Bmbrady77 Progress Log

Training Logs
1

My diet has been pretty consistent as well as my lifting. I started TRT yesterday so I’m creating this log to track any differences I see in progress compared to what I have seen over the last year with the same regimen. Also, I’d like to get some feedback from you guys, where you could suggest tweaks here and there to maybe maximize that progress.

My stats as of now…
Age - 41 yrs
Height - 68 inches
Weight - 195lbs
Waist - 37.25 inches
Chest - 43.25 inches
Right Bicep - 16 inches
Right Thigh - 24 inches
Body Fat - ~ 16%

Diet roughly the same every weekday. I may substitute Cod for Chicken on one day, and maybe talapia on another, but they are portioned to provide roughly the same macros.

Meal 1 - Protein shake made with 2 scoops protein powder, 2 tbsp peanut butter powder, 1-2 tbsp flaxseed, water

Meal 2 - 1 can tuna or chunked chicken, 1 tbsp mayo in olive oil, 1 egg white

Meal 3 - 6oz chicken or cod, 1 cup spring mix salad, 1 tbsp Greek yogurt dressing.

Meal 4 - protein bar (pre workout)

Meal 5 - 1.5 scoops protein powder, 2 tbsp dextrose, water (during workout)

Meal 6 - 6 oz chicken, cod, or talapia, 1 slice 9 grain whole wheat bread.

Drink plenty water all day.

Supplements (Daily)
Multi Vitamin
2 capsules omegas 3 Fish Oil
Probiotic
C4 pre-workout
Titan Ampd L-Arganine NO (preworkout)
Muscle Max Creatine (preworkout)
Red Rice Yeast

This all adds up to around 2000 kcals (I’m in deficit right now trying to cut down while retaining as much mass as possible)

Macros on this diet
Protein - 293g
Carbs - 124g
Fats - 38.93g
Calories Total - 2015.35

TRT - 100mg per week Test Cyp (pinning 50mg twice weekly)

Workout
Monday - chest / 10min cardio
Tuesday - legs / 10min cardio
Wednesday- off
Thursday - back/biceps / 10min cardio
Friday - triceps/shoulders / 10min cardio
Sat / Sun - off but will try to go for a bike ride / hike/ in a couple weeks hunting on weekends.

There it is. I’ll try to keep everything as consistent as possible and see if the progress curve has any difference now that I’m on TRT.

2

Moderators…

Why did you move this thread? This is not a training log. It’s an EFFECTIVE DIFFERENCE BY ADDING TRT log???

3

Please either put it back in the TRT forum or just delete it altogether.

4

Dude, that’s ridiculous, bordering on temper tantrum. “If I can’t have it my way, I don’t want it.” The log is a good idea, but it’s not best-suited for the TRT section.

A big problem I’ve noticed in the TRT forum is guys overlooking the fact that injecting Test is still just one part of getting healthy and seeing results, so they tend to ignore or de-emphasize the rest of the forum resources when it comes to fine-tuning training and nutrition.

…

It’s a log that discusses training and nutrition. It’s most appropriate in the Training Log forum.

5

Really? C’mon man…I’m 41, not 5.
I don’t utilize this forum, and everyone that I have been getting advice from and knows my bloods, and all the goings on of my starting TRT in the first place are all on the TRT and Pharma side mostly, Those are the guys I was wanting feedback from. If ithis topic doesn’t “fit” there, fine… That’s cool man. But please delete it. That’s not a tantrum…that’s a case of misunderstanding and this thread does not reach it’s intended purpose for me if it’s here…so please…get off your goddamn high horse and just delete the fucking thread…

That’s borderline temper tantrum because your smartass comment has borderline pissed me off.

6

You should if you’re looking for training and nutrition advice.

I’m literally doing my job, thanks though.

I believe E2 levels may be connected to irrational mood swings. Check your recent bloodwork to see if there’s an issue.

On topic, I did spot two glaring problems with your nutrition plan. If you’re interested in that sort of thing.

