Strength Training and Lower Testosterone?

[Digital]

I have a bit of a personal story here, so bear with me.

I started strength training 3 weeks ago and about 2 weeks ago I started to notice symptoms of low testosterone levels.

It started with an embarrassing case of "I couldn't get it up", which surprised me because I've never had a problem with that. I'm 22. It could've been the alcohol and the performance anxiety (first time, but I didn't *feel* nervous). But other symptoms of low T started to pop up. 2 weeks ago I stopped having the desire to masturbate. My erections are weak. Morning stiffness is there, but, again, very weak. My mental drive isn't the best, either, but not totally shot. These are all typical signs of low T.

Only recently have I started to learn about T, but I suppose I've always had levels lower than average. My arms have always been very thin for a guy. My hair is already starting to thin out, though it doesn't look bad yet. However, I've never had a problem with my sex drive. Just 4 weeks ago it was healthy for my age (i.e. through the roof ).

The culprit, as far as I can tell, is diet. So let me explain my diet. Before strength training I had the occasional "eat like a garbage can" days, but for the most part my diet was well above average in terms of health. Lots of veggies, fruits, etc. However, once I started weight training, I took a subconscious hint from the following article:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/20 ... -exercise/

And started eating:

- eggs, soy, or meat
- fresh, canned, or frozen veggies
- beans, or lentils

for every meal. I also have had a few whey shakes (with a bit of soy milk) and protein bars for convenience. I make saturdays my free day, and thus eat lots of pizza.

The above diet is very high in protein, but low in carbs. I read about the anabolic diet (where you avoid carbs on weekdays and spike carbs on weekends) -- that diet is supposed to maximize T levels. I'm not regulating my diet as a strict anabolic diet, but my diet doesn't seem too different, thus it's surprising that I'm experiencing what appears to be low T levels.

Then I read these two articles:

http://www.thinkmuscle.com/articles/inc ... iet-01.htm
http://www.thinkmuscle.com/articles/incledon/diet02.htm

which say: "What is the best type of diet to follow if your only concern is to increase T levels and make more of it available to the body for the purpose of improving lean body mass and/or performance? It would seem that CHO intake must exceed PRO intake by at least 40% to keep the bioactive fraction of T high."

If that's the case, then oops! I've been missing my CHO (carbs). In fact, the article states that a diet too high in protein can even lower T levels. That's good information, but I need to know if this is why I'm experiencing low T levels (or what I think is low T levels). Could limiting carbs really drop my sex drive *that* much? Even at 22?

So there's another culprit: soy. I've read lots of stuff about soy. I try to go straight to the science articles from well-known journals. I need to do more research, but the studies I've read so far have shown no significant difference in T levels between soy-based diets and meat-based diets. There are a lot of quacks on the internet claiming that eating soy will give you man boobs -- they may be right to an extent, but until I see it form a respectable source (e.g. science journal) I'm not going to make any leaps of faith. Problem is, I've recently put a lot of soy into my body lately. From fake meats to soy milk to tofu to tempeh. I have a vegetarian background so I have a tendency to avoid meats while grocery shopping. I think I accidently got too much soy crap last time I went shopping!

My strength training program is Stronglifts 5x5. I've been increasing 5 lbs on the squats each workout. I know strength training is supposed to increase T levels, but other than my diet change, this is the only thing I've been doing differently in the last 3 weeks.

My question for all of you is simply: can you help me out? Please

Thanks!

[guni]

 
You have a vegetarian background.  So, you've been avoding meat for a large part of your life, I'll assume.  Dietary fat raises T.  Vegetarians don't eat meat, so T is lower.
In other words, stop with the tofu bullshit and eat steak; stop with the soy juice bullshit (that's right, it's soy juice not soy milk) and drink real milk. 
Eat like a proper human being is supposed to be eating, and has been eating for thousands of years and see if you feel better.  It might take awhile for your body to adapt as your habits change, so give it a few weeks or so.
If that still doesn't do it, then go to a doctor and see if there is something else wrong.
 
PS: when I say how a human being is supposed to be eating, I don't mean stuffing your ass with pizza and other crap half of the week.
 
Good Luck

[guni]

 
I forgot to address your erection issues.
Performance anxiety is normal and happens, don't worry too much about it.  It's probably the reason you're feeling down (no pun intended, really), probably psychological.  Just forget about it and go on about your life.  Stressing about it is just gonna make you more anxious, so don't.  Don't stare at your dick every morning wondering what's wrong.  It might sound silly, but you're unconsciously adding pressure on yourself. 
Just go on about your business, train hard and eat right.

[muecke]

I don't think soy lowers you Testosterone level. But please, have you been to the doctor to actually measure your testosterone level (free T and total T)?

[Mehdi]

Good post Guni.
Vegeterians are always skinny (lack of muscle). Things that increase testosterone levels:

• Saturated fat. Eat more red meat, use real butter, eat eggs, etc.


• Fish oil. Too much will thin your blood however, which can give erection problems


• Weight lifting does too, so focus on getting stronger

I also used to believe soy was bad for testosterone levels, but I've seen evidence from both sides in the meanwhile. Have never researched it (don't like soy anyway), so can't give you an answer on that.
You can ask the doctor for a blood test, let him measure your t levels. Change your diet to high saturated fat /high red meat (watch out with body fat of course), check numbers again 2 months later. Draw conclusions.
 

[Mouse]

 
Performance anxiety is normal and happens, don't worry too much about it.  It's probably the reason you're feeling down (no pun intended, really), probably psychological.  Just forget about it and go on about your life.  Stressing about it is just gonna make you more anxious, so don't.  Don't stare at your dick every morning wondering what's wrong.  It might sound silly, but you're unconsciously adding pressure on yourself. 
Just go on about your business, train hard and eat right.

 
 
Digital - good for you for addressing this and it shows how great this forum is that you feel you can throw this out for discussion and get quality advice.
Guni is right with what he says.

[stringy]

This could be a lot of things, lack of sleep, burnout, too much alcohol... I'd say look after yourself, don't worry too much about it, and if it doesn't improve, go see a doctor. I'm no expert, but I thought hair loss was generally caused by a by-product of testosterone (DHT) and not by too little T.

[OrlandoInFL]

I was on a soy and tuna diet years ago and it did lower my testosterone drastically. I lost mass and strength and was emotional. Haha, fun times.

[rissam]

Hi..got my blood work done last week. While my *Total T* levels were pretty much the same from my last test 6 months ago, my *Free T* levels improved dramatically.
Which one is more significant? There seems no clear answer to this question.

[1337lolzz]

soy increases estrogen levels. I told this to a teacher and he said "that explains why i've been so emotional lately." lol.  it makes you more of a woman.

[mishka]

Man, I used to hardly eat vegetables a while back (until I got my diet in check). It's not the T.

It's the stress. You're concentrating too much on having sex, and you're nt concentrating enough on enjoying it. Take a little bit more time, play a little bit more, go a little slower (or faster). Bring some lube into the mix, it gives an eye-candy effect (if she's got the bottom to go with it).

[Mikeone356]

Being vegetarian does not reduce the libido. I've been vegetarian before for about 10 years and no complains. I am not vegetarian now and don't see the difference. T has to drop to a very, very low level for you to see loss of desire. Not in 4 weeks. The other problem is arterioscleroses (clogging of the arteries). You are too young for that, and you won't see the difference in 4 weeks. So the only reason would be stress, lack of sleep, over training, general fatigue. Take it easy and pretty soon you'll be busy in the morning