Are weight loss and feminization mutually exclusive?

[Brenda E]

I've plumped up considerably since starting HRT - 15 or 20 lbs over 5 months.  About 10 of it was necessary, but there's a good few pounds that are making the "naked me" rather unattractive.

(Well, let's take a step back.  Perhaps there's some unrealistic ideas about what a good female body should look like, and maybe I'm trying to chase a standard that doesn't actually exist.  Let's put that aside for now though.)

If I try to lose 5 to 10 lbs, will that wind back the feminizing effects of the hormones?  Most of my feminization so far seems to be fat-related: chubby boobs (although there's legit breast tissue growth in there too), hips, softer face etc.  My worry is that if I lose the weight, it'll masculinize me by stripping that female fat and leaving the original male form underneath.

Stupid?

[Rachel]

Brenda, no, it is not stupid.

I am in the process of losing weight (35 pounds, 29 to go) and I fear I will not lose the fat from the right locations.

[ImagineKate]

IIRC it's all about proportion. Yeah your boobs may shrink but if your gut and love handles shrink too that's better and you will look better.

[immortal gypsy]

You're not being stupid Brenda, it is a legitimate worry.

It can be a bit of a bit of a crap shoot. Just like when you put on some weight you can't say right I want you to go straight to my boobs. You can't say right weight it's time for you to go so you lot on my gut shove love. When you're trying to take it off

Life would be so much easier if our bodies actually worked that way.

[JulieBlair]

Brenda,
Worrying about weight too much is a fools errand.  As long as you manage to have a healthy body mass index.  (Below 26, but better about 22) you'll be fine.  Your body will put fat where it ought to be, and you will be beautiful.  It is genetics which drives the process and estrogen which makes it possible.  Eat well, get 20 minutes of aerobic exercise every day, and smile a lot.  Magic is happening, but slowly. 

[Jo-is-amazing]

If your weight loss is exercise driven that shouldn't be a problem. Weight loss from Exercise is normally the result of speeding up your metabolism, which is great for feminisation cause your body processes the e faster and more efficiently. Just make sure your doing aerobic work and eating healthily and everything will be fine.

[Debussy]

what happens if I'm losing weight by not eating very much (unhealthy) and exercising? lol...

[Brenda E]

Thank you all.  Sounds like it's a balance - or one of those unsolvable problems that'll drive me crazy if I obsess over it.  BMI is currently just under 24, but 22 would be sweet.  I've become rather attached to my boobs and butt, and I'd hate to exercise or diet them away.  I hope it's not just moobs and, er, mutt (?)

[Christine Eryn]

The fat is gonna get to necessary places no matter what, especially the boobs. I've weighted pretty much the same for the past 10 years, between 133-142 lbs off and on. Except after years of HRT, I have C cups and more of a rounded butt and hips. The hips I could use more of though. I think in your case, loosing weight won't mean loosing feminizing fat.

Interestingly enough, I went to a plastic surgeon for a Brazilian butt lift type procedure. I was told I didn't have enough fat to transfer or shape.    I'm not willing to gain that extra weight just for that though.

[Carrie Liz]

I've lost 50+ lbs since starting HRT, and I think I turned out pretty darn well. So no, in my experience, they are not mutually exclusive.

[ganjina]

I say they are not mutually exclusive based on my personal experience.

I was thin before starting HRT (3 months now) so I was really concerned I would not get affected by fat distribution because I had little fat. If I lost weight and was already slim, wouldn't I look too slim?

I started to do more exercice and have been eating tons, way more than before, and what has happened is:

• Overall, I've lost weight, most of it muscle mass, back and jaw bulges. So less manly, slimmer silhouette. Not too thin though, am looking actually better. Why?
• I've gotten fattier at face/tights/butt/legs even though I've lost a few pounds. Also, my tummy which has always remained kind of flat and slim before HRT, in the meantime and now, looks quite different in shape and on the sides.

So somehow I've lost weight (went from 5'11 and 160lb to 140lb), and have gained a more femenine silhouette while ALSO looking softer and fattier in those girly body parts. I was scared I'd look drained out or something by going down in weight but am fine .

[Brenda E]

I've lost 50+ lbs since starting HRT, and I think I turned out pretty darn well. So no, in my experience, they are not mutually exclusive.

