Rewriting the Narrative on Men's Wellness W/ Ali Gilbert

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and welcome back to afterburn after hours.
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We are uh settling in as we get ready for summer to hit florida.
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We've already kind of hit that summer peak.
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But uh, on the episode today, we have a old friend of mine.
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Uh, we've reconnected recently and but I have to give some news first.
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So we had my co-host, Allie, so she is now moved on.
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She's moved on to the medical field.
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So we're super excited for her.
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She's back in school, she's got some medical stuff that she's moving into.
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So sad for the show but super happy for her as a person.
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But I thought it would be a good transition to have a different alley on the show.
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So we're transitioning one alley out and we're transitioning a different alley in, Uh.
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So our guest today is Allie Gilbert, who is really somebody that when we met we were just talking we met about 10 years ago almost uh in New York city at a, uh, at a special event that we were both speaking at.
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It was what next generation?
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I think now I think I remember which one it was.
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Yeah, yeah, Was that?
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Was that the broken athletic club BAC?
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Yes, okay, yes, thank you.
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I know you called me an old friend, so I am old and I can't remember stuff.
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So yes, that's okay.
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That makes me old too, then.
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Um, so, yeah, so we, so we were together back then.
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There was what probably four or five of us that were speaking at event, and it was in this super cool I don't.
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Is BAC still around?
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I have no idea.
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I moved to Florida three years ago, so I have no idea.
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Yeah, so it was a super cool club and you know that was like three or four stories and it was in Brooklyn.
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Um, it was in what they call it.
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Uh, what was it?
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What was the part of it?
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You have really found a niche as a top 50 golf pro fitness advisor.
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You are the I guess maybe is it self-titled queen of men's health.
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Someone else did title me that.
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It's not self-proclaimed.
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Alan Cosgrove actually gave me that title.
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Oh, got it Okay.
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Well, that's a pretty good resource then.
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So I would say that that that holds pretty true.
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Um, so, Allie Gilbert, welcome to the show.
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And, uh, I'm excited to just kind of reconnect number one, but also to, uh, find out what you've been up to and and, uh, and and I'm I'm really curious about the, uh, the, the queen of men's health title.
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So, everyone's like why do you call yourself that?
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I'm like I don't.
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Someone.
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You know, Alan, gave me that title and I just threw it in my IG bio and it stuck, and so that's kind of like what I guess I represent, because being a female in the men's health space and just talking all things very openly about men's health and, you know, helping to get, helping to simplify stuff for guys, because it is just as confusing and overwhelming for them as it is for women, especially when it comes to ways to diet and train and optimize hormones and everything.
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So that's uh, that's my niche.
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So where we're at in Florida, are you, uh, in West Palm?
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So about three and a half hours, four hours from you?
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Yeah, Okay, perfect.
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Yeah, I used to, when I worked for the corporate office for Orange Theory.
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We were.
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We were based out of Boca, so I spent a lot of time in that part of Florida Super great.
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Yeah, I love it here.
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Yeah, dude, it's.
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My brother was in West Palm for a while as well.
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It's a little bit warmer than we are up here, kind of year round, so yeah, I think you guys get snow sometimes.
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You know what?
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I've been here for nine years, I want to say I've seen a few frosts, but never actually snow.
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But I have heard that there has been snow in Jacksonville, so, but I've been lucky enough not to have any.
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All right, so something you said real quick I want to touch on, so men's hormones.
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We hear a lot about women's hormones and I think that becomes more of the, the, the, the talking point, where on the men's side, people only think like men have like one hormone, it's just testosterone and it's so.
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There's, there's probably a lot more that goes into that to unpack right, it's so there's.
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There's probably a lot more that goes into that to unpack right.
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Yeah, okay, yeah, um with with guys, like you said, with women it you know, hormone replacement is something that's a little more socially accepted and because testosterone is thought of as the only male hormone, guys think, oh testosterone.
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And testosterone has so many stigmas attached to it socially and all these myths and misconceptions that it does scare guys a little bit.
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But you do have to think when you talk about hormone optimization, it's talking about all the sex hormones for men.
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So just like women need testosterone, men also need estrogen and the right amount.
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And there's also thyroid hormone that goes into it.
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And obviously when somebody goes for a hormone panel, you want to look at all of it.
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So it's something that I equate to in the fitness industry, like if you're doing a functional movement assessment and you only test somebody's dorsiflexion on the left side, that's great, but that doesn't tell us the whole story.
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So if you're only testing total testosterone or only testing one lab marker of a different hormone, it doesn't tell us the whole story and a lot of guys don't understand that.
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So it's something that I've dedicated my life's work to helping them understand that testosterone is not a scary thing, and it doesn't mean you're cheating, and it doesn't mean that you're giving in or you know that you just can't optimize it naturally and you failed.
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It's something that could be crucial in the health and well-being of a man when he reaches the point where he has exhausted everything he could do naturally and this might be the appropriate next step.
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Is it because steroids kind of automatically get attached to testosterone that there's this bad stigma around getting?
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on testosterone A hundred percent?
