How to increase your testosterone levels.
Some research:
[Low-fat diets and testosterone in men: Systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies]
[Too Much Sugar Turns Off Gene That Controls Effects Of Sex Steroids]
Increase your dietary fat intake.
At least 40-50% of your total food intake for the day should come from fats. If you like to read, check the link for a related research study in the description. Foods high in fat and omega 3s such as:
- Fatty fish
- Cod liver oil and omega 3s
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Coconut
- Nuts and seeds
- Nut butters
- Full fat dairy
- Olives
- Avocados
- Whole eggs
But make sure you avoid these types of fats as they bring the opposite effect:
- Fatty meats
- Fried foods and trans fats
- Refined oils
- Excess of omega 6
Stay at a healthy body fat percentage
When you cut to a very low body fat percentage, your endocrine system starts shutting down. No hormones, no strength, no gains. And you can feel it when it happens:
- You have no sex drive
- You are always tired
- Your performance in the gym sucks
- You got headaches
- You can’t sleep
- Loss of periods (women)
- Hair loss
- And you may even start feeling irritated and depressed.
If this is you, you need to start eating more. And yes, with enough hypertrophy, you can still have your abs popping at a higher body fat percentage and body weight.
Avoid processed sugar, artificial sweeteners, diet sodas and any other highly processed junk foods at all costs.
Forget cheat meals, and forget the 80/20 rule. Processed sugars suppress the SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin) gene. This protein controls the availability of testosterone and estrogen in your body, so when the levels of this protein are decreased, you can expect some serious hormonal imbalances. Again, link to the research study on this in the description below.
Supplementation (optional)
Right after my hysterectomy, both my testosterone and estrogen levels decreased significantly due to going to surgical menopause. So I had to incorporate maca root and soy in my diet to elevate both test and estrogen respectively. If you too are dealing with testosterone deficiency, then maca root can give you a little boost. If you can find it in its unprocessed form, that’s great, you should just include that in your diet. Otherwise, just get a supplement. Where I am I can’t find the thing in its natural form, so I just add some organic maca root powder in my kefir.
How to raise your hGH (growth hormone)
- Human Growth Hormone is really important for weight loss, cell regeneration, muscle building, recovery, athletic performance, quality of life and longevity.
- An increase in sugar intake and insulin levels lowers the levels of this hormone. So once again, what you eat is what you get. If you’re not disciplined in what you put in your mouth, you’re losing on some serious gains.
- Intermittent fasting is one of the absolute best ways to increase your growth hormone levels. You need to fast for at least 20 hours a day. I like the One Meal a Day regimen, and occasionally I extend my fasts to 30 hours. Also, you can increase the effect of fasting on your growth hormone levels even further by working out in a fasted state, and also by waiting a few hours after your workouts before breaking your fast. So what I would do is workout when I’m about 20 hours fasted, and then wait 2-3 hours after my workout and then I break my fast. So, forget the myth of the so-called anabolic feeding window, this is what gives me gains.
- Have your feeding window early in the day. Your pituitary gland naturally produces hGH at night time, so it’s best to avoid raising your insulin at that time. So what I do is I wake up around 3 or 4am, I workout for about 3 hours, then I break my fast anywhere between 9am and 12pm, I spend about 30-45 minutes eating, and then start fasting again until the next day.
- Incorporate HIIT workouts or MetCons into your routine. I love metabolic conditioning workouts because they are quick, fun and give me a good sweat. But another added benefit is that they cause a spike in hGH levels. So if you add a quick EMOM or AMRAP session at the end of your training or some sprints and you combine it with the fasting method I suggested above, you can have a good boost in your hGH levels.
A few last notes
You want muscle? Go on a bulk
When I started training, I learned about newbie gains, the concept that when you first start training, your body is very receptive to the stimulation and therefore you gain muscle pretty quickly, so I decided to take full advantage of that by increasing my food intake to at least 1000 calories more. That’s about 3000 calories in total, which is now my maintenance. I’m not suggesting for you to bulk at this level, but as a 35 year old mom with surgical menopause, this worked wonderfully for my muscle gains.
So if you want to build muscle and fast, you gotta eat. You don’t have to count calories and you don’t have to go overboard with protein either, but you might have to double up on that salmon or chicken breast, include some more fruits and nuts, have some more full fat dairy etc. Do not waste your newbie gains on a deficit. You’ll melt whatever fat needs to go later and in a much faster pace, because of the added muscle, as the muscle increases the metabolic rate and decreases insulin resistance.
Nutrition is everything
This is a very big topic that will have to be addressed in several future videos, but it is of utmost importance that you make sure your body is running like a well-oiled machine for the best results.
So for instance, you should optimize the diversity of your gut microbiome, you should stick to nutritionally-dense foods, you should focus on balanced macros and avoiding micronutrient deficiencies. With a good nutrition regimen, you don’t need protein powders, you don’t need creatine you don’t need preworkouts, you don’t need multivitamins, and most certainly, you don’t need performance enhancing drugs.
Disclaimer
I am NOT a doctor, personal trainer, registered dietician, nutritionist, athlete, influencer, nor at the end of my fitness journey. The content of this blog is based on what worked for me and is for informational purposes only, not a replacement for medical advice from a professional. Furthermore, we and our bodies are unique, so everybody is different. My results may not reflect your own. Any action you take upon the information provided by ZenGainz is strictly at your own risk.