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PittyLove

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  1. Hello and welcome. I am curious, when you say muscle gains, do you mean strength or size or both?
  2. Everything else was normal. Otherwise, at least one of the six doctors I visited would have likely recommended something else. Only my total test and free test was low. But this is all moot now. I fixed it and I now know that the standard medical practice in these cases is mostly pure BS and centered around getting one hooked on medication for the rest of their lives. And in case anyone wants to know about how much my body has changed: Before treatment, I was doing multiple rounds of P90X and Insanity, I didn't appear to gain any muscle at all, but lost a good deal of fat. I went down to 155 pounds. After getting my testosterone corrected and continuing with the same exercises, I am around 185 pounds. I would guess about 5 pounds of that is fat. I feel a lot more solid and my muscles are firmer than at anytime in my life. I actually see performance increases now, whereas before, I only saw some minor increases in endurance. Recovery is much quicker and it takes me much less time to accomplish the same workouts now. Also, I have notice a significant decrease in joint and ligament pain when working out. If anyone has similar issues, feel free to send me a PM with any questions. I have found that most people who haven't had this issue don't know much about it at all.
  3. My testosterone was 113. Is that low enough for you?
  4. Well, it has been over a year, but I wanted to give ya'll an update. I cycled Tamoxifen for 2 months on/2 months off, three times, and I am now free of all meds and my testosterone is staying in the low normal range. I sure am glad I didn't listen to the doctors.
  5. I think you have to figure out what your goal is to be fit and healthy. Simply to look good doesn't seem to motivate too many people unless they are narcissists. LOL Maybe you want to feel better, or do more physical activities you enjoy that you can't do now. Maybe you want to simply be a great representative for veganism so people can see that vegans are healthy. Maybe you have more than one goal. Is that goal important enough to motivate you beyond all the negative stuff pulling you down? Sometimes it isn't. Sometimes the only way to get motivated is to eliminate some of the negative things holding you down. This sound like where you might be right now. You might need someone who can help you with what is weighing you down. This doesn't have to be a professional. Sometimes you just need someone in the same boat and you can motivate each other. Have you tried finding a workout buddy and cooking buddy? Sometimes it is difficult depending on where you live. Where I live, people think they get enough exercise lifting the dead deer they shot into their pickup. With the exercise, try this. Get up every morning and at the very least, do a warmup and stretch. For me, about 90 percent of the time I am able to continue beyond that and get a decent workout. I have very very low energy, so getting started is especially hard. With the eating right, here are a few things I do, which may or may not work for you. 1. Try and never shop for food when hungry. If I am hungry, I tend to buy more junk food. 2. Donate any processed crap in your house to a neighbor or food bank. Just clean house and start with only fresh produce. 3. Fasting occasionally helps me to "reset" my palate. After a day of fasting, even a salad sounds wonderful. 4. Drink a lot of water or tea (caffeine-free) whenever you feel the munchies coming on. A cinnamon stick in tea or even to suck on can help moderate blood sugar levels (or so I have read), and I find that helps to subdue my cravings. You could also post your diet on the forum. Sometimes when you know others will know what you are eating, it can help you to not eat junk food. It is all trial and error and error and error. I still haven't figured out how to be consistent. Some days I wake up and lay in bed till 9AM. Good luck!
  6. I have found that a lot of ethnic food is naturally vegan and wheat free. Some soy free as well. Ethiopian food traditionally is dairy and egg free, and the Injera is gluten free. However, many restaurants and markets will make their injera by mixing the teff with wheat or buckwheat flower because it makes it much easier to make. My favorite recipe is Miser Wat. I still have some left in my fridge. It is made with red lentils and an Ethiopian spice called berbere. Berbere a mix of spices and you can make your own. It is like curry is to indian in that each family have their own recipe and they are all a little different. http://chameleonkitchen.me/2013/04/21/miser-wat-ethiopian-red-lentils/ Thai food is traditionally dairy-free, wheat-free, and mostly soy-free. You have to watch out for eggs and fish sauce. Rice noodles and some peanut sauce with a dash of lime make a wonderful meal. Indian food is about half dairy-free and wheat-free. Traditionally egg free and they don't use much soy, if any. There are a lot of curry recipes online that are fast and easy to make and can be poured over rice. Some places have a potato or lentil bread that may be gluten-free. Korean is largely dairy, egg, and gluten free. Just make sure the noodles are rice. If you are ever in Chicago, Amitubal is a great Korean place. Whole-foods and raw is always your best source of nutrients.
  7. If I didn't eat fruit I would die. Seriously. It makes up about 90% of my diet.
  8. A couple frozen bananas, coco nibs, PB, and sumaroot powder.
  9. Veganbadass, are you in Colorado? If so, where? I did 4 rounds of P90X and 3 rounds of insanity with very little results. Convinced me to get stuff checked out and I found I have a hormone problem. Now that I have that figured out, I am working on starting a round of Insanity. I hope to see some results this time!
  10. I am a personal trainer and a nutritionist, and I have the same problem with family or close friends listening. Complete strangers are always far more interested in what I have to say. It is a bizarre trait of humans for some reason. My first thought would be to dump him and find someone who respects your opinion, but if that is too drastic, then maybe a gift certificate for a session with a trainer or nutritionist might work?
  11. Curious on that as well - considering that HCG (the real stuff, not the "HCG Diet" crap) is typically derived from the urine of from pregnant horses, something I'd prefer to avoid if possible, I'd likely be more prone to taking a low dose of something like Androgel if I had to pick and choose, but perhaps there are other reasons. Perhaps SERMs offer the ability to take some lapses in between without medicating whereas a direct dose of testosterone would be continual? HCG is either derived from human female urine, or more likely synthetic. HCG increases ones natural testosterone, Androgel shuts it down. HCG is temporary, Androgel is permanent. Unless you use HCG to prevent shutdown when using Androgel. In the last 4 weeks or so since I started taking the SERM, I have lost a good deal of fat, and gain a lot of lean body mass. I have experienced an endorphin rush or a "pump" until after I started taking the SERMs. Working out have become very easy for me. Much greater energy, and much faster recovery. I am reducing the dosage everyday and hopefully will be off it completely soon. Hopefully my testosterone stays up.
  12. Why would I want to do that when my testicles can produce all the testosterone I need? And if someone cycles testosterone like that, it would be a wild roller coaster. The 8 weeks off would require a SERM or other type of estrogen blocker to try and get natural testosterone back up. Testosterone replacement is considered a lifelong commitment. The longer you take it, the harder it is to recover. SERMS tend to work the opposite. They stimulate your natural cycle and the longer you take it, the greater the chance the body will be able to continue producing natural testosterone. The side effects are much less in number and severity.
  13. Low testosterone, in my particular case, causes very low energy, anxiety, weak bones, loss of muscle, difficulty sleeping, depression, sensitivity to cold, weakness, etc. It is not something with which it is easy to live. Side effects of SERMS vary, but I have experienced none except occasional dry mouth.
  14. Why do you say that? Why do I say I might have to take a SERM for the rest of my life, or why is it better than a steroid?
  15. I too use machines rarely. Only when stuck in a hotel that only has them, or if I have an injury I am working through. My favorite device is the Jungle Gym XT, because it does help to develop all those stabilizer muscles, and they are small enough to take on trips. If you can do 50 pushups on the floor, you might only be able to to 15 on the Jungle Gym XT.
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