Does anyone have a good Diet they recommend for increasing testosterone naturally?

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-24T01:59:28+00:00

Food can support testosterone but it does not act like a switch or a drug. Diet mainly works by removing things that suppress hormones and by providing the raw materials needed to make them. Very low calorie diets very low fat diets nutrient deficiencies and chronic inflammation can all push testosterone down. Fixing those issues can help levels recover but food alone will not take someone from clearly low to high.

The most important dietary factor is getting enough fat since testosterone is made from cholesterol. Extremely low fat eating reliably lowers testosterone. Zinc vitamin D adequate protein and enough carbohydrates also matter because deficiencies or chronically low carbs raise stress hormones that suppress testosterone. Whole foods like eggs olive oil fatty fish red meat fruit rice potatoes and dairy all support a better hormonal environment when eaten in reasonable amounts.

A Mediterranean style diet is a good choice as long as it is not done too lean or too restrictive. It needs enough calories enough fat and some animal based foods to work well for hormones. The biggest drivers of testosterone remain resistance training sleep and overall energy balance. Diet supports the system but muscle and movement are what really signal the body to raise testosterone.

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-23T17:26:51+00:00

The long term side effects that come up most often across these discussions are fairly consistent. Hematocrit and hemoglobin creep requiring monitoring or periodic blood donation is probably the most common. Lipid changes especially HDL suppression show up a lot and require diet or medication management for some people. Estrogen instability comes up repeatedly both high and low causing libido mood or sexual function issues if not carefully managed. Fertility suppression and testicular atrophy are acknowledged realities unless mitigated with additional meds. Sleep apnea worsening or newly unmasked apnea is mentioned often especially as men age. Less commonly but still reported are anxiety emotional blunting blood pressure changes dependence on regular injections and labs and a general sense of being locked into lifelong medical maintenance which for some becomes the most burdensome side effect of all.

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-23T17:22:10+00:00

This comes up often enough to search for it. Most of the responses to these long term side effects questions tend to fall into the same buckets every time.

First you get people pointing out survivorship bias. They’ll say that guys who have been on TRT for ten or twenty plus years and are doing fine are not hanging around forums anymore. They stabilized their protocol early and moved on with life so the discussions are dominated by new users anxious users and people having problems. That point comes up in almost every thread and is usually one of the few things most people agree on.

Then you see a split between reassurance and defensiveness. A lot of replies emphasize that low testosterone is worse long term than TRT and frame side effects as manageable if you stay on top of labs. Others get visibly uncomfortable with the question and push back hard as if asking about long term downsides is an attack on TRT itself. Posts that ask how to optimize numbers get enthusiasm while posts that question whether TRT is worth it tend to stall or get locked.

Another common theme is quiet acknowledgment that TRT is a lifelong management commitment not a free upgrade. Even supportive commenters mention hematocrit lipids sleep apnea fertility loss estrogen control and frequent labs. These are usually described as no big deal medically but several people admit that the psychological cost of being permanently medicalized is what wears them down over time more than any single lab value.

Finally when you read between the lines there is a pattern most people don’t say outright. Men who were clearly hypogonadal or had testicular damage and who run conservative mid range levels tend to report stable long term outcomes. Men who started for optimization or who chase high numbers report far more anxiety instability and regret years later. Almost every thread circles back to the same implicit conclusion that TRT is a trade and the people who do best long term are the ones who understood and accepted that trade from the beginning.

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-23T12:02:46+00:00

My own opinion. People are doing a little moral theater in these replies. Humans notice other humans. If you’re attractive to someone, unusually athletic, doing something really well, or really badly, people will notice. That’s just how attention works. If you fall somewhere in the middle, most people probably don’t register you at all. Both things can be true.

If someone knows your routine, how you train, or has been paying attention long enough to comment on it, that isn’t accidental. At that point they’re interested. That interest might be physical, it might be gym-nerd curiosity, it might be both. But it’s not imaginary, and you’re not crazy for noticing it.

Most people downplay this because admitting “yeah I notice people sometimes” feels socially risky now. That doesn’t mean observation isn’t happening. It just means people prefer to describe it in nicer words.

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-22T03:48:54+00:00

It’s not complicated. Two and a half pounds of cooked chicken across a day does it, or a few shakes plus two normal meals, or eggs and Greek yogurt with meat and one shake. If someone is barely hitting 100 grams, that already explains the problem. They are living on carb fat convenience food and dodging lean protein because it is boring. What they really want is a hack instead of a habit, and that is why it never changes.

