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I really would love to lose weight. I'm 13/f, I'm 5'9 and I weigh 150 pounds, which is not too okay. I want to be around 130, and I'm really willing to do it, but I need some help. I'm eating Special K every morning, fruits for lunch, and regular dinners. If I have to, I'm willing to replace white bread with whole wheat more often. I have volleyball practice everyday, but there's so many people on the team that I'm only getting physical activity half the time. But starting next week, I'll have intense basketball practice every Friday night, and games on Saturdays and Sundays.
I have some problem areas. I want to have a flat stomach, and I have fat on my stomach that I seriously want to get rid of. My love handles annoy me a lot, and I want to have thinner legs. I've been told I have great legs, but I just want them to be a litle thinner I have big calves. I'm currently a C 36 and I have no problem in being smaller, because I want to have a great body. What can I do to achieve this?

some problems:
-I usually have a lot of homework, so most of the time it's hard to go to the gym with my mom.
-I have lunch really early at school, so the rest of the day I'm starving, so when I get home, I'm always stuffing my face.

I have a treadmill, so I'm thinking maybe I'd go on it every night while I watch TV. I also want to know what's best for losing that stomach fat I mentioned earlier. What happens is when I do ab workouts, it just sort of makes the fat under my chest stick out more, which I also want to get rid of.

Sorry everything's so scattered out, but please help me in any way, I really want to lose this weight.

Ok, first off good effort, you are on the right track. There are a few things that need to be tweaked though.

First lets start with the meals. If you eat too rarely, not only will you be "stuffing your face", but it will also be bad for your metabolism, making weight loss harder. So, try to eat every 3- 4 hours, and each time eat a small balanced meal. Prepare an extra meal from home which you can eat sometime between lunch and dinner.

In regards to what to eat, every meal must have a fair amount of protein, a moderate amount of carbs, and a small amount of good fat. This is very important otherwise your body wont have the fuel and building blocks with which to operate effectively.

Remember every meal must have this format. Good protein sources include things like tuna, chicken, turkey, lean meats, cottage cheese, etc. Good fat sources include fish, nuts (unsalted), canola, oilve oil, flax, etc.

Examples might be chicken breast, a potato, and a small salad with a bit of canola. Or 200g cottage cheese, an apple, and a few walnuts. You get the idea.

In regards to exercise, the treadmill idea is very good. You cannot target stomach or leg fat unfortunately (humans are unable to spot reduce fat despite many myths), so the best thing you can do is cardio. Area specific exercises really just strengthen the muscle. This is not bad mind you, and can have some benefit to your metabolism, but it will not make the fat there go away.

So, if you exercise and eat right you can get your overall bodyfat percentage down. Thats about it. The fat will be pulled from all over, with genetics determining if any area is empahised first.

The sports are very good also. Stick with that, and supplement with cardio on your treadmill in the rest of the week. Remember to take at least one rest day every week, perhaps more at the beginning. Your cardio workouts should be at least 20 minutes in length, at moderate intensity.

Nothing you can do about your calves (assuming they are mainly muscle). Using them for exercising will not make them any smaller (quite the opposite with explosive components in sports like volleyball and basketball). This is one aspect you will need to have to learn to live with. In the end its not that bad at all.

Ok, thats more or less it. Best of luck.

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I know that to lose weight you can decrease your amount of calories. What if someone only ate 1000 calories a day, but had 50+ g of fat?? Would they gain weight or lose weight?? That is just an example. I'm just not sure how it works. Should you be more concerned about your calorie intake or your daily grams of fat?? Thanks!!

You should be concerned about both, but in different ways. From a purely weight loss perspective though (not taking general health into account), then calories are more important.

Fat does have a tendency to be stored as bodyfat more easily than other nutrients. However, as low or no carb diets have shown, you can lose weight and still eat a lot of fat. The problem there is that eating too much fat is generally unhealthy. Similarly, too little of the right kind of fat (i.e. mono and polyunsaturated fats) is also very unhealthy.

