Matthew,

I read your history, and I know you dropped carbs because you were sleepy. You stated "I am very confused by this because my lunch meal is half the carbs the diet recommends, my whole food snacks are less carbs than recommended, and yet I am sleepy and gaining weight." I am interpreting this to mean that you have dropped your carbs below the P/C ratio that is recommended by the Zone. Dropping it too far down (as well as having too many) will have an impact on your energy levels. At one time prior to the Zone, I tried Atkins. I got myself to a point where I was mentally not focusing and just lacked energy to do anything. And, I didn't lose any weight.

You stated that you calculate 14 blocks (for low activity). Your menu sample that you posted has about 16-17 blocks. Are you consistently taking in 16-17 blocks? Are you supporting this with a higher activity level? Just asking--Sue had posted awhile back that eating too many blocks would not keep you in the Zone, and if you are eating more than you need, that could also explain some of the problems you are going through. Just an observation...

As for the low T levels, I was leaning towards this being the culprit, as well, because everything else just iwasn't adding up and I tend to look outside of the Zone for things when things don't add up in the Zone (just as I did previously with the BUN/dehydration and the Vit D supplementation). Please keep us posted on what the urologist has to say...

I think you should proceed with asking for a fasting insulin level. You stated that you have good blood sugars, but your risk factors are weight gain, BP increasing, rising A1C (although your practitioner may argue that your current level is still within an appropriate range). If it isn't too late to ask for it, you should try to get the fasting insulin level. A level of 5 would be a good place to be in the Zone, 5-10 is OK but over 10 is heading towards hyperinsulinemia. If you do that test and you are at a good level, then I think you can be assured that the Zone is working for you, and that we need to look outside of the Zone for a cause of your problems.

My history, I am pre-diabetic, have been since I gave birth to all 3 of my children, having had gestational diabetes. I have ALWAYS had elevated fasting blood sugars and have miserably failed every glucose challenge test that I have attempted--even after pregnancy. However, my glucose levels for the rest of the day have always been perfect. My A1C is perfect. My fasting insulin levels have always been 5 or less. And, yet I was still struggling in the Zone, having early onset of hunger and mentally unfocused at times. My symptoms were not always lack of energy, but I would not be able to concentrate on a task (unfavorable carbs DO put me into a coma, though). So, being "carb sensitive", I dropped carb and added fat. That seemed to help with the hunger and mental focus/ability to concentrate, but weight loss was still slow. At times, I had contemplated dropping the carb lower, beyond what was recommended for Zone ratios, and I have toyed with that, but each time I had tried it, I got into this phase where I could not easily complete a bike ride because I felt like my energy was just crashing. So, for me, dropping the carb further than recommended just did not work.

And, I am not advocating that you start medication. I just wanted to say that if you really needed to start it to "temporarily" get things back in order, its OK to do that. Kind of like taking an antibiotic to get over an infection that our bodies just can't fight off alone. I understand your concern about taking TRT. I would definitely be wary about it, until all of the facts are considered.

Other thoughts, How much do you use the Flonase?