So I started T over a year ago, but was pretty inactive in my day to day activites. I was a really chubby guy and had a lot of health problems. However after starting my first job over the summer I've started to lose a lot of weight and fast. I've been dropping a pants size about every 3 weeks. I'm happy with the changes, but I've noticed that I don't eat very much, yet I'm also always fatigued and hungry? It'll sometimes get so bad my hands shake and my vision swims until i can quickly grab a protein bar or something. Everyone who knew me before is shocked by how I look now. I keep telling them it's the T, but is it? I've gone from over 200lbs to the 130s in the span of 6 months. That's 4 pants sizes, 3 shirt, and 2 cup sizes, gone down. Is this normal for someone on Terstoserone? I went from a large girl who could pass for a woman, to a small man who Looks like a young boy?
Increased testosterone levels will often lead to increased lean muscle mass. With higher levels of LBM you will expend more energy this will cause weight loss. Furthermore you seem to be doing quite a bit of cardiovascular activity while most likely being in a caloric deficit. As you approach lower numbers in weight you will start to loose less slower and too loose more you will have to either do more activity or eat less. If you want to put on some mass I suggest you find a weight lifting program and try to eat a bit more. Lots of protein, good fats and some carb. So technically the T isn't making you loose weight but it's making it easier. Hope this helped .
Testosterone makes it easier to lose more weight than estrogen does, so the activities you're doing is burning calories and you're not eating enough to sustain your weight and it's more than you probably would have lost if you weren't on T. You need a certain number of calories to make up for what you lost if you want to sustain (or gain or lose less) weight. You can research that further, but I would suggest at least not skipping meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Hope this was helpful.
Ah, thanks for the response (and sorry for the delay in mine). I'm not eating enough? I've gotten hungrier since being on T, but found that I can't eat as much as I used too. I've started to carry fruits and granola bars with me, but after about 2 hours I'm feeling weak and hungry again. ---------- Post added 16th Jan 2017 at 08:58 AM ---------- My weight had settled for about 3 weeks. however last week i noticed that my pants have grown too large again? If I don't eat more will it just keep dropping? I do eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I thought it would stop at some point. I'm doing the same job every night. ---------- Post added 16th Jan 2017 at 09:03 AM ---------- Oddly enough, my first endocrinologist actually told me I'd gain weight while on T. I was prepared to start increasing my physical activity to try to counter it, but then I just started shrinking.
Your weight will continue to drop to a certain point and then it will plateau but to get to that plateau you must reach a body mass which is sustained by the amount of calories you are eating per day. If you are still loosing weight and don't want to I would suggest upping your calorie intake by maybe 100-200 calories a week until weightloss stops. I personally eat 5 meals a day. If you can give me what you eat on an average day and your weight and height I can give you a general idea of how much more you need to eat to maintain your body mass. The average man needs about 2500 calories a day but this can vary wildly based on your activity. I would say just try to have 4-5 solid clean meals of lots of protein, fats and some carb.if you notice you are gaining weight quickly you can cut a meal out or if you are loosing more just add another. If you find you aren't hungry enough maybe invest in some mass gainer or protein powder and sub a protein shake for a meal as that's a pretty good source of good useful calories.
The weight you would have gained would most likely been muscle and you probably have. Have you noticed that you look any more muscular. You've probably just lost a lot of fat as well which is why it seems like you haven't gained anything when in reality you have lost and gained.
I've noticed that my shoulders have gotten wider and my arms are much smaller and veiny. Also my breast have gotten smaller and I've had to go down in binder size. I'm 5'7". Last time I was weighed was 4 months ago. I was 160. But I've dropped 3 pants sizes since then, so I don't know. I eat fruit and sometimes a protein bar around 9:45pm. I have a snack at 12am, crackers, fruits, or another protein bar. I have lunch at 2am, a sandwhich and fruit, or microwave meal if I forgot to pack lunch before work. Another snack at 5am, same as 12. Around 9am I eat a larger meal. Bacon, eggs, potatoes, and sausage. Or several bowls of cereal, sandwhich. Really whatever I can find or feel like making. I have no one to cook for me and my skills are limited. And finally I'll have a snack before bed at 2pm or 3pm. On my off days I have missed meals because no one woke me up for them. I'll sleep through my alarms for my 1st day off. So at least one day a week I eat only 1 meal.
The veiny arms may suggest that you are dropping body fat. I did a rough calculation of the calories you are consuming and it seems like its around 1900-2100 per day however I cant be 100% sure as I dont have exact measurements of how much you eat. If you've dropped 3 pant sizes you are probably 140-145 pounds now. At that weight you should be consuming roughly 2500 calories per day to just maintain your mass. You are eating about 500 calories less than you should which will cause you to loose about a pound a week. i also notice most of your calories (50%) are coming from simple carbs which is probably why you feel light headed and fatigued as they are fast acting carbs which convert to energy quickly, spike your blood sugar and then rapidly decrease your blood sugar after you use that energy. Whats really making you loose weight quickly is the missed meals as that can take away over 1500 calories from your weekly total in just one day. What I suggest you do if you feel you have lost too much weight and want to stop is supplement in with a protein shake when you wake up and try to replace some of the fruit you are having with complex carbs like oatmeal, sweet potatoes, brown rice and beans etc. This will give you some more energy for the day. Try not to miss meals. The gaining and loosing game really depends on the person and will take some tweaking to see what suits you. If you are gaining too fast eat a little less and if you are still loosing eat a little more. All I would say is try to sit down for a larger meals instead of snacking on fruit and protein bars and have a protein shake when you get up. That should stop this rapid weight loss. I think if you just get one more normal meal in a day (maybe chicken and potatoes or a steak etc. along with everything else you are eating you will be fine. Good luck my friend.
