Topic: Weight loss on HRT

[Jenny_Oh]

Oh! I didn't even realize there was a forum dedicated to this topic 

So I started low dose estrogen on June 6 2019 and T blockers 6 months later (no change in E2). Here's my weight ever since (you can ignore the 1st part of the graph, I wasn't really tracking my weight before I started HRT).



I was suprised to see HRT causing me to loose weight, 10lbs in 2019 and 11lb in the 1st two months of this year without really trying! Everything I'd read said HRT would cause me to gain weight (which I was concerned about, hence I started tracking). As you can see the holidays caused a little weight gain (haha) but since then T-blockers have accelerated the weight loss a bit, as one might expect. I work out several times a week and have seen a minor drop in aerobic power, haven't bothered testing anaerobic and don't care to.

My goal is actually a BMI of 18.5, about 20lb lighter than I am. We'll see if that's realistic because I'm eating a ton of fat to try and keep my body fat% up (and my size 8 booty  ), but fingers crossed there is enough muscle I can loose to make that happen (like at least a lb out of my masseter  would be good).

[Jenny_Oh]

So a week ago I started a new lower dose formulation of E2 that I apply twice daily. OMG it is driving me crazy, I cannot stop eating!! I had a mild case of SPT yesterday morning which did not make me happy  Now I'm reading all these articles about how E2 suppresses appetite, so I guess the low dose E2 just isn't providing enough juice. Which is interesting because it's the same amount just applied twice per day, I guess the concentration differential across the dermis is critical in determining how much is absorbed. Time to return to the once daily stuff.

[MikaelaA]

Besides E2 are you also taking progesterone?  I'm taking both E2 and progesterone topically and have a ravenous appetite that won't stop.  At least for me I believe it's the progesterone that causing that.  I put myself on a keto diet and have lost 4 pounds in the past month even though I can't stop eating.  Here is an excerpt from a study posted on the nih.gov website titled "Sex hormones, appetite and eating behaviour in women."

"Estrogen inhibits food intake, whereas progesterone and testosterone may stimulate appetite."


You can find the study here,  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22281161

[Jenny_Oh]

No, no progesterone until Tanner 3 (or maybe 4, we'll see) and then probably only 10 days a month. Thanks for finding that paper for me, very insightful. Here's a great summary of the different effects of E2 and P4 on appetite that I found.

[ChrissyRyan]

No, no progesterone until Tanner 3 (or maybe 4, we'll see) and then probably only 10 days a month. Thanks for finding that paper for me, very insightful. Here's a great summary of the different effects of E2 and P4 on appetite that I found.

Interesting graphic, that is.

Chrissy

[Jenny_Oh]

Yes, I'm really surprised because everything I'd read suggested that taking E2 would cause weight gain. So it at least explains why I've seen weight loss for the past 9 months, even without taking T-blockers.

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[ChrissyRyan]

All in all, I think it is hard to lose weight as a female and that may indeed be because of hormones.
I am not sure how much harder than as a male, as I can lose some weight if I eat less and I maintain at least the same amount of physical activity.

Chrissy

[prudence]

.. Here's a great summary of the different effects of E2 and P4 on appetite that I found ..

Interesting .. I read that as saying there's a direct relationship between appetite and P4 levels.

[ChrissyRyan]

I am actually down a good five or six or maybe seven pounds since Memorial Day.

E does seem to make it harder to lose weight.


Chrissy

[TXSara]

I am actually down a good five or six or maybe seven pounds since Memorial Day.

Good for you, Chrissy!  That's fantastic!

E does seem to make it harder to lose weight.

You're darned tootin' it does.  I'm struggling like crazy just to maintain my current weight, and I'm losing.  I have gained about 10 lbs since last November.  Of course some of that is from my BA, but that doesn't account for much more than 3-4 of those!

At some point, I'm going to have to train my brain to eat LESS.  You just can't outwork the fork, no matter how much I try!

~Sara

[Gina P]

  Since my E levels have gone up, I find it hard to stop eating. As a man I could skip a meal and 5lbs would vanish. Now its been a steady up tick in weight. My self control has diminished and I find it hard to walk away from the table.
 I have decided enough is enough after gaining 15lbs this summer. My depression has been ongoing and that makes it difficult to not crave comfort foods. My energy levels have dropped, so I'm not as active. That also doesn't help. On a good note my (not allowed) have gained almost 2 inches.
  Gina

[ImAllie]

Well what’s interesting is MTF hormone therapy should actually promote weight loss, for the simple reason that it induces a loss of lean body mass and gain in body fat — and muscle weighs more than fat.

It does make it harder to lose body fat, because it’s increasing it by definition… but your actual weight? No.

I’ve lost nearly 20 lbs since I started hormones, but I’m on such a low level of hormones that I don’t think they’re a factor in the equation.

For those struggling with their weight, please note that I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be or that you’re doing something wrong. Far from it. There are so many other factors that go into weight loss or gain. Psychological, environmental, biological, etc… all I’m saying is that from what I have learned, and from what we know the hormones are doing … they are not actively promoting weight gain in MTF cross-gender users.  FTM would be a different situation.

The way too simple (but true) rules of weight loss:
to lose weight - eat less, move more.
to lose body fat, eat less increase your protein, move more
to build muscle, eat less, increase your protein, move more, and strength train

Love,
Allie

[Devlyn]

Well what’s interesting is MTF hormone therapy should actually promote weight loss, for the simple reason that it induces a loss of lean body mass and gain in body fat — and muscle weighs more than fat.

It does make it harder to lose body fat, because it’s increasing it by definition… but your actual weight? No.

I’ve lost nearly 20 lbs since I started hormones, but I’m on such a low level of hormones that I don’t think they’re a factor in the equation.

For those struggling with their weight, please note that I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be or that you’re doing something wrong. Far from it. There are so many other factors that go into weight loss or gain. Psychological, environmental, biological, etc… all I’m saying is that from what I have learned, and from what we know the hormones are doing … they are not actively promoting weight gain in MTF cross-gender users.  FTM would be a different situation.

The way too simple (but true) rules of weight loss:
to lose weight - eat less, move more.
to lose body fat, eat less increase your protein, move more
to build muscle, eat less, increase your protein, move more, and strength train

Love,
Allie

Completely untrue! I can offer scientific evidence that by simply looking at cake, I get fatter. 

[Jessica_Rose]

Completely untrue! I can offer scientific evidence that by simply looking at cake, I get fatter. 

I don't want to see you lose too much weight Devlyn. You can thank me later...

Love always -- Jessica Rose

[Devlyn]

Why I oughta...  

[ImAllie]

Completely untrue! I can offer scientific evidence that by simply looking at cake, I get fatter. 

I can’t dispute that! I stand corrected! 😘