7

LMAO!! Now THATs a good one!!! You made me smile man and I’ll give you that one.

Please…fire away…

8

First, it’s pretty low calorie for your size and activity level. I know you said you’re trying to lose fat, but a general rule of thumb is to have bodyweight x 10 be the bottom of the barrel for calorie intake to avoid the metabolism stalling, allow ample recovery from training, and also to give you wiggle room to cut calories in a month or two when plateaus hit.

How long have you been eating like this?

For someone training and active 5-6 days a week (even though we don’t know your training volume, which is a bit of a factor), I would’ve started somewhere closer to BW x 12 or 13 and adjusted based on weekly results. Again though, those are general guidelines that don’t take your actual maintenance intake into consideration.

The second thing is the macro ratios. The fat in particular is extremely low, which can negatively affect your hormone profile. A few articles talk more about it. This is one that talks specifically about saturated fats and how a low-fat diet may elevate SHBG.

I’d juggle things to get more daily fats, particularly animal fats, even if it’s at the expense of some protein intake. Fattier fish instead of the cod and some whole eggs would be an easy plug-in.

Also, (bonus third problem), I’m not really sure why you’ve got three different pre-workout supplements. There’s a lot of redundant overlap there. Creatine is obviously fine on its own, but the C4 and Ampd thing have a few ingredients in common, so it’s totally unnecessary to take both.

It would be better to focus more on higher quality protein and carbs your body can use to perform and recovery optimally. The dextrose & protein [whey??] is much better than not having anything, and the issue of “how much protein/carbs per workout” is largely influenced by training details like volume and intensity, but this talks more about stepping it up.

9

My fats are calculated at 17% total intake. I understood that as long as I’m above 15% i should be good right? My workout volume is pretty decent…3-4 sets per exercise, 4 exercises per body part. (I can post my routine if that helps).

My baseline is only 2300 based on the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. I have a sedintary job (programmer) so my only real activity is working out.

I just started with the whole fish / chicken thing. My bloodwork came back at a very high cholesterol because I was eating all red meat and protein powder before. But the macros were the same…Been doing this for about 8-9 months.

My ratios are calculated based on 1.5 X BW for protein (to help retain mass on cutting), 17% of total caloric intake for fats, and whatever is leftover for carbs. Is this not ideal for my ratios?

This is a little confusing because this puts my current caloric intake just above this number. Current = 2000 / Your calc = 1950 (Is this not what I want for a cutting phase?)

10

I’ve read anywhere from 20-30% fat for optimum hormone function. Even on TRT, I’d do what I could to support hormone levels nutritionally. I also believe the most current research finds no major connection between dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol levels. Consistent cardio work, fine-tuning your Omega ratios, and choosing higher quality fat sources should improve your levels.

There’s no “ideal” other than whatever plan you eventually figure out works for your body. Every approach has pros and cons. This article lays out a lot of good info comparing different approaches (even if you don’t necessarily go with the final plan it recommends).

1.5xBW protein is on the higher side. Nothing really wrong with it, but it does mean there’s wiggle room to shave it down to make more room for fats. You could also play around with the carbs a bit, even though they’re already on the lower side. Even introducing some basic carb cycling might be an option, where you drop the carbs much lower and bump up the fats a bit on non-lifting days.

Right, but like I said, that’s the bottom of the barrel limit. Not where you want to start your fat loss.

Like, if your car’s gas tank is 15 gallons, I’m saying “Hey man, your car can only travel 15 gallons-worth then you’re gonna be stuck.” And you say, “No worries, I’m at a quarter-tank.” It’s about planning ahead and anticipating issues before they arise.

