Thanks again, hrdlvn. I’m a little bit confused. I think what you’re saying is to over hydrate to show HCT is within range but I’m not looking to cheat unless your point is so that the doctor doesn’t pull me off because of high HCT. Actually I’m trying to get HCT into the normal range as a matter of day today normal conditions of my life. My SHBG was 23 just before starting and you saw my Free T is off the chart at 28 through and about 36 peak mid week. Labcorp top of range for that test is 24.
That’s 28 trough
If you can hydrate to lower HCT then it’s not an issue. It’s a problem when a Hct does not lower from hydration.
If that is the case then it means you jsut need to stay on top of the hydration.
That’s brilliant! Thanks!
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hrdlvn question for you…
First thanks to all for the advice and following up. So I used grapefruit and hydration and got the HCT down to 49% and gave more blood which should help keep it down for awhile. I also split my dose in 2. I thiunk this has helped make me feel more consistently better. Still the erection issues but they also seem to be getting a little better. I’ve read that cruciferous vegs, white mushrooms and pomegranate all help with E2 so I have added those and I am certain I have seen a difference. Will be doing labs soon and hoping for the best. Will let you know.
questions:
1- I was reading some other posts and saw you mention you use an AI but you mentioned yo me you don’t use one. Is this because you need it when on a cycle and otherwise don’t use it?
2- After my next doc appt I am going to try a cycle provided all is well with liver, thyroid, etc . You mentioned “be ready to spend a lot of money on good food” when blasting. What do you mean by this? What’s “good food” in your experience?
I never take my AI when I am blasting I let my E2 run high to protect my joints and deal with the small bad side effects if they come. A blast is for 10-12 weeks there really is no chance for gyno in that time frame and thats the biggy with high E2 year round.
When I am on my normal TRT protocol of 100-120mg/wk I don’t take an AI on a set schedule. I have been doing this long enough I know what high E2 feels so if I get those feeling which for whatever reason always seem to hit on Sunday. I will take 1 pill and usually in ~4 hours my symptoms are gone. If not the next day another one and wait. I have never needed to take more than 3 in a week. My pills are .125mg each.
Planning and costs to cycle.
For me lifting and going to my gym is a hobby I really enjoy the whole process.
So when I decide to do a cycle I start working out a new exersize program for the specific muscles I feel are lagging and want to improve. I start working up meal plans and calculate the protein/carbs/fats.
When I cycle it cost me between 100-120 dollars a week on top of the family grocery money and I don’t expect my family budget to pay for that.
When cycling It like being on a vacation and I want to eat well.
Here’s a typical grocery list that is just off the top of my head so I will forget somethings:
4each 5-8oz filet mignon steaks (the 8oz-ers I’ll cut into two) , 7 chicken breast, family size pack frozen pacific cod, 7each 5oz cans of white tuna in water, 5 sweet potatos, 1# bag organic wild rice, 3 dozen brown eggs, 1/2# of unsalted almonds, 7 grapefruits, large bag fresh broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts 1/2 gal olive oil for frying and salad dressing 1 bottle of apple cider vinegar with mother. 2 pre made bags of salad. 6 tomatos.
When tracking P/C/F here’s what this diet gives me:
Here’s what some of those meals look like:
The fried fish and chicken are my own special recipes. Instead of flowr or breadcrumbs I grind unsalted almonds into a coarse powder and using egg white I bread any meat then fry in olive oil on low heat. Never let the olive oil smoke or it is ruined.
Sorry for the book I guess you can tell I am rather passionate about my cycles.
There’s even more like supplements, sarms, peptides, NO stacks, other drugs like metform and even sleep lots of sleep and lots of rest for recovery.
This is awesome, hrdlvn. Thanks so much.
Speaking of sleep, I struggle sometimes to get 7 hours and usually end up closer to 5 or 6 but I am working on it. I squeeze in naps though. When you say lots of sleep, what do you mean and do naps count too?
Thanks again!
I don’t know if naps help with muscle rebuilding but I am sure they help your mental state.
If you are serious about learning details of your sleep look into a garmin Heart Rate monitor one that has the sleep study feature. I believe apple and others offer this feature as well.
Here is what one looks like.
This first one is when all is going well with me. The dark blue is deep sleep. I belive that is when you release growth hormone and your muscles rebuild the fastest.
Here is an example when I was having anxiety issues a while back requiring drugs to keep me out of the emergency room.
Anyway hope that helps.
Sleep is king for recovery and without recovery muscle is hard to obtain. Muscles grow after broken down and rebuilt. As long as your getting sleep that’s natural you should be good. Some guys only need 6 and others like me need 8. If you feel fresh you know you slept 
Hrdlvn…very low on the carbs, I see. You keep it just around the 50g mark on a regular basis?
That’s a great bunch of advice gents. I need to work on my sleep. I use the Fitbit to track it.
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Yes I really have to watch my carbs. I can lose my abs in one weekend of cheating.
Ya just don’t conform to the general public ranges … I always though Sleep until one naturally wakes is always the best.
Don’t we all have ab control to manage at this age… It’s interesting that you are at 3:1 protein to carb ratio… low fat too. Before TRT that ratio would inhibit T production but now with TRT much of the literature on natural T production means zilch now. I have to remember to reprogram my thinking on this as I tried to raise T naturally for so long and fought off TRT. I guess I am still a bit nervous about being chained to TRT for life. I asked my doc what TRT looks like at 80 years old… he said no different…or you can stop and you won’t crash. I think he is wrong about that and hopefully I live long enough to find out… I know of at least one story of a 74 year old gent who is still not only doing TRT but cycling as a bodybuilder too. The more I go down this road, the more I am starting to realize how prevalent it is in our society now. An interesting and educational journey.
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I absolutely agree.
On TRT we just don’t need the level of good cholesterol to increase natural T. There are still many hormones not related to sex hormones than need it.
I try to control my carbs knowing I need some for the glycogen post workouts because it gives me such a wonderful pump. There is nothing like walking out of the gym and your whole body feels like its got a boner, haha
So you think my fats at 38% is low? I am always trying to boost them.
I might swap some protein for healthy fat and even a few more carbs, some shift away from 1G/pound of protein. All the bro science says 1G/pound and aging says get even more. However, there are also studies suggesting more than 0.8g/LB could be problematic for cell inflammation / mutation / uncontrolled growth. ( I need to go find the one study that changed my mind… there are many that push for much, much less too). I’ve tried to cut mine back to 0.8 grams/pound max although sometimes I go over by accident. For you and I at around the same build that’s 150g/day. Maybe even try cycling the carbs down on off days and up on gym days.
Hey man, at your body specs at age 65 you are rocking! Don’t let me sway you! Just some “food” for thought!
I thank you for your comments and advice. Anyone in this game that thinks he knows it all is a fool.
I’m 5’9" 192# waist 34" shoulder 55" biceps 16" Right now I am blasting so my waterweight is up I’m around 202 loss my abs of course. It’s kind of funny my wife can always tell. I’ll be climbing out of the shower and she will see no washboards and I know its coming. "So! you’re messing around with that crap again? You be careful damit.
My daily protein runs 168-190g/day just depends on that day’s meals. My fat sources are almonds, avacado, olive oil, omega 3 fish oil, salmon.