Hello, I’m new and 53 years old. I am in quite a good shape, I used to play semi-pro Rugby and I even had some heavyweight Muay Thai bouts. At the moment I weight 240 pounds with under 15% body fat, I can still bench 120 Kg for 8 reps; But, here come the problems, I have very low thyroid-stimulating hormone from my pituitary gland, which means the thyroid gland doesn’t produce much thyroxine, as a result, I take 100ug Levothyroxine. I’m also on TRT because of steroid abuse in my youth, I know silly boy. The result is that both of these conditions are controlled and to my undeserved merriment, physically I am probably in better shape than I would be without these enhancements. I started Keto as my belly started creeping up. As I understand it thyroid hormone is more effective on Keto, but my fat loss has reached a plateau.
My questions are these:
Does anyone else have the same hormonal issues as I do? and if so, have they got any tips?
Does anyone know what might have caused the plateau and have a fix for it?
Any advice would be welcome.
Ex Recreational Bodybuilder on Thyroxine here, Keto has been Working, but
Have you tried eating less meals? Hence higher growth hormone daily.
Have you tried Vitamin D?
Vitamin D regulates the production of thyroid hormones.
Yup and Yup, I skip breakfast often and use intermittent fasting quite regularly. Re Vit D and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (Where my problem lies) Vitamin D deficiency often coexists with higher TSH and TPO levels, as well as higher TG antibodies. Whether low vitamin D causes an increase in TSH remains to be researched, but it shows a connection between vitamin D and TSH. So adding Vitamin D shouldn’t be a good idea; however, in my anecdotal experience Calcicalciferol has no affect on the Pituitary. I should also add, by the time you get to your 50’s Growth Hormone is very low. I used to take it subcutaneously, but haven’t been for a while.
Don’t fear fat, especially saturated and monounsaturated fats. (We don’t need very much polyunsaturated fat, and too much can cause inflammation and metabolic dysfunction.) Since cholesterol is what testosterone is made out of, you don’t actually want your cholesterol to go too low. At 15% body fat, you are not likely to lose too much fat, but if you do, be advised that it will be slowly. I’m fond of saying that we lose the last 10 pounds much more slowly than the first 100.
At your age, don’t stint on protein. Prof. Benjamin Bikman is concerned about protein loss and the declining ability to build new protein as we age, so he would recommend a protein intake as high as 2.0 g/kg of lean body mass daily. Our standard recommendation is 1.0-1.5 g/kg. In your case, you could get from 92 to 138 g or even as high as 184 g. Remember that meats are generally about 25% protein (or 7 g per ounce).
Also, don’t fear calories. A well-formulated ketogenic diet works with the body instead of against it, so you can trust your appetite as a guide. Especially don’t skimp on calories if you want to lose fat. Restricting calories deliberately puts the body in famine mode, where it will slow down the metabolism and hang grimly onto its reserves. Interestingly, feasting and fasting don’t cause that reaction.
In a nutshell, a ketogenic diet involves minimal carbohydrate intake, adequate or even a bit extra protein, and fat to satisfy hunger. This results in a lower serum insulin, lower serum glucose, better metabolic health, and a body with a faster metabolism and that is willing to shed excess fat.
Hi Paul, thanks and yes, I’m pretty much doing all those things. Also the drinking 60 mls of water rapidly and regularly to speed metabolism, I am enjoying and not worrying too much about fat, I like fat. My degrees are Biotech and Applied Science, albeit thirty years ago, so I have a relatively good understanding of the Science and have read up extensively. I guess like everything, no magic bullet exists it is just a function of time and dedication.
I recommend you go over to the Keto subforum on Bodybuilding.com. I was on the board for 15 years while I was activly training. You’ll get more specific answers for your questions, from people who have actually experienced your situation.
2.0 g/kg of lean body mass daily.
This is a good recommendation.
Let me add to it.
Protein Per Meal
Research shows (Dr Donald Layman and Layne Norton) what trigger that anabolic muscle building process is the amount of protein per meal.
Older individual, around 30 years plus, need to consume least 30 gram plus of quality protein per meal to maintain or increase muscle mass; 40 gram per meal is more optimal amount.
That has to do with…
Leucine
Leucine is the amino the triggers anabolic growth/maintenance (mTOR). Around 3 gram or more of Leucine per meal is required to elicit this effect.
Approximately 8% of quality protein is composed of Leucine.
Thus, if you consuming 30 gram of quality protein yields 2.4 grams while 40 gram delivers 3.2 grams of Leucine.
If for some reason, individual find it difficult to consume that amount of protein per meal or chose a lower quality protein, there is another alternative.
Supplementing with a Leucine supplement will get you there.
Added leucine makes wheat protein as anabolic as whey
https://www.ergo-log.com/added-leucine-makes-wheat-protein-as-anabolic-as-whey.html
As this research shows, adding Leucine to a lower quality protein makes it anabolic.
With that said, if you come up short on your protein intake with your meal, supplementing it with Leucine work.
Kenny Croxdale