Gyno or Just Fat from a Dirty Bulk?

[hrdlvn]

I have been gone from this forum for over a year due to those anti-estrogen clowns that showed up one day and turned our forum into a fight club. I could not take that BS and had to leave.

So that said. I would like your input.
My shgb is so low (from cycling) 15-16 so my free T and free E2 is thru the roof even on low TRT doses of 100-120/wk.
With this covid lock down me and the wifey don’t do much we binge Netflix eat junk food and fuck.
I do my best to go to the gym 5 days a week for their 1-hour limit. In Dec around Christmas, I weighted 194 and now 3 months later I weigh 212. Bloated and fat.

I fear I am in trouble with pre-diabetes or full on diabetes

[SkyzykS]

Well at least you’re still on this side of the dirt.

I’m just not that good at looking at dudes tits, so I’m gonna abstain from comment on the composition of your boobs.

But you do have boobs, so there’s that.

Also, the topic just changed subforums.

[hrdlvn]

@SkyzykS

But you do have boobs, so there’s that.

Thank you brother SkyzykS for your willingness to offer advice. I completely understand. Posting my overweight and possible tit gyno in my boobs was very hard for me. I have been a member here form many years and found no other forum with compassion and willingness to help other when their world looks as bad as mine.
I have metiformin as well as anastrozole. My current quest is to get my E2 back in to range around 24. Here are my latest bloods any advice in appreciated.

[st_t]

Body fat causes more aromatization.

It could go away on its own. Or you could try tamoxifen.

[hrdlvn]

SkyzykS thank you for your input,As soon a covid is over I have an appointment to get my boobs checked.

[SkyzykS]

So this is definitely a product of inaction/habit.

Not gonna advise on the pharma, but you know you definitely have to double down on the elbow grease and tighten up on the diet.

[myoscholar]

That doesn’t look like gyno.
Why not use arimidex to control E2?
I prefer not to listen to guys selling shit about anti-AI etc.

[dptfit]

Agreed on the anti aromatase inhibitor group, this is not one size fits all. My chest looks like yours, it has long before AAS. I started a cut a few months ago, still have stubborn chest fat but its gone down. I don’t think it’s gyno, just the areas we present with fat. I did start tamoxifen two weeks ago for a four week course to knock it down in case there was any breast tissue. The lower my BF% goes the better it gets. Hang in there.

[aldebaran]

Yeah I’d agree. I had gyno when I was a teen. Looks more like a bit of fat and hanging skin

@SkyzykS

So this is definitely a product of inaction/habit.

Not gonna advise on the pharma, but you know you definitely have to double down on the elbow grease and tighten up on the diet.

I would agree

[hrdlvn]

Thank everyone for the great advice.
I’ll start my cut by taking .50mg anastrozole a week. I’d like to see my E2 down around 24
No cheat meals or snacks.
Using a calorie count I’ll try to hold to about 2250 calories a day.

[Professor_Hulk]

@hrdlvn welcome back!

Re: gyno or fat… I think it’s fat and water. I’m basing this guess on your photo, the fact that you didn’t mention pain under your nipple, and your sky-high E2:Test ratio. If you had gyno, it would feel like a palpable lump under your nipple. I have a very small bit on my right side from a foolish DBOL cycle years ago. It feels like a small gummy bear under my right nipple.

Re: diabetes…what’s your fasted blood glucose and A1C? You know as we get fatter, our insulin sensitivity worsens. So, as our waist girth trends in the wrong direction, so do our glucose levels. So what I’m trying to say is if your fasting glucose is creeping up, your body is reacting normally, which means it will also react normally as you shed the fat. For reference, every 1 percent my body fat goes up, my fasting glucose goes up 1 point and the reverse when it goes down.

@hrdlvn

any advice in appreciated.

