Stevrd Labs/experiments: Improving Hormones And Health Through Diet, Lifestyle, Supplements

stevrd

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Hello everyone,

I have been following Peat's work on and off for the last 5 years. I have tried many strategies. Some that have worked, and some that have not. I have fallen off in the past year, mostly just eating anything I wanted but avoiding PUFAs and fried foods, and have noticed that the positive benefits that I used to experience from following Ray's work to more of a tee have subsided. My health is much better than it used to be, but not as good as it could be.

I have decided to create a log of my labs to track my progress with diet strategies, see what supplements work and what don't and improve my overall health parameters. I also am creating this to help anybody else who is in the same boat as I am (or have been in).

Background: Hypogonadism/hypothyroidism/insomnia at 17 years old

When I started my health journey my testosterone was about 212ng/dl. I was only 17 years old. Several blood tests over the course of a whole year were in the 200-250ng/dl range. At the time I was over-exercising, under-eating, and had insomnia. During this time, I possibly had self-inflicted hypothyroidism, and subsequently hypogonadism. Many research studies have looked at the effects of starvation (minnesota starvation experiment, studies on athletes with low calorie intake, and bodybuilders who are stage-ready after dieting to sub 10% body fat). These studies all have a common theme- terrible blood panels. Typically low T4/T3, high TSH, low testosterone, low progesterone. Often times women stop menstruating and men lose their morning erections and overall erection function in general. In some cases the genetically elite can get away with very low body fat and low calorie intake with no ill-effects, but for the most part the heavy exercise and under-eating lifestyle will catch up with most of us eventually.

Recovery: Higher carbs (especially in relation to protein), more salt, less exercise, a little thyroid/aspirin supplementation

After years of trying to fix my health struggles through various diets that only made my issues worse (low carb, paleo, raw paleo, ketogenic, etc) I found Ray Peat's and Matt Stone's work and have since improved tremendously. Since I have been following their work for the past 5 years, along with learning about physiology, nutrition, and biochemistry, I increased my testosterone to about 500-700ng/dl on average (depending on the season). So I basically doubled, almost tripled my testosterone by consuming more carbohydrates, more salt, better protein ratios, and a little thyroid/aspirin supplementing. My morning erections have improved to the point that it's now rare that I don't have one. My overall stress tolerance is much better. I no longer have insomnia either.

New Goals: Improving androgens even more, better health parameters, more strength and muscle size
Recently I decided that I was not 100% satisfied with the way my health was going. Despite my improved hormone profile and overall health status, there are some things that have gotten worse. Since my weight has went from about 165-180#, my blood pressure and cholesterol/triglycerides have increased. This weight gain was intentional, since I have been trying to put on more muscle and gain strength. Most of the weight I have gained is muscle, but some fat too. After a ton of research, I have come to the conclusion that the weight gain itself is primarily responsible for my increased blood pressure, and cholesterol (but possibly supplements- explained below). But I am open to the idea that my fat intake has been too high overall, and by cutting back on that I hope to lower my cholesterol and further improve my androgen profile. On cronometer, it is not uncommon for me to be at >100g of fat per day at times, and I do realize that this could be a problem. since I do not really want to lose much weight, but rather re-partition (less fat, more muscle, smaller waist), I have decided to try eating lower fat and see if it makes a difference.

I also came to the conclusion that a lot of my issues are related to not getting enough sunlight. I work every day, so I barely get any at all. So this is almost like living in a cave, which I know produces stress, and low vitamin D could raise prolactin.

Starting metrics: March 5, 2018
Sex: M
Age: 27
Ht: 70"
Wt: 178#
Waist 33.5"
BMI: 25.5
BP 132/80
Pulse 71

Labs:
1 month prior to the test this March I decided to do the following:
(1) Increase my thyroid (thiroyd brand) dose from 1-2 grains per day to 4 grains per day.
(2) Add a supplement called "arimistane" - an aromatase inhibitor to lower estrogen (3 pills/day)
(3) Add vitamin E at 1000mg a few times per week
(4) Re-try haidut's androsterone product at 2-4 drops applied to the scrotum once or twice per day.

(See attached for labs)
Results:
Estradiol 22.9pg/mL (range 8-35)- middle range
T3 3.7 (range 2.0-4.4)- high
T4 .92 (range .82-1.77)- borderline low- as to be expected when supplementing with thyroid
TSH .456 L (range .45-4.5)- shows thiroyd supplement works/is legit
Prolactin 11.7 - somewhat on the high end. Goal is to lower this to <8.
DHT 44 (range 30-85)- normal but higher may feel better
Total Testosterone 521 ng/dL (range 264-916 ng/dL)- good, but could be higher
Free testosterone 15.8 (range 9.3-26.5pg/mL)- somewhat on the low range, would feel better if it was higher
Cholesterol 216 -high
Triglycerides 172 -high
HDL 41- borderline low
LDL 141 -high

Some interesting results indeed. High cholesterol and triglycerides is my concern. About 8-12 months ago I was 165#. Waist size was 32". BP was about 110/70. Cholesterol was about 170. TSH was about 1.8. Since then I have been actively gaining weight somewhat slowly to try to build muscle. I have not had testosterone or other hormones checked in years, so I'm not sure where I was 8-12 months back.

