Testosterone and Metabolism: What’s the Link?

Key Takeaways:

• Testosterone and metabolism are closely linked.

• Testosterone has a key role in regulating metabolism, influencing muscle mass, fat distribution, insulin sensitivity, and more.

• Low testosterone can disrupt metabolic function, contributing to increased belly fat, lower energy, and a higher risk of insulin resistance.

• Lifestyle factors like strength training, nutrition, sleep, and stress management support healthy testosterone levels and a more efficient metabolism.
  

Many men might wonder how some guys can seemingly eat whatever they want and stay lean, while others struggle with weight despite their best food and fitness efforts.

The reason that optimizing or maintaining your physique as you get older often feels like an uphill battle comes down to multiple factors, including a connection between teststerone and metabolism.

How does testosterone affect metabolism? Let’s break it all down, including their interesting interplay in the body and how to optimize both.

When people think about metabolism, they often imagine calories in versus vs. out or consider that friend who’s somehow blessed with the fast-metabolism gene.

While energy balance is part of it, metabolism is a broader, multidimensional process that accounts for every calorie your body uses — even when you’re just sitting around or sleeping. It’s a series of reactions happening in your cells that sustain your daily life.

The three main components of metabolism are:

• Basal metabolic rate (BMR). This is how many calories you’d burn all day if you didn’t move your body at all. Accounting for 60 to 75 percent of your total daily energy burn, BMR involves pumping blood, regulating body temperature, breathing, digesting, and more bodily functions.

• Thermic effect of food (TEF). Yes, eating counts as an opportunity to burn calories, because it takes energy to digest, absorb, and process nutrients. TEF accounts for about 10 percent of your total daily energy expenditure.

• Activity energy expenditure (AEE). This is the remaining 15 to 30 percent of your daily energy expenditure. It includes all physical movement, including exercise activity thermogenesis (EAT) and non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), which includes things like walking, computer work, and fidgeting.

Testosterone is primarily produced in the testes, where specialized cells make the hormone in response to signals from the brain.

It’s the main male sex hormone (androgen) responsible for everything from body hair growth to muscle development to sex drive (libido) and fertility.

But that’s not all it does. Testosterone also plays essential roles in your metabolism.

Here’s how.

Muscle Mass, Bone Density, and Body Composition

Testosterone is anabolic, meaning it promotes the growth of tissue (particularly muscle).

Muscle tissue requires more energy at rest than fat tissue. So, having higher testosterone levels contributes to a higher BMR by supporting greater lean body mass.

On the other hand, having low T levels can contribute to loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia), which is more common among older men, and a corresponding drop in BMR. And, as you may have guessed, this can make it much harder to achieve and maintain weight loss or body composition goals. 

Testosterone is also involved in maintaining bone density. It supports bone growth in children, and there’s evidence that men with low testosterone levels have a higher risk of fractures.

Fat Metabolism and Storage

Testosterone isn’t just involved in your skeletal muscle. It also plays a role in how your body manages fat.

Specifically, testosterone influences how fats (lipids) break down for energy use (lipolysis).

Having normal testosterone levels — around 300 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL) for adult men — promotes fat burning for fuel. It also helps prevent accumulation of visceral fat, the harmful abdominal fat that wraps around your organs.

But if T levels are too low, it can tip the scales in a way that has your body storing more belly fat and becoming less efficient at using existing stores for fuel. This can increase your body’s total fat mass.

Insulin Sensitivity and Blood Sugar Regulation

Insulin is released in your body when you eat. This hormone transports blood sugar (glucose) from your bloodstream into your cells, where it can be used for energy.

Insulin sensitivity is how well your body can respond to insulin and make that process happen (lowering blood sugar levels). But how does testosterone fit in here? Let’s take a look.

Testosterone’s Effect on Insulin Sensitivity

Testosterone levels within a normal range are generally associated with better insulin sensitivity. This translates to having better overall blood sugar control.