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Yeah, cause you know, like back in the nineties when, uh, the steroid um laws changed from Ben Johnson and Winstraw and everything, and so obviously testosterone is a very controlled substance and it is a steroid hormone.
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However, when it comes to therapeutic dose, it really is just that it's therapeutic dose and a lot of guys confuse it with what bodybuilders take, which is called super physiological dosing.
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So that's way above where anybody would need to be, unless you're trying to get to the size that a bodybuilder is on stage.
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Most men don't need that, but they think that's what they're getting, and I try to explain to them that TRT, or testosterone replacement therapy, is literally replacing what you should already be biologically producing, nothing more.
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So there's plenty of guys who look like they are fit but are on TRT but necessarily don't look like bodybuilders, and I think some guys think, oh, I don't want to turn into that, or I want to turn into that, but you're not going to do that.
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On TRT dosing, Right.
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And so what basically TRT does?
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So a male has a natural hormone range right For their testosterone levels and what TRT does?
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It basically just comes in to get you back into a normal range.
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If you fell out onto the low end of that testosterone range so you're not exceeding 900,000, you know on the testosterone scale where potentially what you're saying like this super dosing, you're on your 1400, 1500.
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So and and up potentially, where what your goal is is really to get men back into normal ranges.
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Yes and no.
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So that term normal range, um is a little bit controversial now because the quote normal range that is seen on labs has actually decreased over the last few decades.
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So on LabCorp and Quest they have ranges where it used to be.
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The low end was 350.
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The high end was 1100.
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You don't see that anymore.
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So now I oh my gosh I think the lowest.
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Somebody had sent me a snapshot of their labs on Instagram and it was like 170 at the low end and then the high end is around 800.
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And the problem with that is, think about, okay, the range used to end up around 1100 on the high end, and that's actually where most men feel their best.
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So now we have guys of any age showing up with test levels of 250, being told that you're normal, you don't have anything to worry about, but they're highly symptomatic.
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So they are then distressed, they don't know what to do, they think something's wrong with them and they turn to other means of self-medication, whether that's getting testosterone illegally or searching for stimulants or something to just feel better.
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Or even worse, they will be handed an antidepressant, because a lot of the symptoms of low T align with having depression.
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So it's tough because guys don't know what to say to um, resist what their general practitioner might be telling them.
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And frankly, I tell guys, don't go to a GP for testosterone optimization.
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They're not trained for that.
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We're, you know, thank God we have them, but that's if you get sick, if you need like a Z-Pak or something.
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Hormone optimization is not something that those doctors are trained to confront.
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So they're trained to keep you healthy, keep you alive, yeah.
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So so you really do have to go out of pocket or to somebody who specializes in it to really understand where you land.
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Because if you're 28 years old and you have a test level of 220 and you're being told you're normal, that's not normal.
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You want it to be more what's called optimal.
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You want it to fall in the higher end.
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So typically guys who are over 600 total testosterone and have a free testosterone of about 30 and above is when they do their best, and that's their best, meaning they feel their best.
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They don't really have any of the symptoms of low testosterone, and this could be with medication or without.
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So if they're naturally at those levels, then they're probably in a good spot.
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But we don't see that a lot with guys now.
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And so it's funny what you said, because a couple months ago, after I competed, I had my, my doc did my labs and no free, free test wasn't even on there, it was just overall test score, right.
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And so, to your point, a general practitioner is not looking at all of the markers, they're just going to get the general, the general one on there, and I have.
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So I I went recently to get my labs like a whole panel done, like vitamins and everything, uh, igf one, all this stuff.
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But this basic panel was just looking at testosterone as, uh, you know, an overall and I think it was like, I don't know, like six, 25, I want to say, but I have no idea what free was or anything.
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So can you tell the dip, tell us, the difference between what you're looking at from free testosterone to overall testosterone?
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So a total testosterone is is like guys wear that like their bench press number, like you know.
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Yeah, like my total T is like 900.
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Like you know, we've had guys come in naturally um in the eight 900 range and still have very low free testosterone.
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So they do feel suboptimal but of course they're told well, you're fine because their total T is so high and, like I was saying before, it's really only a fraction of what we need to know.
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So if a guy is not on testosterone and he gets labs done, you're also going to want LH and FSH, which men do have.
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Women are used to hearing those numbers because they have a lot to do with fertility, as they do in men.
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But luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone, those numbers help us understand what type of what's called hypogonadism a man may be suffering from.
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Hypogonadism means that you're just low in the sex hormones, you're not producing what you should.
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So you'll see two different types, mainly with guys primary and secondary.
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Primary tends to happen in guys who are older, where the testicles just stop working, basically, and they stop producing testosterone.
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Or if there's been testicular trauma, if they've been kicked there, if they've been like a pro cyclist, something like that, or if they have what's called a varicocele, which is like a very constrictive vein over the testicles.
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That will show up as very high LH and FSH versus secondary hypogonadism, which is where most guys or the category most guys are in is suppressed LH and FSH, and that usually comes from stress.
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So that means that the signal from your brain down to the testicles is somehow disrupted and stress can be the one disrupting factor.