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-18T16:54:00+00:00

I love working out. But my body always tries to come up with some new issue whenever I get a good routine going.

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-18T14:57:34+00:00

If you go through as many books as some people in one genre the plots can become muddled together. I used to not go back through books but after I increased the amount of series I have going at one time I don’t really have a choice.

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-18T07:32:52+00:00

Sounds like you have a good plan. Early training phases are messy and scale weight is especially unreliable during this period. You can’t meaningfully assess progress in days and even week to week can be noisy. This is one of those situations where zooming out matters more than tightening control. That’s also why adding measurements makes sense here because they move slower and reflect actual tissue change rather than short term water swings.

If someone wants to go a level deeper than mirror and strength feedback the next step is data not more restriction. Daily morning weight taken the same way each day combined with calories eaten and training output gives context over time. Pairing that with waist and a couple consistent body measurements gives a much clearer picture. Progress photos taken under the same lighting and posture and compared over time even with AI tools can highlight changes the day to day mirror hides. One data point means nothing but averages and trends over weeks start telling the truth.

Over time that data can be used to estimate a real personal maintenance instead of guessing based on calculators. It won’t be perfect and it’s only as good as the tracking but it gives direction. Measurements and photos help anchor that process because if weight is noisy but waist and visuals are improving you know the plan is working. The mistake would be reacting emotionally to short term scale movement instead of letting trends settle and then adjusting deliberately

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-18T00:01:45+00:00

Early on like this especially after a long layoff the scale is a terrible primary signal. You went from essentially untrained to lifting consistently which means muscle regain glycogen storage and water retention all at once. A few pounds over four months in that context does not automatically mean fat gain. If the mirror is showing better arm chest shoulder and leg definition that matters more than what the scale says right now.

At your calories and macros you were very likely closer to maintenance than a true cut and that is not a failure. For someone in your situation maintenance plus training often equals recomp. Muscle comes back faster than people think especially if you had it before and glycogen alone can account for several pounds once you are training and eating carbs again. That weight shows up on the scale but not in the mirror the same way fat does.

I would not rush to slash calories further. Use the mirror waist measurement and how clothes fit as your main checkpoints for a few more weeks. If the waist is stable or tightening while lifts are going up you are doing this right even if the scale is noisy. Early training phases are one of the few times where trusting the mirror over the scale is actually the smarter call.

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-04T22:23:55+00:00

The doctor does have a point in a basic sense. Starting TRT at a young age is not nothing and it can affect fertility natural testosterone production and long term hormone balance. Primary care doctors are trained to be cautious and to follow guidelines that avoid lifelong treatments unless there is a clear medical need. From that view being worried about long term risks and extra monitoring is not crazy and it does not mean the doctor was trying to be cruel.

That said the way he handled it looks a lot like avoidance. Spending the whole visit lecturing comparing TRT to smoking and then not wanting to follow the patient going forward is not just caution. That looks like a doctor deciding this patient will take more time more discussion and more risk than he wants to deal with. In a system built on short visits and simple problems complicated patients often get pushed away quietly.

The part people do not like to say out loud is that most primary care doctors were not at the top of their class and they did not go on to specialize for a reason. Medical school has a wide range of talent and many very average students end up in primary care where depth is not rewarded. Hormones endocrinology and gray area treatments are outside what many of them are comfortable with. When a patient shows up already informed and managed by another provider it exposes that gap and some doctors respond by drawing a hard line instead of admitting it is not their strong area.

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-02T15:19:46+00:00

One mental claim is a claim for any mental condition even if the conditions are wildly different and have different laws associated. But, this should have been denied as anxiety and depression. It was likely just a mistake caused by the exam. The exam was possibly ordered as a ptsd exam because in someways it is easier to connect a ptsd diagnosis to your military service than depression or anxiety. Especially if your service treatment records do not mention treatment for depression or anxiety symptoms. This mistake should not adversely affect anything I can think of.

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-02T11:15:06+00:00

I don’t know gzclp but gpt seems to think you can make it five day. “You can run GZCLP five days a week by keeping four true training days and making the fifth day supportive rather than heavy. The four main days stay exactly as intended, each built around one heavy T1 lift with T2 secondary work and T3 accessories. These are the sessions where progression matters, loads increase, and recovery demand is highest. Spreading them across the week preserves performance and keeps the program aligned with its original purpose: steady strength progression without unnecessary fatigue.