But if testosterone levels are low, this — along with other factors — can lead to insulin resistance or low insulin sensitivity.

This is when your cells become less responsive, continuing to tell your pancreas to release more insulin. This leads to more circulating glucose and insulin in the blood and, over time, an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. 

Long-term insulin resistance not only affects metabolic health but also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

→ Read: Guide to Cardiovascular Disease

Testosterone and metabolism have a bidirectional relationship — in other words, the effects of each on the other go both ways.

If testosterone levels take a dive, you’re more likely to experience metabolic dysfunctions, such as:

• Increased visceral fat. Unlike subcutaneous fat (which sits just under the skin), visceral fat is metabolically active — in a bad way. It has a prolonged inflammatory effect that can disrupt metabolism over time.

• Higher risk of health conditions. Abdominal obesity increases your risk of various chronic conditions, like metabolic syndrome or heart disease.

• Insulin resistance. Low T can be a player in insulin resistance and eventually type 2 diabetes. The association is so strong that having low T levels is an independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes in men.

• Low energy and motivation. With low T, you’re more likely to have ongoing fatigue and a frustrating lack of energy. If you’re too tired to exercise or do other activities, your overall calorie burn decreases. This can contribute to weight gain, impacting your metabolism and body composition, and make symptoms of low T even worse.

→ Read next: Men’s Guide to Low Testosterone

Does testosterone increase metabolism? It might help. Even if you’ve found yourself in a vicious cycle of managing lower testosterone levels and low metabolism, there are things you can do to get both back on track.

The first place to focus on is your lifestyle.

Here are ways to work toward normal testosterone and a healthy metabolism.

Strength Training

Strength and resistance training are incredibly impactful for improving aspects of your metabolic health. This type of exercise doesn’t just break down muscle fibers — it tells your body to rebuild muscles back stronger and retain muscle mass.

More muscle generally means a higher BMR. Plus, even short bouts of strength training temporarily increase testosterone levels, which, over time, can support hormonal balance overall.

Physical activity guidelines for adults recommend muscle strength training at least twice a week, including exercises that use all major muscle groups.

You can do strength training with:

• Dumbbells to do weighted squats, lunges, and deltoid raises

• Bodyweight exercises, such as tricep dips and step-ups on a bench, push-ups, and squat jumps

• Weight machines and barbells at a gym for things like leg press, bench press, and deadlifts

• Resistance bands to do bicep curls, shoulder presses, and seated or upright rows

→ Learn more: Does Lifting Weights Increase Testosterone?

Nutrition

What you put on your plate and in your body directly impacts your health, including your body’s ability to efficiently produce hormones.

Optimal testosterone production leans on a balanced diet with plenty of healthy fats, vitamins, minerals (especially zinc), protein, and fiber.

The best place to get these? Whole and minimally processed foods. Healthy fats can be found in:

• Avocado and avocado oil

• Olives and olive oil

• Nuts and seeds

• Fatty fish

Getting your nutrients from food is ideal, but you can consider supplementation if needed. Ask your healthcare provider before adding a supplement to your routine.

Sleep

Sleep might be the first thing you sacrifice when you’re busy and being productive. But rest is one of the most critical factors for healthy hormonal balance — and most of your testosterone production happens when you’re in deep sleep. 

One night won’t make much difference, but ongoing poor sleep can interrupt normal testosterone production. It can also mess with appetite-regulating hormones.

Adults should be getting 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep every night. If this feels far from what you’re achieving, take inventory of your sleep hygiene habits. 

Sticking to a consistent sleep-wake schedule, making your bedroom a calming place for rest, and avoiding sleep disruptors close to bedtime (screens, alcohol, caffeine) can help.

Stress Management

Stressors are hard to avoid all the time. But that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare with the tools and mindset to handle them.

When you’re constantly stressed out, your body produces extra cortisol, the primary stress hormone.

