TESTOSTERONE: MY EXPERIENCE & LESSONS

There was a period when my testosterone dropped below 150 ng/dl at 22 years old. This was when I decided to compete in a men’s physique competition, cutting out all fat from my diet, eating below maintenance calories, and exercising more to get my body fat below 8%. Though leading up to the competition I felt okay, still motivated to get after my double session days and cardio. That all changed after the competition.

Prior to wanting to compete, I was frustrated for quite some time when it came to my job and eventually quit due to disagreements with the boss and not getting it sorted out. This somewhat allowed me to focus all my energy into training and figuring out the best course of action to get myself ready for the big day.

Afterwards, however, I had no daily routine and no reason to get up. No job or goal I was chasing. This led me into a slump of playing video games all day as it was the only thing that could hold my focus and interest, and no matter how much people tried, they couldn’t break me out of it.

Everything gradually became duller. I lost the spark for training, which had once defined my identity, and despite attempts to switch up my routines and set new goals, it simply wasn't effective long term. This struggle was partly due to my inexperience of not knowing what unfolds in the body and mind after a prolonged, dedicated effort to achieve the leanest state I had ever been in.

Reflecting on that period with the knowledge I have acquired, I realised that low testosterone levels not only impacted my physique but also reduced dopamine production and the connection those two share. The absence of a routine compounded the issue, making it overwhelming to muster the effort needed to reshape my life. It marked the first instance in my life where I started to despise my own appearance. Ironically, when I showed pictures to others, their response was, "I wish my body looked like that."

We all live with our own standards, but over time as my post-comp diet slowly improved and my body regulated better, I was open to receiving help and understood the necessity to find a job as it had gotten too much to keep on relying on my parents as I had spent all the money I had saved, and that reliance really triggered what a piece of shit I was being and needed to do something about it.

Thankfully with help, I got a job, and after a year and a half of not working and playing video games with minimal training, the new routine, being part of a team, and having people rely on me really changed a lot of things. It gave me a reason to wake up and over time provided the financial stability that made me feel like I could repay my debts and feel like less of a burden to others. I then started getting back into the gym with new goals and drive and realised just how important these basic things are in affecting how we think about ourselves and the world. I noticed the same things with others who have gone from high to low levels and vice versa.

I am now 29 with Total Testosterone levels ranging between 650-800 ng/dl depending on what additional practices I do or implement which is the highest they have ever been. Shown below.

These are my blood test results before and after taking BIOS for 2 months (28/06/23). My routine is quite consistent especially over the past two years and could possibly say was better on the first test as I have occurred some additional life stressors since then.

* ng/dl

Note: 671 ng/dl is quite high as the current average has dropped from 600 to 451 from 1990 – 2005 so to be able to increase testosterone especially bioavailable testosterone is quite a significant increase. Some people may see much higher increases depending on where their starting levels are at. However, everyone is different so people will respond differently to different supplements. BIOS is quite a broad product that tries to target multiple pathways to achieve this.

I didn’t have the knowledge I have now, but looking back it made so much sense as to why the tips and habits we provide in our blog post on metabolism work, and how if you start to implement them slowly, you too will start to see your life positively change. This is because the principles are the same whether improving testosterone, metabolism, or health in general. Because, if we do the healthy things then our mind and body will start to function how it should, it’s as simple as that.

You need to force yourself to improve, especially if you have no one around that can support and push you, because you are not yourself when your testosterone is low and at the end of the day no one is going to save you but yourself even if the support is there.

I hope this series on TESTOSTERONE has helped give you some clarity and explanations of what is going on in your mind and body and what you may need to do to get yourself out a rut or to optimise your current state.