New Fat Guy needs help

[anatmoly]

I am ready for the abuse, so dont hold back.

Here it is
37 yr old Male
6'
240
BF%22+ (i think)
Training - See below

I trained 5 days a week through my mid 20's and then wife, kids and life happened.
then came 60lbs extra lbs, and less and less muscle.
I am a contractor by trade and am fairly active.
Last year (aug of 08) I decided to do something about it. I started hitting the weights, and doing 30 mins on the bike daily. I was very out of shape and struggled to make progress. I needed to take off some lbs just to be able to work out. I did the low carb thing and dropped 15lbs, and then I did some low dose HCG and a very low calorie diet. I lost another 30 lbs. The problem is that I lost tons of muscle, I am strugling to keep the fat off and work, and work out. I am not looking for a magic bullet, just some help. I am interested in some low dose Test, and HGH as a way to be able to start adding some lean muscle without adding fat.

I went to my Dr. and had my Test levels checked and they came back at the very bottom of normal, but he said that TRT would not be warrented. Some of the guys that I used to train with tell me that it will be very hard for me to add muscle,and lose or even keep my current BF with such low Test levels.

I am not looking to be Huge or ripped (would be nice, but I am trying to be realistic) just want to get back into some type of shape.

So there it is...
Here is my current thinking
Low Dose test
Androgel ?
or
Small inj cycle

and

HGH

OK, let me have it

Later

 

[SouthernLord]

Could you outline your current diet for us?

 

[anatmoly]

Sure,

I have just completed the VLCD portion of the HCG protocol. This consisted of a 500 cal a day diet with no B-fast, only coffee tea or water to drink

Daily meals
Lunch
3.5 oz of lean beef, with all visable fat removed
1 cup of lettuce
1 small apple

Dinner

3.5 oz of chicken
1 cup of cukes
1 slice of melba toast

That was it for 26 days

Now I am in the 3rd phase

This consists mainly of Atkins induction foods
less than 20 g of carbs per day
I am in moderate to heavy Ketosis at all times

I am happy with the weight loos, but I dont want to rebound.

Thanks

 

[SouthernLord]

I admittedly know very little about the HCG diet. I imagine you are on this at the advice of a doctor?

I do however know that you are starving yourself and your metabolism is dead from this diet. You have to eat more food in order to lose fat and build/support muscle. IMO vlcd and low carb diets typically lead to weight rebound. When you are done with the HCG diet you should try and go back to a normal calorie diet in order to sustain LBM and burn fat.

You need 6 meals a day. Eat every three hours. This will help to speed up your metabolism.

Lean protein with every meal.

Green Veggies with every meal. Broccoli, cabbage, spinach, asparagus would be my choices. These are negative calorie foods.

Starchy carbs only pre and post workout.

No Sugars or Whites

At least 1 gallon of water a day.

Good luck.

 

[anatmoly]

Thanks
Makes sense, the HCG thing was on the advice of a family member that had good success. I am familiar with the rebound effect, and starvation response. The diet calls for a slow return to healthy carbs just for this reason. But it is tough to keep up. I am hoping to find time to get back to a regular schedule with my work outs. Gym time will be limited, I am looking for a good simple routine that I can do with simple weights. Nearest gym is about 45 mins from me and I normally do 12 hr days at work....Any Ideas for a work out routine to get started? Links?

Thanks

 

[Fatboy1984]

wow, yeah man, i dont think i could eat that low of calories everyday. no wonder why your loosing fat and muscle. You can eat alot more than that, just make sure there all the right things. try to eat all whole foods. for carbs, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, brown rice, for protein, eggs, lean steak, chicken breast, tuna, salmon. it will give you energy to make it through your day and all the food you eat will actually get used in your body if you have a descent weight lifting and cardio plan. try to stay away from processed crappy foods even if there not high in calories. at 240 you can propably loose weight if you ate the right foods, and eat around 2200 calories naturally.

 

[anatmoly]

I agree, I didnt think I could eat that little either, but the HCG completely removes your appetite. Admittedly not good for you, but I did drop 30 lbs in 26 days. Now I just gotta keep it off and add some muscle.

What do you think about normalizing my Test levels?
Any experince with HGH?

Thanks
Andy