My Thyroid.

[Rev. Zen]

I just got some results back from the doctor regarding my thyroid...

T3, Total = 151 ng/dL
T-3 Uptake = 31%
T-4, Free = 1.2 ng/dL
T-4 (Thyroxine), Total = 8.5 mcg/dL
Free T4 Index (T7) = 2.6
TSH = 3.96 mIU/L

It seems that all my numbers are in the good range, however these numbers are while taking L-Thyroxine on a daily basis.

I currently weigh 245 lbs. I am 6"2" tall and my BF% is 25....

I have been working out about 3 - 4 times a week for the past 9 months, but I seem to be battleing between muscle gain and fat loss. I have definitely gained muscle over the months, as this is the most I have worked out in 10 years, but I would really like to see the weight come down more than it has.

I have been doing some reading and I have found something I would like to try out, it is called Cytomel. I believe that this product, along with my current diet and execise, should really help me to get my BF% down to around 15% or so. Since I am not teh expert, however, I wanted to get some of y'all's feedback on what the best approach would be for me.

I have a fairly decent diet, but it is nowhere near the perfect diet for cutting and I have not really wanted to eat 6 egg whites in teh morning and oatmaeal and chicken the rest of teh day ( I know that most of the cutting diets are a little more elaborate than that, that just seems to be the bulk of them).

half hour cardio on elliptical machine
breakfast = muscle milk oats
snack = muscle milk shake
workout = 20 minutes cardio on elliptical and
5 x 25 pushups
5 x 25 crunches
4 x 4 pull-ups
lunch = turkey burger or veggie burger
dinner = usually not so good, Boston Market or Subway or w/e wife is fixing for the night.


I can work on the diet, but is Cytomel any good for me?

[Spyke]

Dude I would work on the workout. You are not gonna gain much muscle at all using a bodyweight only workout. To gain muscle you need progressive loading, so if you are benching 200 pounds this week you need to increase it to 210 next week, then 220 the following etc. Also to gain muscle you need a surplus of calories. It is very hard to gain muscle and loose fat at the same time for most men. It can be done but you are probably better off dropping the fat before beginning a bulk.

To loose fat you need way more cardio then you are doing. I am thinking maybe 45 min to 1 hour a day 6 days a week. Sounds like you are way too new to even think about adding anything which could screw up your thyroid. Just get a solid workout program going. Diet really doesn't look bad at all to me.

[block]

how old are you? what is your job time like.
your levels are fine here is what I did I am 6-2 230 12% down from 245 16% did it in 3-4 month with diet and some gear not saying that you sould use gear but I needed my mass and strenth to stay the same. wake up 10am 75g pro in fruit blended drink drive to subway double meat 6in ice tea baked chips work out 1-15 min weights 3-4 days ew cardio 30 min intence after weights drive to dinner steak veg only salad and some beer light beer go home relax protien light snack cheese lunch meat not all can do this as I was not working but in 3-4 mon I droped 4% bf and 15lbs while keeping my strenth the same gear helped in that part and it was only var and test cream 20% yes I could have done better butI am not perfect hope this iss some help

[Rev. Zen]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

If I increase my cardio to 1hr a day, can I break it up and do 30 min in the morning and 30 min at lunch, or do I need to do the whole hour at one interval?

BTW, I am 33 and my I have a desk job, so the only physical activity I am getting right now is what I described above.

As for my current workout, I had found this link to a workout plan designed for/by Navy Seals:

http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/brent2.htm

I am currently on week 3 of the workout, and have not included the swimming portion due to having my knee scoped back in June. I had thought that if I could get through this workout, then it would help me increase my strength. I am more than willing to focus more on weight, however, and I will look into trying to find a suitable plan.

As for my diet, I am more than willing to tweak it. I have even wanted to try some of the meal plans that are in the cutting thread, but I think I am going to have to work my way into it.

So for now I will increase my cardio, but I think I will do 30 min in the morning before breakfast and 30 min... along with 30 min of weight training before lunch.

I would like to utilize some supplements. Is hydroxycut a good investment? I have a bunch of supplements a friend of mine told me to get, but I am not sure how to properly take them so that I get their full benefit:

BCAA's
Glutamine
B-6
Green Tea
Flaxseed Oil
CLA

What would be the best use of these and are there any other supplements I can add to get maximum benefit?

Thx for the help guys!

[Spyke]

Screw the hydroxycut and most of that stuff.

That "Navy Seal" program may be ok if your only goal is to drop fat but it will cause you to loose muscle for sure. Do the cardio all at once. Start lifting with a real weightlifting program.

As far as suppliments
multi vit
fish oil
creatine
protein

[perfectbeast2001]

If your BF is 25% the only thing you need to concentrate on is losing some fat. Keep your weight routine going but focus on cardio. Do your cardio AM on an EMPTY stomach for at least 40mins. There is a little equation to work out your ideal heart rate for fat burning. 220-age *.7 this will ensure you don't break down too much muscle. Do another 40mins in the eve. For cardio pick running,rowing,bike,elliptical. Do not swim as this is crap for weight loss. The body disperses heat 20 times more efficiently when in water, heat build up in the body = fat loss. I would not reccomend you use any drugs yet. Get your cardio in order and put a diet into the diet forum for critique. When you have reached a plateau then its time to think about drugs. Other tips I would suggest - drink green tea before cardio. Drink ice cold water throughout the day. Eat 6-8 small meals a day. Keep your carbs fairly low and get plenty of "good fats". Do not eat processed food or any sweets and fizzy drinks.

[Rev. Zen]

Thanks fellas!

I am going to plan to increase my morning elliptical to 45 minutes now. I also plan to switch over from this Navy Seal workout to something with weights, but I want to hold off switching until I find a good weightlifting program that will fit my needs.

I was curious about the heart rate equation, though. I have seen it before and when I use my age (33), I get an ideal heartrate of 130.9. This, to me, seems very low! When I am on the elliptical machine and set myself to a good pace that I feel is giving me a good workout, I usually have a heartrate of about 150.

When I have done 130, it seems that I am going so slow and I feel I am not getting the full benefit of the workout. I just was not sure if this normal. If 130 is my target, then I will definitely slow down, just seems odd to be pulling back on the exertion level....

[perfectbeast2001]

Im 30 and it is 130 for me too. I do 45 mins on elliptical at 130 and come off sweating. How are you reading your HR? if you are reading it by the hand grips get a chest strap as hand grips are V innacurate. If it checks out ok and you still find it easy then just do more time!!

[Rev. Zen]

Yeah, I have been using the hand grips. Think I will go shopping tonight for a chest strap.

[Spyke]

http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/hst_index.html

[zaggahamma]

i always wondered that as well with only needing to be at 130 as i'm 37 and only use the hand grip miracle HR reader but i go around 140 anyway and sweat like a biatch...never tried slowing down cuz i figure i can go higher than 140 so i figure i'm in the zone anyway

[perfectbeast2001]

you will still burn fat if you go above the desired HR but you will also waste muscle. When the body becomes more desperate for energy (at higher levels of cardio) it breaks down muscle tissue for fuel. The trick is to burn as much fat as possible without going catabolic (muscle wasting)

[zaggahamma]

you will still burn fat if you go above the desired HR but you will also waste muscle. When the body becomes more desperate for energy (at higher levels of cardio) it breaks down muscle tissue for fuel. The trick is to burn as much fat as possible without going catabolic (muscle wasting)

i keep forgetting that....bb is such a precise science and i learn more and more about that each day on this forum.....guess chest strap for me soon too!