New here, advise on a lifestyle overhaul

[angryteabag]

Sup guys, im new to body building and all that. just looking for some good advise.

Recently ive been getting interested in my health seeing as its starting to show that im a little unhealthy. I sleep very little (4 hours) and dont exercise. started to notice that my sex drive is starting to disappear, i figure my testosterone is dropping. considering i am young i see this as a warning sign that something needs to change. ive stopped drinking all those fizzy drinks and dropped my sugar/starch intake and raised my protein and sat fat intake. ive started to loose weight and am feeling energetic.

im pretty short so i dont think bulking up would be a good idea cause i would probably end up looking like a tank midget so im looking to just get a little ripped plus i figure exercise would help raise my testosterone.

as far as natural supplements go, what would i need to support my raising my testo levels? i read vit C and zinc are great.

what other things would you recommend i take in order to get healthier/raise my testo levels? im trying to find a sustainable lifestyle that will help, supplements, diet, plus an hour of exercise a day or something similar

[Elite121]

[angryteabag]

thanks for the reply, yeah i did a bit of reading and it looks like sleep is extremely important. ill try get into the habit of going to bed earlier.

and yeah, i figured that it was more important to change my lifestyle rather then supplement it so im looking at what living healthy really is. guessing supplement will still help though.

what are some good sleeping remedies? i find it really hard to get to sleep at night. reading a book, turn off crap that will distract me (ill look into the whole electromagnetic stress) etc?

[cantygirl]

Hi, yes sleep is huge in growth and recovery plus for your problems. You might like to talk it over with someone from a health shop as a natural product may help. Ive heard that lavender oil dabbed on your pillow helps. And like with kids, you need to develop a stimulus free environment which means, no t.v., electronic games etc. Reading a novel can help lull you into sleep, especially if it is really boring. Good luck

[vongi]

definately. CG's right.

I'm currently trying to address my sleeping issues. Over the years I've pushed mine further and it gets hard to bring it back to the 10.30 mark.

Don't underestimate the power of rest, plus, take a look at lifestyle stress at the moment. It may not seem to consciously bother you but maybe your body is showing for it, hence less sleep, more eating etc (well, that is the case with me at times and yes, I'm trying to do the lifestyle overhaul too at the mo)

[Elite121]

Try to minimize bright lights one hour before bed is another tip, from personal experience.Also monitor your water intake.The first place the body steals water from when you are dehydrated is the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and colon. If the central nervous system looses water, one might feel anxious and wired, hence interfering with sleep patterns, Id highly recommend you read "Your Bodies Many Cries For Water', and "Sleep Sugar And Survival" excellent resources.

Depending on how deep you want to go perhaps a functional lab test may be beneficial, low progesterone has shown to affect sleep negatively as well as low/high cortisol levels. If T levels are bothering you perhaps get that tested via a saliva test, Testosterone is a lot more important than just muscle growth and sex drive.

[angryteabag]

i had a blood test the other day actually, my cholesterol ratio was 3.1. is that low?

[Monarchking]

Hi man.

Just curious, how come you only get 4hours of sleep? what are you doing?

peace

[angryteabag]

lay awake thinking haha, im not sure. used to go to bed at 11 and wake up at 11, then i started going to bed at 12, then 1. now i just lay awake in bed kinda buzzing out till i pass out. there was a period where i smoked pot, had the most sleep ever but its too expensive so i dont really use it.

thing is uni has started so i have early starts every day and even when i go to bed earlier i dont fall asleep till 3 or 4, wake up at 6.30.

[cantygirl]

i had a blood test the other day actually, my cholesterol ratio was 3.1. is that low?

Mine was 2.9 and the results came back that up to 4.5 is acceptable.

[angryteabag]

how can you tell if your testosterone is low. aside from taking a blood test what are some signs?

Im taking 20mg of Omeprazole to help treat my suspected gastritis brought on by a large amount of alcohol intake. it never occured to me that maybe it could be the cause of my lowered sex drive.

http://www.lareb.nl/documents/kwb_2006_4_omep.pdf

anyone else hear about omeprazole messing with your sex drive?

it seems it only makes you impotent and starts messing with your sex drive after a month of taking it, its only been 2 weeks.

[Elite121]

how can you tell if your testosterone is low. aside from taking a blood test what are some signs?

Im taking 20mg of Omeprazole to help treat my suspected gastritis brought on by a large amount of alcohol intake. it never occured to me that maybe it could be the cause of my lowered sex drive.

http://www.lareb.nl/documents/kwb_2006_4_omep.pdf

anyone else hear about omeprazole messing with your sex drive?

it seems it only makes you impotent and starts messing with your sex drive after a month of taking it, its only been 2 weeks.

I believe a saliva test is actually more accurate than a blood test for checking T-Levels.

[angryteabag]

oh really? where can i go to take one of those?

[Elite121]

oh really? where can i go to take one of those?

I'm not too sure of this to be honest with you, i know of a few labs in the USA such as Bio-Health Diagnostics that a biochemist friend of mine uses for his clients....but sure there are labs here that can do it you may need to do some research on this.

[angryteabag]

ill ask my doctor, i feel a little de-manned to be telling my doc that i feel like my sex drive is disappearing, i know its her job but it still feels kinda embarrassing haha

[Elite121]

ill ask my doctor, i feel a little de-manned to be telling my doc that i feel like my sex drive is disappearing, i know its her job but it still feels kinda embarrassing haha

Nah man when it starts to affect your way of life you owe it to yourself to get things sorted!

Have a look at these, they are by no means the be all end all information on Testosterone, at least if you go in to speak with your Doc you can ask questions.

[ani_m0L]

http://www.lareb.nl/documents/kwb_2006_4_omep.pdf

anyone else hear about omeprazole messing with your sex drive?

it seems it only makes you impotent and starts messing with your sex drive after a month of taking it, its only been 2 weeks.

Sup yo, I think this report is a little vague... :? There dont seem to be enough test cases in the experiment and besides, the age group that they used was a little biased and possibly irrelevant if you were under 30 years of age... Besides, the statistical analysis (not much more than 95%CI's) didnt really say much about it. You'd have to look up this drug in your uni database or something to get a more 'accurate' account of how this stuff really works :pfft:

Chur