Becoming A Man With Peat And Haidut

What’s up RPF!

I wanted to share my progress with raising androgen levels with Peat and @haidut insight. The information he shared with me awhile ago, using DHEA, Preg, and K2 to raise T, has been a hot topic on the forum the last few days. (thread below)
Raising Serum Androgens Using DHEA, Pregnenolone, And Vitamin K

I’m a 22 yo male with and a year ago I was diagnosed as hypothyroid and hypogonadism (secondary). I had an MRI done and ruled out the possibility of a tumor. I knew my problem had to do with energy production, and I was lead to Ray Peat. I have a long history of endurance training, and low carb eating- which like many of you brought me to this place.

I dabbled with his ideas on and off for awhile but it wasn’t until May/June 2016 where it all started to click and I began to completely rewire my diet and lifestyle around Ray Peat’s. Old forum member "zachs" helped me a lot here. I changed my diet and picked up an occupation that put me in the sun and in a natural environment (commercial fishing). I also began supplementing with Idealabs Pansterone, and Kuinone after messaging Haidut awhile back and him sending me studies on raising testosterone in rats using K2. I experimented with other supplements, but those two have been my mainstay. With each step I took, I noticed insane improvement of symptoms. A skyrocketing libido, more energy, deeper sleep, warmth, strength, less neurotic and obsessive tendencies, more confidence, and a huge creative drive. Just to name a few.

But I still ran, I still cycled. And come August 2016, I finally accepted that I would not get the improvement in my hormonal health I wanted if I continued endurance exercise. This was difficult as a big part of my social life revolved around it. I traded in my bike for a weight gym membership. And it was the best decision I ever made.. All the improvements I mentioned doubled in their strength and even more improvements surfaced. My total testosterone levels have increased from 130 to 299 in 4 months (and only the last two have I traded endurance for weights and really committed to diet). I got the labs done in May 2016, then just recently in November 2016. Still very low for a young male, but a promising jump. And from the way I’ve been gaining muscle, the way my body composition is shifting, and how strong and consistent my libido and general mental outlook is- I’m led to believe that my tissue levels of androgens are probably higher than my blood levels. My hope is that they continue to rise and I continue to feel better. I will retest in a few months and report back.

Anyway this is getting long- I included a before and after "peating" photo, so you can see how its effected the composition of my body. However the mental impact has been even more profound.

I am still doing a lot of diet and lifestyle tweaking, and continuing to learn.

I still have some issues to work out, but I wanted to touch on the testosterone issue in case anyone is struggling with low levels and is looking for a direction (that isn't TRT) . I know that I made a lot of changes, but I firmly believe the diet change and supplementing made a huge difference, and that’s something everyone can try with little to no risk.

HAIDUT you the man, thanks.

Left photo is June 2016. Right photo is November 2016.

 

Man, this is music to my ears! Congrats on the great result! If you do more labs while taking Pansterone / Kuinone please keep posting the results. I will start posting some of my own but obviously the results of other people are considered a lot less biased. Keep doing what you are doing and if you add a tablespoon of coconut oil with each meal you may get even more pronounced results in the androgen levels and muscle building.
I think we should have a "Peatarian Success Stories" section on the website where people can post stuff like this. So, @charlie, do we have anything like that already?

 

Wow! That is a great before and after picture. Damn I wish I had found Peat at 22 y.o.

 

WWOOWWWW! Nice going Tyler.

 

Nice post and +1 for zachs, reading through all his comments helped me immensely as well.

 

I wish I took a picture of my catabolic self 8 months ago. I now look much your pic on the right. (the female version --boobs, no beaver-trail ;o) ).
I always had big boney high shoulders with the clavicle bone very exposed. Now, my shoulders come down and the muscle and fat on my body and arms looks, well, like yours.

 

awesome progress. you think you can give us the rundown on your diet?

 

Nice man! estroban, coconut oil, energin could also be options too to add in.

 

Excellent work, I think the photos tell the story better than the labs in your case, although it's nice to see your levels going up!

I think Haidut is dead on with the tissue vs. serum levels. I was logging my own T and DHT boosting protocol earlier this year, and while subjective markers like mood, energy, and results at the gym were improving, my low serum labs actually declined. I tweaked some things, and currently, I'm going to make it thru this year, do a retest of levels in early January, and go full Boar for a couple months at the first of the year.

 

First of all great work, well done!


