Important Hormones For Building Muscle And Tips On How To Improve Them

[Hans]

This happens to me too. With any cortisol-lowering substances.
I am also wondering why they say cortisol is so antagonizing to muscle growth. I built my best physique, the most amount of muscle while heavily relying on my adrenals

How do you know you were running (only) on your adrenals? If you were you would probably have been catabolic. You were most likely in a stressed state with still adequate thyroid and androgens, which would have mitigated the effects of elevated stress hormones.

 

[GreekDemiGod]

You were most likely in a stressed state with still adequate thyroid and androgens

@Hans You are right. I would say if my thyroid were better, I would have put even more muscle mass.
What partially running on cortisol did for me was that I had to put in a lot of effort to build and maintain that muscle
As about androgens, they were not adequate for sure, but they were just enough. 300 - 400 ng/dL Test levels is enough to not hinder muscle gains.

Going low carb was a hit to my body composition. Lost both muscle and fat.

 

[Hgreen56]

Well how do you typically feel? Are you generally chill, driven and confident or more on the anxiety side?
If you're more on the anxiety side, then you might be more adrenal driven and your neural sympathetic drive might be a little low. So lowering adrenal drive would "sap" your energy, because you're not driven by the neural sympathetic nervous system.
There's a balance for everything, too little noradrenaline, dopamine, histamine and glutamate and you'll feel more sapped. Too much and you'll feel anxious and all over the place.
Which one of those supplements affects you the worse?

i got just got sleepy, and motivation to do something is completely gone.
i got not anxiety but i notice that i lost the interest to have contact with people. (not sure this is a anxiety thing)
i just want to do nothing or sleep.
if i push myself to do something, than i got irritated fast if something stupid happens (like a pencil falls on the ground or something)
Taurine is the worst, so that why i always take taurine before bed.
But also kiwi of bananas has this effect on me but less.

 

[shepherdgirl]

Hi Hans,
Thank you for your informative and helpful posts!
I am not familiar with muscle 'pumping' - after looking it up, my understanding is that it's first exhausting muscles with heavy weights and low reps, then doing several sets of low weight hi reps. Is that what you mean by 'pumping'?
Do you agree with doing 3 sets of 8-16 reps, increasing weight and lowering reps as you progress?
What is your opinion about sprinting? Do you think it will increase bone and muscle mass?
I take it you're not a fan of fasted sprints, is that correct?
Thank you again!

 

[Hans]

i got just got sleepy, and motivation to do something is completely gone.
i got not anxiety but i notice that i lost the interest to have contact with people. (not sure this is a anxiety thing)
i just want to do nothing or sleep.
if i push myself to do something, than i got irritated fast if something stupid happens (like a pencil falls on the ground or something)
Taurine is the worst, so that why i always take taurine before bed.
But also kiwi of bananas has this effect on me but less.

Kiwi and banana increase serotonin and melatonin.
Irritability can be low blood sugar, elevated cortisol, prolactin and/or serotonin.
Low motivation is not necessarily anxiety. It can be overexcitation of the mesocortical dopamine. Mesocortical dopamine is involved in effort learning, so if it's overactive, you might feel lazy, unmotivated, etc. It's mainly driven by noradrenaline.

 

[Gorillaquills]

For those of you who seem to struggle with gaining muscle and just get fat instead, or if you're one of those people who just struggle to gain any weight at all, I trust that this post can be of some help to you.

First and foremost I'll be discussing the thyroid as your thyroid is extremely important for muscle growth...


Thyroid
Thyroid hormones increase and activate satellite cells in the muscles, increase myogenic (muscle growth) factors, lower myostatin (a negative regulator of muscle growth), convert slow twitch muscle fibers to fast twitch muscle fibers, increase steroidogenesis, increase cortisol excretion from the body, increase follistatin (positive regulator of muscle growth), increase IGF-1 levels and IGF-1 availability, and also increase the metabolic rate.

So as you can tell, thyroid function and thyroid hormones are crucial for anabolism.

Things that inhibit thyroid function are nutritional deficiencies, inflammation, gut-irritating foods (increase inflammation, endotoxins, prolactin, estrogen and serotonin which are all thyroid antagonists), serotonin, cortisol, insufficient calories and carbs, polyunsaturated fat, overtraining, chronic stress, etc.

