Breach in etiquette!

[toofy]

Sorry I'm a new guy here and already posted a few times before seeing that I'm supposed to introduce myself! I'm really excited to find this because my exploration of Reddit found so much misinformation and dummies. It's like Lord of the Flies over there but this forum seems much better moderated and has more knowledgeable and experienced folks.

TLDR: 50yo male who recently got healthy and am wanting to grow muscle and lose weight.

I turned 50 last year and after decades of self-neglect and obesity, I had a heart attack. Embarrassing because in college I was skinny and ran 30 miles a week. Now, 8 months later, I am walking 5 miles every morning, lifting 6 days a week, and my weight has gone from 265 down to 170 (95 pound loss). I was over 300 pounds a few years ago. I lost weight too fast and now have some loose skin but it's slowly tightening up a little. Hoping to fill it out with some muscle as much as possible.

I thought about testosterone but bloodwork shows my total test over 700. I know there are other values to consider. I don't like the idea of a testosterone cycle after reading about how difficult it is to come off of it. I definitely don't want to be on it forever.

A recent DEXA scan showed my body fat at 20% but my visceral fat was disproportionately higher (worst 17 percentile). And my IGF-1 was 90 which is the low end for my age. So I started Tesa/Ipa a couple weeks ago. Too soon to really know if it's working but I love the improved sleep. Folks here seem to think going to HGH would be better but I'm gonna check my IGF-1 again after a month to see if the Tesa/Ipa moved the needle any.

 

[trynagains]

Welcome dude. Sounds like a good plan. Congrats on your health wins. Much respect.

 

[Almost Retired]

Our roads sound very similar although I have a few years on you. Congrats on the weight loss and health prioritization. The loose skin really sucks but I saw a guy the other day that was totally ripped and he still had some saggys in the lower AB area. Some say surgical removal may ultimately be the only way to get rid of it, but that would be a last resort for me personally.

I as well had some pause with the “for life” aspect of T, but I try to look at it as any other thing we do to increase our health. We even tailor certain foods to help us if we are doing it properly. I look at it as just another tool in the toolbox, and considering it is widely known these levels typically decrease with age, why not. Of course, as you said, testing and monitoring can’t be ignored.

I posted in my introduction that I was also considering dropping the Tesa/Ipa in favor of the real thing, and my research has shown many people feel this is the right choice. The jury is still out for me, so I’ll be following how others reply to you, and like you, relying on tests. I believe this is also a long term commitment whereas the peps allow for cycling. As far as the sleep, I’m jealous. I take them in the AM because they keep me awake. When I tried IPA/CJC, those did initially help my sleep, but it didn’t last and reversed. I just chalked it up to changes in my body and adjusted the timing.

Best of luck on whatever you decide, just felt compelled to offer my .02 after seeing your story.

 

[adrenalytic]

Welcome. Your test is very good for your age. I would not get on TRT if you don't want it for life. As far as secretagogues (Tesa/Ipam) they are only worth it for the very young. It is a multiplier, somewhere in the 30-40% range. So with your baseline IGF-1 of 90 you would get maybe 30-40 more IGF-1 whereas 2 IUs of HGH will easily put you over 200+. But I guess we all have to learn the hard way.

 

[toofy]

Welcome. Your test is very good for your age. I would not get on TRT if you don't want it for life. As far as secretagogues (Tesa/Ipam) they are only worth it for the very young. It is a multiplier, somewhere in the 30-40% range. So with your baseline IGF-1 of 90 you would get maybe 30-40 more IGF-1 whereas 2 IUs of HGH will easily put you over 200+. But I guess we all have to learn the hard way.

Thanks, that's what I am learning. I got some HGH to move over to probably soon but I'm waiting until I get my IGF-1 this week just out of curiousity.

Looking back, my PCP drew testosterone labs last summer which I didn't realized. My total test at that time was low 500s. Same time of morning but less healthy (overweight, bad diet, etc). I'm thinking about doing a 3-4 month test cycle this summer after my body fat is lower. Right now I'm down to 20% body fat according to a DEXA scan and I want to get down to at least 15% before a cycle.

 

[Mfras]

Welcome. Your test is very good for your age. I would not get on TRT if you don't want it for life. As far as secretagogues (Tesa/Ipam) they are only worth it for the very young. It is a multiplier, somewhere in the 30-40% range. So with your baseline IGF-1 of 90 you would get maybe 30-40 more IGF-1 whereas 2 IUs of HGH will easily put you over 200+. But I guess we all have to learn the hard way.

Welcome. Your test is very good for your age. I would not get on TRT if you don't want it for life. As far as secretagogues (Tesa/Ipam) they are only worth it for the very young. It is a multiplier, somewhere in the 30-40% range. So with your baseline IGF-1 of 90 you would get maybe 30-40 more IGF-1 whereas 2 IUs of HGH will easily put you over 200+. But I guess we all have to learn the hard way.

If you were lean I’d agree with Adranalitic but tesamorelin is known to specifically target stubborn visceral fat. I did 8 weeks of 2mg before bed- paid too much looking back- but noticed notably faster visceral fat reduction on my cut.

Everything else was the same as far as training and my calorie defecit. The losses were logged on dexa scans right before and after and also noticable on the tailor’s tape.

I should be almost 14% now and visceral fat is no longer the problem- only got mostly some stubborn back fat left and some extra skin that spoils the look. I switched to generic gh around 17% and still on it.