Another issue is that if you are eating with reduced calories, and if a lot of those calories are fats, then your meals are not giving you the proper nutrition. You will have used up a great deal of the calories that might be more useful as protein or even carbs. This will leave the body either with less energy, or with less of an ability to "repair" itself after workouts and such.

Now, regarding calories, you do need to eat less than you burn to lose weight. There is no getting around that really, and this can either be done by decreasing ones food or increasing ones exercise. The composition of what one eats determines what fuel the body has to run on. A calorie split of 40- 40- 20 (protein- carb- fat), or 40- 30- 30 is what one often sees recommended these days (note that these percentages are based on the calories in 1 gram of each nutrient).

Ok, hopefully you can use this, I know it is a little muddled. Basically just remember that total energy intaken vs total energy used is key in determining weight loss. However the general composition of the nutrients one intakes is key in determining health, performance, effectiveness of weight loss efforts, etc.

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15/f We recently bought a treadmill. I'm very small only 80lbs and I hate it. I want to get my butt bigger. Can a treadmill help with this? I also wanna gain weight so will running on it help to build muscle and make me look bigger and maybe weigh more? the treadmill can incline and decline. goes up to 10mph.

I don’t think the treadmill is ideal for this. Cardio alone is not really what you do for gaining weight. Now, don’t get me wrong, doing cardio is good for you in countless ways, but I just don’t think it will serve the purpose you are looking for here.

In order to gain the kind of visible weight you are looking for you need to focus on two things. One, you really need to focus on anaerobic resistance training. You could in theory try to use the treadmill for this. Using the highest incline in short fast bursts would have that effect. However I think it would be a hard type of training to maintain in the long run, and I don’t think it would be as effective as weight training (particularly things like squats).

The second thing you need to do irrespective of your training routine, is to have a calorie surplus. Without this, weight gain (muscle or fat) is minimal/ non existent. Particularly if you increase your exercise level, you need to increase the calories you eat beyond that.

Good luck.

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I suddenly gained 6 lbs. I have no idea where it came from. My legs and arms are as thin as ever, and my back and abdomen have no visible fatty increase. I don't think I gained any muscle. How do I lose 10 lbs? 13/f small/medium frame 5"5 126 lbs.

Listen, if you look ok, you do not need to lose weight. Forget scales and statistics and all that stuff. Look in the mirror and dont obsess about numbers.

As for how to lose weight, well its simple enough in theory. Eat a few hundred calories less than you burn every day, base your meals around a good non processed protein source (e.g. chicken, tuna, lean meats, cottage cheese, etc), and exercise (particularly cardio, e.g. running, biking, some sports, etc). Eat balanced meals and divide up your food into about 5 meals a day evenly spaced out every 3-4 hours. Drink plenty of water, and cut out all the empty calories from junk foods.

However, once again, if you look fine then why worry?

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I love my boyfriend very much but when we disagree on something, he automatically becomes arrogant, angry, sarcastic, and mean. I dont know how to make him be nicer to me and just TALK to me. I wish he was a lot nicer sometimes.

Handle this the same way you would handle a friend that was out of hand. Confront him when he is not already in a bad mood. Explain what he does and make it absolutely clear that you will not accept to be talked to in that way. Point out to him that you do not put him down, or get sarcastic, when you are arguing with him.

If he does not understand that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable (and believe that you will break it off with him if he does not change), he will continue to act this way. He has to learn to understand that people don't always have the same opinion about things, and that must be respected. Believe me this is a lesson he will learn sooner or later. Might as well be from you.

