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HRT and weight loss

Discussion in 'Gender Identity and Expression' started by BookDragon, Feb 25, 2014.

  1. BookDragon

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    So a thought has been rolling around in the back of my mind for a while now and I figured I'd ask in case anyone knew some answers.

    So I'm a big girl. BIG. I don't know how much I weigh and I don't intend to find out. More to the point, I'm basically healthy enough that I don't usually care. I'm not about to die going up a few flights of stairs and even if I lost weight, I'm never going to be 'small' so it's not like I have much to aim for.

    Anyway, I vaguely recall reading or hearing somewhere that it was important to lose weight before you start HRT, if I recall correctly because it's harder to lose weight when you start HRT, so for starters does anyone know if that's true?

    Second, I know the basic effects of what happens with HRT in terms of what changes shape, which got me thinking that actually I have no idea if I would notice breast growth or not...I mean I've not got much fat on my chest...if I sit up straight like I ought to I guess maybe half a handful on either side...but my belly is kinda big! Just sort of wondering what would happen there...

    I mean I don't want to end up having breast growth and not realising because my stomach is too big to show it up!

    Hmm!
     
  2. Claudette

    Claudette Guest

    well... I am a thin girl... but I am just over a month marker on HRT... and I've noticed my Waist & Shins have become smaller, meanwhile my Butt and thighs have grown. Size 8 pants used to hug my waist, now I need a belt for 8, and I can fit into 6/7. But I have always had a fast metabolism... but I think it is more a result from the HRT... I'm not to sure if I am indeed loosing weight, but I do know my fat deposits are finding new homes lol.
     
  3. suninthesky

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    Suppressing testosterone is the main reason it's hard for some people to lose weight. I think it slows the metabolism down.

    That said, if you wanted to lose weight afterwards, I don't think it would be harder than a cisgendered woman, just harder than you have experienced thus far in your life.
     
  4. Ettina

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    I believe this is mainly due to decreased muscle mass. Muscles burn a lot of energy, so being more muscular makes your metabolism higher. Women tend to put on muscle less easily than men, and transwomen on HRT tend to lose muscle or start finding it more difficult to gain muscle.
     
  5. CharlieHK

    CharlieHK Guest

    I only know this because I went through two years of intense dieting. Men burn more calories than women. The average man is on 2300 calorie diet to maintain body weight, and the average female is 2100. The lowest amount of calories a man should have in a day is 1600 whereas women can go down to 1200 (these are the extremes), the weight loss effects are the same. Everyone is different, just like how some women gain weight when on birth control and others lose. Hrt is blocking testosterone, a hormone vital in the metabolism. But it doesn't mean you won't be able to lose the weight. If you want to trim off a little here and there (nothing like going down a few jean sizes), I'd do it before Hrt

    As for breasts. If you have fat on your chest already when you develop the new tissue should form under the fat. A way to check for this is to do what a lot of females do and check your breasts for new "growths"( I guess some call them cancer checks), only in your case you are feeling for the denser breast tissue under what you have.

    I don't know if you've seen the commercials for women's weight loss where they have the female complain about losing her boobs before any other fat, but here in Michigan I see them more often then I'd like. What I'm getting at is for your own self esteem developing breast and then seemingly losing them (by dieting the fat off them) is maybe not in your best interest. Even though you aren't losing boob, your losing the fattie padding.

    In the end if you like you for you don't worry about diets and other people, do what works for you! What you read about people losing weight for HRT is probably targeting those who are 20-10 pounds from a goal weight and once HRT starts it's like having ankle weights slapped on mid battle.
     
  6. Claudette

    Claudette Guest

    I'll have to admit to being physically weaker now then I was a month ago, 50 lbs was easy, now it's getting hard to do lift 50 lbs, maybe it was muscle mass instead of fat that I lost lol... w/e my legs look fabulous =p
     
  7. BookDragon

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    Thanks guys.

    I think I probably ought to lose a bit anyway, it's not going to kill me after all!
     
  8. Beantown

    Beantown Guest

    Time to be a diet warrior. I suck though, I like starve myself and then binge, it's a terrible cycle but I starve myself long enough to maintain being really thin so it works I guess. Good luck to you though, I'm cheering for you. (&&&)
     
  9. Ettina

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    Actually, I read somewhere that yo-yo dieting is actually worse for your health than staying fat.