So, if I were you, I’d start every day with a liter of water, a cup of black coffee, and a 2-3 miles walk. And of course, I’d clean diet up. That fasted, LISS cardio is one of the easiest lifestyle changes to put in place, with huge returns in fat loss. Lots of bang for your buck, if you can stick to a clean diet the remainder of each day. I’ll assume you know what a clean diet looks like. I’ve used that strategy in the past to go from 225 to 160. Trust me, give it time. it works. I’m back up to 215 now, but it’s intentional. At present, I’m not too concerned with body fat, just trying to see exactly how strong I can get before I get too far into my 40s. I’d also start an AI until I was leaner. I’d frontload it with a one-time dose of .5mg anastrozole and then take .25mg QOD. This will go a long way to improving your E2:Test ratio, and ensure your efforts walking and dieting aren’t wasted due to high E2. If you get low E2 sides (unlikely) you can always drop the AI. I’d Keep the Test dose at TRT levels. Any bump up over top of range will thwart your efforts to get your SHBG back up.

I’ve traveled the road you’re on. In my life I’ve gone from 155 up to 225, down to 160, back up to 215. During the cutting times, I’ve found nothing more effective than the fasted coffee walking and clean diet combo. And diet is so simple (not easy, simple). If it grew from the earth or ever had a face, eat it. If man processed it in any way, at all, don’t touch it.

Best wishes to you and good luck!

[mnben87]

@Professor_Hulk

gyno or fat… I think it’s fat and water.

I agree. It doesn’t look like breast tissue. Just a bit of fluff that is stored in the pec area.

[hrdlvn]

@Professor_Hulk

I think it’s fat and water. I’m basing this guess on your photo, the fact that you didn’t mention pain under your nipple

When I palpate my nipple and surrounding area it is just soft and fatty feeling. I have no lumps or pain.

A1C is 5.7 and glucose is just over 100 so I am prediabetic.
Have held these numbers for the last 12 years. I am 67

I go to the gym 5 days a week but only do ~15minutes of light cardio(stationary bike). Just to get my heart warmed up. I prefer pushing the heavy weights around.

Do to covid we are limited to 1 hour on the gym floor so I can only work 1 muscle group per day. Not counting warmups I like doing 6 sets with 3 different exercises for the same muscle group. Although I push to failure I don’t think I burn many calories.

Thanks again for taking the time to offer some great advice.

[hrdlvn]

@Professor_Hulk

I’d also start an AI until I was leaner. I’d frontload it with a one-time dose of .5mg anastrozole and then take .25mg QOD. This will go a long way to improving your E2:Test ratio, and ensure your efforts walking and dieting aren’t wasted due to high E2. If you get low E2 sides (unlikely) you can always drop the AI. I’d Keep the Test dose at TRT levels. Any bump up over top of range will thwart your efforts to get your SHBG back up.

Well darn. On March 10th I just started my Spring Cycle nothing too grand. 400 TE/wk and 20 Avanar /day, .5 anastrozole/wk. That was what the blood test was for.

So Professor Hulk do you think I should go off the cycle back to TRT levels until I get my weight back down?

[Professor_Hulk]

@hrdlvn

I have no lumps or pain.

Then no gyno my friend. Great news!

@hrdlvn

Have held these numbers for the last 12 years. I am 67

Good for you! I think it’s definitely worth your while to try and drop 10-15 pounds of fat and improve insulin sensitivity a bit.

@hrdlvn

I prefer pushing the heavy weights around.

Me too! I can tell you don’t pussyfoot around the gym. You give me hope, being so yoked at your age. Lift till you die, my friend. The fasted coffee walking I suggested was in addition to, not instead of lifting. Sorry if I didn’t make that clear. It will help with fat loss and won’t hurt your lifting at all, promise.

@hrdlvn

do you think I should go off the cycle back to TRT levels until I get my weight back down?

This is a question only you can answer. Doesn’t matter what I think. What is your priority in life right now? If it’s to keep crushin’ it and get even more yoked, I’d finish this cycle, then back off and do all the above. If you’re more concerned with getting back to optimal health and living 20 more years, I’d do the above, let SHBG recover, get estrogen (and therefore water weight) under control, get some fat off to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce the overall strain on your heart.

