Muscle loss and fat distribution

[tori319]

What has been you personal experience with muscle loss and fat distribution? Does the muscle turn to fat, does the fat move from your waist ,do you rally get more fat on your hips?I ask theses questions because I've seen some trans women lately and the distribution and muscle seemed very unfeminine and I wanted to know do these things really happen without surgery, or are they uncommon?

[Ms.Behavin]

lost muscle mass/ strength, oh about 50 percent maybe.  gained fat in the thighs aqnd backside, nice backside (thanks Mom :-)),  Sigh.. no hips though gained a little in the hip but not enough though  and the adominal fat I had before I'm still working on loosing. But then again my mom was a larger woman,  er that is big boned too.

Oh, muscle does not turn to fat or visa versa.  Your muscle fibers will shrink and fat cells grow but they are two seperate tissue types.

Beni

[V M]

I've only been on HRT for 8.5 months so I'm somewhere in between Vexing's 1st and 2nd Pic.s

The first thing I noticed were the boobs and I was like WOOT!!! But then I started to get a belly and "Love Handles" and was like UH OHhhhh...

Now I've started to get a waistline and the belly and "Love Handles" are beginning to blend into a more fem. lower half

Plus My hips and thighs are becoming more pronounced and I've just about all but lost my guns (biceps)

@ Vexing... Cute undies... LOL

@ Beni... I love your new avatar... You look great 

[Janet_Girl]

YMMV.  I have had only the muscle mass loss.  To me fat redistribution is a myth, I am still built like a damn boy.

[tori319]

My muscle was largely lean muscle, so I didn't have any 'bulk'.
I've lost some of that muscle, but the rest has been overlaid with a layer of fat.
I don't think my muscle has turned to fat at all; most of my fat gain has been on my backside, thighs and hips - typical female gain areas.
Then again, I was practically anorexic before transition, so there wasn't that much fat or muscle to begin with.
You can see a comparison of before and after here (Image not safe for work!)

Wow you look amazing.What are your shoulder measurements?

[kae m]

I don't have body pics because, to put it gently on myself, I don't want to terrify anyone.

The biggest example I can give is my male shirt size change.  Pre-HRT I wore a 17.5-18.5 34/35 XL-XXL shirt.  That was pretty big, Goodwill got a lot of stuff.  If I put one of those on today it's mostly just funny.  Now my shirt size when I buy work clothes is 14.5-15 32/33 M which could be smaller except for having to (poorly) conceal my breasts for now.  My weight dropped as much as 25lbs since starting, but I've been up & down ~15 from there.  It would be fair to say most of the weight loss was muscle, especially from my back, shoulders, and upper arms.  It's left me pretty comfortable in anywhere between a 10-14, which I wish I could drop lower...but the thinner I am the worse my shape gets, so that's not happening for now.

I certainly don't have a typical female body shape, but whatever. That my proportions have changed as much as they have has been a great relief to some of my body image issues.

[Bam]

I was a woman hiding in a very muscular 280 lb mans body,i am now a still muscular 238 lb woman with all the woman fat in the right places tush,hips thighs,chest etc.i only lost about 20% of my strength,but i also never quit working out(GYN told me with the E i was on i would not gain anymore muscle except below the waist and only a small amount)My muscles did smooth over so it looks very feminine as any other woman body builder.Now i have the best of both worlds a woman with shape and strength,what more could i ask for!!!! Plus the jerks don't want to mess with a large TG!!!!

[tori319]

No idea - where do I measure from?

You use measuring tape around the shoulders.

[sarahm]

I must say, my past, doing full contact martial arts, I was very well built for a male. 6 pack, large Biceps, rock solid triceps, chest well built and to top it off, I had a very thick neck.

Being on hormones for little over 3 months now, I have seen a massive (About 50 - 75%) decrease in muscle mass, and a gain of fat. I no longer have a 6 pack, my biceps are barely existant, I have granny flap underarms and triceps, and my neck has decreased in thickness. Before hormones I believe I weighed about 89KG or so. Now I way 72KG and generally am dropping half a kilo a day, with the exception of maybe the odd day or 2 where I put on half a kilo.