One way to interpret the lipids is that the high LDL levels leaves a lot of substrate for conversion into steroid hormones. I just have to make the conversion happen. I was very surprised by the high cholesterol, because supplementing thyroid is supposed to lower it. Part of me increasing the dose was to see how it would affect my cholesterol levels. Seems that something else is raising my LDL and thyroid supplements alone are not enough to lower it.

A couple of things I am able to conclude from these labs are the following:
(1) Thiroyd supplement is legit. Years ago I had it sent to a chemist to have a mass spectrometry assay performed, which determined there was about 25mcg of T4 and 7mcg T3 per grain. Since I have lost contact with the chemist I used, I wanted to know if the supplement is still legit. Based on my TSH <1, I can say with confidence that it is, since without thyroid supplements my TSH usually is between 1-2 on average.
(2) Arimistane probably did nothing to lower my estrogen. I was hesitant to try this supplement, but it had promising reviews and the concept sounded good, but overall I didn't notice anything from it. Based on the claims, it should have resulted in my E2 levels being much lower, which it didn't.
(3) Haidut's androsterone did not seem to do anything for me either. If it worked as described, my DHT would likely be much higher. I love Haidut's products, but for me, this one did not produce results.
(4) Taking both arimistane and androsterone could have potentially increased my LDL cholesterol, due to the action of some aromatase inhibitors. But I am not sure if this is always true, and I don't know what my levels were before, so I can't blame it on the supplements.
(5) Vitamin E- in attempt to lower prolactin, I upped my usual dose of vitamin E. Unfortunately my goal to have prolactin under 8 did not happen.


Moving forward:
My first experiment is going to be for the next two months, from March to May. Then I will re-draw labs. I am going to:
(1) lower my fat intake to no more than 10% of calories. This is in attempt to improve my T/E ratio. I'm not too concerned with lowering total testosterone much, but if I do find that to be the case, I will taper my fat back up. But I will base it primarily in how I feel. My main food sources will be fruit, kale, spinach, and non-fat yogurt smoothies, orange juice, liver, oysters, very lean beef, 1% milk, some eggs, and some white rice and potatoes. I am going to try to make these foods 90% of my diet, and leave 10% for family/friends, but will still try to eat low fat when eating out.
(2) Increase my fructose consumption and lower my starch consumption. I'm not going to take this to the extreme, because I notice that I crave some starch in my diet, and cutting it out completely produces negative effects. But I also notice that fructose for me produces feelings of androgenicity, and I regret eating less of it in favor of more starch in the past year.
(3) Keep carb to protein ratio high, at least 2:1, but shooting for 4:1. I feel best when carbs are dramatically higher than protein and notice that my libido is lower when eating a high protein/low carb diet.
(4) Lower thiroyd dose to 1-2 grains per day. I felt better taking less thyroid, or none at all.
(5) Drop androsterone, and arimistane supplements.
(6) Continuing to supplement with vitamin E, but at a smaller dose, 1000-2000 iu per week.
(7) Experiment with red light therapy more as a way to boost metabolism and androgens.
(8) Begin taking niacinamide along with aspirin and coffee.


I do realize that these are a lot of things to track and that it's difficult to determine which of these factors affect blood results the most, but I also realize that I don't have unlimited funds to have more blood work done and don't have unlimited time to test one thing at a time, so I am going to try to draw conclusions based off of the experiments others have tried to find parallels with my experience. I hope that some of you can benefit from this and I will try my best to stick to the diet 90% of the time, but I am human and can't be perfect.
 

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stevrd

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Update:
So after 1 week of eating pretty low fat, around 10% of calories...
Waist has gone down 1/2 of an inch and now at 33". I lost 1 pound and am now at 177#.
My BP is now at 123/65, which I was thrilled about. I know BP readings can be tricky, so I made sure I was relaxed before I took it. I am attributing my drop in BP to the weight I lost. Last time my blood pressure was taken about a month ago, I was >180#. Losing a few pounds is often the best thing one can do for this.

To bring my cholesterol down, I began taking haidut's T3 product yesterday. Unfortunately I can report that I have not felt anything from it yet, and temps/pulse have not improved, but I will try to wait and see. I also cut down my NDT thiroyd dose to 1 grain per day before bed.
 