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Most men think if everything downstairs is working properly, my testosterone must be fine, and that's not always the case.
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And yes, testosterone does contribute to the ability to perform sexually, and that's not always the case.
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And yes, testosterone does contribute to the ability to perform sexually.
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However, it's not everything and guys don't really take into account the impact stress can have on their body.
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And I've talked about this quite often, where the analogy that I use for all us meatheads and fitness people is if you're going for like a one rep max or you're on the end part of a treadmill interval, like it's very hard, it's very heavy, if you're coming out of the hole in the squat rack, you're shaking, your eyes are bulging like you're turning purple, you're extremely stressed at that point.
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And then if some woman comes in front of you and is like yo, heath, let's go.
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Are you really going to be able to like, switch gears and be able to produce an erection at that?
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standpoint.
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You know.
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So that's the impact stress has on your body.
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It's not worried about you procreating, it's like, hey, I just want to keep this person alive.
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And that can come from emotional stress, physical stress.
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So this comes into play when guys don't eat enough to perform in the gym, when they eat too much, when they're undertrained, when they're overtrained.
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We see this a lot and they just have no idea why this is happening.
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And it's literally because of that stress impact.
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So that's a big part that is not talked about often enough.
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And I'm assuming stress stacks too.
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So I have a stressful job which then leads to me not eating well, then leads to me not being as active as possible.
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So now I just keep stacking on stress and then I'm assuming it just spills over into that area of life.
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Absolutely.
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And where I would start with, a guy is looking at all right, what are the stressors in your life?
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Which ones can we control?
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So if you have children, you can't really control your kids I mean kind of unethical but you can control how you react.
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We can control nutrition.
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We can control training.
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Training is probably the easiest thing to control because we don't have to train multiple times a day every day like we do with food.
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So if you can actually take the stress off from the training, then that's a great first step.
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So instead of six days a week, maybe you go to four.
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And I know that can be scary because guys think, well, I have to do more, because I have to maintain the shape I'm in.
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Well, then let's look at your nutrition.
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Can you control your nutrition when you're not in the gym?
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Absolutely.
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So if we take one stressor that we have control over off of our body, that just helps everything else and it's scary at first.
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But guys are very similar to women where they do freak out about the scale and which direction it moves, whether they're mad that it's not going down or upset.
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It's not going up because they don't think they're gaining muscle.
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They're still sensitive to that.
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Body dysmorphia is very high in guys.
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So they think that they have to do more and they will cut calories so low that they feel terrible.
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They can't keep this up.
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Then they end up binging.
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And then we know how that binge cycle goes goes where you're white knuckling it all throughout the week and then the weekend you just blow it out and it becomes this vicious cycle where they don't gain muscle because they're not eating enough.
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They look smaller but they feel more soft and skinny fat, I guess, would be the term and that's because they're under so much stress that they're literally destroying their testosterone levels, destroying their body's ability to try to grow any type of muscle tissue, because they're constantly in the breakdown mode.
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So getting them out of that to understand that, hey, you actually have to eat more, which might be scary, but hey, we haven't tried that yet.
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So why don't we not keep doing what we know is not working and maybe look at it a different way?
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So I think the what most guys don't understand, if they've never been to that state of of leanness before, is you feel terrible, like you look your best.
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You feel terrible and you can't live.
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You can't live there.
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I mean you can't live sub 5% and most I would say most men aren't really ever going to see sub five, 10%, 12%, pretty pretty sustainable If you know, if you're consistent and you, you know you have good discipline.
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But anything I would say sub 10 is just it's not, it doesn't, it doesn't feel good, you know it's.
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It's, it's designed to be done for a short period of time, uh, for an event or whatever it is.
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But too many people strive for that and, like you said, they think the best way to do it is just cutting calories and in actuality it's, it's, it's, you know it's not that at all because, like you said, you just end up getting soft and you're not in a in a position where your body can be even burn any more fat, cause it's like, dude, I'm, I'm done, I don't like what you're doing to me, so I'm just going to start shutting things down, and testosterone is one of them.
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Right?
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Yeah, if you, if you tested your test levels, if you took a natural bodybuilder and tested his test levels on stage, they would be horrendous.
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Like you would look at this person's labs and be like, oh my gosh, what is wrong with them?
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Because you're under such duress and you've dieted so low and all that stuff and it isn't sustainable.
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I do encourage guys to get below 15% and live there.
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Once you get there, it's way easier to maintain.
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Yeah, like it's so hard to explain because the process to get there sucks, but staying there is like you know.
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People ask me all the time like, how do you live?
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I don't know my body fat now maybe 12, 13.
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How do you live there?
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And I'm like, oh, it's easy, cause, like they see me eating Oreos and cereal and like all these things, because your body's ability to tolerate carbohydrates improves when you get leaner.
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Yeah, all the things improve on it.
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Obviously, I'm not eating, like you know.
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Um, I'm trying not to curse.
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So, eating like a jack hole I guess that would be the term.
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Um, going crazy with your diet, like that.
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That's something that you now identify as somebody who's living sub 15%.
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So you have to live that lifestyle Right.