I take Androcur / Siterone (Cyproterone Acetate) which is known to have the best effect in muscle deterioration.
I am very pleased with my results so far, however, currently I have small hips, and not much fat distribution to my hips or anything.

FYI: I have been trying to put on weight LOL. It's just not working.

[tori319]

So it's like a waist measurement - except you loop it around your shoulders?

Yea.

[Stephanie.Izann]

I'm assuming that the later on you transition, the harder it is to get the hormones to work? Maybe it's also genetics too? I'm in the middle of things trying to figure out if I have to lose more weight or what. I'm almost 6ft and I have a a 33 inseam and 33 waist. My chest is at 38 and shrinking but still, it bugs the heck out of me. I weigh 215 and losing left and right. BUT, I'm a young looking 44 (most people think I am 32 or 34-ish)...so I am hoping it will help out. Plus I don't have a wrinkle in sight yet.
I'm glad you posted this. It's always great to see what others are going through in regards to this issue.
I mean where should someone be at? Is it based on height? What about BMI? Does one base it on a womans BMI when transitioning? Because you don't want to starve yourself, it takes too much from you health wise.
Just wonderin' too

[pebbles]

I lost about 50% of my strength and muscle mass all over and it all got redistributed into a belly love handles thighs and my ass ballooned out I've gained half a stone since I started a reasonable fluctuation I'm still 'normal' weight.
Not alot has gone into my boobs comparatively XD and my hips are still male shape

[Debra]

I never really had a lot of strength and I've been surprised at what I could lift when I moved to my new place. It's been 7 months for me and I have about AA cup breasts and definitely developing a little tummy. I haven't seen much in hips and butt but it's hard to keep track of. I've definitely seen a loss of waist so that's been good.

Before HRT, I was 36-35-38 (breast-waist-hips) and now I'm around 37-32-37.

[Stephanie.Izann]

I know this might sound silly, but I can't wait to see how the "femones" change my body. Being a "translesbian" I've always loved the female shape, but obviously it's not about that. It's just exciting. I'm already letting go of my guy self and it's the best feeling of freedom.

[cilian]

Hey! I wonder who lost pure muscle using siterone? And within how many months?

[Sammy]

I am a bit confused about doing cardio + HRT too. Last week I weighted 152 lbs, my waist is 72 cm and I am 5"9'. My hips are 37" and chest is 35". I am doing cardio - jogging - about 3-4 times per week and I usually run about 10 km. Sometimes I have an appetite increase, but often I feel like it is in the female range, so I am a bit worried whether by doing my cardio I am burning down the new fat which would otherwise distribute somewhere on my body? Most of my "male" fat is gone, apart of a little bit around - is it called visceral area? on each side of the abs - and it just refuses to go away what ever I do...
My face is changing, but my body - not really...

[LordKAT]

Emily, this going to sound counterproductive but, gain about 5 pounds, the new fat will go where it should.

[Sammy]

Emily, this going to sound counterproductive but, gain about 5 pounds, the new fat will go where it should.

Hmmm.... It was over 35 degrees Celsium today. Ice cream, yay! Lots and lots of icecream it is then .  And no jogging for today .

[LordKAT]

There ya go, enjoy it, just don't overdo it. Someone suggested losing weight pre hrt and gaining a bit back after 6 months hrt, it worked so it should for you also.

[FrancisAnn]

Thanks for posting & results. I sure hope for a more curvy womanly body. I'm 5' 9", 180 pounds. For now way too much of a male body, no ass at all & waist is a ugly 34!  After only 2 months on HRT my breasts are moving, nipples are sensitive & I swear they are bigger, thanks mom also, she was well endowed. I have "big" bones & I know that HRT will not change this, oh well. Legs look nice, that's good. Size 10 womens shoes & medium size hands & fingers so that's good.

Anyway thanks girl friends & good luck to us all to become beautiful women.