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stevrd

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Update:
A couple of changes.
(1) I have been eating less than 10% of calories from fat pretty accurately per cronometer. Noticed some fatigue from my diet, potentially due to low fat intake. I am craving fat more lately. As a result I am increasing my fat back, because low fat is actually making me feel less androgenic, have less energy, and worse sleep. As soon as I started eating more fat and already feel better. I have tried low fat in the past with similar experiences. Moving forward I think I am just going to be balanced with 25/25/50 fat/protein/carbs.
(2) Haidut's tyronene has been a failure for me. I have tried it with 1 drop increments (8mcg per drop), diluted drops of 1mcg at a time. I have tried it with niacinamide to "lower free fatty acids." My temps are pretty good overall, but unchanged since trying tyronene, and pulse is not budging. It is just not working for me. At least not the way that cynomel used to work. As a result, I have purchased some cynomel and dropped the tyronene product.
(3) Not noticing red light therapy working. I use a plant grow light for this, which is in the 630nm spectrum, said to be in the therapeutic range. It is not increasing pulse/temps at all.

My experiment is with the goal of increasing testosterone higher. There is no sense in me struggling and feeling worse continuing certain supplements. For this reason I am going to update my experiment to following:
(1) Balanced diet with 25/25/50 protein/fat/and high carbs
(2) Multivitamin daily with extra B6 (50mg) in attempt to lower prolactin
(3) >400mg of magnesium daily to increase dhea and possibly testosterone
(4) Add a high quality ashwaganda supplement
(5) Continue with 2 grains of NTD thiroyd and add 25mcg cynomel per day (monitoring temps and pulse for efficacy)
 

brocktoon

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Apr 10, 2017
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Update:
A couple of changes.
(1) I have been eating less than 10% of calories from fat pretty accurately per cronometer. Noticed some fatigue from my diet, potentially due to low fat intake. I am craving fat more lately. As a result I am increasing my fat back, because low fat is actually making me feel less androgenic, have less energy, and worse sleep. As soon as I started eating more fat and already feel better. I have tried low fat in the past with similar experiences. Moving forward I think I am just going to be balanced with 25/25/50 fat/protein/carbs.
(2) Haidut's tyronene has been a failure for me. I have tried it with 1 drop increments (8mcg per drop), diluted drops of 1mcg at a time. I have tried it with niacinamide to "lower free fatty acids." My temps are pretty good overall, but unchanged since trying tyronene, and pulse is not budging. It is just not working for me. At least not the way that cynomel used to work. As a result, I have purchased some cynomel and dropped the tyronene product.
(3) Not noticing red light therapy working. I use a plant grow light for this, which is in the 630nm spectrum, said to be in the therapeutic range. It is not increasing pulse/temps at all.

My experiment is with the goal of increasing testosterone higher. There is no sense in me struggling and feeling worse continuing certain supplements. For this reason I am going to update my experiment to following:
(1) Balanced diet with 25/25/50 protein/fat/and high carbs
(2) Multivitamin daily with extra B6 (50mg) in attempt to lower prolactin
(3) >400mg of magnesium daily to increase dhea and possibly testosterone
(4) Add a high quality ashwaganda supplement
(5) Continue with 2 grains of NTD thiroyd and add 25mcg cynomel per day (monitoring temps and pulse for efficacy)
Will be following your progress. I too am trying to up my T level with a similar approach. Considering one of haidut's thyroid supplements -- sorry tyronene wasn't a metabolic difference maker.
 
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stevrd

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Will be following your progress. I too am trying to up my T level with a similar approach. Considering one of haidut's thyroid supplements -- sorry tyronene wasn't a metabolic difference maker.

Yeah, I've learned that I am generally a poor responder to most supplements/medications. Either that, or the formulations have changed over time, as Ray Peat has said. I'm not sure if haidut's tyronene is just me, or the formulation itself.
 

Arctic Fire

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Also following. Your observations about Thiroyd are helpful; I know a number of people have been unsure about its efficacy.

Thiroyd supplement is legit. Years ago I had it sent to a chemist to have a mass spectrometry assay performed, which determined there was about 25mcg of T4 and 7mcg T3 per grain. Since I have lost contact with the chemist I used, I wanted to know if the supplement is still legit. Based on my TSH <1, I can say with confidence that it is, since without thyroid supplements my TSH usually is between 1-2 on average.
 
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stevrd

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Also following. Your observations about Thiroyd are helpful; I know a number of people have been unsure about its efficacy.

A couple of years ago I knew a chemist who was interested in testing it. So I sent him a few samples and he determined that cynomel was legit (25mcg T3/grain) and thiroyd/thyroid-s (from greater pharma) had about 35mcg T4 and 7mcg T3 per grain. I was unsure whether the formula is still good, but it seems that these tests confirm it. You can't beat the price. 1000 grains for around $100.
 
