Your Estradiol is way too high, especially with your very low SHBG. You need to split up your Test shots in smaller doses. Divide your weekly test dosage so that you can do EOD injections to decrease the conversion to E2. You will not make progress in the gym until this addressed.
I also recommend you do a 24-hour saliva cortisol panel. The blood Cortisol is meaningless as it is bound in the blood. Saliva measures free cortisol and is very accurate.
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My ESTRADIOL is too high at 30.6 pg/mL? Keep in mind the bloodwork in the link above is from well over a year ago. Current bloodwork is in post #1.
Overall I feel great - I do not plan on sticking myself with insulin syringes more than twice a week as I will surely get needle fatigue.
I will look into the 24-hour saliva cortisol panel - hopefully I can get a doctor to order it as medically necessary.
If my Cortisol is too high, what can I do about it?
I am excited to try Keto and IF! I will look into Cyclical Keto (Carb Refeed Day) after 2-3 months on regular Keto (maybe have a cheat meal once a week on Sundays to keep it interesting).
Macro wise I am planning on about 150g Protein, under 30g Carbs, and the remainder as Fats (Daily). Will work up from about 2200 calories to 3200 calories over a month or 2 (Reverse Diet).
Thanks for the advice!
2200 to 3200 wont matter on Keto. If your strict and stick to whole foods you’ll get shredded. I started at 3200 calories and lost 19 lbs in 2 weeks. It was mostly water weight. Attached is a pic from this morning.
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Don’t you feel/look flat? How’s strength in the gym?
When on keto and legit in ketosis I feel better then I’ve ever felt before. Constant energy with no ups and downs throughout the day, I’m more on-point mentally and I feel really good. Plus I lose a ton of fat fairly quickly without any noticeable loss muscle in muscle mass.
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I’m increasing strength consistently and breaking PRs left and right. I was definitely “flat” before I started cyclic keto. The refeed days have filled me out some. I’ll probably continue the refeed days and do some more targeted keto utilizing dextrose pre workout for fuel. Its been an amazing ride and I’m glad I did this
No. I was looking at the older Estradiol.
I’m more concerned if your cortisol is too low. It doesn’t make sense that you ‘feel great’ and yet can’t make progress in the gym with those hormone levels. Either you have low cortisol (Which means Testosterone/Thyroid won’t work) or you need a trainer in the gym to help you. Get tested and you can go from there.
Are you saying that you’ll drink some carbs pre-workout and then return to Ketosis afterwards? I may have to try this - AFTER doing strict Keto for a few months (and becoming fat adapted). I will also add a cheat meal once a week after a few months as well.
I will have to get a 24 Hr Cortisol Test ordered the next time I go to the Doctor. It might be awhile, though…
Yes I weigh out 10 g of dextrose pre workout. The glycemic index is based on dextrose as it is the closest thing to glucose. The half life of dextrose is 15 minutes so its in and out very quickly. You can drink it once you have entered the gym and fuel your lifting. At 10 g you can stay within your daily allowance of carbs as well
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I looked into this 24 hour cortisol test and its quite expensive. 220 bucks is what I saw. If your high or low what does that tell you and what actions would you take?
Good to know!
I have insurance which would likely cover most of the cost. To be honest, I don’t know what I would do if I was too low or high.
Don’t get me wrong, you look great. But here’s my question for you… have you put on more muscle since starting ketosis, or just gotten a better looking physique?
Also, prior to Keto, you said you were eating 3200 calories a day? Was this maintenance? Did you start out thin when lifting, or were you a bigger dude adding muscle and losing fat?
The reason I ask, is I have seen very few folks successfully build a solid frame while on the Keto styled diets. It’s superb at dropping water and some fat and shredding out, but I just haven’t personally seen a lot of dudes putting on some serious size.
I noticed this in the beginning as well. Strict keto is great for losing weight but not so much for building muscle. Its my belief that the answer lies in the anabolic properties of insulin. In ketosis there is no or very negligible release of insulin. Insulin is the transport for glucose to the muscles. Ive since met and spoken with quite a few keto bodybuilders and they all say the same thing. TARGETED KETO. Even with targeted keto the gains are slow but ripped to the bone lean gains. I just met a guy who won 1st place in Europe on keto. He looked incredible on stage. Where theres a will theres a way. I’m gonna hack this thing one way or another.
Oh I have no doubt that it’s possible to gain some muscle while on, although it’s not typical and as you said, some things have to be changed from traditional Keto. I just think there’s far better ways for building muscle. This kid ultimately wants to get bigger, much bigger (if I recall correctly), so I just can’t wrap my head around why he’s attempting Keto instead of doing everything he can to put size on.
I totally get Keto, although I personally couldn’t do it as a life style. I just haven’t seen anyone trying to add some serious size, so so successfully with Keto. My body grows best with massive amounts of carbs, but we’re all built differently for sure!
I hear ya bud. The bodybuilding world has been shoveling down chicken and rice for a long time. Carbs are rocket fuel for sure. I just think they are over consumed and have terrible long term effects. I intend to do just as much with far fewer carbohydrates. Ive seen it done and I’m going to imitate what they are doing. It may not happen as fast or quite as big but its going to be quality. Thats my goal.
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ehhhhh, not so sure about rice induced long term ailment, esp brown/lower glycemic index rices. Red meat on the other hand when consumed in excess is linked to accelerated rates of cardiovascular disease… but then again, eggs are fine on keto and I certainly wouldn’t reccommend eating 20 eggs per day… wait… red meat is also fine on keto.
I think carbs are fine, I think there’s currently a hysteria/stigma going on about carbohydate intake… it depends on the TYPE of carbohydrate here. Shovel down white bread and refined sugars all day and you’re asking for trouble… fruits, low/medium GI carbs (and high GI carbs pre workout etc) and I don’t see the issue
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I tend to agree here. I think you hit part of it. The other part I think is this Keto hype. Not that Keto doesn’t work, but when you see folks dropping so much water and fat after dropping carbs, it results in people thinking they must have been bad.
Now to each their own. Some folks truly feel better on Keto, I do not. I feel deflated, weak, etc. my body type is not a prime candidate for Keto. I also LOVE carbs. I can’t go a week without a Large pizza (my guilty pleasure).
I’m still a firm believer that for 99% of the population… portion control, and healthy options are ALL that are needed. For someone like alldayeveryday though it’s different. He’s not following a fad, he understands and has modified it to fit his needs.
I had McDonald’s last night lol… was 10pm, no food in the house, nothing else was open… so my dinner was chicken nuggets and chips #realfood
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