cytomel-should I use it?

[overactive-girl]

I have recently heard about cytomel. I am female and I am unsure if this is safe for a girl to use. I am 5'3" and 125 lbs. with about 22% body fat. I have been training regularly for a year and have been seeing steady results, but I want to lose about 8% body fat as quickly as possible so that I can finally show off all of my newly gained muscle. I have been doing lots of cardio and changing my routine often enough to avoid adapting-- but I don't want to up my cardio because at this point I will be risking overtraining.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
thanks

[Dante]

Cytomel (T-3) is not that which one would passively task use of. Along with use comes serious risks such as high blood-pressure (worries of strokes and concerns along those lines) and Thyroid down-regulation (which is why those that take use of such a thing pyramid up and then taper downward; some stick to a low dose and keep it at that level throughout the duration of use).

As well, one risks the loss of muscle tissue when using T-3 without the presence of exogenous Anabolic/Androgenic steroids. Certainly a helpful aid, but one that needs to be considered in the light of potential risk.

Have you taken ECA stacks or Yohimbine HCL? Mention such things, and we'll take it from there.

[demetri]

T3 is good to use when dieting to optimize your thyroid. Before you can do that you need to find out if your thyroid needs optimizing. This is best done with a blood test and your Doctor will tell you if you're in the "normal" range.

I've loaned out my book with the optimal range for thyroid hormones and I can't remember off the top of my head what the ranges are. You can also gauge this with body temp (which is what I did) to figure out your dosage, but without a blood test you're really flying blind. The morning body temp you want is between 97.8 and 98.2.

I took my temperature every morning for a couple of months prior to dieting. You can see a marked drop when I started to diet. Which usually indicates that your T3 is low, just not why it is low.

If you're low on T3 it could be because your low on TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone), this is common in athletes and hard dieters. As you stress your body it will make less TSH. If your low on T4 and your TSH levels are normal you'll be low on T3 as well. In that case it will make sense to supplement with T4, which in turn will get broken down to T3.

Before you consider trying T3 first consult your doctor, you may need it (9 out of 10 prescriptions are given to women) and it’s best administered by a doctor.

You have to taper yourself off of T3. My taper is going to take a month. I just started tapering down a couple of days ago and I'm curious to see how my body temp reacts. At first I was getting really hot, but no I seem to be used to the T3.

I think that before you can really answer if you need T3 or not you need to examine what your workout and diet are doing for you. Could you post you diet and workout?

[overactive-girl]

Thanks for the advice. Here is my diet and workout, this might tell you whether I can make changes to these before I try more drastic attempts at losing body fat.
I do cardio 5-6 days a week. Usually for an hour or more. My workouts vary since I am training for an Obstacle course. Some days I simply run (for 30 minutes,while gradually increasing the speed in intervals until I am in a full-on run at the end), other days I do Athletic drills for an hour or Kickboxing or step classes (or both if I have the energy). I try to get a little bit of everything.
As far as my diet goes, I get most of my protein from fish and egg whites. I don't eat any other type of meat, nor do I eat any dairy or soy products. I found out I was allergic to them about 8 months ago. I eat a ton of vegetables to fill myself up and I also eat high fiber/low fat cereals with lactose free milk. This whole diet is pretty new to me and I have been supplementing with vitamins and Thermicore for energy (Met-Rx). Again, I have been seeing results...but very steady and slowly and I want speed this up a bit. Unfortunately, I do not have any health insurance and therefore I have not consulted a doctor about this. That is why I am asking for some advice from experienced competitors to help me make the right decision. Would I be risking too much if I did a cycle of cytomel (being very careful to taper myself off of it)?

[silverfox]

Long low (40-1H) at moderate pace still works best for fat burning, Ideally 1st thing in your day before you eat, or post workout when you carbs stores are depleted. Also you need to figure out how many grams of carbs and what type your eating, complex or simple and grams of protien then we can better advice, don't think it's time for t3 yet.

[demetri]

You may be overtraining a little and may want to ease up on the cario a bit.

I do think you need to take in some more fat. You'll notice a big difference just adding some essential fats to your diet. Your hair and skin will thank you for one. The fats keep your energy up and help you burn off stored fats.

I supplement with Udo's choice but almost any fax blend will do. Some people swear by hemp oil. I go with 3 table spoons a day right now. I've gone as high as 12 and still lost fat.

[overactive-girl]

thanks for the advice demitri. I have been trying to take in fat by eating salmon (omega-3 fatty acids) and someone told me to eat more avocados (I don't know the nutritional content but I know they are high in unsaturated fat and I have been eating them). I also supplement with an Essential Oil blend that includes things like flax seed oils and safflower seed oils as well as blackcurrant and pumpkin seed oils. Is this the type of thing that you are talking about, or is that totally different.
I appreciate your advice! thanks

[demetri]

That's exactly what I'm talking about overactive-girl. Sounds like you've got your diet under control. How long have you been taking in the fats? Have you noticed a difference?

[overactive-girl]

I started taking Essential Oils some time around March. That is when I started to lose body fat, but that was at the same time I made significant changes to my diet. Mostly, I've noticed things like more energy and better skin, but I don't know if they help me to lose fat.
I guess I could play around with the amount that I take, or try a different complex-- did you mention "Udo's choice"? never heard of it.
I am still trying to find a way to decrease body fat FASTER. I just can't seem to speed it up, that is why I was questioning thyroid meds. To be honest with you, I am too scared to mess with stuff like that (T-3). I don't want to give myself any long term health issues.
I am open to any thoughts you have on how I could drop body fat faster.
If anyone has any ideas...throw them in here, please.
thanks.

[demetri]

Maybe it's time to do a keto diet. I find that conventional dieting can only take me so far and I usually lose too much muscle.

I follow the Body Opus (a book by Dan Duchaine), though I'm told the Ketogenic Diet by Lyle MacDonald is a pretty good book (haven't looked at it yet as I find his Usenet posts immature).

The Keto diet's strength is that is can stimulate lyposis in the "problem" areas and not give you that sunken in face that usually happens with people diet hard.