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However, you can get away with, you know, having donuts or having stuff like that a little bit more often, because your body is just going to take it and use it for fuel and shove it in your muscles.
00:19:54.233 --> 00:19:58.448
Not that I'm eating donuts every day, but occasionally yeah I will.
00:19:58.448 --> 00:19:59.609
I love donuts.
00:19:59.609 --> 00:20:01.393
I don't know who doesn't like that's weird.
00:20:01.613 --> 00:20:02.314
I'm a fan.
00:20:03.335 --> 00:20:05.818
Like cinnamon rolls are like my favorite thing on earth.
00:20:06.059 --> 00:20:06.259
Yeah.
00:20:11.464 --> 00:20:12.547
Um, so I'm always posting about that, but it, it, yeah.
00:20:12.547 --> 00:20:15.192
And a lot of guys think that sub 15% is like impossible and it's really not.
00:20:15.192 --> 00:20:21.673
However, if you're starting from a point where you're already lean but you are trying to get leaner, you just might be going about it.
00:20:21.673 --> 00:20:28.252
The wrong way, which we just discussed, is cutting calories too low, increasing exercise too much to the point where.
00:20:28.252 --> 00:20:30.037
How are you going to sustain that?
00:20:30.037 --> 00:20:31.148
Where are you going to go from there?
00:20:31.148 --> 00:20:34.664
Are you going to go to 1500 calories and then four hours of cardio?
00:20:34.664 --> 00:20:36.750
Like that's no way to live, right?
00:20:37.573 --> 00:20:38.875
And that's so.
00:20:38.875 --> 00:20:48.141
One of the reasons I had labs done post-show was because I compete naturally, and so and I'm 39, I was 39 last year, I'm 40 this year so I was.
00:20:48.141 --> 00:20:52.872
I knew about three weeks out I had tanked pretty much thyroid I could.
00:20:52.872 --> 00:20:56.205
I could just tell you know and so I'm like, all right, I need to go.
00:20:56.205 --> 00:21:06.621
About two weeks after I got done I went and got them just to kind of see if I had bounced back at all or if my thyroid was just going to be rough coming back.
00:21:06.621 --> 00:21:15.807
So that was kind of what my process was, because I could tell that where my body was and it was not in a good state.
00:21:15.807 --> 00:21:18.596
But again, it was there for a very short period of time.
00:21:18.596 --> 00:21:23.626
But, like you said, that's the process of the extreme.
00:21:23.626 --> 00:21:33.729
But getting getting to 15% to 12%, that's a really, I would say, happy, healthy, sustainable body fat percentage and weight.
00:21:33.729 --> 00:21:37.585
But yeah, if you're at 30% you can't imagine getting to 15.
00:21:38.855 --> 00:21:47.442
No, and and I will say too, this is not just for aesthetics Like your body is going to be in a lot healthier position at that body fat.
00:21:47.442 --> 00:21:49.244
It just is because there's.
00:21:49.244 --> 00:21:52.618
So, like you know, there is an obesity epidemic in America.
00:21:52.618 --> 00:21:57.289
A lot of guys are over 20%, and so that seems near impossible.
00:21:57.289 --> 00:22:06.659
However, that is where guys used to live in when we were born, like in the eighties and the seventies, and all of that that was more normalized than what is now.
00:22:07.361 --> 00:22:11.816
So this is not to turn you into a competitor or a bodybuilder or anything.
00:22:11.816 --> 00:22:17.385
It's actually to get you in a very resilient, healthy, low inflammation state.
00:22:17.385 --> 00:22:49.538
If you do labs when you're 30% body fat, you're going to see inflammatory markers are high, your lipids might be all over the place, triglycerides would probably be very high, insulin, glucose, all those things they all improve when you can bring your body fat down, and that also puts a guy in a much better position to go on testosterone replacement, because going on testosterone when you're extremely obese it's kind of a recipe for disaster in a way, because guys will experience side effects and then they'll be like well, testosterone is not for me, right.
00:22:49.538 --> 00:22:58.517
So, like we have a term that I coined, called GPP for TRT, and in the fitness industry GPP stands for general physical preparation.
00:22:58.517 --> 00:23:03.028
Like you're preparing somebody either for a sport or competition or something.
00:23:03.028 --> 00:23:04.758
I'm preparing guys for life.
00:23:04.758 --> 00:23:14.146
I want them to get in a position of health so that if and when they do end up on testosterone, they have a good experience and it works that much better for them.
00:23:14.146 --> 00:23:24.523
Because if you're adding a hormone that your body doesn't want because when you have a lot of body fat, fat is the most inflammatory tissue, so it's going to suppress testosterone.
00:23:24.523 --> 00:23:41.838
So now you're adding exogenous testosterone to a body that does not want it, so your body's gonna be like, cool, I'm gonna give you the finger, have a nice day, and this comes out in mood swings and water retention and um, you know, everything just goes sideways for them.
00:23:41.838 --> 00:23:43.181
They just don't feel good.
00:23:43.181 --> 00:23:51.486
So if we can actually get your body fat down, get you less inflamed, feeling better, then it's a better experience.
