new member in need of some help

[dickmidnight]

hey everyone. finally joined here because i need some guidance/advice

a little background: i'm 34, a former D1 athlete turned competitive weightlifter, now a dad-bod enthusiast

i'm 5'9", used to walk around and compete at 195 and under 10% BF (yes, really), but now that i'm not competing/training as much (read: at all) and i'm chasing a toddler around, i'm around 225.

in an attempt to get myself back to fighting weight, i started taking HGH and then started TRT.

i've been on HGH since may. i take 2iu in the morning and at night. i started TRT in july and i'm on .6ml weekly, along with anastrozole.

along with starting both, i've been eating better and getting back into the gym because i know supplements won't get me back on their own.

now for the part where i'm confused: i haven't lost any weight. at all. i'm actually fluctuating between 225-228 most days. i am, however, back into size 33 pants and i'm not busting the seams on large t shirts anymore. so i guess i'd say body comp has gotten slightly better, although i've developed mild gyno in my right tiddie.

what am i doing wrong? is this simply a case of me not training enough to see the results i want? am i on the wrong stuff? anything i can do about the gyno?

i know that's a lot of questions, but i figured i'd get it all out there. if clarification on anything is needed, please let me know. i'm here to learn and figure this out. thanks. mods, if this is in the wrong spot, i apologize. feel free to move me if necessary.

 

[Renew1]

Welcome, brother!

Is the TRT Prescription, or no?
Is your Test (TRT) 120mgs per week?
I'm assuming you pin once per week?
Are you using an AI?
What does your diet and calories look like?
What type of workouts do you use?
Any cardio?

*Also, remember ... Muscle is Heavier than fat

 

[dickmidnight]

Welcome, brother!

Is the TRT Prescription, or no?
Is your Test (TRT) 120mgs per week?

thanks!

yes, the trt was prescribed to me. i’m due back for bloodwork next month i believe. i don’t remember my numbers from the initial bloods though. i can try to find them.

yes 120mg/week. (200mg/ml solution at .6ml/week)

 

[Renew1]

thanks!

yes, the trt was prescribed to me. i’m due back for bloodwork next month i believe. i don’t remember my numbers from the initial bloods though. i can try to find them.

yes 120mg/week. (200mg/ml solution at .6ml/week)

Thanks man.
LOL. I was editing my above post ^^.
I added more questions (so other guys won't have to ask them).

 

[Renew1]

Welcome, brother!

Is the TRT Prescription, or no?
Is your Test (TRT) 120mgs per week?
I'm assuming you pin once per week?
Are you using an AI?
What does your diet and calories look like?
What type of workouts do you use?
Any cardio?

*Also, remember ... Muscle is Heavier than fat

Also, do you have any blood work?

 

[dickmidnight]

I'm assuming you pin once per week?
Are you using an AI?
What does your diet and calories look like?
What type of workouts do you use?
Any cardio?

yessir once a week.
they prescribed anastrozole
diet is clean-ish. i could be better, but i’m not looking to be as lean as i used to be, i just don’t wanna be fat haha
currently im at 2430 cal 190p/260c/70f. i’m comfortable tracking macros.
for workouts (here is where i’ll get crucified) i do a lot of crossfit and olympic lifting. it’s what i used to compete in. i’m a little limited now, though, because i tore my meniscus playing a stupid pickup soccer game.
on top of what would be considered HIIT, i’ve been doing 20-30 minutes of fasted cardio 3-4 mornings a week.

 

[dickmidnight]

Also, do you have any blood work?

i’ll email the lab for my initial blood work tomorrow.

 

[Renew1]

i’ll email the lab for my initial blood work tomorrow.

Cool! That'll help.

 

[Smont]

You answered your own question. You said diet is clean ish, diet is the most important factor in the way you look

 

[Smont]

Clean ish = mediocre

 

[dickmidnight]

Clean ish = mediocre

smont thanks for the reply man, i appreciate it!

i know diet is a huge factor. when i was really lean, my diet was impeccable. i just have a hard time believing that the occasional slice of pizza is preventing me from losing a single pound.

i’ll clean it up some and see if things don’t get better though. thanks again.

