Realistic TRT Recomp Progress

Pharma TRT
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Nope, you haven’t missed any labs. My latest SHBG number is 114, but I have not been tested since adding Danazol. I’ll be having my next tests done around Memorial Day (Testosterone F/T, Estradiol, SHBG, Prolactin, DHT). My Free T% definitely isn’t optimal yet, at least it wasn’t at my last test, and I hope to see a significant improvement!

We’ll reevaluate Danazol after looking at these new numbers. I’m really interested to see what we discover. Everything has been good except for libido – still very much lagging.

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Good stuff. I do love the coconut flavor; I get Toasted Coconut iced coffee all the time. Feel like it’s less versatile for a protein, though, whereas something like a basic chocolate/vanilla gives you a lot of flexibility.

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After doing some reflection, I decided to weigh/measure myself — and update this log — with less frequency. I was getting obsessive about BF%, which doesn’t align with my overall priorities and was stopping me from actually enjoying myself during an incredible season of life. I’m 27 and have a ton of things in life going for me, which I need to appreciate. Just needed to refocus on the bigger picture, and that means being less obsessive about body composition.

Though I am still focused on improving — particularly for this 8-week challenge! — I’m doing so with a healthier perspective now, with greater focus on other priorities like my relationship, career, friendships, etc. If I don’t win, I don’t win, but I’ll have an amazing summer either way.

I’ll be doing check-ins once a week, at which point I’ll weigh/measure myself, take a progress photo, and update this post.

In sum, though I wasn’t weighing/measuring myself, the past week was very strong! My nutrition was extremely dialed; right around 1850-1900 calories and 190-200g of protein each day. In terms of numerical changes, here’s where I am as of this morning:

Day 1/Today (Day 12)
Weight: 174.8/173.8
Waist: 30.1/29.5
BF: 12.0/11.5
Muscle Mass: 146.4/146.2
*These numbers are imperfect and come from a cheap scale, so take them for what they’re worth.

I’m also posting my weekly photo (relaxed, unfed) from this morning. The sun/blinds made for some weird lighting. Don’t worry: my skin isn’t being bleached because of the reduction in dietary fat :slight_smile:

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I’m super happy with progress, man. I’ve been learning to enjoy the journey more, but the results are still coming along. I know I’m getting leaner; the veins on my abs are becoming more pronounced by the day. At the same time, I am not losing muscle.

As I noted in my reply to @traveling-man, I will have new bloodwork conducted around Memorial Day. Excited to see where I am, after switching to injections and adding Danazol. Everything has been solid with the exception of libido – not where I want it to be.

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I think you have mentioned it before but I forgot, how tall are you?

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6’2"

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Damn! That is what i was thinking. Im the same height. I must have dysmorphia because when i got myself down to 193, no where near as cut as you, I felt tiny. By no means do you look small to me at 174. Good work brother!

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Thanks, man. I appreciate the kind words. There may be a few things going on:

  1. You may have dysmorphia. There’s a lot of that around here. It’s hard to avoid in fitness circles!
  2. A lot of guys – myself included – look bigger when we cut down. For example, when I was 193, I didn’t look nearly as jacked as I do at 174. Getting lean makes the veins come out and muscles pop. People comment way more on my size now than they did even when I was 215. I imagine you’d find the same.
  3. I worked hard on my abs for years, so I think I have a pretty well-developed core. That definitely makes you look bigger with a shirt off.
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Haha, I just looked at my pic over on bodybuilding com when I was that low and I don’t appear too small. I just remember feeling that way. I cut down to there in about 3 months from 235 so I was a lot smaller of person in that regard.

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There are 8 weeks in total in this challenge, so 1 week from today, I’ll be at the halfway point! Man, it’s flying by. Here’s a flexed physique update from yesterday:

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Everything has been significantly better, from a psychological perspective, since I stopped weighing/measuring myself every morning. That was a recipe for body dysmorphia. I’ve been enjoying life more and still feel I’m making very solid advances! I’m not shredding, per se (and certainly won’t hit the 8% BF goal I outlined at the jump), but I feel I’m gradually losing fat while simultaneously maintaining/slightly gaining muscle.

The biggest health issue I’m running into right now (in addition to the ongoing libido saga, which is a topic for another day) is sleep. Mine has been really bad since I switched to injections. I routinely wake up at 2-3 a.m. unable to fall back asleep. Surprisingly, my energy during the day has been great — in fact, I’ve been crushing it at work, and the extra hours awake have led to me producing significant output. I just go into flow state for like 3-4 hours before my wife wakes up and get crazy amounts done. That said, running on 3-4 hours of sleep a night is far from ideal in the long term, and I really want to get this right. Before injections, I was consistently getting 8 hours a night.

The sleep issues must be a result of the T; I was not having problems before HOT, or even on the T cream. I used to be a great sleeper. Maybe I now have too much T flowing through my system, given the injections and addition of Danazol? I’m having bloodwork completed on Tuesday, so I should have some numbers to help explain this within the next 7-10 days. I added variables to that test — here’s what I’ll have measured:

T (free + total)
Estradiol sensitive (ultra)
SHBG
Prolactin
DHT
Free T3 and free T4
Reverse T3
Cortisol (saliva)

Super curious to see what the tests will say. I’m guessing SHBG has gone down (because of the Danazol). Hopefully the free T % will be creeping up closer to 2%. At last check, I was at 1.15%. Ideally, I’ll get up as high as 3% eventually. But that may be a pipe dream because my total T is already so high. We’ll see!