Easy ways to boost thyroid function is to lower stress by taking a break from stressful situations (e.g. going for a walk, taking time to relax etc.), boosting dopamine and GABA, avoiding gut-irritating foods, getting lots of sunlight, consuming all your vitamins and minerals.

A few diet tips for promoting thyroid function is to eat easily digestible foods, consume calcium-rich foods, consume gelatin via bone broth or supplement (glycine is highly anti-inflammatory and lowers cortisol), eat more carbs than protein, keep PUFA intake as low as possible and try to avoid empty calories (as they use up the body's nutrients to be processed but don't provide the body with any nutrients of their own).


Cortisol
Cortisol is a significant negative regulator of muscle growth. It decreases thyroid function and thyroid hormone conversion, lowers IGF-1, increases myostatin and proteolysis (muscle breakdown), induces insulin resistance, inhibits steroidogenesis, increases the aromatase and inhibits muscle protein synthesis.

Cortisol is elevated when thyroid hormones are reduced as well as during inflammation, stress, etc.

Trenbolone, which is one of the most potent anabolic steroids, is a very potent inhibitor of the cortisol receptor. Actually, cortisol receptors are several fold higher in the muscle compared to androgen receptors, thus blocking the cortisol receptor or lowering cortisol levels have a very anabolic effect on the muscle.

Things that increase cortisol is low blood sugar, overexertion, training past fatigue and failure, long distance running, too much HIIT, low carb diet, inflammation, polyunsaturated fat, etc.

Things you can do to keep cortisol in check is to eat a low polyunsaturated diet (PUFAs cause inflammation and I personally found my DOMS are significantly less and my cortisol is much lower when my PUFA intake is low), eat lots of carbs, avoid long workouts, use supplements that lower cortisol, such as glycine, taurine, ornithine, PS, vit D, magnesium, etc.

Follistatin & Myostatin
As mentioned above, myostatin reduces anabolism and increases fat mass, whereas follistatin reduces myostatin, boosts muscle growth and lowers fat mass. Fertilized eggs are a great source of follistatin; that's one reason Vince Gironda advised to eat 2 dozen raw eggs daily.

A few things that decrease myostatin and increase follistatin are creatine, caffeine, Epichatechin (found in cocoa), testosterone, vitamin D, vit A, vit E, glycine, taurine, thyroid, etc.

Endotoxins, inflammation, cortisol, etc, increase myostatin and lowers follistatin.

So the point I'm trying to make is that anything that slows the metabolism, inhibits thyroid function and increases cortisol will negatively affect muscle growth.


IGF-1
Growth hormone actually increases myostatin gene expression, but IGF-1 overrides myostatin. So you don't want elevated GH, but elevated IGF-1. However, boosting GH to increase IGF-1 isn't a good idea, in my opinion, and IGF-1 won't necessarily increase due to higher levels of GH.

IGF-1 significantly increases muscle growth as it stimulates satellite cells, increases glucose and amino transport into the muscles, lowers inflammation, etc.

IGF binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) prolongs the circulation and biological action of IGF-1, which stimulates muscle hypertrophy. IGFBP-3 and IGF-1 are significantly elevated post workout and are observed to stimulate protein synthesis and subsequently muscle hypertrophy. In fact, IGFBP-3 has been shown to have a significant and direct effect on muscle cell growth, even without the presence of IGF-1.

We want both IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 elevated (balanced) because a low IGF-I:IGFBP-3 ratio is associated with increased waist-to-hip ratio, but a high IGF-1:IGFBP-3 ratio is associated with baldness, cancer and other diseases.

Things that increase IGF-1 are DHEA are vitamin D, vit A, protein, milk, calcium, magnesium, zinc, exercise, egg yolks, potassium, taurine, etc.

Things that increase IGFBP-3 is magnesium, vitamin A, vit B6, zinc, copper, HIIT, etc.

Things that decrease IGF-1 is inflammation, cortisol, intermittent fasting, etc.

Things that decrease IGFBP-3 is estrogen, inflammation, overtraining (increase cortisol to testosterone ratio), endotoxins, etc.


Conclusion
So to take it all together. Thyroid function is really crucial for muscle growth. To further potentiate hypertrophy and strength gains lowering cortisol and boosting follistatin and IGF-1 would be most important. Androgens are also very important, but increasing the number of androgen receptors as well as their sensitivity is more important.