 

[ZLB70]

Just keep dropping calories by 100 a week until you start losing the weight that you want to per week. Or increase cardio

 

[ZLB70]

Also make sure to be weighing yourself the same time of day whenever you do. And if you do want to have an occasional cheat just prepare/compensate for it earlier in the week

 

[dickmidnight]

Also make sure to be weighing yourself the same time of day whenever you do. And if you do want to have an occasional cheat just prepare/compensate for it earlier in the week

when i weigh myself it’s always first thing in the morning

 

[match]

You can eat just a single slice of pizza? I never could do that. One slice turns into 7 or more.

Like, every time.

That's one reason why I had to cut pizza out of my diet entirely.

It's like alcohol, it goes entirely against my goals.

Sometimes you have to decide between instant gratification and your longterm plans. If you want to have cheat meals be part of your liftstyle that's your choice, you're a grown adult. But that temporary enjoyment comes at a cost.

I don't eat pizza, but I'll snag a pepperoni from my son's slice when he is having some. I get some good flavor, but I don't have to worry about wearing that cheese and dough around my midsection for the next week (which was always the result of my binge pizza eating).

 

[Smont]

smont thanks for the reply man, i appreciate it!

i know diet is a huge factor. when i was really lean, my diet was impeccable. i just have a hard time believing that the occasional slice of pizza is preventing me from losing a single pound.

i’ll clean it up some and see if things don’t get better though. thanks again.

It's got nothing to do with an occasional slice of pizza it's just simple math, if you're eating too many calories you're going to stay the same weight or gain weight. So if you're not losing weight then you're eating too much. Food selection in my opinion is also just as important. Also, if you don't track your food people grossly over or underestimate what they're actually eating, it's just human nature.

But like I said food selection is important, you can lose weight eating twinkies and Oreos. If you had three Oreos for breakfast a Twinkie for lunch and a Twinkie for dinner it would only be like 1100 calories or something like that and you would probably starve and lose weight rapidly but it would be extremely unhealthy you would be losing muscle mass instead of fat and so on.

On the other hand you could be eating chicken and beef, eggs, rice, oats fruits and vegetables which are all fantastic food choices but if you're eating too much you're still eating too much.

So typically when someone says their diet is okayish, they're not tracking their food they don't know how many calories they're eating they don't know what their maintenance calories are etc. I've had people inquire about training programs and what not and then say that nothing's working and they have bad genetics and then I asked him about their diet and they say their diet is fine and they know how to structure a diet. Then when I tell them to list me what they eat on a daily basis they say a couple of basic things which most are crap. When I asked him to tell me everything they've ate for the last 7 days they have no clue they just guess. I've had people tell me that their diet is perfect and then they send me what they're eating and it's like 110 g of protein 100 G of carbs and like 250 g of fat. They think that carbs make you fat so they eat a bunch of fat instead which is completely ass backwards.

Try doing this, for the next 7 Days right down every single thing that you eat. Weigh your food and be precise if you eat a Hershey kiss write down that you ate a Hershey kiss. Then at the end of each day you total up your calories protein carbs etc write it down in the book at the end of 7 days you total everything up and you divide it by 7 and you know that's what your maintenance calories are. The key here is not to try to change anything do not try to clean up your diet on the week that you track this because it needs to show what you have been eating in the past that puts you where you're at today. Then you can use those numbers to come up with an appropriate diet plan and the amount of calories etc that you need to reach your goals

 

[Smont]

You can eat just a single slice of pizza? I never could do that. One slice turns into 7 or more.

Like, every time.

That's one reason why I had to cut pizza out of my diet entirely.

It's like alcohol, it goes entirely against my goals.

Sometimes you have to decide between instant gratification and your longterm plans. If you want to have cheat meals be part of your liftstyle that's your choice, you're a grown adult. But that temporary enjoyment comes at a cost.