00:23:51.625 --> 00:24:07.580
And this involves things that guys generally avoid, which is low intensity aerobic exercise and a higher rep weightlifting, but it's only for a short period of time until we can transition into heavier stuff and hypertrophy and all of that.
00:24:07.580 --> 00:24:10.931
But many guys are like I go in the gym.
00:24:10.931 --> 00:24:12.234
I lift as heavy as I can.
00:24:12.234 --> 00:24:14.179
I take five minute rest periods.
00:24:14.179 --> 00:24:17.226
I don't do cardio, like we know.
00:24:17.226 --> 00:24:18.616
This whole dance same reason.
00:24:18.616 --> 00:24:21.509
They all have messed up shoulders Cause they only flat bench press.
00:24:21.509 --> 00:24:23.698
They don't want to do an incline, cause that's hard.
00:24:25.922 --> 00:24:28.507
And I listen.
00:24:28.507 --> 00:24:32.440
There's so many different ways that we could go on that on, on this track of like.
00:24:32.440 --> 00:24:44.829
Okay, you know, getting somebody down to that, that percentage, but really what I want to do is I want to, I want to help the guy who's listening, who's like maybe, maybe this is me.
00:24:44.829 --> 00:24:46.678
What would you say?
00:24:46.678 --> 00:24:48.361
Or maybe your top five?
00:24:48.361 --> 00:24:53.564
Like red flags or like check engine lights, that somebody who's listening is like dude?
00:24:53.564 --> 00:24:57.000
I might need to go check out Allie or get checked or get my labs done, get something.
00:24:57.000 --> 00:24:57.462
So what would you tell somebody that's listening?
00:24:57.462 --> 00:24:57.634
Listening is like dude.
00:24:57.634 --> 00:24:58.088
I might need to go check out Allie or get checked or get my labs done, get something.
00:24:58.088 --> 00:25:01.491
So what would you tell somebody that's listening that be like I feel.
00:25:01.491 --> 00:25:02.712
I feel like they're talking to me.
00:25:03.536 --> 00:25:11.409
Yeah, and that's a great question and this would describe somebody who has just tremendous brain fog.
00:25:11.409 --> 00:25:15.506
So that's one of the things that guys with low T don't realize is a low T symptom.
00:25:15.506 --> 00:25:28.560
Like my thoughts, I push through jello, I just can't think they've lost the drive to win and that means at work they're just not as motivated.
00:25:28.560 --> 00:25:32.596
In their family, in their personal life, all that stuff they just don't.
00:25:32.596 --> 00:25:34.382
They don't have that motivation.
00:25:34.382 --> 00:25:36.308
They've kind of lost that gist.
00:25:36.308 --> 00:25:42.048
They can't recover like they used to in the gym, like it takes days to recover from a workout.
00:25:42.048 --> 00:25:47.845
They have this overall apathy to them where they're just not excited about things anymore.
00:25:47.845 --> 00:25:54.067
They don't feel like themselves and they're not sure which direction to go with this because they don't know why.
00:25:54.234 --> 00:26:01.244
And this does happen to guys as early as their 20s, so they don't feel like they did when they're a teenager.
00:26:01.244 --> 00:26:09.640
And not saying not all of us, like all of us deal with some sort of fatigue and especially if you're a business owner and stressed and all of that stuff.
00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:30.575
But if we could augment your recovery and make stress something you're more resilient to, then this would describe you because this is something that does have a solution and we can help with, but the motivation to go to the gym or not, to prioritize the time to go to the gym, or you surround yourself with people who don't align with those values.
00:26:30.575 --> 00:26:37.885
So it's a lot easier to say, yeah, I'll go out for beers with you guys instead of going to bed, getting up to go to the gym, stuff like that.
00:26:38.816 --> 00:26:46.136
So really just kind of like, I think the biggest one is like an overall apathy towards just date, like your day to day.
00:26:46.878 --> 00:26:47.119
Yeah.
00:26:48.002 --> 00:27:00.500
Uh, now, like you said, you could potentially be performing in the bedroom but not be optimally performing outside the bedroom, and it's coming from a testosterone issue.
00:27:02.746 --> 00:27:03.587
It can, yes.
00:27:03.587 --> 00:27:11.565
So yeah, outside the you know, if guys do have all those symptoms I described, then that can be justified as a low T issue.
00:27:11.565 --> 00:27:14.123
The only way you're going to know is to get lab work done.
00:27:14.463 --> 00:27:14.644
Sure.
00:27:14.644 --> 00:27:17.845
And so let's say, I get labs done.
00:27:17.845 --> 00:27:20.137
And what would you say?
00:27:20.179 --> 00:27:27.840
the next step is so we look at that, we see, all right, what needs work from a lifestyle perspective.
00:27:27.840 --> 00:27:36.396
So usually we want everything dialed in from a lifestyle perspective in order to decide does this make sense to move forward with testosterone replacement?
00:27:36.396 --> 00:27:43.108
So, asking someone if they're controlling their nutrition, do they have someone guiding them?
00:27:43.108 --> 00:27:45.464
What are they doing with their training?