I’m personally in the same quagmire myself right now. I’m about 19% fat, fasting glucose was 97 the other day, and when I look in the mirror, it’s time to cut. But strength is the priority right now and I don’t plan on cutting until my lifts stop increasing. I just started 300Test/400 Primo the other day and I’m waiting to see how I respond to it before I decide whether to bulk or cut.

Good health and strong lifts to you, whatever you decide.

[studhammer]

Hey @hrdlvn, good to see you back.

Agree with everybody else here, definitely not gyno. Just a little bodyfat. (As an aside here, at 67, you’re doing great and are in the top 1 or 2 percentile for men your age as far as muscle mass, tone, and strength).

I dont remember if you were still around when I ran my first HGH cycle which resulted in a pretty good fat loss while preserving muscle. I think you might benefit from about 120 day cycle at about 4 iu/day. Of course, that should be coupled by a clean up of your diet and maintaining your current TRT regimen. Its amazing what GH does for sleep quality and recovery as well.

If I remember right, you’re in southern CO. Too bad about the gyms there. I’m in central TX and my Gold’s has removed all restrictions and capacity limits. Maybe its time for y’all to become snowbirds and come south for the remainder of the spring (snowy) season.

[hrdlvn]

@studhammer

I dont remember if you were still around when I ran my first HGH cycle which resulted in a pretty good fat loss while preserving muscle. I think you might benefit from about 120 day cycle at about 4 iu/day. Of course, that should be coupled by a clean up of your diet and maintaining your current TRT regimen. Its amazing what GH does for sleep quality and recovery as well.

Hi studhammer, I do remember and just got my bitcoin account and wallet set up. I have some HGH on the way. Based off of your old post and success. I went with somatropin. I have no idea if it is good or not. Ever heard of it?

As professor hulk suggests I have added the morning water and 2-mile walk as my first task at the gym. Bike and treadmill don’t count in your 1-hour floor limit.

I also spent the last 3 hours on the Lose it app overhauling my diet. I’m going with 2250 cal/day 40% of that will be lean protein. 30% carbs and 30% good fats.

[studhammer]

@hrdlvn

I went with somatropin. I have no idea if it is good or not. Ever heard of it?

Pretty sure somatropin is the generic term for HGH. Hopefully, you got it from a reputable source.

You might want to take a look at this post I did last year. There might be something there you can use.

HGH: A How-To Guide

There has been a lot of interest lately on the board in running HGH. I’ve tried to answer questions when asked but I thought it might be helpful to write up a short how-to guide based on what I’ve learned over the last year. These are based on my PERSONAL EXPERIENCE and nothing else. For those that don’t know me, I’m 55 years old, about 5’6" or so, weigh 205 at 15.5% bodyfat as measured by a DEXA scan a couple of months ago. Cruising at: 250 mg Test + 100 mg Masteron/week in two doses plus 2 …

[hrdlvn]

@studhammer

Pretty sure somatropin is the generic term for HGH. Hopefully, you got it from a reputable source.

I have no idea it is my first buy. So the order is small to test them out. My source for the last 4 years something has happens. I have a 400buck order in since November and I placed a second order and never received a notices from my CC to authorize the purchase. When I email them they said they are experience covid issues. I can’t wait 6 months for overseas orders so a new source has to be tested.

[Professor_Hulk]

@hrdlvn

As professor hulk suggests I have added the morning water and 2-mile walk as my first task at the gym. Bike and treadmill don’t count in your 1-hour floor limit.

When I suggested this, I didn’t realize you lifted first thing in the morning. Walking 2 miles while fasted, then trying to lift heavy, may prove difficult or even undoable. Your lifting might suffer, which is a huge no-no.

Best to separate the two.

Either:
A) wake up, don’t eat, drink some water and black coffee, then walk 2-3 miles, then train 6-8 hrs later in the day, after a couple of meals.

B) wake up, drink water, eat 1-2 pieces of fruit, lift heavy, then do the walking in the afternoon/evening.

Option A is more effective for fat loss. Option B is better than trying to cut by just lifting alone.