Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and weight gain

[Spudstr]

trt and weight gain

So i've been on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for about two months now at 200mg/week of cyp. from my doctor.. i've also added in self dosage of 3iu/day of serostim going on 2 months as well. I'm 5'8 and started at around 225lbs. My diet has been pretty constant with the usual eggs in the morning protien shake for a shack, chicken brests/etc for lunch another shake for a snack.. dinner typically chicken/steak or fish and another shake before bed, work out is pretty constant 3x a week and very little cardio.. i just never really do cardio. I'm not the smallest guy i have a good amount of fat on me.. but since i've started trt.. as of this morning on the scale I am 244lbs. My pants stil fit with out any issues, i know a bit of it is water weight because my watch no longer fits on my wrist... I started letro 3 days ago.

I've done previous cycles before, test e, primo, some var and some cycles with tren mast etc. .. though this was many many years ago and I never gained this much weight or water weight before.

I was really trying to start dropping weight and getting down below 200 from 225 which isn't to hard to do.. but now that i'm up to almost 245 this seems like a nightmare and I am flat out of options. Did some research and some people on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and sugar cause a explosion.. so I guess i'll be looking at cutting out most sugars and restricting carbs a bit more into a pseudo keto diet. I tried a keto before and couldn't do it..was always hungry and _nothing_ satisfied my hunger.

 

[R9]

I gained about 15lbs (185-200) in week three through seven when I first started (200mg/wk) too.

Keto: How long did you do it? Expect to be ravenous in the transition period and just eat as much steak as you want. It'll all shake out and you'll be in control again. Once you're "adapted" the fat and protein is very satistfying.

Good luck!

 

[Daniel_IMT_Staff]

TRT will increase your androgen receptor activity and promote lipolysis. More than likely your estrogen isn't getting controlled properly leading to bloat and diet is probably off. Start by cutting out the three shakes a day.

 

[300winmag]

Could be bloat, could be muscle changing over from fat. But if you want to lose weight its simple math it takes over 3000 calories to lose a pound. And depending on the shakes your probably doing doing an extra 1000-2000 calories a day just on the shakes. Shakes are great for bulking up, and they arent to bad for cutting if you are using them sparingly for meal replacements, but not snacks.

I kind of was in the same boat as you and thought once I got on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and cleaned my diet up I would lose weight. Not true if your going to want to lose weight going to need some cardio. Also if your truely into losing weight and your body size, and depending on your activity level you should probably not be eating over 2000 calories a day or so. I would reccommend around 1700-1800 a day, but would not go any lower than 1200 a day. These fad diets usually suck, the best method is to count your calories, and really start seeing what you are eating. Eggs are to bad but if your having 3-4 every morning your talking tons of cholesterol. Maybe try egg beaters, little no cholesterol, and they taste fine. You can eat the whole pint size carton of which I think is equivalent to like 8 eggs maybe more and its only 225 calories. Soups are good, throw in salads, yogurts, try fruts for snacks instead of shakes. A spoon full of peanut butter is a good way to kill hungary spell.

Good way to keep track of calories is the myfitnesspal app which is free on your phone. Check out your BMR somtime at your height and weight and at 30 years old, you burn 2100 calories a day minus working out. So with your current diet and shakes your probably eating more than that every day, thus your weight gain or lack of weight loss. So here is the math, if you keep to a strict 1700 calorie a day diet, and go to the gym and burn another 3-400 calories 3 times a week, here is how it plays out. 7 days a week x 2100 you burn 14,700 calories a week. If you eat 1700 for seven days you ate 11,900 calories, so your in a 2800 caloried defecit without working out so should lose close to a pound week without doing anything. Add in working out 3 times your weight loss will be just over a pound a week. You can play around with your intake and work out schedules to get your equation to produce more of a calorie deficit. Your going to want to lose 2-3 pounds a week which means a 6-9000 caloried defecit per week, which right now your no wheres close. And at your height weight your probably a solid 50lbs over weight, and I dont your build but you probably want to way closer to 170 180 max, but if you can get serious with a diet youll be where you want to be in 6 -9 months.