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stevrd

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Update: After taking ashwagandha for a few days, I am coming off of it. I feel so weird on this, not like myself at all. Because it stimulates GABA and opposes cortisol, at a certain point it has a propensity to make one feel sluggish and apathetic, which is exactly how I feel. It is also said to increase serotonin as well, which is sort of how I feel now. I could see how this would be great for someone in a manic state. However for an individual like myself who needs a high level of functioning mental capacity at my job, I cannot feasibly continue to take this. I have not noticed any androgenic benefit from taking it in the past week. It has noticeably made me more careless, and much worse with procrastination. At the end of the day, I am probably going to minimize to a good/balanced diet, magnesium, aspirin, and thyroid, (and pregnenolone when needed). Hopefully if I can successfully increase the conversion of cholesterol to steroids, I will be able to further increase testosterone.

I have been working 7 days a week for about 3.5 years now, 2 jobs. I am normally able to handle things just fine, but experimenting with ashwagandha recently has made me feel like I need to sleep all the time. Now I'm feeling like all of my work is weighing on me much more than it usually does. To me, this seems to be the opposite of what it's supposed to do, which is to be an adaptogen to stress. Maybe it's "too good" at down-regulating stress.

Either way, I am coming off now. But on a positive note, this has given me the opportunity to re-evaluate my life, self-imposed stresses, and that maybe working too much is causing my low energy/low libido issues, despite normal T levels. I am thinking of my options now and whether or not I want to quit my part-time job, since it is possibly weighing on me more than I would like. I think excessive amounts of work can explain issues for a lot of people. I am certainly not spending enough time outdoors in natural sunlight, I am not able to just "sleep-in" a couple of times a week to recharge. Every day I am always "on." From a hormonal standpoint, excitability is not always a good thing, and it correlates with cortisol/estrogen/prolactin well.

For now, I am going to come off of ashwagandha and see how I feel in the next few days. Experimenting with this was a mistake. My cynomel is coming in the mail in a couple of weeks, so I am going to get back on that and then wait a month or so to do a re-test. No matter what I do, I am not going to pull labs if I am doing a routine that is not sustainable long-term, which includes taking supplements that affect my psychology in a negative way. So before I pull labs again, I am going to make sure that I feel better, not worse. Otherwise, what's the point?
 

cihans

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following as you said I'm in the same boat...

But why do you want to lower your estradiol? It seems already low imo as HRT doctors always want to see in 25's as named sweet spot for sensitive estradiol. Sometimes low estradiol gives more headaches like low libido - joint aches (knee pain in my boat) depression. Vit E gives me really low estradiol readings my advise to you is not try to lower your estradiol. If your Total T is low as a balance or ratio wise its getting lower. My humble advise don't play with it by supplements. Aromatase inhibitors are different story but if your body needs that conversation of Total T to estrogen. Don't forget body wants to be in homeostasis all the time. Avoid too many supplements and try to find the right balance of food which will heal you for good. I'm not expert but I'm dealing these issues for 3 years. Tried to lower my estradiol with kind of supplements but no luck. Only working supplement for me is pregnonelone (10mg) or is it coincidence with uppin calories I don't know.

low calories like 1000-1500 and too much training and no sleep made me sick like you. now eating 2000-3000 calories, balanced strength training 3 times a week for 1,5 years and I feel getting better.
 
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Runenight201

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Update?

I've noticed the same from low fat. I definitely have worse sleep and more fatigue, as well as the feeling of never being sufficiently full. However, too much fat and I start feeling nauseous, so there's definitely a balanced approach to fat intake.

Also, you post nothing of your exercise routine? Adding some sprints/HIIT could increase test levels as well as make you more stress resilient, provided proper dosage, caloric increase, and recovery.
 
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stevrd

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Hi Guys,

I apologize I have not run labs recently, due to financial reasons. I am not sure I will be running them soon either, but will add them as I'm able. My libido/erection function has improved tremendously. It is much higher than it was when I ran my last lab panel so I'm guessing my testosterone is higher, like at least 600, but I don't really care. I care more about how I feel and I feel wonderful. I have cut my supplementation to just a few things.
I now take:
-1 grain of thiroyd before bed
-800mg magnesium, and 800mg calcium powder with 1/4 teaspoon of salt in chocolate milk before bed
-500mg niacinamide before bed.
-1 raw carrot daily
-Weekly dosing of vitamin D/K2 supplement

If you notice, the supplements I am taking are geared towards both improving sleep quality, lowering PTH, and concurrently keeping prolactin within normal range (elevated PTH increases prolactin). The minerals have made the biggest difference in sleep quality, and niacinamide helps keep my blood sugar stable and free fatty acids low so I don't wake up.