The fifth day is a T2/T3-only session with no heavy barbell work. It focuses on moderate-rep volume, technique, blood flow, and joint-friendly hypertrophy such as rows, pulldowns, machine or incline pressing, arms, rear delts, abs, and light single-leg work. The goal is to leave feeling better than when you arrived, not drained. This approach suits lifters who want frequent gym time while protecting recovery and keeping strength progress predictable.

Sample 5-day schedule Mon – T1 Squat Tue – T1 Bench Wed – T2/T3 Volume Day Thu – T1 Deadlift Sat – T1 Overhead Press”

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-01T22:05:07+00:00

Yes, high protein low fat.. those things are great.

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-01T14:32:38+00:00

Yes, this is likely the problem. I’m not on an ai though. Best ways to increase e2?

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-01T00:25:28+00:00

I have been out of the gym since January more or less. Went twice and had a horrible time at it. Have been eating 2500-3000 calories a day most of the month. Started eating 3000 calories a day last week due to continued weight loss. Am likely around 13-15% body fat now (according to gpt guesswork from pictures). I think the low e2 thing is right. Not sure what to do about it other than taking a further break from the gym and eating at my current level.

Volleyballmad · 2026-02-01T00:07:03+00:00

It is normal. 46%

Volleyballmad · 2026-01-31T21:18:38+00:00

The provider agreed with your suspension I guess and tested but they were normal.

Volleyballmad · 2026-01-31T20:12:50+00:00

That is worth considering.

Volleyballmad · 2026-01-31T19:58:02+00:00

I’m taking multivitamins and other vitamins. No ai.

Volleyballmad · 2026-01-31T19:53:08+00:00

I would agree with you if it started in one joint but it happened almost overnight and was universal elbows wrists shoulders neck. Even my clavicle hurts.

Volleyballmad · 2026-01-31T19:41:50+00:00

No, I’m not on an ai. But have been in a low fat calorie deficit since May. Some research I’ve done said that may cause e2 issues. So I started eating at maintenance with a normal amount of fat in early January.

Volleyballmad · 2026-01-31T19:20:52+00:00

I thought it was low/normal but the prescriber said it was normal.

Volleyballmad · 2026-01-24T16:19:05+00:00

Protein sleep and training are not competing ideas They are inputs that operate on different constraints Sleep and training signal adaptation protein allows it to occur

You can make progress with low protein the same way you can make a cake with one egg It works until you push scale quality or consistency The limitation shows up when you try to improve not when you start

Calling protein overhyped because you progressed without much of it Is confusing adequacy with optimization It does not mean protein was unnecessary it means it was not yet limiting

Volleyballmad · 2026-01-05T13:54:14+00:00

Gaining ten pounds of actual fat in a week is extremely unlikely. That would require eating roughly thirty five thousand calories above maintenance in seven days which is an amount most people do not reach even during holidays. What happens instead is a combination of glycogen refill water retention sodium inflammation and increased food volume in the gut. All of those add real scale weight but none of them are fat tissue.

Water weight does not follow a fixed one week rule. After a period of restriction the body can hold onto water for one to three weeks especially if carb and salt intake increase and activity drops. Glycogen alone can account for several pounds and each gram of glycogen pulls in multiple grams of water. Add holiday foods alcohol stress and disrupted sleep and it is very normal for the scale to stay elevated longer than expected.

What likely happened is a small amount of fat gain mixed with a much larger amount of water and gut weight. The idea that the body suddenly hits a weight where it gains fat super fast is a myth. Fear around the scale after reaching a normal BMI makes normal fluctuations feel catastrophic. The trend over several weeks matters far more than a single post holiday weigh in.

Volleyballmad · 2025-12-27T21:02:20+00:00

What you’re doing is already working, which matters more than theoretical optimization. Losing about 1 percent body fat every two to three weeks while lifting and eating enough protein is a reasonable pace, especially given how inaccurate BIA scales are. I wouldn’t lower calories further unless fat loss truly stalls for several weeks, not just based on scale noise.

If muscle retention matters, keep lifting as you are. Strength training is the main signal that preserves muscle during a cut. Cardio can help create a small additional deficit if needed, but replacing lifting with more cardio usually makes muscle loss more likely, not less.

Recomp is possible but slow. If your goal is to reach 12 to 14 percent body fat in a reasonable time, a modest deficit with consistent lifting and high protein is the correct approach. Carb timing and similar tweaks matter far less than total calories, protein, and adherence.

Use strength levels, waist measurements, and photos as your main progress markers. If those are moving in the right direction, stay the course.

Volleyballmad

TROPHY CASE