24 Year old male. 5’11" 225 LBS. I work 12 hour, rotating shifts.
Symptoms:
.extreme fatigue
.some depression and anxiety
.moodiness
.sleep issues
.join and muscle pain, especially in legs
no motivation, especially in hobbies I once enjoyed.
What do yall think? The Free T number has my attention.
Where is your FSH, LH, E2 and SHBG?
Without sleep your hormones will decline over time.
I think you FT is below the reference ranges and is lower than almost all healthy elderly men.
Your elevation in ALT levels could be do to a recently seasonal illness or a liver issue and since liver damage can present with an elevation in SHBG, more testing is needed.
The SHBG binds, decreases the FT (active T) and the TT is inert so you can only imagine what happens when SHBG continues on the upwards trajectory.
I would expect your estrogen to be very low given your FT levels, joint pain and anxiety is the norm when estrogen is low.
In any case a properly functioning HPTA would try to get the TT, FT higher by increasing LH, if that’s not happening and you attempt to address any liver issues without any resolution in symptoms, then it you might have to consider TRT.
So I should get more testing done before considering any treatment?
You seem too young to have your hormones all screwed up.
12 hour rotating shifts can’t be ideal for quality sleep.
More comprehensive tests would shed more light to a possible remedy.
What tests would you recommend? My thyroid levels were fine.
How much sleep are you getting per night on average? What’s your diet? What’s your bodyfat? Is this a very muscular 225 at 5’11”?
I would prefer more empirical data, strength: as in current max bench press, over head press, squat, and deadlift. Weighing 225lb and struggling with a 450lb squat doesn’t suggest a very muscular 225lb. How many reps with 450lb?
I dont lift. Im obese
I try to sleep at least 7 hours. My diet could be better. Hard to maintain a good diet when working nights. Im fat not muscular
Then you have your answer. Your hormones are not great because your lifestyle is not great. You don’t need trt, you need sleep and a better diet. Start small and make some changes.
TRT might make you feel better, but only for a while if you don’t make some lifestyle changes. You’ll see guys that started TRT return to these forums after some time has passed claiming they don’t feel like they did the first several months or years on TRT and it’s because they continued the same lifestyle that led to the decline in testosterone.
Your testosterone decline is only part of the problem and there are many other areas affected by your lifestyle. So if you think TRT is going to fix all your problems, you would be mistaken.
What are some good diets to try?
A mediterranean diet promotes weightloss, reduces inflammation but also improve blood sugar control for those with diabetes.
The best diet is the one you’re going to actually follow and stick to.
Diets that have names are universally trash. No exceptions. None. No, not even that one that your cousin’s wife’s sister used. They. Are. Trash.
If someone is selling you weight loss then assume they’re a charlatan. Here’s everything you need to know about losing weight, free of charge: eat less, move more. Done. There is not one single goddamn diet out there that is not based on the core of physics, i.e. the First Law of Thermodynamics. Nothing—nothing—overcomes that. It is 100% CICO, calories in, calories out. Now we can debate the merits of which types of calorie restriction are better or worse for you. But if the goal is to lose weight then you have to eat less than you burn every day. That’s it. It needn’t be any more complicated.
If right now you’re eating 3,000 calories of kind of bad food then you could lose weight by only eating 2,200 calories of the exact same food. Again, is this healthy? Probably not. McDonald’s isn’t good for you. But can you drop 40lbs by only eating McDonald’s? Of fucking course. (Don’t actually do this)
The point is that you do not need to design some esoteric diet plan that incorporates the phases of the moon and accounts for Mercury rising. Figure out how much you’re eating now, figure out your TDEE, and then eat 500 calories under that. Do it for a month. You’ll be hungry a lot. It sucks. You’ll get used to it. You’ll also be able to remind yourself that no, you’re not actually going to die because you’re a little hungry.
After the first month you adjust your new TDEE and drop calories further. This is when you can start incorporating some cardio. Exercise is a terrible way to lose weight. The people who start a diet and training concurrently usually fail. Exercise makes you even more hungry at a time that you’re already overwhelmed by it. It’s the fastest way to getting fatter. Get the diet down first, then add exercise. Order of operations is key here.
After a few months you’ll be feeling a lot better and everything will get easier as time goes on. Eventually you’ll want to add weight training. Adding muscle makes it easier to stay leaner and that’ll be something you’ll want. But it’s all predicated on you taking the first step and following the plan. Do it right and you’ll get where you want to be.
So walking a mile or 2 a day is bad?
No, walking is fine. But people start out by doing higher intensity stuff and trying to “burn off” extra calories. It always ends in tears. You can do as much LISS as you want. It’s overall good for you, so add it as much as you’d like.
Cool. I have lived a pretty sedentary lifestyle for the last year. working night shift 12 hour shifts will make you very lazy when you have a desk job. Just started a new job that is day shift only. I’ll have a lot more time for activity. Hopefully I’ll notice some changes.