Effectiveness of T3 ?

[lees_s]

Hi

I'm British, new to the forums. I am 5'1', about 110 pounds, 10-12% BF. Exercise about 3 times a week 30mins-90mins cardio on average per session, with some light weights e.g. 3 sets of 12 reps on two sets of muscles per session.

Vital statistics 32-28-34
Thigh 20.5
Calf 13.5
Upper Arm 9.5-10

Diet - In the past have cut carbs drastically and lost some weight but was constantly low on energy. at the moment I eat what I like, I'm not doing anything with my diet to reduce calories or cut carbs nor do I wish to because I love food and carbs too much. I eat mostly carbs (wholegrain toast, oats and cereal), some lean protein (chicken and fish), and lots of fruit and veg. I take vitamin and calcium supplements.

I just wish to lose a little weight, maybe 10 pounds or so. I have recently ordered some Cytomel (T3) online to help me lose weight as I don't have a lot of time to add in any more exercise to my routine. I do not have a thyroid problem, my metabolism is slow-average. I would love a high metabolism like some of my friends so I can eat what I like without having to cut out a food group and constantly be monitoring calories since I used to do this obsessively. I am aware of the need to taper on and off.

• I was wondering whether T3 works on its own to lose weight or whether it is necessary to stack it with something like Clen or Albuterol as well to see results.
• Is it still possible to eat carbs when taking T3 or does that reverse the effects?
• Is it necessary to continue exercising when taking T3? Or is it alright to stop exercising and just reap the benefits of a high metabolism?
• How bad are the side effects?
• How fast do you see results?

I don't particularly mind about losing some muscle mass as that is mostly what I am - I only have roughly 5kg of fat on me anyway. I would rather be a 'flabby' looking size 2 than a firm/strong looking size 4. However if I lost a lot of muscle mass, would this lower my BMR drastically? Or would this be counteracted by the increase in my metabolism due to T3?

 

[trex74]

Hi

I'm British, new to the forums. I am 5'1', about 110 pounds, 10-12% BF. Exercise about 3 times a week 30mins-90mins cardio on average per session, with some light weights e.g. 3 sets of 12 reps on two sets of muscles per session.

Vital statistics 32-28-34
Thigh 20.5
Calf 13.5
Upper Arm 9.5-10

Diet - In the past have cut carbs drastically and lost some weight but was constantly low on energy. at the moment I eat what I like, I'm not doing anything with my diet to reduce calories or cut carbs nor do I wish to because I love food and carbs too much. I eat mostly carbs (wholegrain toast, oats and cereal), some lean protein (chicken and fish), and lots of fruit and veg. I take vitamin and calcium supplements.

I just wish to lose a little weight, maybe 10 pounds or so. I have recently ordered some Cytomel (T3) online to help me lose weight as I don't have a lot of time to add in any more exercise to my routine. I do not have a thyroid problem, my metabolism is slow-average. I would love a high metabolism like some of my friends so I can eat what I like without having to cut out a food group and constantly be monitoring calories since I used to do this obsessively. I am aware of the need to taper on and off.

• I was wondering whether T3 works on its own to lose weight or whether it is necessary to stack it with something like Clen or Albuterol as well to see results.
• Is it still possible to eat carbs when taking T3 or does that reverse the effects?
• Is it necessary to continue exercising when taking T3? Or is it alright to stop exercising and just reap the benefits of a high metabolism?
• How bad are the side effects?
• How fast do you see results?

I don't particularly mind about losing some muscle mass as that is mostly what I am - I only have roughly 5kg of fat on me anyway. I would rather be a 'flabby' looking size 2 that a firm/strong looking size 4. However if I lost a lot of muscle mass, would this lower my BMR drastically? Or would this be counteracted by the increase in my metabolism due to T3?

I really don't understand why you are in a fitness forum then.
If you change your goals you will get a lot of help here.

 

[lees_s]

Ideally I would be a firm and strong size 2. I just said that to get the point across that I am after weight loss so that I stay petite, ideally with the same BF% as now, and was wondering whether T3 would help to achieve this.
As you can see I already have a relatively low BF%, so obviously I do care about fitness and body composition. But I feel I have somewhat hit a plateau as I don't think as a woman, a BF% any lower is particularly healthy as fat is needed for optimum production of certain hormones. But I wish to me smaller and more petite.
If you could shed any light on my queries it would be much appreciated.

 

[kathrynjeanne]

1) T3 is a thyroid hormone (your thyroid hormones regulate your body's metabolism), so if you increase these hormones, you will increase your metabolism. You do not need to stack it with anything for it to be effective.

2) Yes you can eat carbs. You can eat as you normally eat and added T3 will raise your metabolism, but if you really want to lose weight with T3, you should eat healthy. If you eat more than you usually eat, you could completely counteract the effect of having a fast metabolism, and there would be no point in that.

