So for awhile now I haven’t been feeling myself; I’m starting to think that the stress in my life may be affecting my testosterone levels. I’ve been feeling less energetic and even my sex drive/performance is down; I still have it but i don’t feel it as strongly as before and it’s starting to bother me.
I’m only 28 so it can’t be my age already. I was in counseling for over a year and it helped slightly but it did not completely remove the stress; I don’t see it dissipating any time soon and I was wondering if any of you guys have had this issue and what you did about it. Are there foods I can add to my diet or am I better off going with a supplement for now.
Man, this is what doctors are for. It’s hard to speculate. It could be low t, but it could also be something simple like low vit D or a mineral deficiency. Blood work!
In the meantime, a few questions:
Are you getting plenty of sleep?
Are you underweight? Overweight? Getting enough calories? What is a typical days diet?
Are you getting plenty of exercise?
Are you taking any PX drugs?
No I know I’m not getting enough sleep, but I never have. Always had trouble sleeping and this is a more recent problem. Going to try ZMA once my bottle of Melatonin is up.
I’m right around my “ideal” weight. 5’8" 155lbs around 10-12% BF (according to the scale at work). One thing to note; I’ve been trying to gain weight lately but have actually lost weight. BF as well as possibly 1 lb lean mass.
As for daily diet;
B - Meat patties or chicken breast, water, handful of nuts.
S - Shake w/ berries, almond milk, protein powder, banana. (just started adding chia seeds)
L - Meat and veggies
S - Same as before
D - Meat and veggies.
workout - Syntha 6 protein shake as well as one immediately after.
Post workout meal (Lunch or dinner) I add sweet potatoes or brown rice and now quinoa to it for my starch.
Night time snack if needed - Yogurt, chia seeds, protein powder. (adding chia seeds to shakes so not consuming this as often)
I’m currently doing the I, Bodybuilder program and over the past 5 weeks have only missed 2-3 workouts. Before that I was on Cressey’s maximum strength. I work in a gym so I train minimum 4 days a week unless I’m sick.
No drugs. I’m currently taking 5000IU vitamin D, 2-3 tsp fish oil, as well as my normal diet.
I have been considering some blood work but it’ll take some time to get into my doctor, so just trying some stuff out before hand. The main reason I think it’s stress related is it’s things that are constantly on my mind, and I can’t shake them so I know it’s affecting me, just not sure to what level.
I agree with everything Rocky said. However, I would go ahead and schedule the blood work in the interim.
Your diet certainly looks “clean”. Perhaps add a piece of fruit to lunch and afternoon snack.
Sleep may be the issue. I’m 32 and I know for a fact that my body demands more sleep than it did when I was in my early twenties. And if you’re following the I, Bodybuilder program, plenty of sleep is crucial for recovery.
Sleep has always been an issue for me, ever since I was a teenager. I’ve had blood work done for it as well as sleep clinics and it’s nothing physical; I over analyze things when I try to go to bed, hence the melatonin and soon ZMA to help calm my mind. Yes removing the stress would help but it involves some very personal issues. Still working on it, and hopefully in the next little while it will start to get better.
I definitely have to get my sleep patterns back in check and hopefully soon. As far as my diet I will start adding more more fruit back into to some of my meals. I’ll also look into scheduling some blood work.
On a side note I do have at least one cheat meal a week; I’ve heard from some people that this is recommended.
[quote]DGarcia wrote:
Yes removing the stress would help but it involves some very personal issues. [/quote]
The stress is probably the main cause of the stress. Not diet or sleep or whatevs.
That being said, have you added up your carbs? I’d make sure you’re getting at least 150g a day, lower levels might mess with your hormones. And more food in general might make you happier. I know it works with me.
[quote]DGarcia wrote:
Yes removing the stress would help but it involves some very personal issues. [/quote]
The stress is probably the main cause of the stress. Not diet or sleep or whatevs.
That being said, have you added up your carbs? I’d make sure you’re getting at least 150g a day, lower levels might mess with your hormones. And more food in general might make you happier. I know it works with me.[/quote]
Yes the stress is definitly the biggest issue but since that’s not going anywhere I’m going to try and increase sleep and diet.
I’m probably not eating enough; just finished the first phase of I,BB and lost weight all around. Going to try more carbs wit meals and adding more stuff to my “super shakes”.
On a side note; just picked up some ZMA so will see if they help.