Metabolic Health
Dominic Naturally Doubled His Testosterone in 3 Steps After 40 and Shrank His Waistline.
Practical tips from an average person in a case study format
With healthy lifestyle modifications and timely support from qualified healthcare professionals, Dominic doubled his testosterone levels, shrank his waistline, strengthened his muscles, boosted his mood, and improved his relationships.
I can imagine that some readers would expect to see a list of expensive supplements or unnatural solutions like pumping steroids in this post. But it is not the case.
Everything in this post revolves around healthy lifestyle habits reflecting the truth of a typical mid-aged male with no extraordinary power.
Purpose of the Story
This post provides practical tips to improve free testosterone levels using healthy lifestyle habits, documenting the protocol of a typical middle-aged male. I validated his points in the previous posts using credible sources and anecdotes from successful people who achieved similar results.
A Brief Background of Dominic
In his early 40s, Dominic started gaining significant visceral fat affecting his metabolic and mental health. He was unaware of hormonal imbalances caused by his lifestyle habits and started blaming his age.
In his younger years, Dominic was a high achiever. He obtained an excellent education and great childhood. His parents supported him financially until he found a permanent and well-paying job.
Dominic had a great body his partner admired. He was a leader in his field and respected by his employers. After his 40s, many things started concerning him and lowering his performance at work.
Undesirable physical changes in his body caused by some habitual culprits affected his mind and emotions, breaking the balance of his hormones. The most apparent changes in his hormones were cortisol, testosterone, and insulin.
More specifically, his cortisol levels got elevated. His testosterone significantly dropped. And his body became insulin resistant.
Dominic’s family and work relationships got dented. He lost intimacy with his partner. Even though there were psychological issues, his major issues were related to his hormones leading to physical and psychological concerns.
Fortunately, he sought timely help and obtained excellent support from professionals, family members, friends, colleagues, and community members. I cover the critical points under three headings in a summary format.
1 — Lowered Elevated Cortisol
Dominic suffered from the effects of elevated cortisol for several years. Unfortunately, it was not detected timely. The primary cause of his situation was chronic stress accumulated at work and in the family situation.
He had numerous personal and professional issues. For example, he had difficulty coping with emotional stress. Little things started bothering him. He reacted too quickly and defensively, making things worse.
As cortisol blocked the fat burning, his waistline grew. This unexpected fat gain concerned him and added fuel to the emotional fire. His sexual performance decreased. He did not know cortisol would also affect the sex hormone testosterone until a specialist taught him.
His family doctor referred him to a hormone specialist (endocrinologist) who checked his hormonal profile. The specialist confirmed that his cortisol was very high, but DHEA and testosterone were very low.
The endocrinologist used various blood, urine, and saliva test results and checked his medical history. As the specialist did not notice a testicular failure, he did not prescribe testosterone replacement therapy.
Based on the report from the specialist, Dominic’s family doctor advised him to lower stress which can optimize his elevated cortisol levels. The physician referred him to a psychologist who created a plan for stress management.
The plan covering the points in the following two sections significantly contributed to lowering cortisol, increasing DHEA and testosterone, and eliminating excessive visceral fat.
2 — Made His Body Insulin Sensitive
After elevated cortisol, the second culprit for Dominic’s situation was insulin resistance. He was not diabetic, but he had some symptoms of metabolic syndrome.
For example, his waistline was over 40 inches. His HDL cholesterol was lower and LDL higher than the threshold. His blood pressure was also higher than his normal range. His fasted glucose and insulin levels confirmed his metabolic syndrome.
The key solution for Dominic was to lower refined carbohydrates, reduce alcohol consumption, and stop smoking. However, he needed to increase bioavailable proteins and healthy fats to get satiety. His leptin signaling was also faulty.
In addition, Dominic needed to exercise as he had a sedentary life making his body insulin resistant. After starting regular exercise, especially resistance training and weight lifting, he started sleeping better. He loved calisthenics, strengthening his muscles.
Improved sleep, a better diet, and regular exercise made his body insulin sensitive and lowered stress, optimizing the cortisol hormone. Insulin sensitivity made his belly shrink, lowered his oxidative stress, and increased his testosterone levels.
Furthermore, Dominic gave up smoking. Initially, his appetite increased. He thought he might have gained weight again. But when he started meditation and time-restricted eating, he prevented from gaining fat.
Fasting and meditation also helped him overcome his urge to start smoking again. When his blood glucose and insulin were optimized, he felt no food cravings.
3 — Improved His Relationships and Enhanced Social Connections
After fixing his hormonal issues, Dominic started feeling better physically. However, his relationships with family members, colleagues, and friends needed refinement.
The stress management plan by his psychologists guided him to improve his relationships. He started with the family members and friends with more empathy for his situation. Psychotherapy and hypnotherapy sessions empowered him to deal with situations better.
His mood and confidence were boosted when his relationship with family members and friends improved. He used similar tactics in work relationships. The less stress he felt at home, the better he performed at work.
His boss and colleagues started feeling closer to him. They supported Dominic in becoming a successful employee at work. He exceeded expectations and achieved his professional goals. Optimized testosterone made him more confident and passionate at work.
In addition, Dominic joined some social gatherings in various communities in his interest areas. Meeting like-minded people gave him more confidence. When his testosterone doubled, he became more resourceful, creative, and productive.
Fixing his relationship issues and enhancing his social connections boosted his mood and improved his mental health. His emotional stress melted and gave him a better hormonal profile.
Summary and Takeaways from Dominic’s Protocol
I summarize his protocol in 12 points.
1 — Cutting refined carbohydrates, especially desserts, in each meal.
2 — Increasing bioavailable proteins and healthy fats
3 — Reducing alcohol consumption
4 — Quitting cigarette smoking
5 — Practicing resistance training and weightlifting
6 — Starting long walks with family members and friends
7 — Lowering stress with other fun activities
8 — Reducing inflammation
9 — Fasting and meditating
10— Addressing his emotional stress with support from a psychologist
11— Improving his relationships with family members, friends, and colleagues
12 — Enhancing his social connections and participating in altruistic activities
The lack of healthy fats in his diet and his refraining from sun exposure lowered his vitamin D levels, adversely affecting his other hormones.
Fortunately, his improved diet and supplementation, as advised by his family doctor, restored the desired vitamin D levels.
When his testosterone levels were low, his estrogen levels higher than average for a man. Therefore, his sports nutritionist introduced him to two natural supplements, Calcium-D-Glucarate and DIM, which help him optimize estrogen levels. However, after improving his metabolic health, he did not need supplements.
Final Words
With healthy lifestyle changes and support from qualified healthcare professionals, Dominic doubled his testosterone levels, shrank his waistline, boosted his mood, and improved his relationships.
Even though this story includes only three steps to address the testosterone problem, each step covers multiple lifestyle choices, as summarized in the previous section.
Making the body insulin-sensitive and optimizing the cortisol hormone requires a significant shift in our habits. This shift included making various lifestyle choices for Dominic. He addressed the fundamental needs of the body.
The most critical point is lowering chronic stress by making biological and psychological changes. These behavioral modifications balanced his hormones, improved his metabolic and mental health, and gave him a desirable life.
I shared many more inspiring stories like this, compiled in a collection titled Insightful Life Lessons from Personal Stories.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
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