For those that don't have an appetite or struggle to eat enough, your histamine might be too high, hence reduced appetite.

Morning Hans,
Been following your for quite a while and all your excellent YouTube video content. Need just a little advice, cant drop my midsection and back fat at all. Here is what I got:

So being 45 years old now, and for the last 20 years or longer I have been struggling to lose back fat and my spare tire, thick belly fat under chest muscle etc... I definitely have the endomorph body style. I eat really well I work out several times a week. One thing always concerns me though, my waking body temp is always 95-96F. My back fat and love handles are always cold to the touch. WHY? It doesn't matter what I do, my testosterone stays at 370-390 ng/dl and my free testosterone hovers around 10ng/dl which is trash for building muscle.
Ever since I started reading this forum I have learned an amazing amount of information. Due to all your videos that you have on YouTube and all your write-ups here on this forum. I started taking bioidentical DHEA, progesterone, 100 mg of pregnenolone in the morning and Androsterone , and a little bit of Tyronene. I also bought a product from the gorilla chemist called emodin 250mg 4 times daily. I think I have high cortisol and that's the reason no matter what the hell I do the fat never leaves and my weight never changes plus trash testosterone. One thing I have noticed taking these three supplements, my strength has increased quite a bit. But, the fat just dose not going away. I definitely have the adrenal body type and I've always known it skinny arms and the pear shape with a wide waist. I also bought 6 keto P4 product. I am really really hoping that this will help me. One thing I have never done was a cortisol test. I am one of those individuals that suffer with sleep apnea. I do wear a CPAP machine at night. But none of it really seems to help. I've gone to the doctor multiple times and apparently they tell me that my genetics granted me a very small throat opening and a very large fat tongue. I've tried many ways to sleep so that I don't snore. I've even done a DNA test with 23 and me. The only problem with my jeans is that I have hereditary hemochromatosis. I just did a blood test for this problem. Everything is good except for my ferritin which is off the charts. I have been told that this is a sign of infection? I try to take magnesium every single day and boron to make sure that I'm trying to help my free testosterone and my total testosterone increase. Here is my thyroid panel that I recently did too. Maybe you can help interpret this for me because a doctor's don't know anything. I have tried to understand it myself but it's still confusing.
T3,total 124ng/dl
T3, total ICMA 3.4pg/ml
T3 uptake 28.3%
T3, reverse 12.6ng/dl
TSH 2.080uIU/ml
Also vitamin D, 25-HYDROXY 69.1ng/dl
Fasting insulin 9.1uIU/mL
Hemoglobin A1c 5.1%
Fasting glucose always 110mg/dl in the morning
Liver
AST 20 U/L
ALT 33 U/L
Any advice or any additional information you require would be so helpful and beneficial. I will start reporting my results using the six keto P4 soon. I really hope this leans me out and helps me build a little muscle. Really tough to build things at 44 if your body is a high on cortisol with no testosterone. Again thanks and I'm glad to be part of this forum.

 

[Hans]

Morning Hans,
Been following your for quite a while and all your excellent YouTube video content. Need just a little advice, cant drop my midsection and back fat at all. Here is what I got:

So being 45 years old now, and for the last 20 years or longer I have been struggling to lose back fat and my spare tire, thick belly fat under chest muscle etc... I definitely have the endomorph body style. I eat really well I work out several times a week. One thing always concerns me though, my waking body temp is always 95-96F. My back fat and love handles are always cold to the touch. WHY? It doesn't matter what I do, my testosterone stays at 370-390 ng/dl and my free testosterone hovers around 10ng/dl which is trash for building muscle.
Ever since I started reading this forum I have learned an amazing amount of information. Due to all your videos that you have on YouTube and all your write-ups here on this forum. I started taking bioidentical DHEA, progesterone, 100 mg of pregnenolone in the morning and Androsterone , and a little bit of Tyronene. I also bought a product from the gorilla chemist called emodin 250mg 4 times daily. I think I have high cortisol and that's the reason no matter what the hell I do the fat never leaves and my weight never changes plus trash testosterone. One thing I have noticed taking these three supplements, my strength has increased quite a bit. But, the fat just dose not going away. I definitely have the adrenal body type and I've always known it skinny arms and the pear shape with a wide waist. I also bought 6 keto P4 product. I am really really hoping that this will help me. One thing I have never done was a cortisol test. I am one of those individuals that suffer with sleep apnea. I do wear a CPAP machine at night. But none of it really seems to help. I've gone to the doctor multiple times and apparently they tell me that my genetics granted me a very small throat opening and a very large fat tongue. I've tried many ways to sleep so that I don't snore. I've even done a DNA test with 23 and me. The only problem with my jeans is that I have hereditary hemochromatosis. I just did a blood test for this problem. Everything is good except for my ferritin which is off the charts. I have been told that this is a sign of infection? I try to take magnesium every single day and boron to make sure that I'm trying to help my free testosterone and my total testosterone increase. Here is my thyroid panel that I recently did too. Maybe you can help interpret this for me because a doctor's don't know anything. I have tried to understand it myself but it's still confusing.
T3,total 124ng/dl
T3, total ICMA 3.4pg/ml
T3 uptake 28.3%
T3, reverse 12.6ng/dl
TSH 2.080uIU/ml
Also vitamin D, 25-HYDROXY 69.1ng/dl
Fasting insulin 9.1uIU/mL
Hemoglobin A1c 5.1%
Fasting glucose always 110mg/dl in the morning
Liver
AST 20 U/L
ALT 33 U/L
Any advice or any additional information you require would be so helpful and beneficial. I will start reporting my results using the six keto P4 soon. I really hope this leans me out and helps me build a little muscle. Really tough to build things at 44 if your body is a high on cortisol with no testosterone. Again thanks and I'm glad to be part of this forum.

Hi man! Thanks for the feedback!
You've implemented what I would have recommended. High fasting glucose and insulin usually indicate elevated cortisol. If not, it can be high glucagon.
Cold to touch is due to poor blood flow, which could be due to high catecholamines and/or serotonin.
Do you have any gut issues?
What is your diet like?
Do you get lots of sunlight?
How is your overall sleep quality?
Perhaps you can check your IGF-1 as well, which is very much needed for building muscle.

 

[Gorillaquills]

Hi man! Thanks for the feedback!
You've implemented what I would have recommended. High fasting glucose and insulin usually indicate elevated cortisol. If not, it can be high glucagon.
Cold to touch is due to poor blood flow, which could be due to high catecholamines and/or serotonin.
Do you have any gut issues?
What is your diet like?
Do you get lots of sunlight?
How is your overall sleep quality?
Perhaps you can check your IGF-1 as well, which is very much needed for building muscle.

Thanks so much for getting back Hans. Glucagon, interesting. Never thought of that being a culprit/part of the problem. I will check that out.

Now gut issues, i can honestly say that my #2/stools are more on the loose side instead of being solid. One thing is for sure, i have several bowel movements in the morning, religiously. No backing up every. Another thing I always notice is that my stools are very sewage/smelly at times. Not sure if that's normal. I have also wondered if i got candida. I always have stubborn athletes feet that just never seems to go away.

so as for my diet, everyone has a routine foods they eat on a daily basis.
So 7 days a week, every morning i have one to two glasses of water, every morning right after i wake up. And typical i only have coffee with high fat vanilla creamer. I don't eat because i just don't feel hungry until about 9-10 am mostly. I take those supplements i talked in the morning and in the evening.
Almost always my first meal is, ground beef or sardines, or chicken or beef liver. Change it up daily to make sure getting plenty of micronutrients. With these meals, i have garlic cloves, cooked onions, and i like to have cottage cheese or 4% fat Greek yogurt. I always add some for of veggie, bock joy, carrots, spinach, etc..
Now while i am at work till i eat again, i usually snack on, dried dates, Figs, candied ginger, or other fruits. whatever i buy or have on hand.

I usually go to the gym before i eat with my son. We workout 4 to 5 times a week. I feel good working out always and good pumps. Could be all the sugar throughout the day. Sometimes i will drink some orange juice or any other juice's before i workout if i have them in my fridge. My strength has increased but fat loss, anit lost ***t. Our workouts are never more than 80 minutes at most.

I tend to not be hungry for a while until around 6 pm. I think all the fat keeps me satisfied. I try never to eat out and make homemade meals for the family all the time at least 85% of the time. Dinners usually is tacos with ground beef and all the veggies, fajitas with all the veggies, spaghettis with garlic bread, Greek gyros, teriyaki chicken with rice and salad to name a few. I do have some wine, beer and sake occasionally. And sometimes i might have some dessert a few times a week and then rinse and repeat.