3) You should continue to exercise. People with fast metabolisms need to exercise, too. There are many benefits of exercise.

4) Side effects are same as hyperthyroidism (headaches, increased body temperature, heart palpitations, insomnia, and lots more). You will probably notice that you feel a little warmer, but if you start to have palpitations, you should at least go back down to the last dosage that did not cause that symptom. The symptoms shouldn't be bad. You should just feel like any person who has a slightly overactive thyroid.

5) I'm not sure how fast it takes to see results. Personally, I would give it 2-3 before I would expect to see some results, but it might be sooner than that, unless by results you mean like 5 lbs...


What dosage did you order and do you know how you plan to taper it?

I'm also using T3 for weight loss, but I am hypothyroid anyways...

 

[lees_s]

5) I'm not sure how fast it takes to see results. Personally, I would give it 2-3 before I would expect to see some results, but it might be sooner than that, unless by results you mean like 5 lbs...

2-3 days or cycles?

Thanks for all the advice its really helped.
I've got 25mcg tablets but will cut them in half for initial stages:
12.5mcg for 2 days
25mcg for 3 days
50mcg for 3 days
75mcg for 4 days

and then taper off the way I came on, then take a 2-3 week rest and come back on again.
Does that seem alright? Or should I just start straight away with the 25mcg dosage?

How do you take yours and how much weight have you lost so far?

 

[lees_s]

Tapering T3

Have been reading around, and some sources say there is no need to taper on to T3 although tapering off is essential so that you don't get rebound fat gain, and allows your thyroid to kick in naturally. So would you recommend just going straight in with a dosage of 75mcg and then tapering off gradually?
Other sources have said tapering off isn't even necessary either.
Do you think you would get faster results without tapering on, because you're on a high dosage straight away?

Am now very confused! Anyone care to share their experiences/opinions?

 

[kathrynjeanne]

oops sorry, I meant 2-3 weeks in my post

i don't know if tapering into it is meant to increase results. i think it's more of a way to see how your body handles it and to make sure your body gets used to it. when i take 40mg (in addition to my regular thyroid meds) i feel a little hot, a little sweatier, and kind of uncomfortable.

also, you're LITTLE. 75mg might be a lot for you. and if it is, you could have heart palpitations, in addition to a lot of other "hyperthyroid" symptoms. you don't want to shock your body by throwing the highest dose at it right away.

definitely taper up

then, if in the future you decide to do another cycle, you'll know how your body reacts to it and you'll have a better idea of where you can start

 

[kathrynjeanne]

How do you take yours and how much weight have you lost so far?

7am
I take 1 grain (contains 9mcg T3 and 38mcg T4) of Armour Thyroid for my hypothyroidism before work

11:30am
20mcg T3

4pm
20mcg T3 1 grain Armour Thyroid

I did 1 week where I just took the 20mcg T3 at 11:30am, then I bumped it up to 40mcg (split into two doses) and have been on that for a couple weeks. I'm not sure if I'll go above 40mcg.

I know it's a little hard to compare my experience to anyone else's because I am hypothyroid to begin with.

The "average" total thyroid replacement dosage of T4 is about 1.7mcg per kilogram of body weight. I'm 125 pounds, so according to that I should need 97mcg of T4 to be normal. I'm taking 76mcg of T4 plus 58mcg of T3 (which is 4 times more potent than T4), so a total equivalent to 308mcg of T4

Anyways, in the last 3 weeks I've gone from about 132 pounds, to a solid 125lbs. Last weekend, I put on my jeans and could see the results and so could my boyfriend. So that was good encouragement

I'm planning to improve my eating habits and really ramp up my cardio for the next 3 weeks to hopefully get even better results. Then I'll taper down to 20mcg for a week, and then stop taking the extra T3.

Btw, I'm 5' 2.5" and 125lbs now...fairly muscular build, so my ultimate goal is around 110lbs.

Oh, sorry I can't help but write long posts. Most important:

1) TAPER UP

2) if you can, split your dose into 2 or more times a day, because T3 levels peak within a few hours

 

[superqt4u2nv]

Re: Tapering T3

Have been reading around, and some sources say there is no need to taper on to T3 although tapering off is essential so that you don't get rebound fat gain, and allows your thyroid to kick in naturally. So would you recommend just going straight in with a dosage of 75mcg and then tapering off gradually?
Other sources have said tapering off isn't even necessary either.
Do you think you would get faster results without tapering on, because you're on a high dosage straight away?

Am now very confused! Anyone care to share their experiences/opinions?

Yes you need to tapper it this helps bring the levels back to normal when you come off you always have to ramp it up and then down. If you don't your chances of screwing up your thyroid for good are very HIGH.