My 2023 health journey has been quite the process. Who knew that 2023 would be the year where I finally found something that would finally stick and help me get to a fitness goal I have been wanting to reach my entire life.
While Tirzepatide paid a part of it, that wasn’t the only thing that got me to where I am today. Constantly waking up to exercise, supplements, plans, food I eat. It all plays a part.
Let’s make this easy for both of us! Here is a a breakdown of every single thing that I have done and used to get to a healthy, new me.
Tirzepatide – The Weight Loss Shot
When I came across the idea of taking a shot that would be able to help regulate my blood sugar, suppress my appetite, and stop the food noise I was all in. Sure, there was a fear of the unknown. I mean, I was going to be injecting my body with a medication I didn’t know exactly what it would do, but I went for it.
After years of trying anything to get into a “healthy” version of myself I didn’t care what I would have to do. But I knew that if I was going to do this, I was going to take it seriously, but also would follow whatever my nurse practitioner told me to do.
When I do my shot
I do my shot every Monday because it will wear off some by the end of the week. You start getting an appetite back and I wanted to be able to enjoy a weekend if we were to go out.
I started the shot in March and it really has been super successful for me. It has surpassed my appetite, but I make sure to remind myself to eat throughout the day. I get full faster so when I eat, it’s smaller meals/portions.
Tips
Some tips I have learned while taking it:
- Increase slowly. This isn’t a race. You aren’t doing this to lose fast, but to lose slow and steady. When I would increase, it was because it had been 2-3 weeks without and loss.
- The day of the shot, you get nauseous. If you take some type of protein right before or after, you don’t get as nauseous.
- Eat protein with everything.
- You don’t have an appetite, so make sure you eat. I you don’t your body can go into starvation mode. You don’t feel it, but there are side effects that come from that which is simple to avoid if you do what you should (aka eat food).
The best part of all this, I love sharing about the place I go because I have actually experienced going there. I can tell you that G.O.A.T. Athletic Spa does a great job and been able to answer every single one of my questions.
If you live in Utah, Check this out
If you live in Utah, they offer virtual appointments. You just need an Utah address to go to them. And, if you use code MODERNDAD you will get a fantastic discount. They are located in South Jordan or St George if you would like to go in person, but the virtual consultation is such a great option.
Fitness – Perfect App
When it comes to working out, I have been doing it for years. Now, I don’t go around calling myself a fitness influencer, but I have done my fare share of learning what to do in the gym.
Over the many years, I have learned that I do well with someone telling me what do to and how to do it.
I enjoy a fitness app because I can just pull out my phone, see what the workouts are, and get going without having to talk to anyone about what I am doing.
Here is the app I have been doing from Caleb Fullmer. Here’s the thing, Caleb actually has a degree is exercise science and fitness. He actually knows what he is talking about, showing, and mixing this up.
I personally love that I can track the weights I lift, see my personal progress, actually see the moves and how to do them, and there is even a community to communicate with others (if you are into that).
With so many apps and ways to exercising these days, I just wanted to show you what I am doing and what has worked for me, but whatever keeps you going and motivated is the best thing you can do.
Supplements – Let’s Talk About Them
During this entire process, I have gotten blood work down so I would know exactly what was going on, what was needed, and try to find out the best solution for me and my body. Clearly, supplements have ben a part of that.
Preworkout
I am a pre workout guy. I have tried so many different ones over the years. Some I have liked better than others, but for me the things that I look for is amount of caffeine and flavor. I just want it to taste good and give me the energy to push harder for my workout.
For me, my personal favorites right now are by Redcon1 and Alpha Lion. They are higher in caffeine and great flavors, but for sure not for everyone. They don’t make me tingle (IYKYK), but they give a good energy and I don’t crash.
Creatine
Another supplement that I have been taking is Creatine. This is one of the most research based products out there. Creatine helps maintain a continuous energy supply to your muscles during intense lifting or exercise. In addition to providing more energy and helping to increase muscle growth, creatine helps: Speed up muscle recovery. When you exercise, you create micro-tears in your muscle fibers.
One thing to note about creatine, make sure you are drinking plenty water. You don’t want to get dehydrated!
BCAAs
One other supplement I take daily is Perk BCAAs. This too helps with muscle recovery.
BCAAs are made up of 3 essential amino acids that need to be provided by your diet (leucine, isoleucine, and valine). Your muscles can break them down directly for energy so they provide readily available fuel for workouts. They also are utilized in repairing muscle and preventing muscle soreness.
BCAAs have been researched for their role in preventing mental and physical fatigue in workouts. Researchers have explored how BCAA supplementation improves recovery and limits muscle soreness. Additionally, BCAAs have been correlated to athletes achieving lower body fat levels and higher muscle retention.
Best part about doing BCAAs from Perk is not only do they taste amazing, if you use code MODERNDAD you can get a discount on them (and any of their other products too).
Testosterone, I Am Doing It
Right after we had our oldest child I was feeling off. Sluggish, major memory fog, gaining weight in my mid section. Something wasn’t right.