00:27:45.464 --> 00:27:46.872
Are they getting out and walking?
00:27:46.872 --> 00:27:48.017
Are they getting sunlight?
00:27:48.017 --> 00:27:49.138
How is your sleep?
00:27:49.138 --> 00:27:51.263
What's going on in your life right now?
00:27:51.263 --> 00:27:52.748
Any traumatic events?
00:27:52.748 --> 00:27:54.738
Did somebody pass away?
00:27:54.738 --> 00:27:56.122
Did you just have a baby?
00:27:56.122 --> 00:27:57.144
Are you moving?
00:27:57.204 --> 00:28:04.156
Like these are the big things in life, that kind of shake somebody's focus and then understanding what is their overall.
00:28:04.156 --> 00:28:10.317
It's called allostatic load, which is all the stressors that are accumulated together on this person.
00:28:10.317 --> 00:28:15.398
So if they do show up with suboptimal testosterone, is it because of one of those things?
00:28:15.398 --> 00:28:24.538
Can we target that through lifestyle intervention first, before moving on to TRT, which is a lifelong commitment, which is something that a lot of guys struggle with?
00:28:24.538 --> 00:28:26.422
Are they looking to conceive?
00:28:26.422 --> 00:28:26.883
Do they?
00:28:26.883 --> 00:28:31.079
Do they need something in addition to testosterone in order to conceive?
00:28:31.079 --> 00:28:46.442
Helping kind of smash any of the myths and misconceptions surrounding that, which are mostly like the heart attack and the cancer myths which have now been refuted and having that very open discussion with them, and then we decide a plan of action.
00:28:46.442 --> 00:28:49.087
Basically, hire a coach is what they need to do.
00:28:49.087 --> 00:28:52.584
So and we get a lot of guys that are like you know, I know what to do.
00:28:52.584 --> 00:28:54.357
And I'm like I know what to do.
00:28:54.859 --> 00:28:55.240
I've known.
00:28:55.682 --> 00:28:59.816
I've known what to do for pretty much most of my professional life.
00:28:59.816 --> 00:29:13.038
I've had a coach for seven years and they're like, really, I'm like, yeah, in no way can I trust myself to make the correct decisions based off my mood, based off what the scale says, based off how I look that day.
00:29:13.038 --> 00:29:15.183
We are all subject to that.
00:29:15.183 --> 00:29:17.028
You can't negotiate with yourself.
00:29:17.028 --> 00:29:18.441
It's just impossible.
00:29:18.441 --> 00:29:24.141
So, having that objective point of view to be able to guide you and say Allie, stay on this path.
00:29:24.141 --> 00:29:34.597
It sucks right now, but you're going to come out the other side because we can predict, as coaches, what will happen, is a lot better way to go through life than I tried this diet for two weeks.
00:29:34.597 --> 00:29:35.882
Now I'm going to try this one.
00:29:35.882 --> 00:29:42.006
Maybe I'll increase my reps next week, but I went really low today, so maybe I should stay that way.
00:29:42.125 --> 00:29:47.185
I don't know, like all this misinformation that that's in the health industry, it's so confusing.
00:29:47.185 --> 00:29:54.778
We have to you know this like we have to refute all these weird things that come up, because we've demonized every single macronutrient.
00:29:54.778 --> 00:29:59.769
Like you know, in the 80s and 90s it was like you cannot have fat, fat is bad.
00:29:59.769 --> 00:30:03.761
And then we swung the pendulum really hard the other way Fat is good.
00:30:03.761 --> 00:30:05.286
All the fat is great.
00:30:05.286 --> 00:30:08.642
Let's add fat to everything and let's demonize carbs.
00:30:08.642 --> 00:30:09.463
Carbs are bad.
00:30:09.463 --> 00:30:10.739
Carbs are going to make you fat.
00:30:10.739 --> 00:30:11.803
All these things.
00:30:11.803 --> 00:30:13.557
Now we're onto protein Prote to protein.
00:30:13.557 --> 00:30:14.159
Protein's bad.
00:30:14.159 --> 00:30:15.520
It's going to kill you Like.
00:30:15.520 --> 00:30:25.894
Fiber needs its time in the spotlight so that we can demonize that no-transcript.
00:30:25.894 --> 00:30:29.808
Yeah, water, because I think we went through that.
00:30:29.808 --> 00:30:31.472
We're like no, drink celery juice.
00:30:31.472 --> 00:30:33.769
This will make sure that everything in your life is good.
00:30:33.769 --> 00:30:35.056
Yeah, water's bad.
00:30:35.056 --> 00:30:36.741
It has to be a certain kind of water.
00:30:36.741 --> 00:30:37.765
It can't be this water Like.
00:30:38.086 --> 00:30:38.907
Oh yeah, what's the new one?
00:30:38.907 --> 00:30:41.483
Like hydrogen water is like the new, the new thing.
00:30:41.483 --> 00:31:11.107
I'm like listen, so I like your approach, though you said we're going to take a look at everything before the injection to say like, can we fix this naturally, can we move some needles before we go right into TRT, where I think what I've seen a lot in the industry now is these are becoming very popular, these clinics and these different anti-aging places, and it's, you know, the semi-glutides and it's the testosterone replacement and it's just like boom.
