New and needing help, please

[murphy1]

I am 36, 6'1,190lbs, 20%bf. I have been working out for 3 years, eating well and getting minimal results. My doctor tested me for low t and i came back at 263 (apparently 300-1000 is normal). This explains a lot of my frustration and not getting better results. He has me on a compunded cream of 10mg a day and my number is up to 538. He will probably move it up to 20mg a day to get me into the upper end of the normal range. He is keeping track of my estrogen and I feel like he has a pretty good handle on things. I am considering doing add'l testosterone to get some quicker initial gains. I have several questions:
1. If I do add'l t how much should I do and for how long? I have seen a lot of beginner cycles recommend 400mg a week for 12 weeks, is this a good idea? Could I then just go back to the normal supplement that the dr has me on which he has told me I will be on for life? Would I need pct?
2. I have thought about anavar as a way to lose some belly fat. Other than my mid section fat is not a problem. I have read that my low t has probably contributed to not being able to get rid of belly fat. Will my supplement from the doctor take care of this or will I need extra help?
3. I have also considered HGH for maybe 6 months or so to lose fat and build some muscle, any thoughts on this?
I would like to lose my belly and add some muscle. I dont have any illusions that I am going to get ripped like a lot of the posters here but I would like to look above average for next beach season. Is this realistic? Any thoughts are much appreciated.

[FuzzyPeaches o.O]

Welcome Murphy. All of your questions could be answered with minimal effort and the search button. Read the stickies and educational threads and after that if you want to throw something together and see what we think of that we will be more than happy to critique it.

[gbrice75]

While you may have relatively low testosterone, that is not your problem. At 6'1 190lbs and 20% bodyfat, you have very little muscle mass - you're basically 'skinny fat' (no offense). Again, i'm just basing that on the stats you provided.

I would not run a test cycle. Your bodyfat is way too high and chances of estro related sides are greater. If you really want to do it right, tell your dr. that you are interested in true TRT and not just the topical cream - which is what, Androgel?

Chances are you biggest problem is your diet. I don't know your beginning stats, but after 3 years of training, you should be showing much better numbers. My best suggestion for you is that you get over to the diet section, post up what you're eating in a typical day, be as detailed as possible (macro info will help), and let us help you sort it all out.

Whatever you choose, good luck!

[HawaiianPride.]

Agree. Dial down on the diet. No compound will aid in fat loss if your nutrition is not taken care of.

[zoltans4]

if your doctor is going to get you to the upper numbers and continue bloodwork and take care of sides and PCT and such for you, I wouldn't do anything until I was placed on an ongoing plan or TRT or he stopped, especially with your stats. All this will do is throw the numbers off he is getting from your blood work and such.

[TKO Performance]

I would just allow the TRT to do its thing for now. As stated, it's obvious that your diet needs to be improved if you are not seeing gains. I'm 3" shorter than you, same BF% and 245 after only about two years of being back to training properly, and only about nine months of training with serious cardio added in (and I've been injured for several of those months). By year's end I plan to be down to 225, which will hopefully put me at about 15% BF or lower (if I can gain a few pounds of muscle by then as well). You have plenty of room to gain naturally, but your diet and training need to be dialed in or you are wasting your time. No drug will do what those two can't, and without those two any drug is a waste of time and money because it will not work as expected.