I don't enjoy eating the raw carrot daily, but have noticed a marked improvement in digestion/transit time. Ray Peat has said a daily raw carrot can really help to normalize hormones, and I feel like it works well for me. I have cascara segrada powder as well as mushrooms on hand when I don't feel like a raw carrot.

One of the main parts of my improvement in health quality has been sleep hygiene and improving my eating habits. Before I would not prioritize sleep and now I make sure I get at least 7-9 hours per night. With the good food and mineral supplements that help with sleep quality, and allowing myself enough time to sleep, my nocturnal tumescence and morning erections have improved to the point where I nearly never have a problem now.

I changed my eating habits by making sure I eat a sit-down breakfast every day. I am eating a lot at breakfast, about 500-700kcal, typically eggs, toast with butter, OJ or smoothie, coffee every day. A real breakfast like this I feel is the ultimate cortisol lowering tool. Cortisol is high in the morning due to the body using up glycogen and going into a fasted state. If we just feed our bodies the bare minimum in the morning, we are not setting up our hormones for a good result.

I also make sure I am getting high quality home-cooked food high in nutrients, antioxidants, polyphenols, etc. I eat about 2oz of dark chocolate every day, often have blueberry/banana/greek yogurt smoothies, liver every week or so, eggs almost daily, OJ every couple of days, Chocolate milk daily, beef and cheese tortillas, kiwis often, grilled turkey and cheese in coconut oil, tomato soup, pizza, ice cream. All foods are home cooked in either coconut oil or butter. I eat a good amount of wheat, however it has never bothered me at all and if anything I feel better with bread in my life.

Anyways, I have been sticking to these changes pretty much 100% and they work for me, whereas a lot of the other supplements, diet tricks I've tried failed. I will keep everyone updated as I get more blood work. I currently have poor health insurance so I unfortunately eat most of the cost for hormone labs.
 
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Evandrojr

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May 28, 2016
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Hi Guys,

I apologize I have not run labs recently, due to financial reasons. I am not sure I will be running them soon either, but will add them as I'm able. My libido/erection function has improved tremendously. It is much higher than it was when I ran my last lab panel so I'm guessing my testosterone is higher, like at least 600, but I don't really care. I care more about how I feel and I feel wonderful. I have cut my supplementation to just a few things.
I now take:
-1 grain of thiroyd before bed
-800mg magnesium, and 800mg calcium powder with 1/4 teaspoon of salt in chocolate milk before bed
-500mg niacinamide before bed.
-1 raw carrot daily
-Weekly dosing of vitamin D/K2 supplement

If you notice, the supplements I am taking are geared towards both improving sleep quality, lowering PTH, and concurrently keeping prolactin within normal range (elevated PTH increases prolactin). The minerals have made the biggest difference in sleep quality, and niacinamide helps keep my blood sugar stable and free fatty acids low so I don't wake up.

I don't enjoy eating the raw carrot daily, but have noticed a marked improvement in digestion/transit time. Ray Peat has said a daily raw carrot can really help to normalize hormones, and I feel like it works well for me. I have cascara segrada powder as well as mushrooms on hand when I don't feel like a raw carrot.

One of the main parts of my improvement in health quality has been sleep hygiene and improving my eating habits. Before I would not prioritize sleep and now I make sure I get at least 7-9 hours per night. With the good food and mineral supplements that help with sleep quality, and allowing myself enough time to sleep, my nocturnal tumescence and morning erections have improved to the point where I nearly never have a problem now.

I changed my eating habits by making sure I eat a sit-down breakfast every day. I am eating a lot at breakfast, about 500-700kcal, typically eggs, toast with butter, OJ or smoothie, coffee every day. A real breakfast like this I feel is the ultimate cortisol lowering tool. Cortisol is high in the morning due to the body using up glycogen and going into a fasted state. If we just feed our bodies the bare minimum in the morning, we are not setting up our hormones for a good result.

I also make sure I am getting high quality home-cooked food high in nutrients, antioxidants, polyphenols, etc. I eat about 2oz of dark chocolate every day, often have blueberry/banana/greek yogurt smoothies, liver every week or so, eggs almost daily, OJ every couple of days, Chocolate milk daily, beef and cheese tortillas, kiwis often, grilled turkey and cheese in coconut oil, tomato soup, pizza, ice cream. All foods are home cooked in either coconut oil or butter. I eat a good amount of wheat, however it has never bothered me at all and if anything I feel better with bread in my life.