Now as far as sunshine, i'm one of the people this always outside. Rain or sun. My job is an outside job, Drilling. My most favorite hobby windsurfing is outside and i love building things outside. Im always outside. Especially in the summer. My vitamin d levels are good i think. It doesn't matter winter or summer, Vitamin D is always around 70ng which i believe is good for testosterone.

Now as far as my sleep, been tough my hole life. I snore terribly. Been to multiple sleep studies. Doctors tell me that i have a very small throat opening with a fat tongue. They said i could cut my throat out and winded it, but very risky. When i was a baby, my parents accidently hurt my nose. Nose holes are crooked. I also have a deviated septum. I sleep with a sleep machine, full nose and mouth covering. Every morning i check my blood sugar to see if its high or low. Not sure but i feel this tells me how well i slept. Sometimes its 97 and other mornings its 115. I have really bad allergies too. I did a allergy skin test, i was allergic to everything except mushrooms, weird. Its been tough.

I have never though of doing an IGF-1 test. That would be a good idea. Do you know off the top of your head a good place to get this done?
Thanks Hans, I speak for all men. Appreciate all that you share. Keep up the excellent content.

One thing Im going to buy is 11-keto. My libido has been kinda not there. Its strange, I feel good all the time and have lots of energy and lots of motivation but crap when it comes to sex drive. I think Cortisol is running the show. Not good.

I also did a hair test too. Any thought or experience would be much appreciated.

 

[Gorillaquills]

Hi man! Thanks for the feedback!
You've implemented what I would have recommended. High fasting glucose and insulin usually indicate elevated cortisol. If not, it can be high glucagon.
Cold to touch is due to poor blood flow, which could be due to high catecholamines and/or serotonin.
Do you have any gut issues?
What is your diet like?
Do you get lots of sunlight?
How is your overall sleep quality?
Perhaps you can check your IGF-1 as well, which is very much needed for building muscle.

I did a bunch of research on this website on how to increase glucagon. It seems difficult unless you take pharmaceuticals. Just wondering if there maybe are some herbs or supplements that might help a little bit? I thought increase in igf-1 was bad. Not sure if this is correct or not.

 

[Hans]

Another thing I always notice is that my stools are very sewage/smelly at times. Not sure if that's normal. I have also wondered if i got candida. I always have stubborn athletes feet that just never seems to go away.

That to me is not a good sign. It's likely caused by specific food that you're eating and/or having an overgrowth of unwanted bacteria. Lots of sunlight can quickly help to improve gut health, but since you're already doing it, that would suggest specific food instead. I get the same kind of stool when I eat all over the place. LL-37 is a good peptide than can get rid of athletes foot.

Good job on getting out so much. I guess you do expose you're whole body to sunlight and not just face arms and legs?

When it comes to the basics of testosterone I'd say it goes like that: Enough calories -> optimal sleep -> adequate micros -> low stress and then all the rest. It could be that you're too active. People that are very active tend to have lower levels of testosterone because of calorie partitioning. I would have said that perhaps you need more calories, but then again you want to lose weight.

Personally, I would track calories for a week just to see where things end up. Also, I'd want to know micros. If you're sweating a lot, your micro requirements might be a lot higher. Perhaps you can add a can of oysters every day for a while to see if that makes a difference.

I'd want IGF-1 in the mid to upper range for hypertrophy. As long as you're metabolically healthy, IGF-1 is not a problem. It's when someone becomes metabolically unhealthy that the regulation of IGF-1 becomes an issue.

I did a bunch of research on this website on how to increase glucagon. It seems difficult unless you take pharmaceuticals. Just wondering if there maybe are some herbs or supplements that might help a little bit?

Too much glucagon can lead to hyperglycemia, so it's not something you want to increase even more if you have hyperglycemia all the time.

Perhaps you can also check estrogen and prolactin, both of which are inhibitors of steroidogenesis. I'd use a bit of thyroid to get T3 higher since T3 is very important for steroidogenesis.

 

[Gorillaquills]

That to me is not a good sign. It's likely caused by specific food that you're eating and/or having an overgrowth of unwanted bacteria. Lots of sunlight can quickly help to improve gut health, but since you're already doing it, that would suggest specific food instead. I get the same kind of stool when I eat all over the place. LL-37 is a good peptide than can get rid of athletes foot.

