Now that I am in college I no longer feel the social pressure to dress feminine. Ironically, now that I'm dressing in male clothing I have become increasingly aware of the femininity of my body. I'm 5'6, 110lb, size zero, c-cup. I'm a very health-conscious person, but I'm starting to think that this is to my downfall. I'm a pescetarian for environmental and moral reasons and I work out every day (weights, crunches, and some sort of cardio). After coming out to my best friend a year ago I tried to change my diet and exercise to include more proteins but even after a year of focusing on muscular exercises I've seen no improvement. My friend tells me that it is the fault of my diet, but I don't want to give up my personal morals during my transition. In short I'm wondering what sort of exercises should I include in my daily routine, how much protein/calories/etc. should a pre-T FtM consume in order to build muscle, and if it is possible for me to build muscle and continue with my dietary lifestyle?
Do you eat lentils? You should be eating a cup a day at least. Tons of protein there. I'm ovo-vegetarian and managed to build muscle quite well when I was going to the gym 6 days a week a few years ago. Some transguys use whey protein shakes to help. As far as exercises, you say you do them everyday? Try a split circuit instead. Focus on one muscle group, then take a day off. For example, you could do arms/chest on one day and back/legs the next. If you give your muscles a chance to heal they'll build faster and you won't risk hurting yourself. Also, you can vary the weight you're lifting week by week. It keeps your body from getting used to what you're doing. So have a week where you use moderate weight and reps. Next do a light week with light weight and MORE reps. Next a heavy week with heavy weight and LESS reps. It would look like this (depending on how much you can lift, of course): Week 1 - 35lbs 3 sets of 10 Week 2 - 15lbs 3 sets of 20 Week 3 - 55lbs 3 sets of 5 And take one day a week to rest completely.
I do eat lentils, but not everyday. I probably only eat them when I make minestrone. I don't really know many recipes with lentils in them, but I will look up some today. I get most of my protein from quinoa-based recipes, I don't know how that stands against lentils. I will definitely change my work out routine to what you suggested. I've never thought about changing up the weights I use. Thank you for your advice.
A cup of cooked lentils has 18 grams of protein. A cup of quinoa has 8. Always go with lentils You can make anything out of them really. And don't forget there are three different kinds: red, brown and green (the latter is my favorite) for varying textures and flavors.
lots of protein and calories including carbohydrates. if you're trying to gain size (muscle) you must eat like a PIG. healthy stuff, but a lot of it. you just have to figure out your BMR/TDEE (search google, there are some calculators you can use as a guide). since i assume you're trying to gain mass here are some foods i would recommend: Milk, (preferable whole) but 2% is fine (fats are GOOD for you and essential to gain muscle) Natural Peanut butter (also nuts in general: walnuts, almonds,etc) Cottage cheese Oats Eggs Salmon/tuna/sardines Brown Rice / quinoa / pasta Sweet potatoes Avocados Beans (kidney, black, lentils,etc) Olive Oil and don't forget: lift, lift, lift !
I’m also a pescetarian, I know how hard it is to gain muscle mass , but I’m not going to change my diet because of it. Like what others has said, you need a lot of protein, you need eat a lot(healthy foods). For Lunch today, I’m probably going to get a Salmon Tofu Avocado Salmon Salad with bread.
Thank you all for your advice! I'm working on making an excel spreadsheet with the advice you have given so I can stay on track. I'm pretty good at eating healthy foods, but I have a lot of trouble eating enough. I don't actually know what a BMR or TDEE is. Do you use it to figure out how many calories to eat or something?