Anyways, I have been sticking to these changes pretty much 100% and they work for me, whereas a lot of the other supplements, diet tricks I've tried failed. I will keep everyone updated as I get more blood work. I currently have poor health insurance so I unfortunately eat most of the cost for hormone labs.
@stevrd, that’s great to hear! I am in a very similar situation as you were, but I’m still fighting hard to resolve my issues. I’d love to ask you some questions if you don’t mind:

- what form of magnesium are you taking?
- is the chocolate milk skim or full fat?
- I know you shared what foods you eat, but would you mind terribly breaking down what you’re day of eating looks like? I’m particularly interested in hearing about your eating frequency, fat intake, salt and sugar intake, and what time of day you’re having the raw carrot.
- does the raw carrot give you gases? (It definitely does for me. Maybe adding smth like coconut oil or vinegar would solve this?)
- do you workout? If so, how often and at what time of day?
- during the day, do you mostly feel warmer? I still suffer from cold extremities often.

Sorry for bombarding you with questions, but I am sure you understand how tough this road can be and any help/guidance is more than welcome.

Thanks and once again, congrats!!
 
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stevrd

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@stevrd, that’s great to hear! I am in a very similar situation as you were, but I’m still fighting hard to resolve my issues. I’d love to ask you some questions if you don’t mind:

- what form of magnesium are you taking?
- is the chocolate milk skim or full fat?
- I know you shared what foods you eat, but would you mind terribly breaking down what you’re day of eating looks like? I’m particularly interested in hearing about your eating frequency, fat intake, salt and sugar intake, and what time of day you’re having the raw carrot.
- does the raw carrot give you gases? (It definitely does for me. Maybe adding smth like coconut oil or vinegar would solve this?)
- do you workout? If so, how often and at what time of day?
- during the day, do you mostly feel warmer? I still suffer from cold extremities often.

Sorry for bombarding you with questions, but I am sure you understand how tough this road can be and any help/guidance is more than welcome.

Thanks and once again, congrats!!


I take magnesium carbonate. The chocolate milk is 2% milk. I use nestle chocolate syrup as it's pretty natural. I eat a raw carrot whenever I remember to, lol. I try to eat one in the morning, but sometimes at night. If I don't feel like it I'll have some cascara or mushrooms instead (both lower endotoxin). I don't get gas from raw carrot. Vinegar might help alleviate it for you.

My macro ratio is something around 20% protein, 30% fat, 50% carbohydrate, but I don't stress them too much. Sometimes I feel like a fatty meal, other times I feel like low fat. This feels right for me. I've played with macros for years and finally realized I need all of them in a balance to feel right.

A typical day for me looks like this:
Breakfast (6:30am): 3 eggs with 2 slices of cinnamon toast with grassfed butter, 1-2 cups of a smoothie I make with blueberries, bananas, greek yogurt, 1 cup of coffee with cream and sugar.
Lunch (12:00pm): a smaller meal, typically some type of lean meat (i.e. chicken or beef) with rice or potatoes and fruit (like kiwi or banana), 1 cup of chocolate milk.
Dinner (6:30pm): A large meal with homemade chicken fajitas or large burrito, 2 cups chocolate milk. Sometimes I'll have grilled turkey/ham/cheese with tomato soup. Sometimes I'll have soup with oxtail and beef cubes, potatoes, onions, carrots, parsnips. Sometimes I'll have liver and onions with mashed potatoes. Sometimes I'll have homemade pizza with kale cooked on top. It all depends on communication with my wife and what her and I agree on. For dessert we'll often have ice cream sandwiches or klondike bars.
Bedtime snack: 1 glass of chocolate milk with 1/4 tsp each of salt, magnesium, calcium.

I feel much warmer than I used to. This has a lot to do with eating mostly solid foods and supplementing with salt to increase temps. Taking thyroid never did it for me. I didn't feel warmer until I decreased fluid consumption and increased solid food intake.

I workout 3x per week, mostly strength training. I center my workouts on the squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press, and weighted pullups. I do other stuff too, but for fun/pump. I take intra-workout nutrition seriously. I will have 2 tbsp of tang powder in 1 quart of water with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt mixture. This really helps prevent the stress reaction from a workout.
 

Evandrojr

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May 28, 2016
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I take magnesium carbonate. The chocolate milk is 2% milk. I use nestle chocolate syrup as it's pretty natural. I eat a raw carrot whenever I remember to, lol. I try to eat one in the morning, but sometimes at night. If I don't feel like it I'll have some cascara or mushrooms instead (both lower endotoxin). I don't get gas from raw carrot. Vinegar might help alleviate it for you.

My macro ratio is something around 20% protein, 30% fat, 50% carbohydrate, but I don't stress them too much. Sometimes I feel like a fatty meal, other times I feel like low fat. This feels right for me. I've played with macros for years and finally realized I need all of them in a balance to feel right.

