Markuss's journey to the holy land

[markuss]

So I've been lingering for a while and figured i'd make a thread for myself..

I've been having pfs for the past 8 years, from the ages 21-29. Needless to say but times have been tough. I've tried many other protocols with varying success and have started the protocol since 2 weeks ago.
Timeline of protocols:

- 21-24 -> clueless about what to do, mainly continued bodybuilding w/ clomid as per pfs doctor but was having major digestive issues
- 24-27 -> Vegan diet with Ayurvedic detoxing, dropped down to 150 pounds from 180, felt more grounded and less anxious
- 27-28 -> Was trained by Steve Maxwell and did a food combining diet with kettlebell training, gained considerable in the sexuality & motivation angle
- 28-29 -> Took the year off from stressful call center job to chill and lived at a yoga ashram and wwoofed at farms

Which brings me to today, It's hard to estimate my percentage but i'd say I'm around 65%-70%. I think i'm at a point in recovery that i'm subconsciously ready to share my story with you guys. I'm ready to take it to the end and finally be done with all this.

[markuss]

Quick question, since starting carb backloading i noticed that i've had less bowel movements since food combining. Is it necessary to backload? When I was food combining i'd eat one large meal of fruits for breakfast, carbs/vegetables/fat for lunch and protein/vegetables/fat for dinner, would that be ok? I noticed my digestive health was better that way. I haven't added coffee however, which I know helps stimulate things.. I've noticed that when I completely empty my colon in the morning that my overall health gets optimized. Maybe my metabolism is still too slow or i need to tweak something

[basementdweller]

So I've been lingering for a while and figured i'd make a thread for myself..

I've been having pfs for the past 8 years, from the ages 21-29. Needless to say but times have been tough. I've tried many other protocols with varying success and have started the protocol since 2 weeks ago.
Timeline of protocols:

- 21-24 -> clueless about what to do, mainly continued bodybuilding w/ clomid as per pfs doctor but was having major digestive issues
- 24-27 -> Vegan diet with Ayurvedic detoxing, dropped down to 150 pounds from 180, felt more grounded and less anxious
- 27-28 -> Was trained by Steve Maxwell and did a food combining diet with kettlebell training, gained considerable in the sexuality & motivation angle
- 28-29 -> Took the year off from stressful call center job to chill and lived at a yoga ashram and wwoofed at farms

Which brings me to today, It's hard to estimate my percentage but i'd say I'm around 65%-70%. I think i'm at a point in recovery that i'm subconsciously ready to share my story with you guys. I'm ready to take it to the end and finally be done with all this.

how was the ashram? I plan on going to India and doing something like that

[markuss]

it was really chill, i stayed at the sivananda ashram yoga farm in grass valley, ca. Was very beneficial for relaxation and calming the mind but the food was vegetarian and no access to weights so i left :/

[markuss]

bump... anyone know whether i can continue with a food combining paleo diet? Fruit for breakfast, carbs for lunch and protein for dinner? That way digestion is easier and i eliminate all the previous days food in the morning when going to the bathroom.. I know that it's not good for protein synthesis and that insulin levels will be less stable but the feeling of food sitting in my body feels unhealthy. It seems that protein twice a day is too heavy on the digestion at this point

[Cdsnuts]

bump... anyone know whether i can continue with a food combining paleo diet? Fruit for breakfast, carbs for lunch and protein for dinner? That way digestion is easier and i eliminate all the previous days food in the morning when going to the bathroom.. I know that it's not good for protein synthesis and that insulin levels will be less stable but the feeling of food sitting in my body feels unhealthy. It seems that protein twice a day is too heavy on the digestion at this point

If your digestion is still slow, you dont have to backload immediately. If you want to ride out the regular diet for six months or so, go ahead, but you're still going to want to follow it as much as you can. Carbs mid day for me is horrible. I mean, talk about food sitting in your system? I feel so much lighter and cleaner and hold less water by eating as outlined. Basically fruit, veggies and protein all day, and then on a backload day, carbs at night. At this point I'm so used to eating this way, I, by default, usually dont eat carbs unless it's dark out. By this I mean complex carbs.

I think you should stick to it for a few weeks until your body settles in. It's so much better long term.

[markuss]

I've noticed that with bodybuilding style training (rep range 8+) that it's affecting my libido negatively compared to strength style training (3-6 reps). Is this a downswing that'll lead to a higher baseline later down the line? Is hypertrophy the main goal of training for pfs? Bodybuilding is what made me lose my hair to begin with so I guess it makes sense to reenact that style of training.

[DrivenToRecover]

I'd love to hear CD's take on this, but I feel like with a system that's as weak as ours you should aim for a workout that's only "kinda tough" for you 4-5x per week.

That is, I think you should leave the gym after a workout and feel great...more energy than you had coming in. If you leave the gym exhausted...you've probably overdone it by pfs standards.

Obviously though, what's "kinda tough" will change as your baseline increases.

[Cdsnuts]

I'd love to hear CD's take on this, but I feel like with a system that's as weak as ours you should aim for a workout that's only "kinda tough" for you 4-5x per week.

That is, I think you should leave the gym after a workout and feel great...more energy than you had coming in. If you leave the gym exhausted...you've probably overdone it by pfs standards.

Obviously though, what's "kinda tough" will change as your baseline increases.

This is my take^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

- - - Updated - - -

I've noticed that with bodybuilding style training (rep range 8+) that it's affecting my libido negatively compared to strength style training (3-6 reps). Is this a downswing that'll lead to a higher baseline later down the line? Is hypertrophy the main goal of training for pfs? Bodybuilding is what made me lose my hair to begin with so I guess it makes sense to reenact that style of training.

Can you elaborate on how body building made you lose your hair?

[markuss]

I feel that my muscular gains coincided with high dht side effects: acne, hair loss, etc. Is that bro science? lol