The fact of the matter its cardio cardio cardio, if you want to lose weight, lifting weights soley isn't going to cut it, lifting to tone like high reps and low weight is good to keep muscle mass and to tone, but when you need to cut specially a big amount weight, bulking and cutting arent really in the same game plan. What I would also suggest is a cheat day once a week, dont go totally hog wild, but eat what you want, this serves two purposes, 1. it helps keep you sane and something to look forward to 2. A lot of studies and research shows that one sloppy day during a week can throw your body off and actually help you lose weight. Other ideas, if your serious is that alcohol has to go, also look at everything you eat, are you having that Coke every morning or that Star Bucks latte with 500 calories in it. Are you grabbing handfuls of chips through out the day. But in the end just count calories and do the math.

Like I said I was like you at first, about 8 weeks ago I got serious, I am eating 1600 calories a day, with 1 cheat day and cardio 4 times a week. I was 230lbs and 5'10 I am now 208. I still have another 20 lbs to get where I want to be but it is doable.

 

[Spudstr]

Nah its not the shakes, Shakes are Zero Carb Isopure and Optimum: Gold Standard 100% Casein, both are very low cal and pretty good not a lot of junk in them... isopure 2x day and the casein at night. They contribute to be about 540/cals a day.. if i remember to take the afternoon shake after the gym.

I eat around 1500-1700 Cals a day currently, the eggs.. are just one whole egg and the rest are whites, the cholesterol isn't bad if i'm making breakfast but if the wife makes it. god help she uses whole eggs.


In my prime lifting ~5 years ago i was 190lbs and lifting great doing sets of 315 on bench and deadlifts.. then i got married. and ramped up to 220ish and maintained it for 3 years.

oh.. to be. 24 again View attachment 549526

Since I started letro ~5 days ago now the day I started I woke up at 250lbs.. this morning I woke up to 242. I am willing to put money on my e levels were contributing to containing water I'll be curious to watch, I go in on monday for blood for a mid rx check on my levels, I've also stopped the hgh for now, it wasn't needed now so I will save that for another time or start it back in a month at 1iu/day.

 

[300winmag]

might be worth while to check the thyroid out as well. And maybe get a Cortisol test done. The high E maybe was the blame for some of it, but who knows on the rest. I know its frustrating. It may be time to hit cardio hard for a few seeks and see how that goes. With out cardio and at those calories your talking about losing less than a pound a week if that. I guess depending on your age and if you are quite sedentary, its possible that your BMR is maybe lower than 2100 and with eating 1700 calories a day you are potentially eating more than burning. I dont know. Also make sure your taking a multi vitamin, also look into Vit b12 for energy those seem to truely help. Some other weight loss products I have read up that do not cause side effects are green coffee bea, raspberry keotones. During my weight loss I have been trying garcinia cambogia. No sides, is it helping hard to say. Some of this stuff is snake oil, but for a few bucks if it gives you motivation or makes you happy its worth it.

Also any other meds that could be causing this? Alcohol intake? Sleeping 7-9hours a night?


Carbs are not a bad thing, keep them to 40g a week. Sometimes it just takes swithing up what you are doing. I have done it this time and have passed it on and other have had great results. Bfast Cereal, not the sugary chit, rice krispies, cheerios, etc. Cereal is actually quite beneficial. problem with cereal is it will make you hungary a few hours later. I then ate a stick or hunk of cheese 150-200 calories. Lunch was a salad or soup switching it out, careful with salads, add to much cheese, ranch, croutons, you kill the purpose. After lunch was an apple or orange. Dinner I made something up that gave me veges, protein, and carbs. I take a bunch of brown rice cook that, buy a few pounds of flank steak and or chicken and marinate it. Cook the meat and then cook in a can or two of green beans/ peas/ broccoli. Mix the meat and veges into rice with wither some marinade, soy sauce. Then portion it out. I usually put 200 calories of rice, 2-300 caloried of meat per portion than freeze it. take one out the night before and cook. After dinner usually a snack less than 200 calories. Never ate past 8pm. I always had pretzels as a hanful of those arent to bad and they feel you up or spoon full of peanut butter. lost some descent weight doing this. I dont like the zero carb thing as carbs are good and give you energy they just have to be controlled and carbs actually have the least amount of calories per gram.

 

[Spudstr]

no other meds that I'm taking, and I drink a beer maybe once every two weeks and its just at dinner when out with friends.

sleeping since i got on a cpap machine sleep quality has been much better but having a 1 year old daughter who likes a random bottle in the night hinders my sleep , only other thing I am taking is 5000 IU of vit D ED per my testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) docs instructions

A lot is definitely water weight my skin doesn't feel as tight anymore. I'll just continue to monitor what I take in and do at the gym and see how the next week or two goes.