I don't eat pizza, but I'll snag a pepperoni from my son's slice when he is having some. I get some good flavor, but I don't have to worry about wearing that cheese and dough around my midsection for the next week (which was always the result of my binge pizza eating).

I'll eat that whole f****** pizza and then Chase it with a bag of Oreos if no one's watching

 

[ZLB70]

It's got nothing to do with an occasional slice of pizza it's just simple math, if you're eating too many calories you're going to stay the same weight or gain weight. So if you're not losing weight then you're eating too much. Food selection in my opinion is also just as important. Also, if you don't track your food people grossly over or underestimate what they're actually eating, it's just human nature.

But like I said food selection is important, you can lose weight eating twinkies and Oreos. If you had three Oreos for breakfast a Twinkie for lunch and a Twinkie for dinner it would only be like 1100 calories or something like that and you would probably starve and lose weight rapidly but it would be extremely unhealthy you would be losing muscle mass instead of fat and so on.

On the other hand you could be eating chicken and beef, eggs, rice, oats fruits and vegetables which are all fantastic food choices but if you're eating too much you're still eating too much.

So typically when someone says their diet is okayish, they're not tracking their food they don't know how many calories they're eating they don't know what their maintenance calories are etc. I've had people inquire about training programs and what not and then say that nothing's working and they have bad genetics and then I asked him about their diet and they say their diet is fine and they know how to structure a diet. Then when I tell them to list me what they eat on a daily basis they say a couple of basic things which most are crap. When I asked him to tell me everything they've ate for the last 7 days they have no clue they just guess. I've had people tell me that their diet is perfect and then they send me what they're eating and it's like 110 g of protein 100 G of carbs and like 250 g of fat. They think that carbs make you fat so they eat a bunch of fat instead which is completely ass backwards.

Try doing this, for the next 7 Days right down every single thing that you eat. Weigh your food and be precise if you eat a Hershey kiss write down that you ate a Hershey kiss. Then at the end of each day you total up your calories protein carbs etc write it down in the book at the end of 7 days you total everything up and you divide it by 7 and you know that's what your maintenance calories are. The key here is not to try to change anything do not try to clean up your diet on the week that you track this because it needs to show what you have been eating in the past that puts you where you're at today. Then you can use those numbers to come up with an appropriate diet plan and the amount of calories etc that you need to reach your goals

I agree with this. You need to almost become obsessive with tracking and weighing every little thing rather it be cooking oil, condiments, and even a Hershey kiss like you said. Then after a while you become much better at eye balling things and then you can back off a little on being so precise

 

[Smont]

I agree with this. You need to almost become obsessive with tracking and weighing every little thing rather it be cooking oil, condiments, and even a Hershey kiss like you said. Then after a while you become much better at eye balling things and then you can back off a little on being so precise

That's it, if you spend enough time tracking all your food it becomes second nature and you just know what's what. I used to eyeball my diet and then I would total everything up and I'd be off by like a thousand calories. But now because over the past 3 years I've tracked so much stuff I just know off top of my head like 50 combinations for a 500 calorie meal and 30 combinations for a 700 calorie meal and so on so I don't have to guess anymore because it's all just burned into my brain.

Also if you or anyone else ever happens to breeze through any of my logs you'll know that I have a binge eating problem, you wouldn't know it by looking at me but I can eat endlessly and I normally crave junk food. There's times where I'll eat a whole family size bag of Oreos and a half a gallon of milk in one sitting. Or I'll eat eight zebra cakes and eight Pop-Tarts in one night while watching a movie.

I'm like a f****** garbage disposal lol.

Usually when that switch turns on it takes me a solid 2 weeks to turn it off. But if there's one thing I've learned from my binge eating it's that I've gotten really good at manipulating my diet to get back on track and figuring out how to reverse damage at least to a small degree I mean you can't really reverse eating 47 Oreos but you get what I'm saying LOL

 

[dickmidnight]

You can eat just a single slice of pizza? I never could do that. One slice turns into 7 or more.

