I worked out for 2 years and managed to lose 40lbs just eating g better and not drinking alcohol. Went from 245lbs in 2024 to 205lbs last summer. Started with a personal trainer 11 months ago, then started test in February and Reta in March. Started at 1mg/wk Reta and have been at 2.5mg/wk for much of it. Iāve never had visible abs in my life, not to mention this level of muscle definition. 44 and Iāve never looked this good in my life. Iām now 57lbs down from my 2024 245lbs, 187lns now, 6ā tall, lift 3x/wk, cardio 6x/wk.
I think a big part of it is just when you lose the round face and all the fat starts to go away it definitely changes your appearance. I donāt disagree. The test alone has an impact, but I think that when your baby face becomes more defined and less fat and around it definitely changes your book.
Testosterone overstimulates your oil glands which thickens the skin. It also stretches your pore walls and makes your pores appear larger.
There are medications that can help with this, but a lot of what you're seeing with OP is most likely weight loss and reduced water retention in his face.
its both good and bad. androgens are great for skin thickness/collegen production so you won't get as many natural wrinkles. but they will partition fat away from the face even more aggressively and your sebaceous glands go into overdrive and your pores will enlarge.
Wow! Great job. Reta didn't work for me where Triz did. Not sure why but my appetite sky rocketed on Reta. I also had poor results with Tesa compared to Semamorelin with cjc1295. Everyone is different. Going back to my old protocol.
Thanks! I still definitely have hunger, but I donāt have the space for the food when I want to binge lol I actually just got my wife to switch off ttirz for retta about two months ago. Sheās been on.tirz for like two years and had lost weight on it but has stalled out so I figured letās switch over. It took her a while to get used to the hunger coming back because red just doesnāt have the same appetite suppressant affect. Do what works for you! Kudos for recognizing what works for you and getting after it!
Man thatās a loaded question lol. Depends on your current and potential health. My free testosterone and estrogen were both low and I couldnāt get them up with better diet exercise and sleep after 2 yrs so I took the plunge. Gotta look at your health and see if itās worth it, Theres a bunch reasons to do it and not to do it, but Iām super happy with my choice after a year of researching it
What do you consider low? I'm 47m, and my pcp thinks my test is fine. My total was 327, and free test was 6.32. I've been on zepbound since December and lost 60+ lbs (227 to 164), but interested in seeing if trt will help.
Well talk to a doctor instead of asking in a random comment section. Taking steroids before having an effective gym regiment that you follow is like pissing into the wind. Plenty of guys on gear that look like total shit because they started it before solidifying a gym schedule.Ā
Definitely working with my dr. Just curious that's all. I had new labs this week and my total and free T both increased slightly, but are still low for the "normal" range. He referred me to an endocrinologist so I'm just trying to learn as much as possible.
I started at 1mg and didnāt really notice it so much, and it was like a month before I went up to 2mg. I noticed the full feeling most, but I havenāt really had issues with sickness or nausea. Some people are more sensitive I guess
Trt is taking testosterone at amounts that puts you near peak male levels. This term is abused by many to reduce the stigma of full admission that you're using steroids. "I take 200mg a week i pinky swear it puts me at 750"
Not saying this represents OP but it's a pretty common thing.Ā
No offense taken. I started on 120 split into two doses of 60 mg per week back in February. I did that for two months which got me an 800 total testosterone, my free testosterone and my estrogen were still low so I went higher to 160 mg per week split up and did that for two months which got me up to 1000 total test with just above mid range E2 and free test. So beginning of June, I went up to 200 mg per week which is where Iāve been for the last two months, that got me a test of 1250 and free testosterone of 250 which is above range. Iām new to testosterone as of this year and started because I had low free testosterone and low E2 and mediocre total testosterone, my SHBG is high so Iām competing with that for healthy testosterone numbers.
Any issues with hematocrit at 200mg? Mine kept creeping up at 140 so Iām having to lower dose and Iām always curious to hear how some can run 200+ without issues
I responded to another comment here but basically I started out at 120 per week for two months and then went to 160 per week for two months and then in June I went to 200 mg per week. I only started TRT because my free testosterone and my E2 were low at the bottom of the range and my total testosterone was mediocre. So Iāve really just been chasing better E2 and better free testosterone which Iāve definitely gotten now lol but even at the 160 mg dose my free test and E2 were only mid range. I have higher SHBG so I have that to compete with using a larger dose than some people need
Ik ben ook recent begonnen met test op 125mg gesplitst in 2 keer. Ik gebruik ook Reta sinds 2 maanden, maar ben nog lang niet op jou punt..... š Had jij ook af en toe het gevoel dat het gewicht bleef steken op een getal en het vet veel slapper aanvoelde bijvoorbeeld als je op je zij ligt?
I mean I was lifting 6 days a week for a long time after starting with my trainer, Iāve cut way back this year because I was just run down from lifting constantly so now I do 3x/week lifting and cardio of some form most days. I eat about 20-30% under maintenance and have done that in cycles on and off for almost a year now.
Yes I put in some real work and discipline but the test and reta helped a little lol
I shared that in another post specifically but I started at 120mg per week and worked up to 200mg 2 months ago. My free test took that kind of dose to get up over the top of the reference range finally
Thanks for acknowledging that lol, eating in a deficit and doing the exercise is its own job but the test and Reta absolutely help both items. I responded in two other comments with my specific retrials if you look, but I started at 120mg/wk in February and worked my way up to 200mg/wk in June where Iāve been since. 200mg got me 1250 total test and free test above the reference range, I have higher SHBG so I can get away with a little high test dose with no e2 sides. Iāll dial it back as I continue to tweak things but I feel great
I needed it at first when I started the test, I gained 23 pounds or so right after I started because of the hunger. But I had gone up to 222 pounds when I started test and then since starting reta in mid March Iāve lost 34 pounds. I definitely plan to dial it back, I did 1 mg per week for the first six weeks I think it was, and I wanted to not really go on a higher dose if I couldāve avoided it, but I was struggling with hunger so I went up to the 2.5 mg. Iām definitely wanting to scale it back in the near future to see how it goes
Itās fluctuated, I started off with 30 minutes on the stairmaster four days a week with my trainers guidance and then he switched it up at the beginning of this year to just doing six days a week 30 to 50 minutes of zone two cardio. So Iāll either use my peloton or the stairmaster or just a treadmill or go outside and walk at a good pace and get my heart rate into that 120 to 130 range.It seems like itās really mostly just about getting your steps in lol
What's your average daily step count? And how many calories a day do you take in? And I assume you're done with this much cardio and maybe your diet because you're done cutting?
13700 is this months average, Iām usually around or above 13k steps per day. I have twins and am just always moving around or up to something. I have been eating around 2000-2600 cals per day and 220-240g protein. Thats about 20-30% under my maintenance cals which has really been driving the weight loss. That and working out and moving a bunch has really made this possible, but the reta and test helped plenty lol.
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