Weight gain, weight loss, muscle gain on T?

[JaimeDrew]

Hi there!

I am recently coming out as a transguy, and I am really excited! I have an appointment to talk about hormone therapy next week finally. However with everything I've been reading on the internet, I have to admit I still have a residual worry about the body changes on T. I am wondering, a lot of people say weight gain can be a side effect on T - and it may sound superficial but I've always been thin and slightly muscular and I don't want to gain a lot of weight on T. I am wondering, is this something that most people experienced? Or rather was it just a gain in muscle that is perceived as fat? I was under the impression that T made you gain muscle if you worked out (which I love to do! , and that from that increased muscle could actually lead to increased metabolism and a higher BMR?

What do you think? I don't mind the fat redistribution if it's the same amount in different places, no worries! But I got worried about major weight gains and if this is the case I wonder if FTM folks on T feel like they are constantly having to watch their weight, or if they now eat less to avoid gain?

Thank you so much,
JD

Edit: I guess the other reason why I'm confused, is because I am in medical school, and our endocrinology course taught us that Testosterone increases lean body mass, etc.? Is this true for us transguys too?
http://elitemensguide.com/benefits-of-testosterone-therapy/

[Deborah]

Look at female body builders on steroids.  Testosterone helps you increase lean body mass if you are on a proper resistance training program.  Without a weight training program muscles have no stimulus to grow no matter what hormone levels one has.

  Beyond that weight gain is entirely dependent on diet.  If you eat too much you will get fat.


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[JaimeDrew]

Thank you so much! I guess what confuses me is that people say weight gain is a side-effect of T, when medical studies of trans guys show that the exact *opposite* is true?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22564669

Also, does anyone know if our BMR/total calories per day goes up while on T? Do we calculate our energy needs based on men's calculations?
Thank you so much everyone
-JD

[Deborah]

Also, does anyone know if our BMR/total calories per day goes up while on T? Do we calculate our energy needs based on men's calculations?

This is a guess but I imagine it will be in between for a while.  As you are on T longer and your lean body mass increases your BMR will move increasingly towards the men's calculations.

Lifting weights will probably speed the process.


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