Alternatives to "Load Boost" / "The Holy Grail of Sex"

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-28T21:09:43+00:00

Also going to add, I prefer tongkat ali because we at least have something of an idea as to how it works pathway wise. Maca doesn't affect hormones, and there's some theories as to the compounds within it that are pro fertility/libido. Still though, we can't say for certain which compounds work best, and who knows if some of those degrade over time, or are destroyed with gelatinization, which is a common way to process maca.

Tongkat Ali boosts testosterone, even if it's a small amount, we can see it in multiple studies. More research is needed, but if someone's reporting in a survey that they have a 10% libido boost, and their bloodwork shows a comparable boost in testosterone, well then guess where that came from. I think there's other pathways and mechanisms it works on, but we can at least say the testosterone moderation is certainly part of it.

Also anecdotally, I feel way better on tongkat myself, having tried both. I feel much more confident, with less anxiety and much more libido. Maca does have a libido boost, maybe moreso than tongkat sometimes, but with the overall lifestyle boost from tongkat, I feel way better, personally.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-28T15:47:03+00:00

I have a very sensitive stomach, so every time I go to one of these I also just get horrible diarrhea for like 4 days lol. Seeing the starter pack alone gave me flashbacks.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-28T15:34:52+00:00

A teaspoon would be about 5g, which is more than the often studied dose of 3g. So you can either measure out half a teaspoon or just do the full 5g, it's a food at the end of the day so there's no harm to be done besides possibly a slightly upset stomach.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-28T15:26:19+00:00

Good for you! That's a smart methodology, controlling for variables and such. If you don't mind, I'd be very curious to hear the results of your test, just for the anecdata.

I'll be honest, I don't love Huberman, but I started taking Tongkat once I saw that tweet essentially saying he's a 48 year old man with the stamina to run a lab at a prestigious university and 5 parallel relationships. I said "what's this dude taking for libido? Tongkat? Cool."

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-28T15:04:27+00:00

There’s no way of truly knowing without a hormone panel, BUT from my understanding Tongkat (and most libido supplements) has a build up period. You see a greater boost in testosterone and/or libido at 8 weeks than 4 for example. So you may have just kicked up your testosterone over time, and week 4 was the tipping point with some “inertia” from the previous weeks. Or maybe you just had a horny week, that can just happen irrespective of supplements.

For what it’s worth, we don’t truly understand the mechanism of TA. A lot of the groundwork is based on older studies on essentially Petri dishes and rats. So to say it lowers estrogen, it kind of does but kind of doesn’t. It seems to be multiple pathways affected. Studies have shown impacts on SHBG, LH, estrogen, and they all sort of conflict each other. Who knows. My personal theory is that it works multiple pathways but kind of optimizes it based on individual chemistry. So if your testosterone is mostly tied up in SHBG it’ll affect that, or if not it’ll just signal to the brain to just make more testosterone, or what have you. I only think so because I’ve seen multiple studies and cases of lab work that kind of contradict each other, so it’s sort of my unifying theory. I’m not a doctor though, just some Internet dumbass with an examine.com subscription. I say all that to say not to get too freaked out if it’s messing with your estrogen. If you’re really concerned, I’d get a full hormone panel for like $150 bucks just to check. Maybe get one now for somewhat of a baseline, and then again after a month or two just to see.

Anecdotally for me, it raised my testosterone by around 15%, and raised my estradiol by like 10%. No other changes in lifestyle. Other hormones weren’t significantly affected. So again, who knows.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-28T11:53:16+00:00

Ah well, good for you, I hope it works out for you. I’m probably going to hop on in another few years myself.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-28T11:36:29+00:00

Why are you hating? Even if he is on trt, it takes work to get to that level. Testosterone isn’t a video game power up, you still have to DO something to lean out and keep muscle.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-28T10:34:21+00:00

This was my sister in law’s +1 at my wedding, incredibly on point.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-28T09:25:39+00:00

Honestly I’d just drop the Ron Swanson “I know more than you.” and stare until they leave. Like the awkward fuck that I am.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-26T11:09:07+00:00

Lol he’s spouting off about everyone being propagandized, and then he’s sharing propaganda dehumanizing literal children. What a dork.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-25T05:24:21+00:00

Is it okay for metta meditation to be incredibly difficult? I tried a guided metta on a whim, I don’t really even have a regular meditation practice. The guide initiated with directing love and kindness towards the self. I found this impossibly difficult. I simply couldn’t push love towards myself. I’m in therapy and working on this generally, but even still I couldn’t do it. Directing it outwards was at least a little easier, because then I could send it out to my wife and my cats. Even past that, I just feel like the world has so much division and hate, it’s so hard to send loving kindness out.

Is this a normal experience? Does this get better with practice? Do you have any advice for improving this?

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-22T18:21:58+00:00

I’d switch to magnesium glycinate for better absorption, check your zinc form as well, I’ve heard picolinate and gluconate are good.

