Fiddleman

I am due for my 1 year post op blood level checks and will see where the levels are at. I do try and drink as much water as I can short of a hour before bedtime to prevent a large number of bathroom trips in the middle of the night.

How exactly should these be fitting? Definitely feels snug, but not super tight. Should we be targeting a slightly smaller size then outer clothing size? The problem with my size is that it seems to be 1/2 way between medium and large. I am sure I will continue to bulk out over time, but that is the way it is now. Should it be a struggle to get in and out of these? I do not have much of a struggle, but, again, they are snug against the body and hold everything together fine.

Why can I not find something that is designed like a rumble roller!! http://www.rumbleroller.com/ It would be perfect! The perfect amount of stimulation. So far my experience with "ultra ribbed" condoms has been, well, not so ribbed. After losing 180 lbs, I could use these to help me with the ecstasy factor in the bedroom. Men, I do have to tell you that losing the gut stomach and getting into "fit shape" has been a whole different experience, one that lasts and lasts and lasts. Ok, I better stop because I know the women are reading this post as well.

Ms skinniness - what can I say that has not already been said? They are all right. You look good and should be very proud of what you have accomplished. I know many, many people appreciate your expert therapeutic advice, including myself.

Great job! You have come a long ways.

It makes perfect sense. Appreciate the details. I've been trying dim out for a few days, but am going to dive into some more personal research before continuing on it. No loss for me to put it aside for now. I thought it might help with reducing the fat percentage in the body so wanted to try it. If it is dangerous, no need for me to take it. I guess I get a little impatient with results that are visible in the mirror sometimes despite a lot of nutritional and strength training effort day in and day out, month after month. The prize will be worth it though. And I am not just talking about aesthetics; rather, looking forward to having big time strength and agility to be a serious compete in athletic events. This is coming from someone who has never been an athlete ever. That challenge motivates me.

Thanks everyone. Let me tell you it is a lot of consistent work in nutrition and strength training. Hopefully the next update in the future will be a whole upper body shot. My strength comes from functional body weight exercises (burpees, box jumps, hand stand push ups, regular push-ups, pull ups, planks, lunges, dips, hip raisers, etc) and compound lifts ( squats, dead lifts, cleans, bench presses, etc) at cross fit. No machines for me. Some dumbbell training at home, but mostly body weight exercises.

Puja- dim reduces the balance of estrogen in the body in favor of testosterone. Thanks for the information about DHEA. It being a precursor, it does not seem like consumption of this supplementation is synonymous with "taking extra testosterone." That is where I have a disconnect with your explanation (which is wonderful information).

Good luck BTB!

Buplee- so I went out to Sports authority yesterday and tried on some different compression clothing ( both top and bottom). I found that medium bottom and large top work the best. I was trying on a medium top and I had to do a strange dance to get out of it. Lol. I wore them today during my workout and found it did make a difference in jumping exercises like star jumpers. I got more air. I will see how they work out tomorrow during my cross fit lifting. Thanks again.

Misty- thanks for the additional anatomical information with regards to estrogen (never took biology or anatomy in my formal education). Did not know the specifics about where estrogen is generated in the male, but that is practical information to know it comes from specific locations. I love that there are all sorts of people with different knowledge bases on VST in order to fill in my own knowledge base about the human body. My mind is a curious magnet for information, no matter what the subject is. Cheers!

Modest are you, Around?

Slept on back at first for a week and then on side after returning home the next week. It took about 3 weeks until sleeping on stomach. For the first few nights in hospital, sleeping at all sucked. Too many nurses, doctors and beeps in the middle of the night, plus you just feel cruddy. Sorry to be blunt, but that is the truth. I have had some insomnia in the last year every few months, but nothing that could not be handled with a sleep aid or a little melatonin. My recommendation is to sleep as much as you can in the first week to help the healing process along. Continue to try and get 8-10 hours a night until you feel yourself again. For most, this could be anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months. It all depends on your energy levels and how well you heal up inside. Take it easy and let people around you wait on you for the first month. Good luck!

Others are mentioning cost of their trainer, so here is mine. My trainer costs 750 for 18 training session (most affordable way to do it). We train together 2 days a week, so that works out to be 42 dollars an hour or about 333 dollars a month. Worth every penny. In the fall time, I will be purchasing open gym at 150 a month and will have had almost a year of cross fit personal training. I feel I will be ready to go head to head with the athletes that are in the gym (can't wait!!!) There is 20-30% discount from that monthly open gym price if I purchase 3 or 6 months in advance, respectively.