So somehow I've lost weight (went from 5'11 and 160lb to 140lb), and have gained a more femenine silhouette while ALSO looking softer and fattier in those girly body parts. I was scared I'd look drained out or something by going down in weight but am fine .

Wow.  Are you girls actively trying to lose weight, or is this just happening with your regular pre-HRT diets and levels of activity?

[Carrie Liz]

Wow.  Are you girls actively trying to lose weight, or is this just happening with your regular pre-HRT diets and levels of activity?

Yes, I am definitely actively trying to lose weight. I went on an anti-carbohydrate diet.

Pre-HRT, food was often my coping mechanism. I'd eat entire bags of potato chips, Chinese buffets constantly, pizza, and other such high-carb comfort foods. HRT made it MUCH harder to lose weight. Pre-HRT, I had indeed done this exact same diet, and went all the way from 286 lbs to 236 lbs over the course of a single summer with little effort whatsoever. On HRT, though, it took me a good 8 months of constant dieting effort to lose the same 50, going back from 270 down to 220. And I pretty much haven't been able to break that 220 lb mark for more than a few weeks at a time ever since.

No exercise, by the way. I don't have the pain tolerance for exercise. Every time I try, I end up hurting like hell for the next 3 days straight.

[April Lee]

I have lost 63 pounds since January. I found that HRT in combination with extreme aerobic exercise and very low calories will burn both muscle and fat. Of course, the downside of that is that you won't get a lot of curvy development either. But I found pleasantly, that if you have some fat starting out, you end up with it persisting in those places where you want it. In the last two months I have cut back on my exercise, but have kept the cals low in an attempt to put some curves back on. This morning I weighed 153, and I am 6'3" and a half. I think it is really important to take good stock of your body going into this thing, and to come up with a plan. Despite my size, I knew that I was very thin boned, and I knew how I had looked in my youth when I was really skinny. I knew my best bet for a feminine look was to emulate the appearance of a tall thin super model and to highlight the lower part of my body.

[ganjina]

Wow.  Are you girls actively trying to lose weight, or is this just happening with your regular pre-HRT diets and levels of activity?

Sort of. I've been just avoiding more and more trash food as time goes by and doing more exercise. It's been a slow, take it easy process but with HRT I just see muscle burning down and fat going into the lower areas and cheeks. I think it has tons to do with the kind of diet you take compared to your individual metabolism and how you mix those ressources with exercise.

When I do muscle work for butt, legs, waist, etc, I eat a lot that day, tons of proteins and veggies, and a good amount of healthy fats and carbs, and then a lot more for the next couple days, then a couple days of low food intake mixed with some cardio and abs, and this food will be with little fat and carb, and be packed with proteins and veggies.

No exercise, by the way. I don't have the pain tolerance for exercise. Every time I try, I end up hurting like hell for the next 3 days straight.

Tell me about it! That's something that can change based on your efforts. The first 2-3 weeks when I started at the end of the routine my legs were burning pieces of jam that could not help me go upstairs or downstairs and god I had to use my way weaker arms to move around the stairs, I seriously could not go up or down with the legs!

But the more you do it, the less pain you feel. A buddy of mine started a bit like me but a couple years ago, and I remember him being in big pain like me but months later he was doing way heavier exercise then just kind of not feeling much pain. I am really bad when it comes to pain tolerance but it is something you can get way better at by just trying to push yourself a bit, baby step by baby step.

I found that HRT in combination with extreme aerobic exercise and very low calories will burn both muscle and fat. Of course, the downside of that is that you won't get a lot of curvy development either. But I found pleasantly, that if you have some fat starting out, you end up with it persisting in those places where you want it.

I had a similar experience, but less extreme in the losing, as I  mix exercise with many pounds of healthy food :p.

Despite my size, I knew that I was very thin boned, and I knew how I had looked in my youth when I was really skinny. I knew my best bet for a feminine look was to emulate the appearance of a tall thin super model and to highlight the lower part of my body.

It's nice to realize all that and be aware of it. I am not as tall as you but I live in a country full of way shorter people, so in the end I l look very tall for a guy or girl. Since I am not thin boned in the upper body area, I am trying to compensate on the lower side with exercise, exercise, exercise, and generous amounts of healthy food.

[FrancisAnn]

I'm having a terrible time with weight gain. I've gained 10-15 pounds during the last year & it is giving me fits!! I'm trying to eat right & exercise but I just seem to be adding fat. Yuck, ?