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15/f
I am about 5'3" and 120 pounds. I do not think I am fat, but I think I have fat ON me (there IS a difference!) I'm pretty confident in my body and I'm not striving to be stick thin, I just want to lose a few pounds. How many? I'm not sure. I don't know numbers. I just want to feel better about myself and I think it is a pretty achievable goal.
I can pinch a pretty decent amount of fat on my lower abdomen; I have a bit of a gut. If that was gone I would not have any complaints about my body. SO: I don't know if this is the healthiest choice, but it is most convenient for me. What do you think about this?
For breakfast I eat a SlimFast bar and a cup of coffee (yeah I know... it'll stunt my growth. Don't bother telling me).
Lunch I eat some type of sandwich on wheat bread (plain turkey or peanut butter & jelly), a water bottle, and a fruit or vegetable.
No snacks
Dinner I eat whatever my mom cooks but if there is a salad I go for that first. I try to eat small portions and stick with healthier options. And for a drink I have skim milk.

I am not getting a ton of exercise. I just come home from school, do homework, take a shower, eat dinner, do more homework, and talk to friends/boyfriend a little. So I think cutting out the extra calories is necessary.
However I do think soon I may start some kind of workout routine. Just some cardio for now. My friends and I have been wanting to do yoga and I might look into that. But I should probably start jogging for a while every day too.

What do you think? Will this work? Good idea? Input? Suggestions?

Thanks in advance. =]

Well, it might work, but I am not too fond of your program to be honest.

First off breakast is not good enough. Apart from your desire to lose weight you should also remember that your body needs the right kind of fuel. That is particularly relevant when you are still so young and growing. So, a slim fast bar is not proper food imo. You dont need to overdo it, but stick to things like oats, eggs (whole eggs in moderaration, egg whites at will), whole wheat bread, fruit, skim milk, etc.

Now, lunch is ok if its the turkey version. Peanut butter and jelly is not what I would base an entire meal around. Peanut butter can be ok in moderation, but it should not be the core food.

If I were you I would actually add a small healthy meal somewhere in there. As with all meals I would base it around a good protein source. It does not have to be high on calories, and can be anything involving lean meats, cottage cheese, etc.

One final note. Your diet seems low on Omega 3 (granted I dont know what you eat for dinner), which is an essential fatty acid. This is important because too low consumption is associated with all sorts of nasty health problems and other effects. Amongst these, losing weight is actually more difficult as well. Sources include: oily fish, canola, walnuts, dark leafy vegetables, etc. Remember you need a daily source of this stuff (peanut butter has little or no omega 3) and it should probably be spread out over most of your meals.

Ok thats more or less it. Exercise is of course always a good idea for general health as well as weight loss.

Best of luck.

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Please tell me the truth, and the REAL truth!



Is limewire illegal or legal?
Because I hear so many things and it's confusing?
If it was illegal, why would iTunes sell songs for 99cents, are they just doing that to get money?
or what?
please tell me the truth, and give me the RIGHT answer.
Thanks!

The confusion arises because of the way people tend to phrase the question. Limewire is just a tool, and in that capacity it is 100% legal. How you use it is a different matter.

If something has a copyright then it belongs to someone else. That includes most music, movies, programs, etc. Taking it for free is stealing, whether you are using Limewire, Kazaa, or just breaking into a shop with a crowbar.

But again, Limewire itself is perfectly legal, and can be used to share perfectly legal files (in theory at least). It is a little like getting your hands on a hammer. Nothing illegal about that, but if you use it to hit someone over the head, then you are breaking the law.

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SO i just joined a gym and i want to start using the weights to get my chest and arms more "buff". Whats workout equipment should I use?

Alright, first off let me just give you some of the basics, before suggesting some exercises. The best kind of exercises, irrespective of which bodypart you are interested in, are compound free weight exercises. That means dumbbells and barbells, for exercises that use multiple muscle groups together.

These are far more effective for both strength and mass than what one often sees people do at the gyms (i.e. a lot of isolation work and machines). Always keep this in mind when designing a routine.

There are a number of good compound options for the chest. Bench presses, incline or flat, dumbbell or barbell, are always great. Dips can also be very effective. You could always start with the classic barbell bench press.

As a beginner, I would recommend that you mainly train your arms indirectly. For instance by doing benches you also work out your triceps. Similarly, by doing pulling exercises (primarily for your back) you also train up your biceps (e.g. pull ups, pull downs, rows, etc).

