any advice on getting myself super healthy in preparation for transition?

[ChrisRokk]

I finally have my letter and my health insurance all squared away, so I am about to start hormone therapy as soon as the doc can take me.

I am kind of a health nut, and a lot of what held me back from starting testosterone years ago was paranoia about heart disease, since my father had a heart attack at a young age.  However, I am pretty sure his heart issues were all lifestyle-related, and he has been totally fine health-wise for the last 8 years now.

I already do not smoke and ride a bike to get around most of the time.  Normally I would go to the gym as well, but I would have to pay to go during the summer, and I am cheap.  So right now I am doing ridiculous stuff like biking to a park and using the playground equipment to do chin-ups, different styles of push-ups, etc.  (The park maintenance people who are mowing the grass in the morning probably think I am insane.)  I am also lucky that my night job provides some physical activity as well.  I have decided to go back to being a vegetarian to reduce the amount of saturated fat to almost nothing, and my diet has always been mostly whole grain, vegetables, and fruit.  I don't feel like giving up plain yogurt and eggs.  I also don't want to give up beer (especially since I think a little keeps my HDL:LDL good), so I am trying to make sure I don't have more than 2 on any single day.  Most days I do not drink.

Do any of you guys have any other tips for staying extra healthy while taking testosterone?

[Simon]

Um, sounds like you've got this health thing squared away already. Most of us could probably take a few notes from you, lol.

Maybe some red wine instead of the beer on occasion since it's heart healthy?

[ChrisRokk]

I wish I could tolerate red wine.  I can stomach cabernet, but that's about it.

[Jack_M]

Sounds like you're on the right track. As for going to the park, screw what folk think! But if you do want to do different style pushups or pullups, you can get those bars you hang off the door. I have one that cost me $20 and it does the trick. I can also use it for pushups and it gives me a wider range of motion. There's so many pushups you can do at home too, even handstand pushups using a wall to start with or at least there for support if you're worried about falling.

Fellow cyclist here so big ups for cycling too!

Yeah, bro, you sound like you're doing everything right. If you're interested in a at-home workout to save gym fees, check out Insanity. It's one hell of a workout and doesn't require any equipment and yet still gets results. It's more cardio based but there's strength training aspects too and muscles will build. I've been through that program and now I'm on P90X (I have weights) and when I finish that I want to go back to Insanity and improve my fitness some more. Love at home workouts! Who needs a gym?

[Soren]

I'd lay off the beer. Hops have estriol. And avoid grapefruit too. Eat lots of broccoli. Take stairs instead of elevators. Hmm... There's a book called "7 weeks to 100 pushups", it's an exercise plan. Very doable. ... Make sure you get enough sleep. Get your calcium from plants, not dairy. There's also a book called "the natural testosterone plan", it has lists of phytoandrogens, as well as lists of things that inhibit androgens, so it's worth looking into.

[geek]

is there a 'fitness' section here @susans? so many of these health/weight related posts which imo is really really good! maybe there should be :3 if there is one i do apologize i dont really explore here much and just stick to this sub :/

[chuck]

Looks like youre on a good track. Cardio and not smoking is a huge help. 2 beers a day should be fine, but remember that testosterone is hard on your liver and so is booz. Also bringing your saturated at to zero can be really unhealthy. But the whole grains and stuff are obviously great.

[Soren]

And nuts. Eat lots of nuts if you're going to a vegetarian diet, almonds especially. Make sure you get protein and fiber and omega 3s.

[Nygeel]

Diet is a large portion of health too. Eat foods that are high in mono and poly unsaturated fats like steel cut oats. Try to lower your intake of saturated fats that are often found in processed foods and fatty meats.

[D0LL]

I don't feel like giving up plain yogurt and eggs.

Chock full of protein. You don't wan to give these two up.

And yes, beer is made with hops which is a phytoestrogen, but unless you're downing a case a day, you're fine. There isn't enough of it and it isn't harvested properly to actually work as a phytoestrogen. I know you don't need reasons to keep drinking beer, but if anything's gonna make you feel like a man when you start on T, it'll be throwing back a few cold ones with your buddies every now and again.

All-in-all, you sound pretty damn healthy. Keep it up is the best advice I can give you. Maybe try eating more fish for the Omega 3's (since that's good for heart health).

And I'm so glad to hear people here bike. Not too many people ride bikes once they get older, and I don't know why, because it's by far my favourite type of exercise yet (yes, even over weight lifting!) I'm always talking my friends into going bike riding. GREAT way to get in your cardio, trim any excess fat, and tone your entire lower body. My legs have been developing a great guy shape (which helps take away from the female hip muscles I built up), and all I've been doing for my legs lately is biking 2-3 times a week (I try to bike uphill as much as possible, and that certainly helps).

[ChrisRokk]

If you're interested in a at-home workout to save gym fees, check out Insanity. It's one hell of a workout and doesn't require any equipment and yet still gets results. It's more cardio based but there's strength training aspects too and muscles will build. I've been through that program and now I'm on P90X (I have weights) and when I finish that I want to go back to Insanity and improve my fitness some more. Love at home workouts! Who needs a gym?

Thanks!  I'll check out Insanity since I don't have to own anything for that.  I will be going back to the gym in the fall since I won't have to pay.  The problem is I really like barbell exercises and I can never find any cheap used weight plates or a cage on the internet.

is there a 'fitness' section here @susans? so many of these health/weight related posts which imo is really really good! maybe there should be :3 if there is one i do apologize i dont really explore here much and just stick to this sub :/

Is there one?  That would be cool.

Looks like youre on a good track. Cardio and not smoking is a huge help. 2 beers a day should be fine, but remember that testosterone is hard on your liver and so is booz. Also bringing your saturated at to zero can be really unhealthy. But the whole grains and stuff are obviously great.

I realized my diet does have some saturated fat since I eat full-fat plain yogurt, and nuts and olive oil have a tiny amount of it.  So hopefully that should be adequate.

And nuts. Eat lots of nuts if you're going to a vegetarian diet, almonds especially. Make sure you get protein and fiber and omega 3s.

My nut intake is pretty decent. (Kind of had a Tobias Funke moment there lol.)

Diet is a large portion of health too. Eat foods that are high in mono and poly unsaturated fats like steel cut oats. Try to lower your intake of saturated fats that are often found in processed foods and fatty meats.

I was unaware that oats had a decent quantity of fat in them until just now since I always buy them in bulk so there isn't a nutrition facts label.  I always ate them for the soluble fiber and trace minerals.  But now that I am looking at the estimates on the internet, I am kind of amazed at how much more nutritious they are than I thought they were. 

And yes, beer is made with hops which is a phytoestrogen, but unless you're downing a case a day, you're fine. There isn't enough of it and it isn't harvested properly to actually work as a phytoestrogen. I know you don't need reasons to keep drinking beer, but if anything's gonna make you feel like a man when you start on T, it'll be throwing back a few cold ones with your buddies every now and again.

That's comforting to know. Beer is the only alcoholic beverage I like, so I really don't want to give it up.  I was reading about alcohol and its effect on testosterone, and it seems like in order to really mess with your hormonal balance you would have to drink somewhere in the range of a case of beer as well.  And alcohol does not seem to mess with protein synthesis in humans (although it does in rats), unless you have alcoholic myopathy, but that also doesn't happen unless you are drinking some insane amount on a daily basis.