Like, every time.

That's one reason why I had to cut pizza out of my diet entirely.

It's like alcohol, it goes entirely against my goals.

Sometimes you have to decide between instant gratification and your longterm plans. If you want to have cheat meals be part of your liftstyle that's your choice, you're a grown adult. But that temporary enjoyment comes at a cost.

I don't eat pizza, but I'll snag a pepperoni from my son's slice when he is having some. I get some good flavor, but I don't have to worry about wearing that cheese and dough around my midsection for the next week (which was always the result of my binge pizza eating).

It's got nothing to do with an occasional slice of pizza it's just simple math, if you're eating too many calories you're going to stay the same weight or gain weight. So if you're not losing weight then you're eating too much. Food selection in my opinion is also just as important. Also, if you don't track your food people grossly over or underestimate what they're actually eating, it's just human nature.

I agree with this. You need to almost become obsessive with tracking and weighing every little thing rather it be cooking oil, condiments, and even a Hershey kiss like you said. Then after a while you become much better at eye balling things and then you can back off a little on being so precise

thanks guys. i really appreciate the input.

i’ve been tracking macros and weighing my food for years. admittedly i’ve fallen off the last year or so, but i’ve been back on it since may, when i decided to start taking hgh and get my ass back in shape.

i’m not saying things can’t use tightening up, and your responses are a good reminder of that, but i’ve got the diet pretty well under control.

i wanted mostly to be sure that the TRT and HGH combo im running is tailored to what i’m trying to do, which is lose some weight and gain back some muscle mass.

i’m gonna try dropping my calories by 100 and see how that goes over the next couple of weeks while i keep training hard.

 

[Smont]

Trt is not really tailored for muscle gain or fat loss, it's to put you in the natural range and when you're in the natural range you pretty much build muscle and lose fat like a natural person being on trt isn't much of an advantage over someone with high natural testosterone levels with the exception of when you're cutting and you get really Lean like single digit body fat, on trt you will maintain a high natural testosterone level well a natural person will suffer from lower testosterone the leaner they get. It doesn't mean getting lean gives you low testosterone it means getting absolutely shredded does

 

[dickmidnight]

Trt is not really tailored for muscle gain or fat loss, it's to put you in the natural range and when you're in the natural range you pretty much build muscle and lose fat like a natural person being on trt isn't much of an advantage over someone with high natural testosterone levels with the exception of when you're cutting and you get really Lean like single digit body fat, on trt you will maintain a high natural testosterone level well a natural person will suffer from lower testosterone the leaner they get. It doesn't mean getting lean gives you low testosterone it means getting absolutely shredded does

ah. understood. thank you.

 

[Smont]

ah. understood. thank you.

You gotta remember something, you're actually on a real trt dose of testosterone to where you see these guys on YouTube and on the internet talking about getting jacked on trt which first of all they're lying they're using other stuff, but also when they're on what they call trt, they're on like 250 mg which is way more than the natural range with the exception of a few people who just don't respond well testosterone. I don't know if you already mentioned it but what is 120 mg or whatever your on put your testosterone levels at?

 

[dickmidnight]

You gotta remember something, you're actually on a real trt dose of testosterone to where you see these guys on YouTube and on the internet talking about getting jacked on trt which first of all they're lying they're using other stuff, but also when they're on what they call trt, they're on like 250 mg which is way more than the natural range with the exception of a few people who just don't respond well testosterone. I don't know if you already mentioned it but what is 120 mg or whatever your on put your testosterone levels at?

i get that. i’m not looking to get jacked, at all. and i’m under no illusions that trt would do that for me anyway.

i’m not sure yet where my levels are. i’m due back for bloods soon and then i’ll know.

