big and tall

[billiexero]

so im sure that this has to come up at least once a week. but im 6 foot 1about 220 lb (i dropped about 30 some odd lb and am going to continue to try and drop more) and have the physical appearance of a.. well a bear to say the least. "im just big boned" is something that you could say about me. and it kills me. im 25 and i just recently started to understand who i am, i have always kinda known that i was a women but not till about 6-7 months ago did i act on it. but no matter how i spin it or how much my spouse tries to tell me that i am beautiful, im still hesitant. i afraid that i will not be what i see inside. that i will always look like the bear i am, just a hairless bear. please tell me that im not the only one that has or is going threw this. can anyone help me, give me some advice that might make me feel less... freaked out. please.

[Hikari]

Well two thoughts here, the first is that ciswomen come in all shapes and sizes just like their trans* counterparts. Almost every woman I know has some complaint about their appearance, so at least in a way it is normal to have these worries.

The second thought is, you might think you have big bones and you may but they might not be nearly as big as you think. What I mean is look at some before and after hormones pictures and pay attention to just how much soft tissue contributes to shoulder size. It can be astounding just how much size in our bodies are soft changeable tissue.

[big kim]

Me too,I'm 6'1  and a half big boned and weigh 250 pounds.Big girls are beautiful,Amazons rock!

[Tristan]

Yup. Woman do come in all sizes. You can drop that weight and be just fine

[Carrie Liz]

I'm 6'2" tall, and started HRT at a whopping 270 lbs. Just saying.

Don't let it get you down. I have two trans friends who are also really tall and a bit overweight, and they pass just fine now after a few years on hormones. It is definitely more than possible.

[Jill F]

My wife is 6'2" in heels and built like a tank.

She doesn't get pegged for a dude.

[Yukari-sensei]

I loathe to admit exactly how bad I was, but for the sake of inspiration, I will admit that I'm 5'11" and at my peak was 360 lbs.

At my last weigh in in December, I was 300lbs and falling. When I go again to my endo in March, I hope I will be 270 and finally get estrogen and not just Spiro.

For what it is worth, I already seem to be passing (I didn't think so, but I keep getting surprised). I live in an area where big girls are the norm and I just seem a little tall.

There's hope for all of us, if we can find the same patience for ourselves that we tend to give to others around us.

[billiexero]

by the gods you are all amazing. thank you. i really appreciate all the encouragement. its going to be a while before i can even go and see a endo. due to my job but i really cant wait.

[EmmaK]

Im 6'1" and so far ive been told many great things that will help before the transition. Mainly its to diet and fast, eat very clean, (most recommend a vegan diet, which im trying right now and its pretty easy to get a hold of) and do cardio like your life depends on it. Because it does! Avoid muscular activities, you want your muscle to go away and your curves to come in. Running, walking, biking, anything cardio do it. Many in transition MTF's on HRT have noticed a large difference in their butt and legs by just doing cardio, it really helps define that womanly shape.

Your not the only big and tall woman out there, but your looks only progress as far as you allow them to.

[Emily.T]

I am 6F 5 and 112 kg I just walk every day to lose my weight and am doing fine in the last 12 months I have lost 23 kg just by walking alone.

Emily.T xx

[JoanneB]

I am or was 6ft and always been called big boned since I was a kid. At my peak I weighed in at 250 lbs when I graduated high school. It is amazing what a difference 100 lbs makes. In my case much of it was blubber. Next to no T sure has done a lot in the muscle loss department.

Being 6ft still sucks in a world where the average height of females is still way shorter. Far better than it was for me 30 years when a 6ft woman was just a circus freak. Nowadays tall women are far from rare.

What has helped immensely in how I see myself is how I think and feel about myself. I started this journey with a negative self-esteem. It is slowly inching into positive territory. Self acceptance, loosing much of the shame and guilt associated with being trans has done wonders for my self esteem. No longer do I feel like "some guy in a dress", these days I feel real, genuine.

[billiexero]

i have been doing a lot of cardio, and the only thing i can warn about is if your like me and prefer to run over bike or elliptical then be careful. i pulled a ligament. i still do cardio, but i cant run until it is fully healed 

[RobinGee]

It's a thread for my people!

I'm a questioning (reluctant) pre-everything mtf type person.  I'm like gigantic.  I've characterized myself as an ogre.  (Which has as much to do with other issues as anything else.)

I'm 6'3", 419 lbs.  That's a lot of person.  I've pretty much resigned myself to at the best looking a little mannish or athletically framed.  But I think that's okay.  I'm trying to embrace the amazon and ignore the tiny lithe princess fantasy.

