Body fat %

[jorgensen.travis]

I get an implant every 6 months. My original tests had me between 200-250. My doctor wants me 800-1000. I think of it as an anti-aging thing. It makes me feel young, which I think is good. The side effects I’ve noticed are higher estrogen (fixed with a weekly pill) and increased sweating/body odor (I rarely had that before). The brand name is Biote and it’s supposed to be bio identical. The program also includes regular blood panels where they identify deficiencies and suggest supplements. The only problem I can think of about being committed to doing it forever is if it gets banned. I do know a guy in his late 50’s who stopped doing it after 5 years with no major problems. He says he just went back to where he was before. He’s always been healthy and worked out and still does.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bigjay73]

Any side effects?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No bad ones lol. Every now and then a little acne on my chest, but nothing major.

 

[OXN939]

Ok, so is the therapeutic goal 301 ng/dL? How far are they trying to raise that #?

If a man is at 301, is he denied TRT? Is there a Max #?

Curious. Easily abused, "normal" has a really big range, 3x... Highly profitable lifestyle "medicine"... Ripe for abuse.

The exact threshold for diagnosis is determined by a physician. As stated before, your testosterone levels taken by a blood sample are simply a snapshot- they vary even throughout the day, being higher in the morning and steadily decreasing until you're asleep. To circle back to this thread, however, testosterone levels are integrally linked to body fat percentage, as well as a lot of other aspects of everyday life. I'll probably start hormone replacement therapy once I'm 40 or 45.

 

[mtwarden]

thread has gotten a little sidetracked

back to % body fat- personally I think it’s pretty much a red herring; very difficult to measure, more so to “estimate”

I’ve found the mirror to be pretty accurate to calculate whether one needs to lose weight (or not)

a better “measurement” is your ability to move up/down/around the mountain

if you’re successfully doing this who gives a $hit what your body fat % is?

 

[jp0212]

I am treated for low t. I wouldn't be if my body could magically start producing normal levels of test on it's own. That was the point I was trying to make. You dont go off of HRT once you're on it, you dont go on it unless you need it.

Gotcha. To really clarify though, if you are on HRT (as I am) it is because your body is still producing Testosterone, just much less than your body should have at it's age. Once you start the treatment your body will completely cease to produce Testosterone. Once you go off the treatment your body will begin producing again after a few weeks, but you will simply end up right back where you started at a low level.

 

[jp0212]

Any side effects?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Personally, I can't say I experienced any negative side effects. There has only been significant improvements in almost every aspect of my life. Well, except the cost for treatement (really isnt much) and the time to go get a shot once per week.

The exact threshold for diagnosis is determined by a physician. As stated before, your testosterone levels taken by a blood sample are simply a snapshot- they vary even throughout the day, being higher in the morning and steadily decreasing until you're asleep. To circle back to this thread, however, testosterone levels are integrally linked to body fat percentage, as well as a lot of other aspects of everyday life. I'll probably start hormone replacement therapy once I'm 40 or 45.

That is partially true, yes, but only so much. I realize that sounds bad, but I truly don't mean to offend and hope only to have an intelligent conversation.

The threshold is only partially determined by a physician. The other portion is your insurance. Or to clarify, that is in regards to being covered by insurance. Your doctor can choose to treat you regardless of your levels, really they can even far exceed to reach pure performance enhancement. The issue though will be that your insurance will only cover some or all if you are below a certain range. For most insurances, as I understand it, that threshold is 300 ng/dl. For example, my levels were at 311, My doctor felt it would be good to go with HRT. My insurance agreed to cover partial given how low I was, but if I had been below 300 they would have fully covered the treatment. You are correct, your Testosterone levels do fluctuate throughout the day, and can be impacted by various activities, but only slightly. They do not come anywhere close to dropping hundreds of ng/dl. You are also correct in that extremely high amounts of body fat are linked to low testosterone, but it goes well beyond that too. Diet, exercise and just general personal physiology play huge roles as well. Personally, I am 36 years old, eat well and I am pretty fit. In my 20's I had to get my testosterone levels tested and they were found to be normal, even slightly high. Doctor isn't sure what caused my level to drop in my mid-30's, but they also stated it is extremely common amongst men.

 

[jp0212]

thread has gotten a little sidetracked

back to % body fat- personally I think it’s pretty much a red herring; very difficult to measure, more so to “estimate”

I’ve the mirror to be pretty accurate if one needs to lose weight

a better “measurement” is your ability to move up/down/around the mountain

if you’re successfully doing this who gives a $hit what your body fat % is?

There are actually multiple very reliable ways to test BF %, to within 1%. The most common are the Bod Pod and a Water Submission test. Calipers can be fairly accurate if a person knows what they are doing. Typically that means a Certified Trainer, with a legitimate certification not a weekend course, who has undergone specific training on how to use the calipers. I have seen tests where people well trained in Calipers were able to damn near nail what a water submission test found. Electrical Impedence, what you see in scales and most gyms via the handheld units, are very unreliable, typically reading a +/- of about 5%.

Couldn't agree more with everything else you said. Unless you plan to compete in bodybuilding, your BF% isn't super relevant. I will say even in this thread there appears to be a large misconception about where some people fall. For men, 12-17% BF is actually considered to be pretty lean and healthy. 8-12% is very lean and still healthy, but very hard to achieve because that goes against your body's natural instinct. Anything less than 8% is actually considered slightly unhealthy, and your body will fight you hard if you start to dip below that line.

 

[Bigjay73]

Gotcha. To really clarify though, if you are on HRT (as I am) it is because your body is still producing Testosterone, just much less than your body should have at it's age. Once you start the treatment your body will completely cease to produce Testosterone. Once you go off the treatment your body will begin producing again after a few weeks, but you will simply end up right back where you started at a low level.

Yes, we're on the same page

 

[*zap*]

lean and mean...…..

 

[Cockeye]

I’m 49 t count was 545 and free T was 5.9 and my SHBG was 87 which is extremely high should be around 50 at most. my doctor wants my T count around 800-900. I’m on estrogen blocker twice week trying to get the shbg to below 50 and 150 ml/units a week for 4 weeks they will be getting base line this week from blood work and increasing T to achieve the 800 to 900 count.

 

[5MilesBack]

The threshold is only partially determined by a physician. The other portion is your insurance. Or to clarify, that is in regards to being covered by insurance.

Leave insurance out of it and do self pay.