Good job on getting out so much. I guess you do expose you're whole body to sunlight and not just face arms and legs?

When it comes to the basics of testosterone I'd say it goes like that: Enough calories -> optimal sleep -> adequate micros -> low stress and then all the rest. It could be that you're too active. People that are very active tend to have lower levels of testosterone because of calorie partitioning. I would have said that perhaps you need more calories, but then again you want to lose weight.

Personally, I would track calories for a week just to see where things end up. Also, I'd want to know micros. If you're sweating a lot, your micro requirements might be a lot higher. Perhaps you can add a can of oysters every day for a while to see if that makes a difference.

I'd want IGF-1 in the mid to upper range for hypertrophy. As long as you're metabolically healthy, IGF-1 is not a problem. It's when someone becomes metabolically unhealthy that the regulation of IGF-1 becomes an issue.

Too much glucagon can lead to hyperglycemia, so it's not something you want to increase even more if you have hyperglycemia all the time.

Perhaps you can also check estrogen and prolactin, both of which are inhibitors of steroidogenesis. I'd use a bit of thyroid to get T3 higher since T3 is very important for steroidogenesis.

Very interesting, peptide ll-37. Have to give that a try.
Yes I do tend to be pretty active even after work. Sometimes I really try to make sure that I sit down in the sun in the backyard and just take a break. Go for a long walk along the river anything to kind of ease the body and slow the mind down. I do sweat a lot too working out and doing all those exercises and outdoor activities. I try to make sure that I'm getting enough Himalayan salt and magnesium which I supplement with, magnesium glycinate. I try to make sure that I get almost a gram to a gram and a half a day. As far as the micronutrients, I have tracked my calories many times using chronometer app. The way I eat I always seem to be low on B1, magnesium and potassium according to chronometer. I trying to eat beef liver chicken liver and chicken heart a few times a week. I'm still worried about the amount of crap they feed the animals and what you're getting inside those organ meats. I have a hard time finding grass-fed products where I live as far as organ meats. I will try oysters. I also eat a lot of sardines too.

As far as thyroid, maybe I should try Tyromix instead of tyronene.
Thanks for all your feedback Hans. Much appreciated.

 

[Gorillaquills]

That to me is not a good sign. It's likely caused by specific food that you're eating and/or having an overgrowth of unwanted bacteria. Lots of sunlight can quickly help to improve gut health, but since you're already doing it, that would suggest specific food instead. I get the same kind of stool when I eat all over the place. LL-37 is a good peptide than can get rid of athletes foot.

Good job on getting out so much. I guess you do expose you're whole body to sunlight and not just face arms and legs?

When it comes to the basics of testosterone I'd say it goes like that: Enough calories -> optimal sleep -> adequate micros -> low stress and then all the rest. It could be that you're too active. People that are very active tend to have lower levels of testosterone because of calorie partitioning. I would have said that perhaps you need more calories, but then again you want to lose weight.

Personally, I would track calories for a week just to see where things end up. Also, I'd want to know micros. If you're sweating a lot, your micro requirements might be a lot higher. Perhaps you can add a can of oysters every day for a while to see if that makes a difference.

I'd want IGF-1 in the mid to upper range for hypertrophy. As long as you're metabolically healthy, IGF-1 is not a problem. It's when someone becomes metabolically unhealthy that the regulation of IGF-1 becomes an issue.

Too much glucagon can lead to hyperglycemia, so it's not something you want to increase even more if you have hyperglycemia all the time.

Perhaps you can also check estrogen and prolactin, both of which are inhibitors of steroidogenesis. I'd use a bit of thyroid to get T3 higher since T3 is very important for steroidogenesis.

About prolactin and estrogen. That is one of the tests that I have never done yet. That could explain why I have a lot of chest fat too. I might just have high prolactin and need to get it down. I hear it's a really pesky hormone for me that is difficult to get rid of at times. I should be getting my estrogen checked when I do my testosterone too which I never have done yet. That would probably be a good thing to do cuz maybe my liver is not working good trying to get rid of it. I might have a methylation problem. Again thanks hans really appreciate it.

 

[Gorillaquills]

That to me is not a good sign. It's likely caused by specific food that you're eating and/or having an overgrowth of unwanted bacteria. Lots of sunlight can quickly help to improve gut health, but since you're already doing it, that would suggest specific food instead. I get the same kind of stool when I eat all over the place. LL-37 is a good peptide than can get rid of athletes foot.