Did you experiment with any thyroid as you mentioned you was diagnosed hypothyroid. Do you remember what your TSH levels were back then?

 

That is terrific results tyler well done!

 

Excellent results in such a short time. Congratulations!!!

 

Thank you for all the encouragement and kind words. Having support and community has been essential.. there can be so much doubt, and ups and downs, when your on a journey to . I can't imagine doing all this on my own. Family/friends, the forum, and people i've met within the community have played a big role for me.

Thank you Haidut. I will most definitely update when I have more labs done.
Awesome tip, I will most definitely try that out and see how I feel. My experience so far really speaks to having a higher fat intake. There was a massive step in my progress once I raised my fat intake. I predict taking coconut oil in that way to be a great addition.

Hahaha yes! I know exactly what that was like. You must feel so much better doing martial arts. I would imagine rolling around on bony shoulders to be pretty uncomfortable.

Thanks TubZy. Energin is also a staple of mine- I have all the fat solubles separate but as I dial things in, I could most definitely use some more convenience. Haidut also recommended to up coconut oil- and I'm sold. Sounds like a proper addition.

Thanks man! Yeah for sure. I am always tweaking my diet, as I have really excitable digestion. But I am seeing huge improvements here as time goes on.
I work very physically all day, so from morning to afternoon I am typically drinking a lot of coffees with cream/milk/gelatin/maple syrup or sugar. Gatorade/magnesium bicarb mix. Sometimes I take some boiled eggs or cheese sticks to work with me. For convenience. For meals when I'm home, I eat a ton of seafood, because I can have easy access to it from my job. A lot of welch, lobster, black sea bass, shrimp, scallops, clams, cod, or haddock. I eat beef, lamb, eggs, and a lot of cheese too. Sugary drinks on the side. Ice cream also makes a frequent appearance.
I try stay away from the fibers stuff. Starch-veggies-fruits (besides mushrooms). My experience speaks to keeping fat higher and the hard to digest stuff low. I seem to be very mentally unstable on low fat/high fiber, unless i eat constantly. I also hold a lot of water and bloat easily eating that way. I know many people here seem to do well with low fat, but this has not been my experience.

Yes, I have done a lot of thyroid experimentation. When i started, my TSH was over 2. I was able to bring it down under 1 easily by taking some T4. I take a 1:1 to a 1:2 T3:T4 . This keeps my blood levels in range, but I really don't notice too much physically or mentally from taking it. A brief rise in pulse from T3.
I've been taking less as of recently, because I have a hard time keeping my cholesterol up. I don't notice a significant difference on days I take it and days I don't- but it will show on my labs, so I continue to use some.

 

Appreciate the kind words, brother.
I will often fall victim to the mindset that the numbers on paper are what counts. It's important not to get too caught up in the numbers and logistics, and listen to your body. Symptoms and results don't lie- in the end those subjective markers are actually the only thing that matter! And from my understanding, tissue levels are what really dictate the manifestation of symptoms. Definitely check in when you retest! Good luck.

 

This post made my day. This improvement is astonishing I am so happy for you. I can't even imagine what you will look like in another year. I would try Nofap as well if you don't already do so. I think it raises tissue androgens quite dramatically but I don't have any studies supporting this. Though the nofap community frequently report androgenic effects.
Also the best workout for androgens are heavy composition exercises and sprints. Sprinting especially does wonders for one's physique. Just look at what sprinters look like.

 

Looks like you did a cycle of underdosed AAS. Good progress.

 

Right on!!! Thank you man. I feel like a pokemon making an evolution!! I am strapped in and ready to go for what seems to be a wild ride so far.
I most definitely feel a crazy surge in motivation and energy when I commit to Nofap. I do find it challenging though... especially after not having a libido for so long, lol.
I've been focusing on the big compounds with some bodyweight/accesory stuff on the side. My workouts are never longer than 1-1.5 hours. As for sprints, it could definitely be something to experiment with. Those guys certainly appear healthy to me. However my job is so physical that I worry about pushing my body's limit.. something to look into in the off season.

Thanks Dave, my endo is a nut job and I wouldn't ever trust him with a needle.. lol. I use him for the blood work.

 

Yeah Nofap is a challenge sometimes lol. Honestly I think a 1.5 hour workout is too long especially if your already very active. I keep mine at 45 min as I feel very catabolic after this point. But everyone is different and those who workout a certain way for a while adapt to the training program and it becomes less catabolic. Sprints feel great but its a hassle to do in the gym.