00:31:11.107 --> 00:31:12.190
That's the first answer.
00:31:12.369 --> 00:31:21.080
But a guy that you and I know both very well, uh, he called me recently and he was like I got my labs and he was like the doctor was like dude, are you, do you feel bad?
00:31:21.080 --> 00:31:22.281
He's like dude, I feel great.
00:31:22.281 --> 00:31:27.268
This guy and this guy you, you and I both know he's always up Like he's the funniest guy that that I know.
00:31:27.268 --> 00:31:32.472
He's always got a great attitude and he's like dude, I had like deathly low vitamin D.
00:31:32.472 --> 00:31:34.756
He's like I had no idea he's like.
00:31:34.756 --> 00:31:36.843
So the doctor was like dude, this is a problem.
00:31:36.843 --> 00:31:38.426
He's like vitamin D is a problem.
00:31:38.426 --> 00:32:06.663
He's like no, it's like he's like whatever, I'm fine, but he's like you know, I've been taking vitamin D now and so there's I think there's a lot of other factors that go into it versus let's just go right to testosterone replacement, and so I like your approach is like let's look at how can we shift the lifestyle, because I think there are some problems where, you know, with Ozempic and some of these other tools or resources that people have, we're not fixing the actual problem, which is you don't have a good healthy habit.
00:32:07.002 --> 00:32:15.324
So the minute you come off it we're right back to where you started, because you can't stay on that forever, and that's a whole nother conversation which I'm probably sure you're passionate about.
00:32:15.324 --> 00:32:31.955
But you know, I think that having that more holistic approach to say, okay, let's, let's dive into where we need to fix your, your just day-to-day triggers, and then, if those start to fall in line, the testosterone replacement is just more enhanced because you have these other things in the right place.
00:32:31.955 --> 00:32:38.261
And again, I think you said earlier, if you take TRT and you're not in the right place, you're potentially not going to like the effects that you have anyways.
00:32:39.806 --> 00:32:52.057
Totally, and it's basically like the polish, like you know, the finishing touch and um, there are so many tools out there now and we can all end up in the same place.
00:32:52.057 --> 00:32:55.203
It's just applying the proper ones at the right time.
00:32:55.203 --> 00:33:11.415
So I'm not as vehemently against Ozempic or Manjaro as most of the fitness industry is, but I am against the use of just that without the education of weight training and prioritizing protein and seeing that as just a tool.
00:33:11.415 --> 00:33:14.503
So it can aid very well in somebody's fat loss journey.
00:33:14.503 --> 00:33:17.529
Do they have the ability to also train?
00:33:17.529 --> 00:33:24.801
Can they get the calories in that they need to to support that training and also support muscle retention and growth, right?
00:33:24.801 --> 00:33:33.613
So having that discussion is very important too, because clients are going to ask us about it and I don't have a problem with it as long as it's used in the appropriate way.
00:33:34.039 --> 00:33:35.263
I've had a few clients use it.
00:33:35.263 --> 00:33:42.092
I've even used, I've used semaglutide, I've used terzapatide just to see what it felt like Sometimes.
00:33:42.092 --> 00:33:48.851
Like I think I used terzapatide for six weeks and semaglutide I didn't like I used for like maybe three or four.
00:33:48.851 --> 00:34:05.626
It definitely takes the interest in certain foods away where you could put a cinnamon roll in front of me and I'd be like nah, I'm cool, you know, but also it made it very hard to get food in and that made training difficult and I did not like that because I was very tired.
00:34:05.626 --> 00:34:20.034
But there has been research in leaner people Cause a lot of guys use it for cuts now because it does help take the edge off when you're dieting, that people who are leaner experience a little bit more CNS fatigue from it and just everything makes you more tired.
00:34:20.034 --> 00:34:22.047
So there's no free lunch.
00:34:22.047 --> 00:34:25.768
Everything comes with certain side effects, so it doesn't matter.
00:34:25.788 --> 00:34:26.590
There's a sacrifice somewhere.
00:34:27.251 --> 00:34:39.264
Yeah, yeah, but it can be very useful for somebody who's diabetic and just can't control it, as long as they're also supplementing it with proper nutrition and getting their weight training in, and then you see a dramatic change.
00:34:39.264 --> 00:34:41.931
Absolutely, and I think that's that's a.
00:34:41.971 --> 00:34:42.460
That's a thing.
00:34:42.460 --> 00:34:52.721
Is you go to some of these anti-aging clinics and they're just going to push it to you without any sort of knowledge or or game plan past, like here's the prescription, yeah.
00:34:52.721 --> 00:35:01.016
So if, if it comes with a game plan and a guide and you're following that to say, you know, do this in addition to X, y and Z, then yeah, it's a.
00:35:01.016 --> 00:35:10.630
You're you're setting yourself up in a much better position than just taking this without the knowledge of like, oh so this is going to restrict what I want to eat, but I still have to get calories in.