Interestingly, cortisol and testosterone share a common precursor molecule (cholesterol). When cortisol production is up, it sort of steals resources that would otherwise go toward making testosterone. 

Plus, cortisol has a catabolic effect, meaning it promotes muscle breakdown. The combination of these things creates a poor environment for both your testosterone and metabolism.

Here’s what you might try to help your body respond better to stress:

• Meditation (even 5 minutes a day helps)

• Deep-breathing exercises

• Listening to calming music

• Spending time outside in nature

• Getting natural light early in the morning

• Journaling or drawing

→ Related: Stress vs. Anxiety: What’s the Difference?

Now that you know how testosterone and metabolism influence each other, you’re probably wondering how to tell if something is “off” with your hormones.

First, some of the common symptoms of low T levels in guys include: 

• Persistent fatigue despite sleeping

• Reduced libido

• Trouble building or maintaining muscle mass

• Increased body fat (adiposity), especially around the belly

• Mood changes or low mood

• Brain fog or trouble concentrating

• Erectile dysfunction (ED)

If you’re noticing any of these things, bring them up with your healthcare provider rather than trying to self-diagnose. If your provider thinks you may have low T, they can usually diagnose it with a simple blood test. 

Since levels of testosterone typically peak early in the morning (between 7 and 10 a.m.), this is the best time to check your baseline levels.

Your provider will likely look at your total testosterone, sometimes your free testosterone (the biologically active form), and maybe other biomarkers related to thyroid function or glucose and insulin regulation.

If it turns out you do have low serum testosterone, there are a few possible treatment options. One of the first interventions is making lifestyle changes in the areas we covered above: strength training, nutrition, sleep, and stress management.

Optimizing your everyday habits supports your overall health and can improve hormonal imbalances.

However, if a clinically low testosterone deficiency is disrupting your life with symptoms, an endocrinology provider might recommend testosterone replacement therapy (TRT).

Testosterone administration can involve:

• Injections

• Patches

• Gels

• Pellets

Each form of TRT comes with various pros, cons, and side effects to consider. 

Your provider will also evaluate other health factors, like prostate cancer risk, before recommending TRT to make sure it’s safe for you.

→ Learn more: TRT: Benefits, Side Effects, and What You Need to Know

In a perfect world, testosterone levels and metabolism would both be in top shape all the time — but that’s not always the case.

Understanding the role of testosterone and how it interacts with metabolism can help you optimize your lifestyle habits and pay attention to how your body feels.

If you think you might have low testosterone that’s causing metabolic issues, get professional guidance from a healthcare professional and testing or testosterone treatment when needed.

→ Read next: What to Know About Testosterone’s Effect on Energy Levels

Here are answers to common questions about metabolic health and testosterone.

Can boosting testosterone help with weight loss?

Boosting testosterone might help with weight loss, but only if testosterone levels are clinically low. Healthy testosterone supports greater muscle mass and fat metabolism, both of which can increase daily calorie burn. Still, testosterone increases aren’t a weight loss solution.

Sustainable lifestyle habits and, if needed, weight loss medication can support weight loss and help you maintain a healthy body weight.

At what testosterone level do metabolic issues typically begin?

There isn’t a single cutoff for everyone, but symptoms often show up when total testosterone drops below the lower end of the typical reference range for adult men (usually around 300 ng/dL, though this varies by lab). Beyond your testosterone level, what matters is whether you’re experiencing disruptive symptoms, like fatigue, reduced muscle mass, or increased belly fat.

Can lifestyle changes alone restore testosterone levels?

For some guys, especially those with mild or borderline low levels, lifestyle changes might restore testosterone levels. Improving sleep, managing stress, doing resistance training, and eating a nutrient-rich diet can support natural testosterone production. If your levels are clinically low, though, your provider may recommend testosterone replacement therapy for treating male hypogonadism.

→ Read next: Cholesterol and Testosterone: What’s the Connection?

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment. Learn more about our editorial standards.