Maybe one day I'll be an amazingly hot, freakishly tall but sexy Amazon princess. 

[ConfusedHumanUK]

I'm 6'1", 239lb and 25 years old.

Here's how I see it. I either carry on being a miserable bear (yeah, I'm a bit hairy ) or work my ass off getting my weight down whilst waiting to start HRT. I started doing this 2 weeks ago and I'm already down to 239 lb (I was 250 lb). For people around our size, loosing the first bulk of the weight is pretty easy. All I'm doing right now is walking 40 minutes a day, 5 days a week (about 2.5 miles a day). I've done things like stopped having coffee/tea throughout the day, and stuff like that. Drinking water helps a lot as well. I also found going to bed a bit earlier helps massively.

You dont have to go crazy about it, just be sensible. Dont, for example think that within your first week you can start running, or even jogging for 30 minutes as you'll just destroy any willpower you've got. Start off slow. I'm doing 5 days a week as last year I was already doing 3 days a week but stopped in September when I popped my ankle. Just start out doing a 30 minute walk a few days a week. If you've got an iphone or android, get RunKeeper - set it to private and just use it to keep a personal record. I use it to see if I can better my pace each week. You can also link it with MyFitnessPal which helps work out your ideal daily calorie intake. If you can keep a healthy calorie deficit, the initial bulk of your weight will melt off.

I'm also big boned. I too worried a lot about this, but after looking at peoples before and after photos, I know it wont be an issue. http://->-bleeped-<-.com/r/transtimelines/top is a great place to look at for reassurance.

Good luck

[Michelle123]

I think half of it is looking the part, the other half is having E predominant instead of T.   I would say start low dose E so you can at least feel the part while you get in shape and decide if you want to go further.  Juicing is essential.   if you are not 100% sure, just move slowly at a pace you feel comfortable.  Then if you get a sense that it will really work for you, then up the dosage to normal MtF levels.

[ErinWDK]

I really did NEED this thread!  I don't think of myself as a bear, but rather some other large, hairy, animal with tusks.  To hear there is hope is great news!  Thanks for all the good discussion.

[Cindi Lane]

I'm 6'3" and 340 lbs now and look more like an aging, out of shape football linebacker.

I'm trying to set reasonable expectations and believe them, to form a mental picture of the real me that is not the bearded hulking beast I was. I really like how Robin captured it: "

... I'm trying to embrace the amazon and ignore the tiny lithe princess fantasy...

I'm working towards my personal goal to have a curvy, healthy body that helps me project the Elegant, Sexy Amazon that I am.

In 2011 (at the Esprit Gala in WA), I learned and accepted that I really am a tall woman who can feel wonderfully sexy even in this body that needs much work.
I paid a stylist to put in my hair extensions and create a "death-by-curls" sexy half up-do then I dressed-up in my LBD and heels and went out and truly rocked it at the diner-dance event. The funny part is, I look back at the photos from that night and they just did not capture who I was and how I was feeling (I guess I was just too much Amazon for a 2 dimensional digital camera)

I have embraced that I will always stand out as a woman given my size and height, dressing down to blend in will not really work. I have taken an active approach to my presentation;  I choose to wear nice outfits, I choose to wear colors, I choose to wear age appropriate styles that work with my body shape and reflect that I am a sophisticated woman who enjoys looking nice and cares for her appearance. I embrace dresses, skirts, jacket dresses, skirt suits for daily wear and cocktail dresses and evening gowns on special occasions.
  (I may have a few over the top sexy outfits for special stay at home times    )

-Cindi

[JulieC.]

I met a woman at the transgender support group that had to be 6'8".  She was right at the height of the doorway.  People usually take notice of men at that height because that is not very common.  But she has fully transitioned to female and has a very pleasant feminine voice.  There is no way anyone would ever guess she was once a he.  She is just a very big girl.  And very pretty too I might add.  I wouldn't let size stand in your way.

[Ms Grace]

I'm 6'3" although I have always been pretty skinny and have been losing weight but gaining shape in all the right places since starting HRT. The way I see it, presentation is the key a 6'+ woman who is well dressed and styled has as good a chance of passing as any one. I was out the other night with a bunch of trans* ladies and they were all roughly my height, the one cis woman wasn't much shorter!

[Jordana]

I'm 6'2 and plus size currently in the process of transitioning. I also sometimes feel worried about being to tall or too large framed but as mentioned before, cis women have the same insecurities about height and weight. I agree that a lot of it comes down to styling, what you choose to wear to flatter yourself and appear well groomed. If you feel the need to lose weight then take that route or reach a level of self acceptance and find empowerment through your presentation. Best of luck.