I wanted to point out that someone told me that Testosterone isn’t good for weight loss. I seriously beg to differ for the following reasons:
Increasing Testosterone increases beta receptors on your fatty tissues that certain adrenal hormones can act upon.
If you never had a reasonable amount of T / never could keep enough free T swimming in your system to do this, it explains why you can pack it on and never be able to burn it.
Kinda funny also, my body temp has increased 3.5 degrees since I started TRT. I was 95.0 degrees last time I was at the Doc. I tested for a physical at the new doc before I got sick and I was 98.5.
And 95 was pretty much my norm since high school (30+ years). T changed my metabolism significantly.
MS
Figured I’d give an update since I’ve been away for a while… I’m now down to 278 lbs. Looking very awesome, however, I’m still a bit overweight. My target goal was 265 then I moved it to 260. I am uncertain how I’ll look at 260. But now I am starting to look like a heavy weight boxer. Kinda funny. I actually look “bigger” now than I did when I was “big”.
I improved my diet considerably with some competent eating advice. I’m not really on a diet. Almost 0 fat, low glyceimic and very large amount of calories.
Go figure.
MS
Some really strange blood work. Anyone have any thoughts??
I did a physical with a new doctor (potential new PCP i’m interviewing) I fired my last primary for incompetence and haven’t had (nor needed) a PCP since. But I wanted to do my physical and ekg and bloodwork so I got some recommendations to a “better class” physician. Guy seems competent and devotes the time at our first consult/mutual interview.
Did a MASSIVE amount of blood work… almost excessive amount. Found some interesting things.
The most interesting is: after 1 year on TRT, my SHBG has dropped to 4.0???
How is this possible? It has actually lowered from where it was (and it was low to begin with)… I assume this is an awesome thing from what I’ve been reading… but I’d like to know what budged it so much.
Also, my PSA shot from 0.9 to 1.7 in one year-- and no, I seriously doubt I have “surprise” cancer… I’m totally within range… just surprised at the speed of the rise. (Worth watching IMHO but not freaking out)…
And my T on day 4 of my 8 day half life is about 1200 serum before anyone asks.
Any thoughts??
Thanks guys, and yes, I’m still plateaued at 280 lbs. Damn body just wants to fight so hard to hold the lard lol… I dropped a LOT in the last month (like 20-30 pounds of fat)… I figure it’ll break in a week or two.
Thanks,
MS
There’s nothing awesome about an shbg of 4, other that probably diabetes or at least some sort of insulin sensitivity issue.
The lower the shbg the more active.test use? People with high #'s tend to have almost no free test. Perhaps I missed something? Also, I was prediabetic but my a1c dropped 2.1% in 1 year.
MS
That’s the very basic answer, yes, but low shbg people tend to have a lot of issues, be overweight, diabetic, higher free e2 that causes issues, all sorts of stuff.
People with high shbg just take a higher dose and that’s that.
A lot of the cases I see on here where people try for years to get dialed in and always have issues are low shbg cases. I’d much rather be high than low.
Good to see your a1c is improving though. I think you have the lowest shbg I’ve ever heard of
FWIW Thanks LOL. I feel fine, no issues in that regard. My estrogens float between 20 and 30 consistently.
I DID have SERIOUS metabolic issues, I have very good IGF 1 for my age, blood was thick (to be expected) but I did have some whacky liver issues high ALT slightly elevated (like double digits) AST. I discontinued a “supplement” mix that I was taking and I think it might have had some junk in it that was harsh on the liver.
But nothing that would suppress or depress my already low enough SHBG.
Just plain strange. The Doc is telling me if my a1c keeps dropping we are going of metformin soon. I mean I’m down over 140 pounds at this point lol.
My only concern was my psa doubled in one year from .9 to 1.7 and that’s a velocity of 13.1 months to double and a slope of .1.
That’s awesome! Sounds like everything is moving in the right direction. I wonder if your SHBG will come up some as your A1C improves.
Are you having any side effects from Metformin? I’m not sure I’d stop taking it if you can help it, I’ve read a lot of good things about it
Yeah, I was a bit grouchy when I made that post 
What I meant to say… was… we were discussing going off it at some point in the future if my a1c improved enough. I mean I dropped 2% in one year from 7.8% to 5.8% and there is a very good likelihood that # will drop significantly going forward. I’m not having any real sides… for 3 months I was having massive GI issues from it… mostly from the dose… but I’m fine now.
I have read that it’s a decent PED for keeping insulin resistance in check and maintaining/promoting weight loss.
But with an AST of 74 and an ALT of 225, I was concerned. All I run is Test 200 with 2 mg of anastrazole.
And 2k Metformin BID and a multivitamin. I am going to run a Tudca/Milkthisle and Choline Inositol L - Methinone?? Liver cleanse for a month or two and see if the #'s crash back to normal. I think the other multivitamin supplement my wife got me had a bunch of crap in it that messed up my liver #'s. I need to rule out Non ETOH fatty liver from mass fat to glucose conversions with nowhere to go.