TL;DR: making gradual recomp progress, T is jacking up my sleep, bloodwork to come soon

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I think 8% is really hard to maintain. You look about ten or so, a good percentage that you can maintain. Adding mass would be good for you, slow and steady.

Try taking Tryptophan and melatonin. I have the same issues.

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Agreed – that’s a really tough benchmark. You can do it, but it will impede other parts of your life. What you noted is exactly what I’m planning to do. Slow and steady!

I have been taking melatonin + theanine sleep gummies, but I’m wary of becoming over-reliant on them, and they haven’t really been helping, so I wasn’t sure if I’d keep buying them. What dose have you found optimal for you for tryptophan + melatonin?

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I take 500 mg of Tryptophan a half hour before bed, and 5 mg of melatonin. I know I can go up on the melatonin, but I also take a xanax on some nights.

I believe tryptophan converts to melatonin, so it’s kind of a double whammy.

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Less DHT, more estrogen, less free t probably and less consistency in dose in the system since you are on injections.

Libido on cream is king. Cannot expect injections to do the same.

It could also be the dieting. Because a low carb diet has been known to mess with libido and etc.

Now sure how your diet is but that is a big one.

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Gaba Relaxer, 5 HTP and melatonin. Add that at night and you’ll stop waking up. You will probably go back to bed once you start becusse otherwise you’ll be groggy as f

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@The_Myth These supplements all sound good and I’m sure they’d help. What I’m not sure about, though, is whether I should be concerned about developing a dependency – does your body come to expect it? I also wonder whether masking the problems with sleep (likely created through injecting T) is like applying a band-aid to a bullet wound, when I should really be addressing the root of the problem.

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Yeah man, not expecting the same as the cream, but there’s been a dramatic difference. The cream wasn’t perfect either because it was like a roller coaster with surges, but definitely better than injections.

I haven’t been eating low-carb – actually pretty high-carb these days – so don’t think it’s the diet. I really think it’s the injectable T, nothing else has changed really.

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Melatonin and tryptophan are both natural. Like most things, it’s good to take a few days off here and there, but I wouldn’t be concerned about dependency, especially at 5MG for the Melatonin - really low dose.

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Had a conference this week but still crushed it! I hit the grocery store when I landed and stocked up on healthy protein sources and snacks. Somehow, my diet on the trip was even more dialed than usual! I didn’t eat out at all. I also got up and lifted at the hotel gym each day at 5 a.m. It was fun to use the machines, which I don’t have access to in my home gym; my workouts were also on point. Those leg extensions and leg curls got me!

My BF is at 11.5%, per the scale, while muscle mass has remained steady around 147.0 lbs. Based on photos and feel, I’m definitely making progress in the body-comp department, though the numbers on the scale aren’t significantly different — I’ve been getting an unusual amount of compliments on my physique.

We are just past the halfway point in this transformation challenge. Time to crank out these last few weeks!

For this home stretch, I’m thinking of increasing my consumption of healthy fats and reducing carbs. Regardless, protein will remain high (currently 40%). My cals are already quite low at 1850 so I don’t know if I want to cut that any lower, and going higher on protein would definitely be tough. Thoughts? Another option is adding more cardio. @jackolee @Frank_C

On a separate note, I had bloodwork done last Tuesday and should get those results within the next couple days (wish Quest worked more quickly) — I will post here when I hear back! Hoping for a lower SHBG and higher free T. @traveling-man

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I’m a big fan of food, so if you can do more cardio then go for it. You’re in the trenches. It’s tough when you’re running on fumes and still looking to make progress.

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I was on cream for roughly 7 months and felt amazing (energy, libido, zest for life, etc.). Unfortunately, my skin had bad reactions to the cream so I had to switch to injections.

On cream I slept 8 hours a night consistently. I slept well on injections for the first 4 weeks. Since week 4, I have slept horribly and have other side effects. I sleep 4 hours on a good night and have slept for 1-2 hours 5 times in the last 3 weeks. I had one night of bad heart racing, shortness of breath, and anxiety. I have had a few days of very mild anxiety. I never had insomnia, anxiety, heart racing, shortness of breath ever in my life before. I tried benadryl and started taking 400mg Magnesium Glycinate 30 mins before bed. This week I finally resorted to taking 5mg ambien. When I take it I sleep great, but I’m scared of getting dependent/messing up my body by using it often.

Note, I started out on a really high dose (30mg daily) injected subq. I am not taking any AI. I lowered my dose 3 weeks ago to 14mg daily injected subq and I still have the insomnia and super mild anxiety sometimes.

My T levels on 30mg daily:
Total T: 1550 ng/dL (264-916)
Free T: 378 pg/mL (52-280)

So I would definitely say that injecting too much Testosterone Cypionate can totally destroy your sleep!

I’m desperately hoping/begging/praying that once the 30mg injections get out of my system my sleep quality will improve. I don’t see how anyone can deal with insomnia on a regular basis.