Fat to Focused – My Natty Run

[physikar]

Hey everyone,

Figured it was time to stop lurking and actually say hi.

I’m 32 years old and have been training for about 15 years, always natural so far. I had a longer break from 2019 to 2022 where I fell off training and put on a significant amount of fat (thank you covid).

I got back into training around mid-2022 and have been more serious than ever since. I started back at about 230lbs (105kg) and cut down to around 175lbs (80kg) over a little more than a year, regaining a lot of the muscle I’d built earlier, effectively recomping. After that I did a bulk from 175 to 200 lbs over about 6 months, then cut back to ~175lbs again, noticeably leaner at the same bodyweight.
I ran another bulk with roughly the same weight increase over another 6 months, and then decided to do a “proper” cut to single-digit body fat for the first time. I went from about 195lbs (88kg) down to 160lbs (73kg) at my lowest, which I’d estimate around 7% body fat (aware that BIA isn’t very accurate).

I’ve been looking into enhancements for a little over a year now, trying to research as much as possible and reduce any potential risks (if I decide to go down that route). Looking forward to get some feedback and tips.

Not chasing shortcuts, just trying to make an informed choice and avoid the usual beginner mistakes. Looking forward to learning from you all!

 

[Elektrobot]

Hey everyone,

Figured it was time to stop lurking and actually say hi.

I’m 32 years old and have been training for about 15 years, always natural so far. I had a longer break from 2019 to 2022 where I fell off training and put on a significant amount of fat (thank you covid).

I got back into training around mid-2022 and have been more serious than ever since. I started back at about 230lbs (105kg) and cut down to around 175lbs (80kg) over a little more than a year, regaining a lot of the muscle I’d built earlier, effectively recomping. After that I did a bulk from 175 to 200 lbs over about 6 months, then cut back to ~175lbs again, noticeably leaner at the same bodyweight.
I ran another bulk with roughly the same weight increase over another 6 months, and then decided to do a “proper” cut to single-digit body fat for the first time. I went from about 195lbs (88kg) down to 160lbs (73kg) at my lowest, which I’d estimate around 7% body fat (aware that BIA isn’t very accurate).

I’ve been looking into enhancements for a little over a year now, trying to research as much as possible and reduce any potential risks (if I decide to go down that route). Looking forward to get some feedback and tips.

Not chasing shortcuts, just trying to make an informed choice and avoid the usual beginner mistakes. Looking forward to learning from you all!

Awesome

Start with some bloodwork. See if you have any actual testosterone or growth hormone deficiencies. Start monitoring your cholesterol closely. Optimize it. Not just general population in range. Optimized. If you do decide to use gear, it will be wrecked. So start from as optimal a place as you can.

How's your blood pressure?

 

[physikar]

Awesome

Start with some bloodwork. See if you have any actual testosterone or growth hormone deficiencies. Start monitoring your cholesterol closely. Optimize it. Not just general population in range. Optimized. If you do decide to use gear, it will be wrecked. So start from as optimal a place as you can.

How's your blood pressure?

Thanks for the tips. Even as a natty I do regular bloodwork (at least once a year).

My T was always a bit on the low side (~11nnmol/L), last I checked was peak diet, so it was trashed (5.24 nnmol/L). But I never had any issues with the lower T (even when it comes to building muscle). Never checked IgF-1 or GH though.

Since I got fat during Covid I’ve been staying on top of my health when it comes to diet. Not drinking any alcohol, stopped smoking about 3 years ago.

Lipids:
HDL: 53 mg/dL
LDL: 72 mg/dL

Liver:
GOT/AST: 28 U/L
ALT: 22 U/L
gGT: 6 U/L

Hematology
Hematocrit: 43%
RBC: 4.9 mil/muL

Endocrinology
Testosterone: 11.2 nnmol/L
E2: 109 pmol/L
LH: 1.8
FSH: 1.7

Fasting blood glucose: 57 mg/dL
HbA1c: 5%

I measure BP every day at least once in the morning. Always below 120/60, on average: 110/50

I can post the full panel when I’m home.

 

[physikar]

Little delay, but here the full bloodwork I did last (I always put everything in an excel sheet for documentation).

Based on this, my endo actually told me I would qualify for TRT due to the low free T, because my SHBG is quite high. I actually forgot, that in the last test I also did IGF-1, but nothing special here (mid ref range). Given I do not really have symptoms though, I did not look into this further yet.

I appreciate any comments on what could be further optimised.