. TRT has helped thus far, I'll get another blood test in 2 weeks to see where I stand, in the meantime I'm genuinely enjoying the minor but important improvement to my quality of life, because I'll be honest I felt like a bag of crap most of the time until this week.