Then, finish them off with a couple of sets that focus on solely on the arms (which by definition tend to be isolation, but they should still be free weight). It is important not to overdo it since isolation work can lead to overtraining.

For triceps I think exercises like skullcrushers, barbell tricep extensions, or perhaps narrow grip bench presses are pretty effective.

For biceps you can do something like dumbbell or barbell curls, hammer curls, etc. Here is a link that shows you how to do all these things:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm

(note that they list under each exercise whether it is compound or isolation, under "Mechanics type")

Now, just a few final words so that you dont fall into the trap most people do when they start out the first time. I cannot stress enough how important it is to train your entire body. First of all training your "front" without training your back can lead to posture problems as well as a weak back (which you need to move all the weights around). Secondly you will not look anywhere near as good as someone who trains all the muscle groups, i.e. legs, back, and shoulders as well.

Finally, doing big lifts (like the absolutely essential squat), will actually help you get a bigger chest quicker than if you dont train it. Thats because squats increase your natural testosterone production like no other exercise (thats why its king). Deadlifts are a close second btw.

I will stop rambling now, but I just wanted to prevent you from making the kind of mistake I see at the gym every day. If you have any other questions just ask.

Good luck and happy training.

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How long does it generally take to start seeing a difference when you're doing strength training and muscle building?

I know everyone is different but is there an approximate amount of time?

I would say about 3- 6 months for it to be noticable enough that people might comment on it. Less for you yourself to notice it. Guys are probably on the lower end of that estimate and girls are probably closer to the higher end.

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What is the best tricept excercise and how long does it take to see results?!

There are many great triceps exercises. Most often I perfer to hit the triceps indirectly while doing other kinds of exercises, but if I had to pick a favourite tricep specific exercise it would be either:

The tricep lying extension:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/BBLyingTriExt.html

Or the skullcrusher:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/BBLyingTriExtSC.html
(very similar just in this one the bar is lowered to the forehead)

I dont exactly know what else you do, but if you intend to train other parts of yourself as well, consider basing your workout around exercises that use multiple groups like benching, dips, military press etc. They are very effective at building up the triceps as well.

As for how long it takes to see results, I would say a couple of months. Depends of course on a number of factors (sex, age, bodyfat percentage, etc).

Good luck.

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Uhg!!! I'm so pissed off at my dad right now. See, my computer had the system32 error since for about 2 months and my parents haven't gotten around to taking it to a computer fixing person. Well, I told my dad SEVERAL TIMES that he shouldn't do the windows recovery thing because it'll delete everything on the computer and I NEED the stuff on my computer like all my homework, stories, pictures, etc. Things that are NOT replaceable!!!!!! I mean, I can't go to my teachers from last year and ask them to give me all the projects and translations from last year just so that I can retype it into my computer. And I can't rewrite the stories that were longer than 100 pages each. And I can't go back in time and take the same fucking pictures over again!

Well, my dad being fucking smart decided that since I haven't used my computer for 2 months, I didn't need the data on there and decided to go on with the windows recovery today. I'm so fucking mad at him. I mean I don't need them right this second but I am going to at the end of this year and the next two years for my IB tests and AP tests! The least he could've done was fucking ask me if he could do the recovery thing. But no. He doesn't care about shit.

Is there ANY chance of me being able to recover my files and stuff??????????? And do I have the right to be pissed off my dad majorely right now because I don't want my mom yelling at me for being pissed off at him when I don't need to be.

Wait, what windows recovery thing? The only thing that I am aware of that would destroy your documents and pictures together with everything else would be a reinstallation.

If you are talking about system restore, that does not affect documents, pics, etc, just programs that have been installed since the last checkpoint.

Unless you meant reinstallation, are you sure those things aren't still on the computer?

