Hi
New to the site here
Just looking for some advice really
34yo male 15st 8 5ft 8
For months I have been feeling really lethargic, low mood etc
I have a manual job and work 12hr shifts which isn’t a problem I go to work etc
I have had a full blood test NHS and I have a vitamin D deficiency aswell as a fatty liver
I have had a testosterone test
Serum sex hormone level 14 nmol/L
(18-54) outside reference range
Plasma testosterone level 7.1nmol/L
(8.6-29) borderline low
Then I did a fasted test
Plasma testosterone 11.4 nmol/L (8.6-29)
Just fed up of feeling low and lethargic all the time, just had a vitamin b12 jab to see if that helps as a lot of people recommended it.
On a morning I take
Vitamin D3 4000iu
Milk thistle
Cod liver oil 1000mg
Multi vitamin
Hoping something works soon as I have been like this for about 8 month
Any advice?
It would be greatly appreciated thank you
how many calories do you eat each day?
are you in shape?
how many hours of sleep do you get each night?
are you married?
on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being freaking out, what is your daily stress level
If I’m honest I don’t count calories but I do eat low carb, fruit, veg, eggs etc
I roughly get 6-7hr sleep a night
Not married
I do suffer with anxiety and have 2 young kids so stress level is roughly 6/7 at a guess
I’m not currently going to the gym as for me it’s hard at the minute for child care, it’s mainly the days off where I’m really bad and don’t do much I know it myself
No expecting a miracle cure or anything just wondering what options I have
Get some zinc and magnesium. Like 30-50mg zinc and 800-1000mg magnesium.
After that, Stop the Low Carb Diet! You’re working hard for 12 hours at a time. That much activity can mess up your testosterone production. Carbs “protect” you from that.
This is not judgmental, because a lot of us need a quick wake up sometimes, but the symptoms would make a lot of sense if the answer to the question is “yes.”
If that is the case, and I also have kids and a lot of hours - totally get it, is it something you feel like you can address?
A typical day at work would be wake-up 5am then have multi vitamins etc skip breakfast to be honest
Start at 6
Break at 9.45 normally 2 ham salad sandwiches on brown bread or tuna salad
Dinner 12.30 maybe a protein bar
Last break 2.45 skinny bar or couple of boiled eggs or maybe odd bag of crisps
Try drink as much water as possible normally about 2-2.5ltr a day
I do try substitute things to mainly protein based etc it’s not that I sit and eat chocolate and crap all day
When I get home I have whatever is made for tea which could be anything, odd pizza but mainly something with veg eg chicken dinner or cottage pie etc
Don’t hardly drink now and if I do it’s just the odd vodka lemonade, whisky lemonade nothing excessive as I realised this was bad due to liver problems
Honestly appreciate your time for replies
Hope I haven’t missed anything
You weight 220 and you work a physical job for 12 hours.
You’re burning 4000-5000 calories a day (maybe more!), while eating barely 2500.
Tough work tears you down physically, so even without lifting you may need like 200 grams of protein a day to fully recover. It looks like you’re getting in like 60% of that.
And you’re skipping breakfast!
It sounds like you’re hungry and your body is saying “What The Hell is Going On?!”
Judging by the comments tbh at may be the problem then, I thought I would have been dropping the weight aswell, I will change up my meals and add in some more carbs etc and see how I go
Thanks everyone
I think so too. I think we tend to not even realize how bad it’s hurting us, especially as we get past 30, until we take it out. We tend to have a “I’m not alcoholic, so good to go” kind of mentality, but it just adds up so quickly when we have other goals.
I’m not a teetotaler, and I do drink, but it just has so many negative consequences on bloodwork, mood, energy, and body composition that it has to be a relatively rare occasion for it not to be a total derailer. I think of it like I do blowout cheat meals: if everything is humming along perfectly, maybe you have it once a week. When things need tightening up (labs, symptoms, body comp), it has to be less frequent. I also try not to cheat “just because.” Like if I’m on vacation with my wife, I’m probably going to drink too much, too frequently; I have to make that back up when I’m home and have no reason to do so.
I’m not trying to be preachy here, but the symptoms and the labs would lead me to drop alcohol for a couple months and see what happens. I’d rather try that than end up on antidepressants, insulin, and statins if I might be able to avoid them.
Anyway, feel free to ignore, OP. I’m not coming at you, specifically, just kind of musing aloud. I think a lot of us tend to think of alcohol totally differently than we would a bucket of ice cream or cigarettes or something, but we probably shouldn’t.
I stopped drinking a while ago to be honest due to the fatty liver etc
Heard milk thistle may help repair liver so thought I’d give it a go
Guess cut the alcohol and up the calories a bit then?
Any other advice?
Appreciate the honesty I take it as positive criticism which I don’t mind at all
Thanks again
I think everyone here is giving you the right advice.
I would ditch low carb as well. I was low carb/keto for a long time and couldn’t figure out why i felt like hammered crap after adding weights back to my BJJ. I’ve started adding carbs again and the difference is night and day. If you’re on your feet for 12 hours a day carbs will be your friend (in moderation and the right type). i had the same issues you’re describing. Lethargic, not recovering from workouts, bad mood, ect.
I also agree with you needing more calories. You’re barely eating enough to keep a13 year old girl alive, much less a 220lb guy with a physical job.
As to the fatty liver, I’m going to assume you have NAFL (non-alcoholic fatty liver). While alcohol isn’t great for NAFL, it’s mainly caused by diet, lack of exercise, and other metabolic concerns. Fried foods, simple carbs, ect all can lead to NAFL. There’s a lot of discussion around what the best diet to help NAFL is, but most “Dieticians” favor Mediterranean and other high fiber, low saturated fat diets. I’ve seen some interesting data around Omnivore style Keto being good for NAFL, but anything keto is generally dismissed by academy dieticians. you may want to do some research on this and see if you find something that fits your lifestyle.
