I don’t have much that I can really add for the HLD/LDL stuff, mine’s for some reason always stayed pretty close to “normal” so I haven’t done much research on it. Seems like it’s got to be driven by genetics since I know you eat way better than I do already.
I’d try the fish oil and cardio though and see if it moves it in the right direction
From what I understand of cholesterol, it is highly driven by genetics. However, lifestyle factors definitely do play a role.
Low-carb diets can increase HDL, and I was eating low-carb when I tested higher years ago…but low-carb also can negatively impact SHBG.
Vitamin D can decrease HDL, and I’ve been taking plenty of it…but it’s obviously important for other reasons.
I’m not too worried about the LDL, but I would love to see HDL climb back up. My current plan is to emphasize cardio and fish oil. I ordered some red yeast rice extract, but not adding it yet…maybe after my next bloods, if things don’t improve.
The body is such a delicate and complicated machine 
It’s like conducting an orchestra, trying to get all the instruments to play at just the right level.
True, also it can negatively impact thyroid
Cheers
It seems to have several negative effects on the endocrine system. I wish more of the low-carb crew realized this. I think it can be good for some people, but like many things in nutrition, it’s complicated and contextual.
If I cut carbs my mood goes down the toilet lol
I’ve always thought the more you have distracting you - like busyness at work or in your personal life - the easier it is to drop BF. I call it the Distracted Diet.
I’ve definitely seen that since my son arrived. I just think about food less often, which makes cutting easy.
I’m all the way down to 169 lb, which is light AF.
!That said, I think I look worse than I did at 173 lb 2 years ago.
So despite consistent lifting (5-6 days/week), TRT (at a high dose), and meticulous nutrition (never less than 180g protein), I’ve lost gains 
This doesn’t tear me up like it would’ve a couple years ago, but…riddle me that! Scratching my head. Help me make sense of this, @bmbrady77, @NH_Watts, @jackolee and others
You really gonna make me sound like a broken record aren’t ya?! Lol
EAT MORE. Eat clean, but eat MORE. And then, when you’ve torn your body down with a good workout, recover more. Do 3-4 really HARD BB routines a week and factor in more time for rest.
I hear you, bro – I had a feeling you’d say that I really don’t think eating more is my issue, though. I’ve fluctuated up and down during the past 2 years, both in caloric consumption and weight.
Each time when I get up around 190 and then cut back down, it looks the same – or, in this case, even worse. I’m confused, brother.
How much have your big lifts gone up that time? How long did you hold 190 before cutting? How quickly did you cut and how much cardio did you do during the cut? What’s your training looking like now?
Lots of different factors, but you seem to fairly consistently have abs, I would wager that your holding yourself back just by being a little too keen to see your abs.
Thanks for getting back to me, man. Treasure your insights – you obviously have gained a lot of LBM.
My OHP has gone up by 10 lbs and bench by 20 lbs. Squat and DL have not increased, but I’ve also become way more focused on form and ROM.
I hung there for 3 months. Seemed to only result in fat, though…
I dropped 15 lbs in 2.5 months. I guess that is pretty fast. Nothing crazy for cardio – just 10K steps per day and lifting 5-6X per week. Leaning out is way easier for me psychologically because I do have some fear of gaining fat.
I’m following Renaissance Periodization’s 5-day split. I like the scientific rigor of their programming, though I’m not a huge fan of the RIR philosophy. I’d rather go to failure – or close to it – every workout. I’m doing cardio (usually 30-minute Peloton bike rides) 2-3X per week.
Might be the case. I do feel strongly that a slow gain is probably the way to go, like 1-2 lbs per month.
Wouldn’t necessarily disagree, I’d probably be on the 2-3lb per month side though, you know for sure that you can lose fat very easily, so no worries about a bit of fat gain, I’d rather gain a bit of fat than miss out on gaining muscle.
Same, my thoughts are; unless you’re forcing the body to grow it wants to stay the same, if your comfortable then I can’t see much need for the body to grow.
Nothing wrong with this.
