[Huggy]

Hi Everybody.

A few of you may have noticed a couple of posts I have made recently and that I have hit a bit of a bump in the road of my NBE journey. Too many lbs... in the wrong place... and they won't shift!!

Received wisdom is that moving the male body into the girlie zone with NBE will make it harder to loose the weight. Well, my own experience has definitely confirmed that! And various comments that others have made on here says that I am not alone. So can anything be done about it? Or is it an either/or choice? NBE or weight loss?

Ok, first a bit of context. I am in my 50's and have CFS (Chronic Fatigue), so have to be very careful with exercise. Before I started my NBE I had a successful weight loss programme in place and managed to loose over 45lbs in just a few months (so I know I can do it). Once I got NBE started, my weight loss slowed but wasn't too worried as I seemed to be gaining in the areas I wanted and just accepted it would take me a little longer. But then the weight loss stopped and it actually started to creep up a bit. As an experiment for something else I took a break and almost as a side effect I noticed the weight started to go down again. Then having sorted a revised NBE and diet programme I got back on the wagon with renewed enthusiasm. However, in spite of my calorie intake and exercise now at a level that from past experience should have some serious weight falling off me, it isn't. I have just done a weigh-n-measure, and everything has bumped up!

At first it really knocked me back. But having taken a breath I am not quite ready to give up just yet. I have been trawling through my notes and doing some research and I am beginning to wonder if it may not be as black and white as it first appears. I realise the default answer is to do more cardio, but for me that's not a realistic option. But, I have noticed a number on here who are able to do what seems like quite vigorous exercise and are not getting the desired results either. So is it just possible we are looking at this wrong? I came across this link and I wonder what you all think?

http://www.livestrong.com/article/226085...t-working/

Also, there seems to be a growing body of evidence that our weight is more a product of our body's hormone and chemical balance than a simple calories in - calories out equation. The very thing we are tinkering with NBE?

So what to do? Honest answer is I don't know and I am posting this to get your views and ideas? However, I do have a couple of thoughts.

Men find it easier than women to loose weight. But in our drive for boobs n curves could we be making things more difficult for ourselves than we need to? Are we missing a trick by trying to hammer down testosterone (and DHT?) too far? It's been clearly shown that low T can cause depression and lethargy and lower stamina, as well as make towards weight gain. But then add on top of that going full tilt for aromatise and further ramping up the oestrogen levels with higher dose supplements, why should we be so surprised that we feel knackered and can't loose the lbs?

Also, some of the tools we use here are also associated with weight loss programmes. For example:

Low dose (under 500mg) of PM can help with weight loss and appetite reduction.

Low dose (between 300mg and 500mg) FG has been shown to help with weight loss and reduce fat absorption in the diet.

Vitamin D3 (if deficient, and a lot of us are) can help with weight loss and in particular with visceral fat.

Coconut oil is also regularly included with weight loss programmes (Google coconut oil and diet and see what I mean!).

EPO and especially Green Tea also come up high on the list.

Now correct me if I am wrong, but even that short list almost has the making of an NBE programme?

What do you think?

[tanysquirrel]

Best check your thyroid. A simple test with a thermometer should help. If you fall below 98.6 consistently, it is a good sign of inactive/ hypothyroid. And/oriodine deficiency. I was having issue with weight loss..started taking liquid iodine under the tongue. Vitamin A is also needed for iodine absorbtion. Weight started slipping off me. Have not altered my nbe routine either.

I have addef a green tea fat burner as well... i am primarily taking the green tea for its ability to lower T. There is a thermogenic reaction to the fat burner.

[Billie]

From my experience we need to look at our genes and family traits to solve weight and other health issues. My family has a history of bad backs. Walking and stair climbing is the type of exercise I can tolerate. Also my grandmother was a endomorph round large lady large chest. I think I take after her. I think I could have a great chest if i can grow to one size smaller than her. But I have to accept my stomach probably wont be trim. I have to offer some grab bars, hand holds and love handles.

http://www.bodybuildingpro.com/bodytypeinformation.html

[Huggy]

Best check your thyroid. A simple test with a thermometer should help. If you fall below 98.6 consistently, it is a good sign of inactive/ hypothyroid. And/oriodine deficiency. I was having issue with weight loss..started taking liquid iodine under the tongue. Vitamin A is also needed for iodine absorbtion. Weight started slipping off me. Have not altered my nbe routine either.

I have addef a green tea fat burner as well... i am primarily taking the green tea for its ability to lower T. There is a thermogenic reaction to the fat burner.

Hi Tanya

Very aware about the thyroid and using iodine to help it. Have had a history of minor thyroid issues over the years and actually had a whole bank of tests including MRI scans not that long ago. Felt a bit foolish actually. Turned out my thyroid had settled some time ago and the iodine I was taking had actually started to cause issues. Was a salient lesson for me. When we need these things they can be great, when the body doesn't need them we can actually do ourselves harm.

Appreciate the suggestions though :-)

Huggy.

[Huggy]

Hi All

At first I thought that for me the weight issue was as much a case of not being as active as I would like, as the NBE itself. Thankfully for most here this does not appear to be an especially difficult matter to deal with and it is possible to control weight using normal methods. Unfortunately I now cannot ignore the evidence that for me it is a real issue, and it seems that I am not the only one.

All indications are that I have naturally high DHT/T levels and I had to work really hard to get into the NBE zone. I ended up by having to take high doses to beat down the DHT/T beasties, but once I had achieved that I started to get real results. But then I noticed a negative effect on my weight loss programme which was previously going well. Plus my fatigue levels began rising again, and if I am honest I got a dose of the glums too.

For those of us with this specific issue I wonder if a more nuanced approach may be necessary? Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that a body that has for all it's adult life been under the control of high levels of DHT and T, would not react so well to having these powerful hormones substantially reduced while ramping up others?

So I pose the question: What would an NBE programme look like that takes care not to undermine too much a higher metabolic rate and muscle influenced by T so we can loose the weight and keep fit, but still moderate things enough to allow the affects of oestrogen to give us the curves we want?

I am still trying to get a handle on this (loosing weight while on NBE not love handles, got them! ;-) so would really appreciate and comments or suggestions anyone could make.

Huggy.

[julieTG]

Huggy

you have me intrigued and I think you may be onto something ,

also look at the profile of

sfem and pansy

They both take low doses and have amazing growth BUT look at thier body frames

Their like atheletes ???????


Julie

[Huggy]

Hi Julie

You know what? I do actually think I am onto something here. The more I am looking into this the more I am seeing a pattern. There definitely seems to be a link between NBE and weight. In fact the links extend well out into other health issues, but that take us well beyond the confines of this forum, and the capacity of my addled brain too :-)

Thanks for the suggestion of checking out the profile of Sfem and Pansy. I have had a quick run through Sfem's post, and although he doesn't make a big thing of it I did notice that he refers to holding on to weight more when on PM and issues with strength and fitness. So perhaps it's more of a common problem than I realised? Just that I am at the more extreme end of this particular issue?

A plan is slowly forming in my mind. Still trying to formulate all the factors as I don't think I have it together enough yet, but making progress. I will admit that it's not so easy doing this in isolation, and the way the CFS affects the brain it makes concentrating for any length of time a problem. It would really help if there was someone to bounce ideas around with.

Exciting times though :-)

Huggy