My metabo may have actually tripled since (started before COVID) and I didn’t do much during COVID but I still lost over 25 pounds. (And definitely didn’t lose any muscle lol)
MS.
And before you ask, my lipid profile is god like, end of story
MS
I am going to nag the Dr.'s office to call in a retest of the hemo testing for the liver enzymes. I’d really like to know if my liver is messed up for some reason or if the “liver cleanse” is doing the job.
I am losing weight like crazy and maybe the liver is just really not happy. I am seeing the best “gains” and “losses”-- although I think its more illusory, as you can now see my muscles much clearer since the fat is coming off and the skin is re-tightening.
But seriously hoping that the I’m not suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or something. I have heard of athletes and bodybuilders having enzymes in the 500-1000 ranges… but I’m not that guy lol.
MS
Well, just a brief update. I’ve managed to make it into the 260’s. My waist is down to a size 38. Kind of funny. I haven’t had a 38 waist since 8th grade.
MS
I really hate being a bigger guy, my weight fluctuates wildly from day to day. I figured I’d do an update since I did an Inbody scan about 45 min to an hour ago. (And I hadn’t eaten anything yet).
I was 272 pounds @ 20.6% bodyfat and 217 pounds lean muscle.
That made my month. That and I can now do a few pull ups (body weight) and can do quite a few body weight dips! Yay.
Very exciting for me. I’m getting that flubbery bag-o-skin thing going on lol … but at least it doesn’t hang off me horribly like when people lose tons of water weight.
MS
Keep up the with the great work. You’ve made a TON of progress…you’re an inspiration and have a lot to be proud of with your hard work and dedication.
I want to get down to about 15% body fat. So… with 56ish pounds left… that would take me to 258. My ideal goal is to see if I can get to and maintain 10-12%. (which would be 244. I’m not sure if its possible but I’m aiming for 240-250 range in general-- then I’m gonna just keep lifting and building.
And thank you Pandab55 for that really nice note, I hope people are inspired. I really do-- If I could do it in as BAD a shape as I started… ANYONE can. Nobody expected me to go the distance. Nobody. Not even myself. My Wife did believe in me, to her credit, she believed I’d do it if I put my mind to it. Also, my trainers thought I was a joke at first until they saw me show up every day. Then they were behind me. Now its all on me. I’m the guy who has to get up and go to the gym every day. If I can do it, you can do it, rain shine, sick, tired, pissed off at the world-- whatever, get off your butt and go!
My present trainer isn’t one of the “gym” trainers, he’s a pro trainer and seems to know his shit. His training program is absolutely grueling compared to what I did before. It is high volume (150+ reps per exercise) with moderate weights. Soon to be heavier weights now that I’ve gotten crazy strong.
FYI in 7 weeks, I gained 111% strength to my chest from this training i track my chest day for statistical analysis. Yeah, nerdy like that.
When I get down around 10-15% I’m gonna post up some before and after pictures just to give ya’ll an idea of what a bona fide body re-composition looks like .
MS
Hey, thanks for the post. I am starting TRT tomorrow and this gives me hope!
I am 5’8", and about 3 years ago I was about 315lbs with a 44" waist. I started doing keto and crossfit out consistently. Over the course of like 15 months or so, I got down to a 38" waist and was down to 260lbs, but my body was not in a good place: lifts started going down and I just wasn’t healthy. Over the last year and a half, I’ve been suffering from depression, and it keeps getting worse, with very low energy and nothing is/was fun. I’m still working out, and eating a more balanced diet, but I have lots of inflammation and I’ve been at 320lbs and lifts plateaued for 6-8 months now. I went to the doctor and had a total T of 226. I’m starting at 200mg every 2 weeks (probably will split the dose into weekly).
We seem similar (both high bf and already somewhat strong before TRT) Hopefully, I will start to see some of the success you have seen!
Any advice?
Besides being overweight how did you feel before Keto? Long term calorie restriction and keto can raise SHBG and lower free T. When it comes to health high SHBG is a good biomarker but it will lower your free T.
Kinda tough for me to answer for certain, but if I had to guess, I would say I probably have not been 100% before that. I would say I’ve been declining for about the past 3-4 years or so, but been very noticeable the past two.
If my doctor doesn’t order SHGB tests with my next bloodwork, I will probably just get one on my own…
Do you take any meds? Statins? Blood pressure meds? Have you had your A1C tested to see if you are diabetic? I would definitely break that 200mg into 100mg per week to start. Good luck!
Give that inflammation about 1 month to die down. And I run 200 mg / week. My Doc does not believe that 100 mg a week is sufficient to optimize your health. Kinda like the deliberately under-dosed pellets that actually work against you. My 2 cents about splitting the dose up is that if you split it up to 2x per week you will raise your blood level (where it drops down) however, you’ll kill your peak rise on the first 2 days. (It will be a lower peak rise in exchange for a higher average daily level). I did not honestly notice any significant difference in over 1 year with 6 months 2x per week and 6 1x per week. I guess the takeaway is, if you like stabbing yourself, knock yourself out otherwise, 1x week works fine for me.
MS