Pretty quick when you’re already on the leaner & lighter side. Plus:
Isn’t particularly long, I like to gain and hold it for a long time. Then move up again, I’m not talking mega fat or perma bulk but if you can get comfortable with the idea of not having clear cut abs for 1/2 years you’ll be able to gain 24-48 lbs and I guarantee you after you’ve been at 200+ for a couple of years you’ll look dramatically different when you decide to cut.
Over what period is this?
Great advice @alex_uk !
Is this the rate that you follow now? Looks like you have a tremendous physique, brother! Sounds like you do more ‘main-gaining’ than heavy bulking?
100% agree. I like the RP workout layouts but the RIR stuff just never made sense to me. I think Dr Mike might be too smart for his own good sometimes. This stuff may be good in theory but it doesn’t seem to work in practice.
I don’t disagree with you, but why do you think this is? Why would ‘holding’ a higher weight (say, 200) for longer (1-2 years) lead to more muscle gain than holding that weight for a few months?
2 years. I know the numbers should’ve gone up more. I’ve always really struggled with strength. Part of the issue is that I workout alone at home so don’t want to take many risks, but another part is that I simply haven’t gotten stronger.
Well what I do isn’t what I’d recommend, mainly because I’m really ill disciplined, my gains happen in fits and starts and are frequently quite dirty diet wise (had hba1c drawn yesterday so I’ll find out how much damage I’m doing in the next day or two). I’m fortunate in terms of genetics my body isn’t keen on adding fat, (or weight in general).
But in general my gain patterns are years, then some short cuts when I get too sloppy (when you can see it through baggy clothing or when tying your shoes because noticeably unpleasant).
Thanks always trying to improve and photos are good lighting/well posed but definitely come a long way since 151lb leaving uni.
Yea I’m a big fan of the basics, I used to read prolifically, but I came to realise is just made me overthink stuff. Lift heavier today than you did last week (broad generalisation) do the big basics and don’t limit rep ranges too much (whilst I do 531 frequently, my top sets always pushed hard and that normally ends up 10+ on occasion up to 20) just started poundstone curls which are unpleasant to say the least bit seem effective.
Yea that’s not ideal. I also do home, solo lifting, you got a rack with catchers? Pretty much everything dangerous I do is racked and it occasionally gets tested (screwed up the racking on a top set squat recently - made for a funny video, but more importantly I’m happy to push the limits because I’m probably safer than with a spotter).
Strength is hard for me too, I’ve got some lifts that I’m pleased with but in general feel I’m behind others at my weight/years training. Weight gain helps strength big time though.
I’d say that a long period of really focusing on strength (or at least a power building style) and gaining weight would really benefit you.
I haven’t really got a solid answer here, but I’ve experienced it myself, whether it’s to do with inital weight gain being partly water/glycogen then after a few more months/years you’ve shifted that ratio to actual muscle and lost a bit of fat/recomped without trying, or whether homeostasis set points need longer to really embed (not sure if this is science or not but seemed very apt in my life).
Notable examples of this though are strongmen and powerlifters who hold weight for all competitive years and then retire, cut and look amazing. I think years of holding muscle seems to add a certain density to the look (I suppose that goes back to water/glycogen and actually hypertrophy again).
Edit first sentence to make actual sense
Dude, I’ve noticed this too. Even the guys who get big and fat – Mark Bell, Žydrūnas Savickas – look like absolute gods when they cut down.
I’d never want to get that big (not that I even could), though – it’s gotta be so bad for your health.
That said, I think the ‘bear mode’ look is a great one if you can attain it – and probably better for psychological health in that you don’t fret over every calorie.
Hopeful for you that you get good news, bro. What made you want to check it out?
It’s funny because people probably look at me and think the same thing, but my body has no trouble adding weight, just muscle lol.
Just got one, actually! Very excited about it. I used credit card points to procure a ton of upgrades to the home gym for FREE (I know @ncsugrad2002 will be proud, lol).
I’ve wondered if I would have the same muscle mass as I do now (currently about 208) if I hadn’t spent a couple years between 220-230 lbs. I don’t know the answer, but it sure seems like the guys who have spent some time being muscular and fat look really good when they lose the fat.
Bear mode generally doesn’t work unless you are A: Juiced up or B: Hold fat very well, thus even when fluffy you can still pass as aesthetically pleasing.