11

Ok @Chris_Colucci I decided to heed your advice and clean up the diet a little bit. At least this way, even if I do put in a little more fat I will also be adding enough calories to gain muscle mass as well, instead of just trying to retain…

New plan…

Meal 1 - 1 scoop protein powder, 2 tbsp peanut butter powder, 1/4 cup steel cut oats, water

Meal 2 - 1 container Greek yogurt, 1 scoop protein powder, water

Meal 3 - 4oz grilled turkey burger, 2 slices 9-grain bread, 1 tbsp mayo in olive oil, 1 oz ketchup, 2 oz organic sweet potato crackers

Meal 4 - 1 protein bar (1-2 hours prior to workout)

Meal 5 - 1 scoop protein powder, 2 tbsp dextrose, water (during workout)

Meal 6 - 6oz grilled coho salmon, 4oz California blend vegetables(broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)

Totals
Protein - 235g
Carbs - 189.5g
Fats - 79.9g
Total calories - 2420.46

Supplements
Morning - 2 Omega 3 capsules, Vitamin D 5000iu EOD, Zinc, Red Rice Yeast tablets, multi vitamin, Probiotic

Pre workout - C4, creatine (dropped the Ampd L-Arganine NO supplement)

Night - Magnesium, melatonin

Note - The zinc and magnesium are a hopeful attempt to keep SHBG and E2 in check on TRT without adding AIs.

TRT is prescribed 100mg per week (self administered 50mg Monday morning, 50mg Thursday Night)

Workout - (10 min cardio after every workout)

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Does this look a little better?

12

This definitely isn’t my starting point. I’ve been doing this macro ratio for quite a while (slowly coming down for about 8-10 months and this is where I’m at now)

Is it possible that I’ve just hit the stalling point? After thinking about it and considering your comments, I’m thinking it may be time to quit worrying about fat for a while and start slowly increasing and focusing on lean muscle gain? Theory being, that if I spend a few months adding muscle then go into another cutting phase after that, that the added muscle could help RMR and be more effective on cut cycles.

Does this sound reasonable?

13

How’s it all coming along slugger? :wink:

14

Not bad at all man. A couple of progress pics…

Pre TRT and two week progress pic…
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Two weeks after that… (4 weeks into TRT)…

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And this is 2 days ago.,.

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2 Likes
15

All in all I can’t complain. I made the small tweak mentioned above to the diet and just kept my training consistent. I feel better than I have in a long time.

Fasting blood sugar is still over 100, but two hours after a meal I’m below 140. At bedtime I had a reading of 101, and then 106 another night. Not sure what to make of all that but I’ll see where it’s all at and what the doc has to say at my bloodwork appt on the 30th.

16

Looking good mate. Definite progress happening. Glad you feel alot better n looking better too :+1:. Healthy lifestyle from now on aye? You got many fruit n veg in your diet or still similar to what you wrote?

17

Thanks brother.

Yeah I pretty much follow the plan I outlined above mon - fri. I don’t really do any counting on the weekends but I try to keep it healthy (9-grain whole wheat breads, chicken, etc.) and keep the portions down. I’ll throw a mandarin orange in a couple times a week and I get some fruit from the Greek yogurt go cups.

For veggies we usually just have spring mix salad or vegetable blends (cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, etc) with lunch and dinner every day.

18

Pump the fruit n veges man.
They love you :wink: hahaha.
I lost 16kg before starting TRT.
Ive always been slim build. But I got to 89.5kg and I’m like nut. Changes have to made. So I got down to 73kg by stopping the booze n changing my diet n walking every night. That’s when I realised the boozing over all the years had just been masking my low T from AAS abuse years ago.

When are your next bloods due? I’m keen to see if you’re a lucky one who doesn’t have alot of aromatase enzymes :+1:

19

Lol! Bloods on the the 30th. I’ll be sure to post them as soon as I have them in hand.

20

I posted all my bloods in my TRT / Lab Results log in T Replacement forum, but I thought I’d update this one. The jest is that my doc upped my T dose to 150mg / week, and I had to put the brakes on keto. Ldl more than doubled!

So I went back to low/moderate carb and timing the carbs around workouts.

Most recent progress pics…

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