june 6, 114kg's - Weight Loss to date = 7 Kgs
June 6, 2026
I have been working out at the gym 4 to 5 days a week, walking a little on those days to get 8,000 steps and on the 2 off days from the gym I walk enough to ensure I still burn 3200 calories a day. I can usually walk the 8,000 to 10,000 steps along with my usual day time activities to get to the 3200 burned calorie mark.
At the end of May I was starting to get frustrated, my strength had increased from my starting point at the beginning of April but the last couple of weeks in May I found most of my workouts went backward, I lifted less weight and less reps.
I had lost 7kgs and was pretty sure that was mostly fat given I was stronger compared to my starting point, but I was becoming frustrated that going to the gym was becoming difficult, the weight seemed to get heavier, I seemed to be starting to struggle to be motivated, during the gym session I would yawn non stop, feel tired and battled to push myself.
I decided to go get my Testosterone checked.
As you can see below, my Testosterone levels came back very low,
Below is a chart showing Testosterone levels by age, as you can see with a Free Testosterone of 177 pmol/L my levels are worse than the Average 70+ year old.
| Age | Average | Normal | Common Experience |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20s | 600-700 | 400-1000 | Peak performance |
| 30s | 550-650 | 350-900 | Subtle decline begins |
| 40s | 500-600 | 300-800 | Symptoms may emerge |
| 50s | 450-550 | 280-750 | Noticeable impact |
| 60s | 400-500 | 250-700 | Significant changes |
| 70+ | 350-450 | 200-650 | Major decline |
I started to read up on Testosterone levels and the possible symptoms, health implications associated with low Testosterone levels.
- Decreased bone density and fracture risk
- Increased cardiovascular risk markers
- Higher rates of type 2 diabetes
- Accelerated loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia)
- Cognitive decline
- Persistent fatigue even with adequate sleep
- Increased difficulty building or maintaining muscle
- Accumulating belly fat despite diet efforts
- Reduced libido and sexual satisfaction
- Mood changes, irritability, or mild depression
- Decreased mental sharpness or concentration
I pretty much had every single one of the above, the worse part for me I guess was learning my Testosterone levels are as bad or worse than someone in their late 70’s, yeh sure I am getting older but c’mon I am 56 not 76.
I purchased one of those smart scales that gives you more of a break down of your fat, muscle mass etc, I know they are not 100% accurate but still it was better than a plain old scale.
This scan was rather revealing, obviously I was hugely overweight, but hitting 40% body fat was a surprise given I had lost 7kgs already, my metabolic age at 61 was a shock. The positive to me was I now felt like I had a reason why I was struggling at the gym, I was certainly making gains in strength but it was slow, and as stated earlier, my gains seemed to come quick then stopped and even went backward. Of coruse my lifestyle played a part but having very low Testosterone levels certainly added to it.
June 06, 2026
Bench Press – 52kg x 6 Reps
Shoulder Press – 25kg x 12 Reps (I had to stop shoulder press it was to hard on my shoulders, I moved to Cable Lat Raises)
Cable Lat Raises – 4.5kg x 10 Reps
Lat Pulldown Wide Grip – 49kg x 10 Reps
Preacher Curls – 36kg x 8 Reps
Tricep Pushdown – 27kg x 8 Reps
Leg Extensions – 52kg x 8 Reps
Leg Press – 140Kg x 8
Leg Curls – 38kg x 10 Reps
As you can see, some gains indeed, most of the gains came in the first month, call it Mid May, by the start of June I was starting to go backward and some muscle groups struggled, Shoulders especially.
With a decline in Testosterone I decided to look into my options and found TRT, Testosterone Replacement Treatment. This was basically injecting Testosterone weekly to increase my Testosterone levels up to the normale range.
My story continues Getting Ready