00:35:10.630 --> 00:35:18.869
I think that's where the missing gap is with a lot, of, a lot of these places that are just push, pushing it out Totally.
00:35:19.251 --> 00:35:22.581
And you and I know in Florida there's one of these clinics every five minutes.
00:35:22.581 --> 00:35:27.731
Yeah, and they, they will give you anything that you want.
00:35:27.731 --> 00:35:32.641
And you know there are so many TRT clinics and there are so many online clinics.
00:35:32.641 --> 00:35:41.451
Now it's tough for a guy to know which one is good, because he's going to go to the one that either is priced the right way or is compelling enough for what they offer.
00:35:41.791 --> 00:35:50.668
And a lot of the education that we do at Silverback Summit and with my network is helping them navigate who to listen to, who not to.
00:35:50.668 --> 00:35:55.668
That's why I partnered with Merrick Health, because they actually know what they're doing.
00:35:55.668 --> 00:36:05.166
Clients can come to us and do labs through us, through Merrick, and I know that they're going to be paired with somebody who is going to put them on a protocol.
00:36:05.166 --> 00:36:07.452
That makes sense, versus a lot of these clinics.
00:36:07.452 --> 00:36:10.467
They send guys out with the same protocol, no matter who you are.
00:36:10.467 --> 00:36:19.597
They just want to sell you on their cookie cutter protocol and get the number in and get as many people as possible, and then, after your labs are done and they sell that to you.
00:36:19.597 --> 00:36:22.244
They don't really talk to you and that's a problem.
00:36:22.867 --> 00:36:30.670
So and that's that was one of the reasons I reached out to you, because I knew it not only do you have the knowledge of it, but from a training background, that's where you started.
00:36:31.311 --> 00:36:41.940
So you started with the foundations of how do we help people just become healthier and move better, and then you moved into okay, now let's optimize everything else that goes into it.
00:36:41.940 --> 00:36:57.362
So if you reach out to Allie, you're not only going to get the testosterone and the hormone optimization, but you're also going to get somebody who's been in the professional world for 20 plus years in the fitness world, getting to nutrition, the training advice.
00:36:57.362 --> 00:37:03.487
You're going to get everything you need in that, that whole wheel of of success versus, like you said, just one piece.
00:37:03.487 --> 00:37:18.034
And then then you're left up to your own and you go on the internet and you find some training program that's not the right one for you, and and then again you run your eight week, 12 week cycle and you didn't see the results and you're like, well, it didn't work for me.
00:37:18.034 --> 00:37:20.021
And now you're back to being sad and, you know, sit on the couch.
00:37:21.083 --> 00:37:35.436
Yeah, it's so true, cause I feel like if you leave out like we have, this triangle of performance where you have hormones, nutrition, fitness, if we leave one of those out, this triangle of performance where you have hormones, nutrition, fitness, if we leave one of those out, we're really missing out on a big part of somebody's success.
00:37:35.436 --> 00:37:39.626
And that's why we don't do nutrition only coaching or training only coaching.
00:37:39.626 --> 00:37:44.485
It has to be everything, and people don't have to get their blood work done when they come to us.
00:37:44.485 --> 00:37:46.351
It's not something they're obligated to do.
00:37:46.351 --> 00:37:59.887
However, it is a service that we offer where they know they're going to get exactly what they need and it's not random labs from whoever and then we actually have to do them again because we're missing half the markers that we actually need to look at.
00:37:59.887 --> 00:38:12.809
So that's why this, this coaching approach for you know, these guys just helps take into account everything, so they don't have to source anything out on their own with a lot of misinformation out there.
00:38:13.329 --> 00:38:15.713
So how do, how do guys get ahold of you?
00:38:17.300 --> 00:38:18.884
Instagram is the easiest.
00:38:18.884 --> 00:38:23.634
At the Allie Gilbert just slide in the DMS question.
00:38:24.322 --> 00:38:26.036
Perfect, yeah, so she's giving you permission.
00:38:26.036 --> 00:38:26.478
There you go.
00:38:27.079 --> 00:38:58.827
Yeah, I do answer a lot of questions on DMs because sometimes they're very sensitive and stuff like that, and there's a link in our bio for applying for coaching and there's also a link to the Silverback Summit, which is my men's health event that I do every year and this year it'll be in November in Phoenix, arizona, and it basically brings together all the TRT doctors, fitness professionals, nutrition business people all in one room where guys can get very unfiltered, truthful information with no BS.
00:38:59.228 --> 00:38:59.510
Love it.
00:38:59.510 --> 00:39:01.847
So it is A-L-I.
00:39:01.847 --> 00:39:04.947
Just so, if you're listening, it's A-L-I Gilbert.
00:39:04.947 --> 00:39:14.228
So the Ali Gilbert, check her out on Instagram and she's gonna be coming back on with some bonus episodes where we're gonna give kind of like two tricks, two different categories.
00:39:14.228 --> 00:39:18.108
So be on the lookout for those episodes until next time, allie, thanks for joining me.
00:39:18.108 --> 00:39:19.411
Thank you All right.
00:39:19.411 --> 00:39:19.952
Have a good one, guys.