Hormone Replacement Therapy can change your entire life in ways you never thought possible, but not if you don’t follow these simple rules…
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So what happens if you don’t feel your hormone therapy protocol is working? Now, of course, there’s the obvious chance that your protocol needs to be adjusted, but there’s another possibility which happens to be far more prevalent. And this is the one that usually pisses people off. But we’re not here to make friends. We’re here to get results. So this needs to be said.
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So every now and then I’ll get this message from someone saying their protocol isn’t working and at Viking we pride ourselves on exceptionalism because mediocracy is not an option. So not feeling great as far as we’re concerned is a serious problem. But hormone therapy is a very individualized process. And unfortunately, trial and error is often just a necessary evil. So the first thing we’ll do is review recent lab work. Maybe their estrogen is elevated, maybe it’s their prolactin. They may need more or less testosterone.
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Is there hematocrit out of control? There’s a list of things to look for. And as I’ve said, that’s the obvious place you’re going to start when diagnosing an issue like this. But to be honest, in my experience, that’s not usually it at all. So once we’ve eliminated the obvious, I’ll ask the question. Rate your diet on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being you eat pizza all day and 10 being you eat nothing but chicken, breast and broccoli.
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And I’m usually told it’s probably somewhere around three or four. Then I’ll move on to next regular exercise regimen, one being you never leave the couch and ten being, you never leave the gym. And I’ll usually get the same response of somewhere around three or four. So I’ll say, well, that’s your problem. And after I get the usual look of confusion, I’ll explain what I mean with that statement. You can’t just lay your fat ass on the couch eating Cheetos and Pop Tarts while you stick a needle in your ass twice a week and expect miracles.
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I don’t even know where you get that idea. In fact, for most people, one of the symptoms that drove them to hormone therapy in the first place was chronic fatigue. So once you start your hormone therapy protocol, you’re going to want to increase your activity level. And yes, initially it might not be easy because your body has conditioned itself over time to be lethargic. But I guarantee you, if you get your body into a gym, be it a home gym or a commercial fitness center, you’ll start to feel better in a matter of a week or so, especially as the increased testosterone level enhances your strength, performance and recovery.
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And you don’t need to become a gym rat to get results. 30 minutes a day is all it takes. And don’t tell me you can’t find thirty minutes out of twenty four hours to exercise. Alternate your days with both strength training and cardio because they’re both important. Also, when it’s time to exercise, then exercise. Don’t be one of those people that worked their mouth out more than their muscles. It’s only 30 minutes for the love of Jesus.
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Make it worth it. If you have a propensity to become distracted than wear headphones and spend the entire time in silence like a Buddhist monk. Because when you spend your time gabbing to other people, you’re wasting their time, too. We’ve all heard the guy that says he works out for two hours a day. No, you work out for fifteen minutes and you bother the shit out of everyone else for the remainder of the time. And you know that guy.
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So personally, I don’t think you should even start TRT if you’re not willing to exercise. Exercise is what keeps your body from dying. If you don’t stretch your muscles and cardiovascular system, your body has no reason to remain healthy. The reason most people over the age of 40 are unhealthy is from lack of exercise, plain and simple. Your entire body starts to atrophy and you look and feel like shit. And as an added bonus to exercising on a regular basis is it’s easier to make good food choices.
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You start to think, I just worked my ass off for thirty minutes today and I’m not going to ruin it by eating that, because if you consistently put garbage into your body, you’re going to get shitty results. That’s just common sense. So stop doing it. But it tastes so good I just can’t quit. Well, hopefully you’re going to like the taste of Crestor when your cholesterol is checked. Maybe you like the taste of lisinopril when your blood pressure’s through the roof.
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Maybe you’ll finally regret your eating habits the day you’re forced to inject insulin into your body just to keep your blood sugar regulated. And yes, while these conditions can be genetic, they are far more often caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. You remember when you were five and you thought you could stop a car with your foot and by the time you were ten, you realized how stupid that was. Well, expecting to eat like crap while remaining healthy is just as stupid, especially if you’re over the age of 40 and you don’t have to eat lettuce and tofu to have a healthy diet.
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Follow the 80-20 rule, eat clean for 80 percent of the time and do whatever the hell you want for the other twenty. You don’t have to be the guy in the corner chewing on a broccoli stalk while everyone else is eating pizza, because doing that is just as stupid as talking to everybody in the gym. So in my opinion, if you’re not willing to watch your diet, then you shouldn’t start hormone therapy because you’re not going to get the results.
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Testosterone therapy isn’t a magic elixir, but if you do these things in conjunction with it, if you exercise moderately and maintain a healthy diet, your hormone therapy will be the best thing you’ve done for yourself in decades. You’ll be a brand new person both mentally and physically. You’ll have more energy, less brain fog. You’ll perform better sexually, you’ll lose weight. You’ll literally feel like you’ve gone back in time. It’s kind of like the mindset from the movie Jerry Maguire, where Tom Cruise says to Cuba Gooding Jr.
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. Help me, help you.
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Help me, help you.
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And he said that right before he said the other thing, which I’m pretty sure was “You are never too old to live like a Viking”, but that part was kind of hard to understand so you might have missed it until next time. Peace out.