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Ok soo I really want to get some muscels and kinda loose weight around my thieghs... I wouldn't esactly call them to big maybe a little over normal... but I really need to be a bit stornger and get some muscels so I can be better at karate! Please help... I have a little sorta gym ,but what should I use to get stornger

Well since you have a small gym, I assume you have some weights (either barbell or dumbbell will do).

I would recommend squats. They are a very complete exercise with a very full range of motion. It will focus a lot on your thighs, but at the same time work other muscles as well. Its excellent for functional strength (i.e. strength you can use in other activities). That and the fact that its the best muscle builder of all exercises.

Barbell squat:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBSquat.html

Dumbbell squat:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/DBSquat.html

Remember not to hunch your back while doing it (back should be arched as though you were trying to press your shoulder blades together). Best to try to look slightly upwards as you reach the lowest point.

As for the fat, the only way to lose that is to eat properly and to do cardios like running, biking, etc.

Lunges are also an effective option for the strength building.

Anyway here is a link with a ton of exercises, just click on the muscle you want to train:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm

Just remember, squats are king, they can be supplemented with other things, but rarely substituted entirely.

Good luck.

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Is it really better than xp? I heard a lot of people say they didn't like it. Would you suggest downloading it onto my laptop? What does it do? Thanks in advance.

I can tell you that reviews for that thing have been really mixed. For one thing there are supposed to be a lot of things it is incompatible with.

Check out this article as one example of some issues:

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=consumer&id=5333227

It is supposed to have a lot of new features, and they say its more user friendly, but people have reported all sorts of problems as well.

Also, it requires quite a lot more from your computer (RAM etc), so I would make sure your labtop is in the recommended zone (as minimum often tends to be inadequate for most computer related things).

Personally I have not used it since my faith in Microsoft releasing a working product in the first year (i.e. before the first xxx patches) is absolutely 0. XP at least they had a lot of time to iron out the bugs.

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im about 5'3"-5'4" and i weight 140 pounds. i've been playing field hockey for about a month and its alot of running and sprinting and intense exercising but i haven't been loosing any weight. i've been eating pretty decent too. barely any junk food. why aren't i loosing any weight? how can i lose weight? my goal is 15 pounds but 20 would be even better :)

I dont really agree with the answer below, exercise is a great way to lose weight. It not only burns plenty of calories but it also keeps you fit and healthy.

Now, of course you need a calorie deficit (500 is about right) i.e. you need to burn more than you eat. However that is exactly why you should keep exercising. Despite your efforts thus far, the problem is very likely in your diet.

I don't believe in low carb diets and such. One of the main problems with them is that they don't create a realistic diet and people tend to regain the weight as soon as they stop. Also its unnecessary.

Here are some diet tips, which one should stick to even after the weight is lost (just without the calorie deficit):
- Eat small balanced meals 4- 6 times a day (i.e. every 3- 4 hours). This is important for your metabolism.
- Minimise saturated fats, found primarily in animal products, junk foods, cheap oils etc.
- Drink plenty of water
- Cut out as many of the empty calories as possible. Avoid things with sugar added to them etc.
- Make sure that you intake a small regular amount of essential fatty acids with most meals. These are important for weight loss and general health. They can be found in things like oily fish, nuts, olives, olive oil, canola, flax seeds/ oil, etc.
- Base your meals around a good protein source like chicken, tuna, turkey, lean meats, cottage cheese, etc.
- Avoid processed foods.
- A meal might be something like skinless chicken breast, a small portion of rice, and a small salad with canola. Or a late night meal might be something like cottage cheese, an apple and a few walnuts. Breakfast could be oats in skim milk. You get the idea.

Anyhow, just continue what you are doing, implement as many of the things I mentioned as possible, and from there just tweak down the calories. Also, as my favourite fitness trainer here on advicenators would say, use a mirror over the scales to determine progress. Sometimes you build some muscle and that might give you the misguided impression you are not making progress.

Good luck.