Good job on getting out so much. I guess you do expose you're whole body to sunlight and not just face arms and legs?

When it comes to the basics of testosterone I'd say it goes like that: Enough calories -> optimal sleep -> adequate micros -> low stress and then all the rest. It could be that you're too active. People that are very active tend to have lower levels of testosterone because of calorie partitioning. I would have said that perhaps you need more calories, but then again you want to lose weight.

Personally, I would track calories for a week just to see where things end up. Also, I'd want to know micros. If you're sweating a lot, your micro requirements might be a lot higher. Perhaps you can add a can of oysters every day for a while to see if that makes a difference.

I'd want IGF-1 in the mid to upper range for hypertrophy. As long as you're metabolically healthy, IGF-1 is not a problem. It's when someone becomes metabolically unhealthy that the regulation of IGF-1 becomes an issue.

Too much glucagon can lead to hyperglycemia, so it's not something you want to increase even more if you have hyperglycemia all the time.

Perhaps you can also check estrogen and prolactin, both of which are inhibitors of steroidogenesis. I'd use a bit of thyroid to get T3 higher since T3 is very important for steroidogenesis.

I am purchasing gonadin+ too. This my really help. Haidut has very compelling data on it to increase spermatogenesis. You just made a video on it and 11-keto DHT too. Getting both. I think these might be a game changer. Will see

 

[Gorillaquills]

That to me is not a good sign. It's likely caused by specific food that you're eating and/or having an overgrowth of unwanted bacteria. Lots of sunlight can quickly help to improve gut health, but since you're already doing it, that would suggest specific food instead. I get the same kind of stool when I eat all over the place. LL-37 is a good peptide than can get rid of athletes foot.

Good job on getting out so much. I guess you do expose you're whole body to sunlight and not just face arms and legs?

When it comes to the basics of testosterone I'd say it goes like that: Enough calories -> optimal sleep -> adequate micros -> low stress and then all the rest. It could be that you're too active. People that are very active tend to have lower levels of testosterone because of calorie partitioning. I would have said that perhaps you need more calories, but then again you want to lose weight.

Personally, I would track calories for a week just to see where things end up. Also, I'd want to know micros. If you're sweating a lot, your micro requirements might be a lot higher. Perhaps you can add a can of oysters every day for a while to see if that makes a difference.

I'd want IGF-1 in the mid to upper range for hypertrophy. As long as you're metabolically healthy, IGF-1 is not a problem. It's when someone becomes metabolically unhealthy that the regulation of IGF-1 becomes an issue.

Too much glucagon can lead to hyperglycemia, so it's not something you want to increase even more if you have hyperglycemia all the time.

Perhaps you can also check estrogen and prolactin, both of which are inhibitors of steroidogenesis. I'd use a bit of thyroid to get T3 higher since T3 is very important for steroidogenesis.

Would you recommend using t4 and t3 or should I just be taking higher doses of T3 according to to my test results
T3,total 124ng/dl
T3, total ICMA 3.4pg/ml
T3 uptake 28.3%
T3, reverse 12.6ng/dl

 

[VitoScaletta]

Vit D suppress UCP

What's "UCP"?

 

[Gorillaquills]

What's "UCP"?

What dose UCP mean.

 

[VitoScaletta]

What dose UCP mean.

 

[Hans]

Would you recommend using t4 and t3 or should I just be taking higher doses of T3 according to to my test results
T3,total 124ng/dl
T3, total ICMA 3.4pg/ml
T3 uptake 28.3%
T3, reverse 12.6ng/dl

Those numbers are decent, but with a TSH of 2, they could be a little higher. Did you also look at T4? Do you experience any hypo symptoms?

 

[Hans]

What's "UCP"?

Uncoupling protein. Which generates heat instead of ATP. Which makes sense in the summer/hot areas.

 

[Gorillaquills]

Those numbers are decent, but with a TSH of 2, they could be a little higher. Did you also look at T4? Do you experience any hypo symptoms?

Those numbers are decent, but with a TSH of 2, they could be a little higher. Did you also look at T4? Do you experience any hypo symptoms?

I never got my t4 tested. I would think if I was hypo, I would be more lethargic and not interested and being very active. So I really don't think I have any hypo systems except for maybe a very low waking body temperature. It's generally around 96 degrees Fahrenheit.