A typical day for me looks like this:
Breakfast (6:30am): 3 eggs with 2 slices of cinnamon toast with grassfed butter, 1-2 cups of a smoothie I make with blueberries, bananas, greek yogurt, 1 cup of coffee with cream and sugar.
Lunch (12:00pm): a smaller meal, typically some type of lean meat (i.e. chicken or beef) with rice or potatoes and fruit (like kiwi or banana), 1 cup of chocolate milk.
Dinner (6:30pm): A large meal with homemade chicken fajitas or large burrito, 2 cups chocolate milk. Sometimes I'll have grilled turkey/ham/cheese with tomato soup. Sometimes I'll have soup with oxtail and beef cubes, potatoes, onions, carrots, parsnips. Sometimes I'll have liver and onions with mashed potatoes. Sometimes I'll have homemade pizza with kale cooked on top. It all depends on communication with my wife and what her and I agree on. For dessert we'll often have ice cream sandwiches or klondike bars.
Bedtime snack: 1 glass of chocolate milk with 1/4 tsp each of salt, magnesium, calcium.

I feel much warmer than I used to. This has a lot to do with eating mostly solid foods and supplementing with salt to increase temps. Taking thyroid never did it for me. I didn't feel warmer until I decreased fluid consumption and increased solid food intake.

I workout 3x per week, mostly strength training. I center my workouts on the squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press, and weighted pullups. I do other stuff too, but for fun/pump. I take intra-workout nutrition seriously. I will have 2 tbsp of tang powder in 1 quart of water with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt mixture. This really helps prevent the stress reaction from a workout.
@stevrd This is amazing, thank you so much for taking the time to write such a thorough answer. A few quick follow up questions:

- it seems like you don’t have much coffee other than the one after breakfast. Do you think that helps with upping body temps and libido? I ask because I’ve been seeing some correlation between coffee and decreased libido, as well as tummy troubles. I currently have 4-5 coffees a day, will try to reduce.

- what time do you workout? The only time I can train is at 6:30am, so I’ve been trying to figure out a pre workout meal. I’ve been playing with bcaa, sugar, coffee, whole milk/skim milk...I invariably get cold hands and don’t get warm until half way through my workout. Any suggestions? Btw, I tried big solid meals in the last but normally I’ll just feel awful during the workout. Oh, I do same as you, 3x/week, 35-40mim, mostly squat on Monday, shoulder press Wed, deadlifts Fri, sets of 5 and plenty of rest in between (plus a few supplemental easy exercises). I will definitely try to incorporate a nitra-workout drink. Suggestions here??

That’s it really. I’m running to the store to get some Mag Carbonate right now, hope I find it here inn Amsterdam!!
 
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stevrd

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Messages
240
@stevrd This is amazing, thank you so much for taking the time to write such a thorough answer. A few quick follow up questions:

- it seems like you don’t have much coffee other than the one after breakfast. Do you think that helps with upping body temps and libido? I ask because I’ve been seeing some correlation between coffee and decreased libido, as well as tummy troubles. I currently have 4-5 coffees a day, will try to reduce.

- what time do you workout? The only time I can train is at 6:30am, so I’ve been trying to figure out a pre workout meal. I’ve been playing with bcaa, sugar, coffee, whole milk/skim milk...I invariably get cold hands and don’t get warm until half way through my workout. Any suggestions? Btw, I tried big solid meals in the last but normally I’ll just feel awful during the workout. Oh, I do same as you, 3x/week, 35-40mim, mostly squat on Monday, shoulder press Wed, deadlifts Fri, sets of 5 and plenty of rest in between (plus a few supplemental easy exercises). I will definitely try to incorporate a nitra-workout drink. Suggestions here??

That’s it really. I’m running to the store to get some Mag Carbonate right now, hope I find it here inn Amsterdam!!

Mag carbonate is what I take, but other forms are acceptable. I just like that anything with carbonate can help ease stomach acidity, i.e. calcium carbonate, etc... I wouldn't mess with BCAAs. Do you feel any benefit? I tried them but they didn't do anything for me. For some people, it makes them feel worse. I work out at about 5-6pm. I feel better working out at night than in the morning because I've had a whole day to get my calories up which gives me energy for my workout. But do what feels best for you. Working out in the morning has the benefit of not possibly being able to interfere with sleep. When you workout in the morning, you have the whole day to calm down from it. I have to take extra steps at night to ensure that my workout doesn't make me feel too energized before bed.

I only drink 1-2 cups of coffee per day. I can't say whether more would be better or worse, but I don't think it's good to have to rely on it for energy. I drink it more out of ritual and personal preference.

Cold hands and feet are often easily cured by properly monitoring fluid/solid food/salt intake. Bread can be helpful in this regard as it helps to absorb fluid. You want your pee to be yellow. If you search online, Matt Stone has a lot of info on this. Eating mostly solid food and drinking fluids only when thirsty makes a huge difference in body temperature.