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15/f

around thursday (september 20) i noticed that my heart kind of "fluttered". like it's bubbling or something for a few seconds. i don't know what's going on with it either. then today (september 24) it did it a lot. i mean, at least every hour. i don't know what it is and I DON'T want to go to the doctor for it.

my dad, who is on the not so 'intelligent isde', told me that it could be from anxiety.

i'm confused and i don't know what it is. can anyone help me?

oh, and just incase it's asked, no, i'm not over weight.

Listen, something like this may or may not be serious. I had something that sounds simillar when I was younger and went to the doctor for it. I was given a number of tests which monitored the heart to make sure that everything was ok (including a stress test I think its called, where you are made to exercise under supervision).

In my case it was nothing, but that was only determined after the tests. Bottom line, you have to go to the doctor for it. You cant possibly expect an online diagnosis. You couldnt even ask that from a physician, let alone a random group of people. Its your heart for heaven's sake, why would you take any chances?

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Alin,

I have (or maybe had) a relationship with a woman my age. I want a companion and friend - she wants a lover and maybe a husband. I am not gay. This is causing problems. I have tried being honest but it always comes out watered-down because I'm afraid of losing her or of hurting her feelings.

That's it in a nutshell.

This is a really hard question to answer. It is always difficult when two people have different expectations from a relationship. To be honest I am not overly optimistic about how this situation will turn out.

If two people that once had a relationship decide to be friends, it may well work out. However, when one person has deeper feelings or is more attracted to the other, it often becomes really awkward.

That person will also have a much more difficult time overcoming those feelings than in a clean break. It often hinders the more vulnerable partner from moving on with their lives (or at least towards also achieving their goals, in this case finding a lover and husband).

Now, I am not saying that it is impossible, just that the odds are not very good. Whatever the risks, you really do need to come clean with this person. The truth is her feelings will very likely be hurt, but the longer you wait the worse it will be. Also the longer you wait, the more she might feel that she has been led on.

In the end, I think you know what my advice will be. You need to explain to her exactly what you are looking for. You should emphasise how much she means to you, and how much you value what you currently have. Then, in my opinion at least, you need to give her the time and space to move on. Once she has done so (you will have to judge that as time passes), then the two of you can resume your friendship.

One final word. Since I am in no way whatsoever a relationship expert I also urge you to run this by someone who might be more knowledgeable in this area than me.

I hope this works out for both of you. Good luck.

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Does anyone have any idea of what movie this might be?

It has Jim Carry in it, He lives in a town but in reality people are controlling his life for an experiment, he catches on to it eventually, like on part in the movie he was mad at his wife, so she said "Help" and police came? something like that. In the ending, he rides a boat to the "end" of the ocean, which is really the end of that fake world and walks into the real one. Its really interesting, i haven't seen it since i was probably 8, i'm 14 now. Any one have any idea of what its called, or where i could find the name of it? Thanks :]

The Truman Show

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Is it better to have protein shakes and stuff before you work out or after? How many minutes before or after shouold I drink them?

You can of course supplement with protein shakes at any time. However, a protein shake right after your workout (within half an hour or so, but preferably right away) is ideal. For best results you should take whey in water after training, since it gets absorbed faster than if mixed with milk.

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me and my boyfriend have been having sex for 3 weeks almost 4 times a week, i am now feeling dizy, fitgued, feverish, and my boobs have been killing me and are getting bigger. Im not sure if i am sick or i am getting pregant. When will it be a good time to take a pergnancy test so i can see if i am [my age is not important u will just judge me anyway.]

Sorry, but you have the wrong person here. I dont know the first thing about pregnancy, its symptoms, or pregnancy tests. Perhaps you should try run this past one of the good female columnists here on this site (younggrandma for example).

Sorry I cant be of any help to you.

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Im 23 M
I used 2 differnt kind of steroids (deca and sustanon 250) 6 months ago.I think I have devolped impotence. Is there any cure?

I have absolutely no experience with, or knowledge about steroids unfortunately. The only thing I can tell you (which I know is damn obvious) is to go ask a doctor. Sorry.

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