[[[The 2022 Gym Rats Thread]]] ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ

i'm not lactose intolerant, but there's enough evidence *for me* to be happy to remove dairy from my diet. My hormonal profile and blood / lipid profile (from my 6-monthly blood tests) have shown a positive improvement without it. That said, I do miss yoghurt! I mean I don't go out of my way to avoid dairy, i.e. in a restaurant etc... where I have a choice though I'll avoid it.
 
Freefaller said:
i'm not lactose intolerant, but there's enough evidence *for me* to be happy to remove dairy from my diet. My hormonal profile and blood / lipid profile (from my 6-monthly blood tests) have shown a positive improvement without it. That said, I do miss yoghurt! I mean I don't go out of my way to avoid dairy, i.e. in a restaurant etc... where I have a choice though I'll avoid it.
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Is it the only change from test to test out of interest? Goodness i really need to get tests done just for more data!
 
Syla5 said:
Is it the only change from test to test out of interest? Goodness i really need to get tests done just for more data!
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I can't categorically say that. But from a dietary perspective, everything else has largely stayed the same. My activity levels, and exercise, commute, life stresses have all been as they are and largely uncontrollable.

It would be foolish to assume that, however, I've been largely dairy free for about 2 years now - with the odd treat now and again (as I said I'm not hyper fastidious about it). That said whereas I'd have at least 1 pint a day in the past, I probably have less than a pint of milk a month now.

Other things that have changed are fasting cycles, cold water therapy, meditation and increasing high intensity training - again over he past 2 years or so. All other foods have largely stayed the same, still have treats (i.e. pizzas, or burgers from time to time) not really a sweet tooth so that hasn't changed - other than some nice dark chocolate at easter.
 
Freefaller said:
I can't categorically say that. But from a dietary perspective, everything else has largely stayed the same. My activity levels, and exercise, commute, life stresses have all been as they are and largely uncontrollable.

It would be foolish to assume that, however, I've been largely dairy free for about 2 years now - with the odd treat now and again (as I said I'm not hyper fastidious about it). That said whereas I'd have at least 1 pint a day in the past, I probably have less than a pint of milk a month now.

Other things that have changed are fasting cycles, cold water therapy, meditation and increasing high intensity training - again over he past 2 years or so. All other foods have largely stayed the same, still have treats (i.e. pizzas, or burgers from time to time) not really a sweet tooth so that hasn't changed - other than some nice dark chocolate at easter.
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What would you say is a good alternative for shakes whilst also keeping the calorie intake high?
 
CaptainRAVE said:
What would you say is a good alternative for shakes whilst also keeping the calorie intake high?
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Eat more! :D

Joking aside when I break my fast - bearing in mind once a week I do a full 24hr fast, and 1 day a week I don't fast (i.e. wake up and eat). The rest of the time I follow 16:8 protocol. I get around 3.5k cals per day.

I use oat milk as a dairy alternative and genuinely find it delicious.

Porridge I cook with water - and just add golden syrup or whatever I fancy.
I eat a lot of oily fish during the week - 3/4 times a week (salmon, mackerel, trout).
I get through 2-3 eggs per day.
I enjoy avocados and nuts (mixed nuts unroasted unsalted) and use a lot of nut oils, olive oils (in salads and so on). I also have some very "posh" extra virgin olive oil that I liberally have a "sho" of.
I don't hide from carbs - I eat a lot of them, from cous cous to pasta to rice. I also make my own bread which I devour. A fair amount of fruits too.
Of course I eat meat - mainly chicken as I bulk buy it from our butcher, but enjoy minced beef and pork.
I also make a lot of homemade granolas and mueslis - those are my snacks as well. I add chia seeds and other seeds/nuts to it to add calorific value but also its nutritional profile. A large bowl of this is quite calorific. (Organic oats, coconut oil, maple syrup, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts) you can add mct to it, and tweak the quantities, and just shove in the oven till it's nice and crispy. If you bulk batch cook it, you can even make bars out of it (you could probably add protein powder too - I haven't tried). It's really cheap to make, just bulk buy nuts, oats and seeds - large oven tray after it's all mixed, and it'll keep you going for a while.
Lastly - I also love chickpeas, beans and lentils. So often make salads, and / or dishes or side dishes with them - I also make my own houmous (as being part Greek Cypriot it would be rude not to!).

You can always have protein shakes without dairy if you go for isolates - which has no lactose.

1657638291887.png

These are my cholesterol results over time - with the top left being most recent, bottom right being oldest.
 
1657639845859.png

These are my hormone levels above - you can see that over 3 years or so my test levels have stabilised. Admittedly the first test I was not in a good place, I had had a lot of mental health issues, was stressed at work, and barely did any working out or exercise, ate badly. For my age I'm not naturally going to get much better than that. And it's taken a LOT of ******* hard work - too much. I expect them to drop a bit next time as it is hard to sustain. Oestrogen was interesting, it was really high, and probably directly attributed to stress (at least that's what we think) and diet. I mean it took OVER 3 years to go from the bottom right to the top left. It's great, but **** me it's a lot of effort.