I would like to ask a question on this thread that relates to balance of hormones and shifting the body into fat metabolism. It is related to this thread topic and response above, I promise. A lot of health stores sell a product pair called Dim and DHEA for shifting the balance of sex or anabolic hormones in men towards more optimal Protein synthesis. Dim is short for diindolylmethane and DHEA is short for dehydropiandrosterone. Long names, I know. Both hormone precursors are naturally produced by our bodies or can be extracted by the body from cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage. Dim and DHEA supplementation works by freeing up the available "free" testosterone and reducing bad estrogen in the body in order to develop more "manly" characteristics and improved protein synthesis. Many elite athletes uses these supplements to get their body into optimal conditioned form. I have read that DHEA can be a precursor to either testosterone or estrogen metabolites and has a certain probability of metabolizing into either. There are good forms of estrogen and bad forms of estrogen. The good form of estrogen is needed by both men and women to support the shift of body composition to more muscle rather then more fat. Bad estrogen does the opposite which causes the body to store more fat and, in men, leads to other undesirable "womanly" Characteristics. It seems like a gamble as to which metabolite is going to form after the treatment of sex hormones with DHEA. Dim is used to reduce the bad estrogen levels in the body. A lot of weight gain can come from too much bad estrogen in the body. For men, 400-500 mg dim is recommended for increasing fat metabolism and promoting weight loss / lean muscle. Maintenance dose of dim is 100-200 mg. Recommended dose of DHEA is 100 mg. Given my short description on natural hormone therapy above using Dim and DHEA, why would DHEA be recommended at all in combination with dim if there is a chance of the outcome being good estrogen versus bad estrogen metabolites? Why not just use a recommended Dim dose alone to increase the availability of "free" testosterone in the body. Is there a clear advantage of using both Dim and DHEA together? From my initial understanding, the answer is no to the above questions. I would love to hear an opinion from someone else.

Love the responses! This is valuable information. Thanks both!

Itsme, thanks for the warning. Very much appreciated. I do not feel comfortable with trying to supplement the RDA with this product because not only your warning on potassium, but also the very high dose of magnesium one would hit. I will probably return it given it is not going to help effectively. Per the food link I posted above, I am going try sourcing my potassium and magnesium requirements directly from food. Probably the best foods will be salmon, spinach, bananas, coconut Water and white Beans. I eat a fair amount of salmon now so am happy to hear that it is going to be a strong contributor to potassium requirements.

This link has some really useful information on foods high in potassium. http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/food-sources-of-potassium.php The herbs listed in the first row at the bottom appears to be the clear winner for most nutrient dense punch. However, you would have to eat like a bowlful of herbs. Lol. Bookmark this page for future reference if you are wondering about the best sources of food for potassium. And whey powder is on that list too. You know we all drink Protein shakes so this should be an easy source for most!

I need a trainer who is an expert and authority in their technique and has a coaching style that is both motivational and fun. I need to be challenged in a progressive way so my goals will be met. I want to be able to click with my trainer and they need to listen to what I have to say if I am going to be working with them long term. So far I think my trainer has been stellar and has met this criteria since I have been working with her for the last 7 months. I look forward to 2 workouts a week to keep breaking one PR after another and a chance to put my all into a training session. I like to be challenged and literally each workout is unique and challenging. Hope this helps.

I am currently drinking synth 6 as a recovery shake, muscle milk lite as a breakfast shake and gold standard casein as a bed time shake (real food at other 4 "meals"). All can be found at Vitamin Shoppe. If you are picky about flavors, as I am, you might need to order them online. I like to have cake batter, cookies / cream and double chocolate for muscle milk lite, synth 6 and gold standard, respectively. Note my tastes are more towards sweet, but I love them every day. You can usually find less sweet or fruit flavors by looking in one of the health stores ( vitamin shoppe is my preferred place) or at Amazon ( sells literally everything).

Really great idea. I have been think about wearing compression to hold everything tight when working out and also to flatten out a little bulge around my belly button until it is eradicated with fitness. I also like the idea that compression garments might eliminate the need for a TT if it indeed helps the skin bounce all the way back in problem areas ( for me, again, is right around bely button in addition to high up on the inner thighs). No one sees those places except my wife and I, but I look at it every day, especially in a sitting position, wondering "when?"...

Ha! If you ever get "too good" at squats and lunges you are doing a-ok in my book. I love both exercise now where I could never do them preop. In addition to adding weights, also try adding jumping into the movements, getting air. For squats, explosively jump from lower sumo squat position, getting air, before landing and lowering into lower sumo squat position. For lunges, explosively push up from bottom lunge position and jump into the air before landing on opposite foot positions. I believe this is like adding weight because as you accelerate off the ground, you are engaging a lot of muscles and increasing your effective weight by resisting the pull of gravity. You can make it continually harder by increasing the explosiveness or the amount of vertical air you get ( both requires greater force which requires your muscles to contract more).