mcs5309
Member
Friends comment on how they can't believe with all the supplements, training, super clean diet discipline, I'm not "ripped". To keep hearing that off and on is friggin' discouraging, starting in my 30s.
Something has been and still is blocking my body or preventing my body from effective fat burning, thus I remain confounded and frustrated. Perhaps to most, the usual simplistic answer is cals in/cals out, but it seems it's more than that because my cals are not in excess and in fact are under my TEE (approx. 2500) and just over my RMR (approx. 1550). CR (caloric restriction) does work and reduced both total weight and tiny amount of bodyfat, but CR carries risks of both catabolism and thyroid suppression which reverse
the very issue I'm trying to resolve - fat-burning blockage.
Here's more extensive data to help evaluate this continuing dilemma.
Stats:
Age: 52
Ht: 5-7
Total weight: 170
BF: 20% (at this much bf, I have to cut to no more than 12%, and THEN start a clean bulk)
FFM (fat-free mass): 130
Of note: I was my leanest in my mid-20s at about 11-12% bodyfat, and weighed 140 with a 29" waist. No, I had no size, but I was lean and you could see my abs and I was pretty vascular.
Dietary regimes:
- Leangains-style Intermittent fasting (for 8 mos. been on 18 hr fast/6 hr refeed; 10-20g BCAAs + misc. aminos pre-workout)
- Low carb Paleo (on 1 year)
- Ketogenic (just started 2 mos. ago)
Macros:
- Cals: 1645
- Protein: *95g (23%)
- Carbs: **35g (9%)
- Fat: 125g (68%)
*any more than this and the liver will convert it to glucose + my metabolism will use that preferentially over fat as a fuel which negates the benefits of ketosis.
** Dr. Holtorf states the following:
"Low-carbohydrate diets will suppress thyroid function and increase reverse T3 more than comparable calorie reductions with adequate carbohydrates, so while a low-carbohydrate diet may result in initial weight loss, patients are prone to regaining weight unless the reverse T3 issue is addressed", however, new research from Drs. Phinney and Volek dispute that such has not manifested itself in any of the research subjects in their numerous studies of people who are properly following a well-formulated low-carb diet with adequate calories over the past three decades. They state that it’s calorie-restriction that brings on this low thyroid effect, not limiting carbohydrates. In addition, since I am taking exogenous T3/T4, I would think such would also cancel any possible suppression from carb restricted diets. In whose research do we believe ?
But all that doesn't really matter because I was no leaner when I was eating more carbs anyway.
Training schedule (I have been training fasted):
- 4x's/week - 45-60 min per workout, medium-high intensity
- 2-3 x's/week - cardio - 15-20 min. - intervals (run/walk)
Supplements: Invalid Link Removed
Hypothyroid Meds:
- Sustained-release T4 - 75mcg/day with food
- T4 - 25mcg/day before bed (my latest T4 level was significantly depressed @ 0.56 (ref range: 0.82-1.77)
HRT: None yet. Perhaps the missing link? Perhaps the missing link to carry me over the threshold of stubborn fat oxidation would be TRT and GHRPs?
My last T level hovers between 500-550 (ref range 348-1197); IGF-1 in the 180-200 (56-201). My last urinary HGH level, however, was 1931 (ref range: 1085-4722). The herbals T-booster supps are obviously weaker than TRT. My last DHEA-S was elevated at 453.5.
I should be at least in the mid 700s to be in midrange for T.
Something has been and still is blocking my body or preventing my body from effective fat burning, thus I remain confounded and frustrated. Perhaps to most, the usual simplistic answer is cals in/cals out, but it seems it's more than that because my cals are not in excess and in fact are under my TEE (approx. 2500) and just over my RMR (approx. 1550). CR (caloric restriction) does work and reduced both total weight and tiny amount of bodyfat, but CR carries risks of both catabolism and thyroid suppression which reverse
the very issue I'm trying to resolve - fat-burning blockage.
Here's more extensive data to help evaluate this continuing dilemma.
Stats:
Age: 52
Ht: 5-7
Total weight: 170
BF: 20% (at this much bf, I have to cut to no more than 12%, and THEN start a clean bulk)
FFM (fat-free mass): 130
Of note: I was my leanest in my mid-20s at about 11-12% bodyfat, and weighed 140 with a 29" waist. No, I had no size, but I was lean and you could see my abs and I was pretty vascular.
Dietary regimes:
- Leangains-style Intermittent fasting (for 8 mos. been on 18 hr fast/6 hr refeed; 10-20g BCAAs + misc. aminos pre-workout)
- Low carb Paleo (on 1 year)
- Ketogenic (just started 2 mos. ago)
Macros:
- Cals: 1645
- Protein: *95g (23%)
- Carbs: **35g (9%)
- Fat: 125g (68%)
*any more than this and the liver will convert it to glucose + my metabolism will use that preferentially over fat as a fuel which negates the benefits of ketosis.
** Dr. Holtorf states the following:
"Low-carbohydrate diets will suppress thyroid function and increase reverse T3 more than comparable calorie reductions with adequate carbohydrates, so while a low-carbohydrate diet may result in initial weight loss, patients are prone to regaining weight unless the reverse T3 issue is addressed", however, new research from Drs. Phinney and Volek dispute that such has not manifested itself in any of the research subjects in their numerous studies of people who are properly following a well-formulated low-carb diet with adequate calories over the past three decades. They state that it’s calorie-restriction that brings on this low thyroid effect, not limiting carbohydrates. In addition, since I am taking exogenous T3/T4, I would think such would also cancel any possible suppression from carb restricted diets. In whose research do we believe ?
But all that doesn't really matter because I was no leaner when I was eating more carbs anyway.
Training schedule (I have been training fasted):
- 4x's/week - 45-60 min per workout, medium-high intensity
- 2-3 x's/week - cardio - 15-20 min. - intervals (run/walk)
Supplements: Invalid Link Removed
Hypothyroid Meds:
- Sustained-release T4 - 75mcg/day with food
- T4 - 25mcg/day before bed (my latest T4 level was significantly depressed @ 0.56 (ref range: 0.82-1.77)
HRT: None yet. Perhaps the missing link? Perhaps the missing link to carry me over the threshold of stubborn fat oxidation would be TRT and GHRPs?
My last T level hovers between 500-550 (ref range 348-1197); IGF-1 in the 180-200 (56-201). My last urinary HGH level, however, was 1931 (ref range: 1085-4722). The herbals T-booster supps are obviously weaker than TRT. My last DHEA-S was elevated at 453.5.
I should be at least in the mid 700s to be in midrange for T.