 

[ZLB70]

That's it, if you spend enough time tracking all your food it becomes second nature and you just know what's what. I used to eyeball my diet and then I would total everything up and I'd be off by like a thousand calories. But now because over the past 3 years I've tracked so much stuff I just know off top of my head like 50 combinations for a 500 calorie meal and 30 combinations for a 700 calorie meal and so on so I don't have to guess anymore because it's all just burned into my brain.

Also if you or anyone else ever happens to breeze through any of my logs you'll know that I have a binge eating problem, you wouldn't know it by looking at me but I can eat endlessly and I normally crave junk food. There's times where I'll eat a whole family size bag of Oreos and a half a gallon of milk in one sitting. Or I'll eat eight zebra cakes and eight Pop-Tarts in one night while watching a movie.

I'm like a f****** garbage disposal lol.

Usually when that switch turns on it takes me a solid 2 weeks to turn it off. But if there's one thing I've learned from my binge eating it's that I've gotten really good at manipulating my diet to get back on track and figuring out how to reverse damage at least to a small degree I mean you can't really reverse eating 47 Oreos but you get what I'm saying LOL

I feel you on the Oreos the spooky Halloween ones have been getting to me lately

 

[dickmidnight]

here i am two years ago at probably my fittest. i was never one for glamour shots, so a still from a lifting video is about the best i’ve got.

never a huge dude. but i was very lean, very strong, and well put together.

id just like to get back in the ballpark.

 

[BCseacow83]

OP are you tracking for fasted BG levels in the AM? At a total 4iu/day of HGH it is possible you are jacking up BG, I have seen guys/gals who are supper sensitive to the possible side effect. Is the GH pharma? If not are you sure of the iu per bottle as many generics overfill the iu's per vial. I have seen some tested at 20+iu/vial. You MAY be using way more than 4 total if so, and lot's of GH is notorious for water retention in sensitive individuals.

That being said I will agree with the above: If you don't like the number on the bodyweight scale you need to NOT like the numbers on the food scale to change that fact. I call it the "Two scale system." You only get to be happy about the number on one of the two. lol

Off the top of my head I would increase the protein, and lower that fat a smidge. Toss in some low days on your non-lifting days. Also NO MORE bites of food to finish off what the kids don't finish, I am guessing you do that, right? 99% of dads alive do this. lol

 

[dickmidnight]

I am guessing you do that, right? 99% of dads alive do this. lol

100% of dads do this. the ones who don’t are lying haha.

the GH is not from a pharmacy. am i allowed to link the stuff i use?

 

[BCseacow83]

100% of dads do this. the ones who don’t are lying haha.

the GH is not from a pharmacy. am i allowed to link the stuff i use?

To my knowledge you could say brand but NO LINKS or SOURCES. If it's generic there is a good chance it's got more than 10iu in there.

 

[dickmidnight]

To my knowledge you could say brand but NO LINKS or SOURCES. If it's generic there is a good chance it's got more than 10iu in there.

it’s enhanced rx somatropin hgh

 

[BCseacow83]

it’s enhanced rx somatropin hgh

I know nothing of that brand but based on my opinion I would not assume it is overdosed.

 

[dickmidnight]

I know nothing of that brand but based on my opinion I would not assume it is overdosed.

thanks for the heads up. maybe someone else can chime in.

 

[Smont]

I feel you on the Oreos the spooky Halloween ones have been getting to me lately

Don't say that, I got 2 more days to make weight and Saturday night after my comp I'm going Ham! And turkey, and steak and then probably pie, Oreos and Pop-Tarts lol.

Ok I gotta stop thinking like that or il end up in a gutter outside Walmart covered in funfetti cake frosting

 

[Renew1]

 

[ZLB70]

View attachment 223373

If that ain’t the truth idk what is

 

[gphagan1]

Don't say that, I got 2 more days to make weight and Saturday night after my comp I'm going Ham! And turkey, and steak and then probably pie, Oreos and Pop-Tarts lol.

Ok I gotta stop thinking like that or il end up in a gutter outside Walmart covered in funfetti cake frosting

Smont, Saturday night after his competition……