I went out our family doctor and did a full blood panel. Everything was “in range,” but I still knew something wasn’t right. I decided to go to Google to see what these symptoms could be caused by and low testosterone kept coming up. That is when I decided to go to a urologist.
Blood work was done again, and we found out it was in fact low testosterone. A “normal” reading falls anywhere between 300 to 1,000 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL). About 40% of men over age 45 will have levels that come in below that range. This isn’t a weird thing, it’s a thing that men don’t talk about and don’t want to get taken care of because if you’re testosterone is low apparently that means you’re not a man. That’s dumb!
Started with Cream
The doctor and I discussed different ways to increase my levels and I started with creams. These are a daily thing, where you apply the cream every day right on your body. The hard part is you don’t want to forget it. you need to make it part of your routine. But also, you want to keep it out of reach of kids. You do not want them to get ahold of it cause it’s not good for them. Also, if you want to have kids, you can’t be on this because it will make you less likely to get pregnant.
I did the cream for a year and it was good, but we were ready to try to get pregnant again. I always was nervous having a young child to keep it out of reach.
After we had our fourth, I was ready to go back to being on testosterone. I had gotten a vasectomy (which doesn’t decrease testosterone–that’s a myth that just isn’t true at all) and just needed to start feeling like myself again.
Next up, shots
This time, the doctor and I talked about pellets or doing a weekly shot. The shot would be covered by insurance, so we went that direction.
The needle is a little bit bigger and you have to inject it directly into muscle. So I would shoot it right into my glute. It wasn’t painful, but if you don’t do well with needles then this is definitely not what you want to do.
For me, when I would do the shots I did them Saturday morning, and by Sunday night I started to feel the hulk coming. Monday I wasn’t fun to be around at all, Tuesday it would come down a bit and by Wednesday I was myself. This want’s a fun rollercoaster, but I did it for over a year because it was working. It just was affecting the way I was around people and those people let me know. Time for a switch.
Testosterone pellets for the win
That was when I looked into testosterone pellets. What they do is they insert pellets under the skin of your glute (aka your butt) and they stay there. They slowly release the testosterone into your system and can last about 4-6 months.
I had talked to several of my friends (men and women) being on the pellets and they had nothing about great things to say about the pellets. Not having to worry about injections or creams would be game changing. That is why I decided it was time to go this direction.
G.O.A.T. Athletic Spa was where I was already going for the Tirzepatide shots and I knew they offered the pellets, so we discussed adding it to what I was already doing.
Absolutely game changing. You aren’t going to feel instant increase in testosterone, it takes a bit. But once it’s there you feel like you are yourself again. Energy is back, memory and mental clarity, sex drive increases like you were 18 again, and overall health does better.
Really, I think so many more people should look into checking their testosterone levels and seeing where they are at and then finding a solution that works for them.
But if you want to go to G.O.A.T. and do one of their options like I am doing, they gave me a code (MODERNDAD10) for that that gives 10% off any of their options. This code can be used for the first two treatments which is amazing, so check that out if you are interested.
Outside and Inside
The easiest way to track everything here is clearly a scale. Weight changing is a way you can see if you are making a difference, but sometimes that scale can be discouraging.
For years I had a hard time getting on a scale because if something didn’t change, I would do the extreme to get to a weight I wanted to be.
After that unhealthy relationship with the scale I decided I wouldn’t worry about the scale and just worry about the unscalable differences: cloths fitting, fitting in a booth at a restaurant, body not aching due to weight, etc.
Clearly when working out (specifically adding weight training to my routine), I wanted to track my muscle mass.
Dexa Body Scan
In 2019 I did a DEXA Scan, which scans your body to tell you muscle mass, body fat percentage, and bone density. This is one of the best way to really track how you are doing, because as we all know muscle weighs more than fat.
I felt like I was in the best shape of my life then (and I was) because I was constantly running and was specifically running down the canyon every Saturday to prepare for the marathon. My muscle mass was good and fat percentage was lower than it had been.
When I went back in September 2023, I was shocked at the comparison of fat percentage, muscle mass, and bone density.
I had decreased my body fat by 22 pounds, increased my muscle by 11 pounds, and my bones were stronger. All great things, but still wasn’t at a healthy average where I wanted to be.
That was why I decided to keep doing the shots, exercising daily, eating better, and working towards getting into that healthy range. Not a extreme range by any means, just healthy.
The great thing about these scans is that they are available in places besides Utah, but there are plenty of other options that you can do. If you are starting your journey, or have already been doing it, I say get a scan just to see what’s going on inside now. Then, go back in three to six months to see how you’ve progressed.
I am doing another one the beginning of this year and planning on doing them at that same cadence just to know how I am doing internally.
Find What Works for You
Here’s is the thing, it has taken me over 40 years for me to find what would work for me. Different ages in my life different things worked. So find whatever that is for you in the time you are in. You will find it.
This all didn’t happen overnight. Now that I am in my 40s I don’t want overnight success. I want realistic expectations and a healthy lifestyle that is sustainable.
I hope that you find that for you! Feeling like myself, like the person that I know I am on the inside and outside. My life is forever changed and I just wanted to be in a healthy place for my family and kids.