How is you sleep hygiene/quality? This plays a large role in libido/function. Nearly everything I do nutritionally is with the goal to keep adrenaline/cortisol under control so that I can sleep more deeply, and I try to make sure I get to bed and wake up at the same time every day. I go to bed at 9pm and wake up at 6 or 7am depending on how early I need to wake up. Going to bed earlier than necessary produces a psychological trick. When you allow yourself 10 hours of time to sleep, you don't have any anxiety about how much sleep you are going to get. Whereas if you go to bed at 12am and need to get up at 6am for work, in your mind you will have feelings of anxiety and guilt about how little sleep you are going to get, which will impair your ability to fall and stay asleep. Going to bed very early works like a charm for me. Also, if you are having a lot of trouble sleeping, take a warm bath before bed. Other tips: Ensure your room is dark and cool, and that you have plenty of blankets. Your hands/feet should be warm, but your face/head should be cool. There is science behind this.

A good experiment you should try is taking a full two weeks off of lifting. You will find out if it has an effect on your libido/function. I did this after I had surgery years ago and within 1-2 weeks, morning erections were back to normal (when previously they were poor or non existent). Now I'm not saying one needs to quit training, but one can find out if their training is too stressful, or he is not getting enough calories or rest. You want to limit the amount of heavy sets you are doing and focus on keeping cortisol under control while you work out by resting between sets (not hyperventilating) and drinking sugar and salt.
 
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Evandrojr

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Messages
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Mag carbonate is what I take, but other forms are acceptable. I just like that anything with carbonate can help ease stomach acidity, i.e. calcium carbonate, etc... I wouldn't mess with BCAAs. Do you feel any benefit? I tried them but they didn't do anything for me. For some people, it makes them feel worse. I work out at about 5-6pm. I feel better working out at night than in the morning because I've had a whole day to get my calories up which gives me energy for my workout. But do what feels best for you. Working out in the morning has the benefit of not possibly being able to interfere with sleep. When you workout in the morning, you have the whole day to calm down from it. I have to take extra steps at night to ensure that my workout doesn't make me feel too energized before bed.

I only drink 1-2 cups of coffee per day. I can't say whether more would be better or worse, but I don't think it's good to have to rely on it for energy. I drink it more out of ritual and personal preference.

Cold hands and feet are often easily cured by properly monitoring fluid/solid food/salt intake. Bread can be helpful in this regard as it helps to absorb fluid. You want your pee to be yellow. If you search online, Matt Stone has a lot of info on this. Eating mostly solid food and drinking fluids only when thirsty makes a huge difference in body temperature.

Gotcha! Unfortunately working out late in the afternoon is not an option, 6:30am is the only way for me. Based on your experience, would you be so kind as to suggest a good food/drink regimen for when waking up (before workout, so 5:30am) and possibly intra workout? Much appreciated, really :)
 
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stevrd

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Gotcha! Unfortunately working out late in the afternoon is not an option, 6:30am is the only way for me. Based on your experience, would you be so kind as to suggest a good food/drink regimen for when waking up (before workout, so 5:30am) and possibly intra workout? Much appreciated, really :)

You will get the most out of your workout when you eat a good sized meal about 2 hours before you train. But since that isn't an option for you, I would recommend eating something small like a couple of eggs and a glass of orange juice (or if that's too acidifying then coffee with cream and sugar or glass of chocolate milk). Then immediately afterwards you can eat a larger meal if possible.

For intra-workout nutrition, you are trying to accomplish the goal of decreasing the amount of cortisol release. Supplying both sugar and salt while working out does this better than anything else. I have 2 tbsp of tang mixed with 1/2 tsp of salt in a 1Q container and drink this in between lifts.
 

Evandrojr

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Joined
May 28, 2016
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You will get the most out of your workout when you eat a good sized meal about 2 hours before you train. But since that isn't an option for you, I would recommend eating something small like a couple of eggs and a glass of orange juice (or if that's too acidifying then coffee with cream and sugar or glass of chocolate milk). Then immediately afterwards you can eat a larger meal if possible.

For intra-workout nutrition, you are trying to accomplish the goal of decreasing the amount of cortisol release. Supplying both sugar and salt while working out does this better than anything else. I have 2 tbsp of tang mixed with 1/2 tsp of salt in a 1Q container and drink this in between lifts.
@stevrd, if I may, quick question on the magnesium carbonate: do you take 800mg of the powder, or the equivalent to 800mg elemental magnesium? Because the one o got says “323mg elemental Magnesium in 1 gr of powder. Or to put it simpler: how many teaspoons do you take? Thanks you so much!!!
 

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