"Normal" levels are below:

Testosterone 8.64 - 29 nmol/L
SHBG 18.3 - 54.1 nmol/L
Free-Testosterone(Calculated) 0.2 - 0.62 nmol/L
Prolactin 86 - 324 mU/L

So I'm nicely in the median which is fine for now. However, the doctors have said that it WILL come down, there's nothing I can do about that, other than TRT, which I may explore in a year or two because frankly I think I'm going to need it, I can't keep this up. As Tom and Syla5 so supportingly said, I'm in the best shape they've ever seen me and they've known me for over 10 years - so that says a lot.

The other things they take are PSA markers, Thyroid function, biochemistry, full blood count, liver function kidney function etc... It's brilliant having all this stuff monitored - not that I'm a hypochondriac, I just like to know that the work I'm putting in is having an impact.

Here's an example:

1657640440629.png

That's my latest test.
 
MikeTheNative said:
I bet that's a bit of a surprise for any guests using it. :p
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Yes it's caught out lots of people over the years for me as I always forget to reset the shower! And we have a lot of friends and family who stay with us. I'm sure they'll try and get me back some time. :cry:

@Syla5 I'll share info shortly. It's a blend of ice baths and cold showers. I'll share the research. Out in London at the moment
 
I'm feeling quite inspired by the stories of people weight loss Journeys. Due to all my driving I've been eating a lot of crap I get while filling up at a petrol stations, so I'm now up to 125Kg. On the plus side it works as progressive overload for my pullups :D .
I need to be more disciplined, and get my weight down.

After some mid year reflection, I need to be more serious with achieving my training goals. I've been eyeing up getting into calisthenics but I haven't taken it seriously. I want to achieve a free standing hand stand, by the end of the year. 10 sec L-sit or maybe even a V-sit. I would like to do a front lever by the end of year but at 189mm I may need longer to get to that level.

I want to get some short parallettes and wrist straps for deadlifts. I've never bought gym gear so I'm clueless here. What brands are worth looking into?
Does the weight rating for the parallettes mean both of them being used together or just one of them?
 
Chuk_Chuk said:
I'm feeling quite inspired by the stories of people weight loss Journeys. Due to all my driving I've been eating a lot of crap I get while filling up at a petrol stations, so I'm now up to 125Kg. On the plus side it works as progressive overload for my pullups :D .
I need to be more disciplined, and get my weight down.

After some mid year reflection, I need to be more serious with achieving my training goals. I've been eyeing up getting into calisthenics but I haven't taken it seriously. I want to achieve a free standing hand stand, by the end of the year. 10 sec L-sit or maybe even a V-sit. I would like to do a front lever by the end of year but at 189mm I may need longer to get to that level.

I want to get some short parallettes and wrist straps for deadlifts. I've never bought gym gear so I'm clueless here. What brands are worth looking into?
Does the weight rating for the parallettes mean both of them being used together or just one of them?
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Honest and brutal advise, sort the diet out first before setting exercise goals for the end of the year. A free standing hand stand is going to be much easier to achieve at a lower body weight for sure. Work out your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and track what you eat using an app or write it all down, for at least a week, everything, so you actually know what you are taking in, then you will know where you need to be to get in to a deficit.

Build up from there by adding in daily walking if you can, or some other exercise, so that you can increase that deficit, and hold yourself accountable. Take pictures, and weigh in regularly, even if things dont move as quickly as you want, or slow down or stop, if you are tracking on multiple levels you will see where/why you might plateau and change something to push on.

In terms of gym gear, honestly get on to FB market place or ebay and just see whats out there first, after that try mirafit. Reasonable pricing for gear thats going to be more then sufficient for your needs.
 
Freefaller said:
1657639845859.png

These are my hormone levels above - you can see that over 3 years or so my test levels have stabilised. Admittedly the first test I was not in a good place, I had had a lot of mental health issues, was stressed at work, and barely did any working out or exercise, ate badly. For my age I'm not naturally going to get much better than that. And it's taken a LOT of ******* hard work - too much. I expect them to drop a bit next time as it is hard to sustain. Oestrogen was interesting, it was really high, and probably directly attributed to stress (at least that's what we think) and diet. I mean it took OVER 3 years to go from the bottom right to the top left. It's great, but **** me it's a lot of effort.

"Normal" levels are below:

Testosterone 8.64 - 29 nmol/L
SHBG 18.3 - 54.1 nmol/L
Free-Testosterone(Calculated) 0.2 - 0.62 nmol/L
Prolactin 86 - 324 mU/L

So I'm nicely in the median which is fine for now. However, the doctors have said that it WILL come down, there's nothing I can do about that, other than TRT, which I may explore in a year or two because frankly I think I'm going to need it, I can't keep this up. As Tom and Syla5 so supportingly said, I'm in the best shape they've ever seen me and they've known me for over 10 years - so that says a lot.

The other things they take are PSA markers, Thyroid function, biochemistry, full blood count, liver function kidney function etc... It's brilliant having all this stuff monitored - not that I'm a hypochondriac, I just like to know that the work I'm putting in is having an impact.

Here's an example:

1657640440629.png

That's my latest test.
Click to expand...
Hey old man, great to see you still kicking it :)

This data is really interesting to see, thanks for sharing!
 
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