What to Expect, Experience Sharing Questions!

[snortingcatnip]

hey ya'll, how's it going? got a few questions here about what to expect from here and maybe get a little bit of insight on transitioning because I'm having a but of a time here trying to overcome some major dysphoria after being 6 months on low-dosage injections, and some things have been really odd to me so I'd like to know if anyone has had these issues and if they can be helped.

I used to be very small, like 108-110 lbs small. I go to the gym on my three off days from work, work out an hour those three days on the treadmill burning 400 or more calories while i eat 1200 a day. I've been on testosterone for 6 months in a low dosage form and have noticed some abnormal weight gain even though i bust my loins working out at the gym and working at my job. i'm generally 85 percent active the entire week. for some reason, i seemed to have gained a lot of weight and wondered if this is normal. i can't tell if it's actual fat or muscle, other than my 00 aeropostal pants still fitting me but are getting a little snug at the thighs. i've lately been around 115-120 but going to the doctor's office threw me at 130lbs which is very strange. and it was a week later.

just feeling a bit worrisome due to not wanting fat to go to the wrong places, the feminine places @_@

thoughts and reassurance? i don't understand if this is fat because like i said, i am very active. only stopped going to the gym for two weeks when recovering from a tongue split body mod haha, but after i was fully healed up, i went back to the gym.

[PucksWaywardSon]

(offtopic but I LOVE your username!)

I've not started transitioning but from what you're describing I'd be surprised if it's not mostly muscle gain. If you're really worried though I think there's ways of finding out your percentage body fat, might be able to talk to the doc about checking that?

[snortingcatnip]

(offtopic but I LOVE your username!)

I've not started transitioning but from what you're describing I'd be surprised if it's not mostly muscle gain. If you're really worried though I think there's ways of finding out your percentage body fat, might be able to talk to the doc about checking that?

thanks man haha

some clothes only seem a little tighter, i can fit into a lot of clothing that i wore when i was at 108-110, i'll see if my doctor could give me that muscle-fat percentage test. i just want to address the issue before i have to go out and get new clothes and my clothes aren't cheap at all, even the cheap brands aren't cheap and money isn't too well on my end even if i work at 11.50 an hour for 40 hour weeks. it's crazy. i hope it's muscle ): i know i was underweight and it's good to actually get where i need to be but i don't want it getting out of control when i'm very active. that 15 percent of the week is just relaxing from work when i'm working out and working hard at the job.

[pianoforte]

If you're on T, you probably won't gain much fat in the "wrong" places.

It's likely muscle gain, especially if your clothes still fit but are just tighter.

It could be a really good experience for you to get used to the higher number for your weight. Being right at a healthy weight instead of under or over can feel great, but can also be psychologically weird. Still, once you get past that weirdness, it can feel psychologically good too.

As active as you are, it's unlikely that you'll gain any weight from fat, and if you do more cardio than resistance/weight training, you probably won't gain as much muscle as if your exercise was the other way around.

No idea how much longer you'll keep building muscle if you don't change your routine. That's probably different for everyone.

Be healthy, enjoy life, feel awesome. Congrats on being healthy, being on testosterone, and joining Susan's. All good things.

[blink]

Might be time to ask for metabolic testing to find out what your basal metabolic rate is, maybe have thyroid checked too. Either you're consuming more calories than you think, or your metabolism is pretty slow - if all you did was sit on your duff all day, 1,200 calories shouldn't even support 110 pounds. And you're active. Something doesn't quite add up there.

[BlaineGame]

I've heard that "weight gain" is normal when on T...it could be because your body is a bit confused with T in your system...Look up some T videos on YouTube...I know I've heard of weight gain in one of those videos

[blink]

I've heard that "weight gain" is normal when on T...it could be because your body is a bit confused with T in your system...Look up some T videos on YouTube...I know I've heard of weight gain in one of those videos

It's "normal" insomuch as, a lot of guys start eating more when they go on T due to appetite increase, but some guys don't eat more and don't gain weight. Some guys eat less or make other lifestyle changes, and lose weight.
Barring water weight, generally if someone gains weight that's because they're eating more calories than their body uses to maintain itself.

It's very common for people to miscalculate their caloric intake. A double-check of that would be a good idea. Now, personally, if I were only eating 1,200 calories a day and had carefully verified the amount, lived an active lifestyle, and was somehow gaining weight, I'd want some labwork done. To find out if I had a slow metabolism or if something else was out of whack.

[AeroZeppelin92]

I'd suggest not worrying about what the scale says number wise, especially if you are working out. Unless you use the exact same scale and weigh yourself first thing in the morning butt naked, your weight will vary greatly because of variances in scales and what you've ate or drank that day. The best way to know is to have your bodyfat measured. Keep a record of it and see how it is changing month to month.
I'm gonna second Blink and say that 1,200 calories is barely anything. Use a free app like MyFitnessPal to more accurately track how many calories you're consuming.