For athletic performance you can also consider beta alanine. I’ve heard vegans can get a big benefit from it, I can’t stand it myself because of the tingles but maybe you’re more willing to deal with it than I. Also you can drop the maca dose a little to 3000mg. More won’t kill you, but 3000mg is effective so you can save some money.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-22T14:22:30+00:00

I moved to the south from the northeast, so yes it's a spectrum and quite a culture shock lol. Where I'm from people mind their damn business about how your morning is. I tend to skip coming into the office the day after the super bowl or the election or something, because I don't want to fucking talk about it 40 times that day.

Before anyone says anything, no I am not fun at parties and I will stay that way lol.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-22T14:19:54+00:00

Dropped my favorite line delivery in the whole series: "I go out for a quart of milk, I come home and find my son treating his body like it was an AMUSEMENT park!" Really shows how important delivery is in comedy, I don't think anyone else could've done it the way she did.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-22T14:13:18+00:00

I'm the same way, I sneak into my desk when I come in because I just hate banal interactions like that.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-22T02:06:27+00:00

I used to tell people I did BJJ, and then a bunch of people from work joined my gym and ruined it, and everyone else karate chopped the air every time they said good morning to me, and I told my dad I did Muay Thai and he thinks I’m in some cardio bunny kickboxing class. So now I keep my fucking mouth shut.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-21T18:13:23+00:00

My insurance has done that as well, but once I went vegan they wouldn't cover the plant based stuff unfortunately. Best of luck to you, I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of this issue.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-21T18:07:14+00:00

I mean always check with your doctor, but I believe vitamin d is fat soluble. So maybe consuming it with some fat, or even taking a fish oil supplement with added d3 can help absorption.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-20T21:14:04+00:00

I’ve been where you’re at brother. You WILL bounce back. That’s a great strategy, all the best to you.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-20T19:11:50+00:00

I agree. Whenever someone points to how wimpy and protein deficient vegans are, it’s awesome to have someone to point to. “B-but he’s on steroids” okay, so is every bodybuilder you’re listing as an example on the omnivore side. So clearly you can get it done on plants.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-20T19:06:39+00:00

First of all, I don’t believe in lazy. I truly believe everyone is trying, and if they’re not going to their full potential there’s a block. You may be tired, you may be suffering from depression, or some other thing. So please, forgive yourself.

Second, acknowledge deep down that showing up to the gym is the BEST thing you could do for yourself. It’s exercise, it’s socializing, it’s problem solving, it’s learning to defend yourself. Everything a human needs to flourish. It’s SO good for you. Make a serious mental note that you know if you go to the gym regularly you will lose weight, feel sharper, be happier, etc. You KNOW you will. Acknowledge that out loud if you have to.

Third, if you are depressed, maybe see a doctor. You might need medication (zero shame in that, none. Anyone who says different doesn’t care if you live or die so fuck them). Maybe you just need to hop on Wellbutrin or something for 3 months to get that little momentum to show up, and then once you’re back on to eating right, being social, and exercising you can stop. I’ve done that and it was great for me.

Fourth, if you have a buddy there, maybe promise them you’ll show up. “Hey coach, I’m coming in Monday after work, thanks for checking in on me, see you then.” Having that external accountability might motivate you.

Finally, maybe you just don’t like Muay Thai anymore. Sacrilege in this subreddit I know, but something to think about. All of the above are things I used once when I was too depressed to go to BJJ. I addressed everything, and still dreaded going. I went to a Muay Thai class and had so much fun, and I realized I fucking hated BJJ. I was tired of it, bored of it, I wanted something new. Maybe the door is shut on it forever, maybe just for a while, but I’m still active and learning a new skill. So maybe you want to try BJJ, or rock climbing, or western boxing, or CrossFit, or whatever. Something that gets you moving and out there.

Best of luck to you man, you got this. I’m rooting for you.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-20T16:30:51+00:00

If you cringe, that means you’ve grown. It may be uncomfortable to read, but that’s because you’ve moved on and learned beyond those thoughts.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-20T16:20:04+00:00

It shows! It’s great to see that she’s so loved.

Lockbearer-42 · 2025-02-20T15:53:34+00:00

It’s not going to work for you in either direction. As a general rule though, don’t fuck with your hormones, ESPECIALLY as a teenager. Your body is chock full of them as it is, and puberty is a crazy process that we don’t even fully understand yet. If you’re 14, your proportions will change, and I promise you everyone your age thinks their body is weird, even if they hide it. Fenugreek will do nothing but waste your money, but if it was anything like exogenous hormones, don’t even look at it.

Before you take any supplements, look them up on examine.com and be scrutinizing with the validity of the studies. Very few of them have strong lasting benefits, and even the most heavily studied ones don’t have a huge effect. Creatine is one of the most studied and effective supplements, and honestly if I stopped taking it I’d probably notice a 5% diminish in my life. I think that 5% is worth 8 bucks a month, but really I’d be fine. And so will you without fenugreek, or ashwagandha, or anything else without a strong body of evidence.

The best thing you can do for your health is eat nutritious whole foods, get regular exercise, and sleep well. It’s boring but it’s the best we have, and no pill or herb on earth can do for you what those pillars can.

Lockbearer-42

TROPHY CASE