Hey all,
Since starting TRT I’m definitely finding it hard to shift fat.
I don’t control E2 and have sometimes had a bit of water retention but in definitely more pudgy all over.
I’d have thought the extra T helped me lean out and its left me wandering…
Can raised E2 cause you to lay fat down easier?
It could be the T has increased my appetite…
Whats your diet and training like?
Carb cycle lower carbs if I’m not riding. No processed crap.
8 to 12 hours of HARD cardio a week.
Worth mentioning- it’s largely the same as before TRT.
So you eat complex carbs as in sweet potatoes & vegetables versus crackers, chips, and bullshit? I’m not understanding you completely on this.
If you are not eating in surplus of your calorie expenditure, then I don’t see any concern. But if you are eating in surplus, I’ve read and herd that Estrogen does promote fat storage.
Low estrogen will make you fatter in the belly, TRT can increase water retention.
Yes your metabolic rate will increase on TRT.
Yes. I do include some white carbs such as normal potatoes and pasta- but I need to fuel. If you’ve ever held 90% max HR for 2 to 3 hours at a time you’ll get that.
I’ve always done that though.
I’m serious considering adding a tiny bit of ai in… I’ve just been so put off by all the threads where it got derailed by one particular individual who’s now banned I genuinely don’t know if a small.amount is safe.
Run an experiment, and take a water pill to see if its water retention. Just make sure to hydrate also while on it. If it helps then you have solved a problem that should go away with time. If its actual fat storage then lower your dose or change protocol. If that doesnt help, then you take an AI and you will get to the bottom of it.
The only issue I have with the use of an AI continuously is, the damage it does to endothelial and aromatase function. So run a few experiments before you do take an AI. Plenty of guys have been taking AIs for years with no issue, the problem is that were all different and you dont know if you’re the poor soul that pays the price for it.
Now regarding your diet… Im going to suggest you start weighing your food and breaking it up into at least 6 meals a days for the sole purpose of maintaining energy levels. But you may want to look into metformin if you feel like nothing is helping in the upcoming months. I do hope this is a phase which I have mildly experienced.
I know you’re hitting the cardio but the best way to lose weight is to hit the weights, so throw in some light weight lifting with deadlift and squats as a focus. This should help burn fat and your cardio will benefit from it.
What is your preferred diarrheic/water pill to reduce water retention?
If your diet hasn’t changed, it’s likely just water retention, which is increased through use of androgens, even if your estrogen hasn’t risen.
Rising estrogen will further contribute to water retention. I would get your estrogen checked before adding an AI. You really don’t want to further complicate your HRT heedlessly. If it is high, you may want to first consider getting your gut and liver optimized, which can help reduce estrogen conversion. If that doesn’t work, I would try to reduce your bodyfat, which could reduce aromatase and therefore estrogen. This is obviously going to be done through a caloric deficit and be prepared for your performance to drop during this time. After that, you could try reducing your T levels. If that leaves you feeling worse via less energy or lessened libido etc, you could try adding in an AI. Be warned, having low estrogen is worse than high for most men.
I would personally operate in that order above.
Thanks.
There’s no room in my schedule for hitting weights. Legs are wrecked from cycling and I’m always looking at the next ride.
What diuretic pills are safe and over the counter?
I used to ride and race. I listened to the carb load stuff. I preferred to take calories on the bike to fuel as I went instead of eat prior to the event. Eating before the event made me feel heavy, bloated, and in need of taking a dump. Carb loading the day before the event was misguided from what I remember reading 15+ years ago.
@systemlord said low estrogen causes belly fat, I read and heard high estrogen causes it. If you google and read you will be even more confused. It’s like estrogen is playing with black magic. Some people master it, others turn into demons.
Diurex is a pretty safe. You just have to make sure you continue to hydrate as you shed the water weight. Try it. You should stabilize and not have any need for it once you clear out
I’m not talking about carb loading. 3 hours isn’t an event its a typical weeknight.
Looking at calcs from heart rate I burnt 14,000kcals last week in cardio.
Generally white carbs like that i mean I might have a portion (not a huge carb loading portion), for dinner - for example last night I had 1 large baked potato with salad and tuna.
There’s definitely something going on hormonally that wasn’t before TRT thats changing how I store fat… just not sure if it’s E2 or something more complex.
Just to be clear. When you say you are storing fat. Do you mean a little bit, or a lotta bit?
3hrs hard each day?
This is purely my own observation. It applies to me only and I can’t even say with certainty the cause.
Ever since there was this huge turn away from AIs on this forum, I’ve eliminated or greatly reduced the use of an AI in my trt protocol.
I feel and have seen a change in my body fat distribution. To sum it up it’s more feminine. My ass even started storing body fat. I could see it and received a comment or two about it.
I have since resumed using an AI in my protocol, but with greater caution, and see my fat distribution has been returning to what it once was.
No- I don’t do 3 hours everyday. But my point being ill easy do that one weeknight out of 5 and wouldn’t carb load for it. I carb load for 100+ miles etc.
Hard to define what a bit of fat is etc. Up a notch on the belt about 5kg in the last year or so. Just look pudgy rather than lean and cut.
@mtman mind if I ask what your protocol is?
Amount of T. Frequency. How much ai etc etc.
I’m strongly starting to suspect I would be slightly better with one at a very small dose.
No problem asking but it probably won’t be much help. I’ve noticed my needs have changed over the years and I’m still in search of improvement.
Currently I’m taking 150mg of Test E a week split in two injections, 75mg Monday and 75mg on Thursday.
I’ve just recently moved up from 120mg/week. I’ve been taking .125 mg of Anastrozole with injections and have kept that the same even with my recent increase in Test E dose.
I do feel better with the Anastrozole in my protocol but have been considering going back to Aromasin which I use to use at a dose of approximately 12.5mg/week.
Now I’m trying to calculate 14K calories burned. I used to ride 50-80 miles and burn 2800-3300 depending on how hard I pushed it. I was around 220lbs at the time. Once during a half ironman I burned a little over 5000. I was red lining it the whole way.
After the first few years, I never loaded carbs for any of the events or rides. In the beginning I thought I could eat whatever because I was burning so many calories. But once I started entering what I ate vs what I burned, I learned that it’s easy to eat 2000 calories in one sitting. The bottom line is you shouldn’t have gained 5kg in one year. That’s diet.
On another note, I believe you are not lifting weights from reading other threads. I used to be in the cardio circle. Most of the people who were in My circle who did not switch to weights, now don’t look so great. All this cardio is going to make it hard for you to control fat gain long term. I say this not being a dick, but as someone who used to ride hard every day.