Are any girls that started transition as muscular willing to share their stories

[ClaudiaLove]

Hello ,


I would like to ask the girls that started transitioning having a musuclar body if they can share some methods and outcomes in delaing with it .
I was not really musuclar ( for a male ) , yet for a girl i was and still am quite musuclar . I know some girls are into bodybuilding but i really am not and i would like to get rid of them .
The areas with the biggest problems are the forearms , arms and shoulders , the rest is quite ok .
I am using HRT for a while now yet they seem to stick with me and i would like to hear how others deal with it .

One of the things i am not yet willing to do is a really restrictive or weird diet . I am into eating healthy , and living healthy overall . That doesn't help with losing muscle but it has so many advantages that i won't give it up .
I heard some use surgeries for muscles like forearms but i wouldn't have the money .
Also some said that using casts for a while would allow the muscle to atrophy enough .
I only do some long walks and some exercises for my thighs and buttocks , so the muscles are pretty much relaxing most of the time .


Any idea will be appreciated
Thanks

[Oriah]

You could try to appreciate your body for what it is.  I am a very fit trans woman, and men are more attracted to me for it, and my cisgender girlfriends are jealous of my build.

Its not so bad.  Look up Rosie the riveter she was a muscular badass lady. 

[Sammy]

Currently, I have been described as "athletic looking woman". Having been on HRT for almost 2 years and 3 months, the changes are constant, yet subtle. My arms are finally thinning down, not so much maybe trapezius and upper back muscles - their current state cannot be compared as to what was before, but I flex them, the body outline becomes not very feminine. My neck has slimmed down significantly and so have my shoulders. I used to have very strong legs and they are still strong, but in a different way.
You said that You are not a fan of dieting and other stuff - well, they say that the good result is 80% diet and 20% exercise and that You cannot outrun a bad diet. My personal experience confirms it - I used to jog a lot, yet I was keeping the same weight, mostly due to consupmtion of complex carbohydrates - my kept burning what I had just consumed, I was not adding any more weight, yet I could not see any results. Another point to consider - one can eat extremely healthy but even healthy food contains calories .
So in the end it is all about looking at calories, trying to avoid complex carbohydrates and regular exercise (sounds simple, but try to stick to that routine ).

On the other hand, I would have been in a position to pick and choose, I would have preferred to have  5 feet 4 inch tall, slim and fragile body. But... life is life and we have to live with what we have, and being 5 feet 9 inches, with very fit build and shoulders slightly above the average female range adds some sense of private security - like I probably would not the most obvious choice for a crime victim .

[ClaudiaLove]

Thank you Oriah ,

I said i know some  girls like it and also i know , the guys like it , but they like me being pre -op too , so screw them . I have my idea of what i want to look like and also the bodybuilding was all for a cause , for the old role . Especially that i thought i like girls and the muscles would've help .

[KatelynBG]

Try eating less protein and doing cardio on an empty stomach (like early morning before you've eaten). Your body still burns fat tissue but will also burn some muscle tissue in a healthy way. Without a lot of protein behind it, the muscle won't regenerate as much.

Wow I really thought I'd never use that Exercise Science course from freshman class of college. Haha.

[ClaudiaLove]

Thank you Katelyn ,

I know this is an option , but from what i read the muscle once there would remain very little affected by the low protein intake . I don't have a link now , but there were some studies . Beside i am scared that i will lose my hair , as it requires extra proteins , and also many hormones and neurotransmitters require quality complete proteins . I just recovered from a severe depression and i know nutrition is one thing you don't want to mess with . Happiness is only as much as our inner chemicals allow to be , it is all inside us . Being less depressed i can deal with it in a healthy way , like a big girl , when i was depressed i was just crying and not doing anything real . Btw , when i used to work out it was that thing that stress destroy muscle mass -  pfff , not for me

[KatelynBG]

I get it. I wasn't suggesting going with no protein either. For me, still living as a man, I cut my protein from 30% of my caloric intake to 15%. 20% is the recommendation so it's not like I'm doing anything drastic. I just replaced red meat and cheese with beans and high protein vegetables. It's producing a more slender figure, which is what I'm going for.

[ClaudiaLove]

I follow the guidelines of WAPF , i eat little to no beans and also little veggies . I eat meat , some raw dairy and eggs , healthy fats , some safe carbs (rice) , and some fruits and veggies from time to time . I don't think at proteins in a percentage , but i try to eat about 80 grams or more a day being at about 64 kg now  . Again , i don't see them really mattering . I was anorexic in my teens , i know what not eating means but i don't want to go back on that route . I am hoping more on hormones , lack of exercise and maybe some methods like isolating them in casts for a few weeks .

[Sammy]

I cannot image how being at 64kg can make someone still looking over-muscular...

[ClaudiaLove]

I look like in that avatar although it is an year old , my body is similar . I am not huge huge but my arms and shoulders are really unpleasant . I have no fat and my legs are ok-ish , maybe i could even get fatter there .
It is the fact that there is muscle , not the size itself , it's the shape and texture .

[Jane's Sweet Refrain]

Hi,

Many of us share or have shared your struggle. My only recommendation to think about is one I'm sure you've already considered: gaining weight. You mention your weight, but not your height. The important thing you say is that you  don't have fat. I have gained about five pounds in the last years. At 5'8", I don't really show the gain and my clothes all still fit, but I look a lot less muscular. Body fat cloaks muscles on women exactly the way it does on men. Note: it also may help that I added a third year on hrt during that time.

Good luck. And your avatar looks quite lovely.

[ClaudiaLove]

Thank you

I am 5' 11" , a little large framed , with thick bones . I would gain weight - and love it , i mean i loooove to eat   -  but i am scared not to ' fill ' up the muscles too . My hope was that the transition fairy would come and make me skinny and then i would round up from scratch . 

[Jane's Sweet Refrain]

141 is exactly what I weighed before I gained 5 pounds. And at 146 people still think I'm very thin. I'm assuming your hormone levels are all where they should be. If so, gaining may really be a friend to you. Best wishes on this!

[ClaudiaLove]

Thank you
Have a great day  :*

[Laura_7]

Well imo a bit of change in nutrition might help...

a doctor recommended avocado oil for a more female pattern because of a mixture of oils and further ingredients...

you might reduce raw meat...
maybe keeping chicken...

butter might be an idea, instead of artificial fats...
it might also give a more female pattern...

and try vegetables and fruit, in a healthy variety...
beans and lentils are an excellent source of protein...

imo the body processes protein differently if its from plant or animal sources.
So more plant protein might help.


You might also look here:
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,167887.msg1661891.html#msg1661891


Well over time excessive muscles should build down... and a bit more female distribution of fat should show...

hugs

[Serverlan]

I cannot image how being at 64kg can make someone still looking over-muscular...

I'm 178cm and 67kg (down from 75kg). But despite my weight loss (predominantly muscle, as I didn't have much else to lose) and having been on antiandrogens for 3-months, I look as athletic/muscular as ever. There's a difference to being muscular with a bit of 'padding' and being toned. If you're very toned, you will look more muscular than someone who perhaps has more actual muscle. As a trans person, it's a conundrum, despite the fact my whole career has been physique focussed.

[kittenpower]

Thank you

I am 5' 11" , a little large framed , with thick bones . I would gain weight - and love it , i mean i loooove to eat   -  but i am scared not to ' fill ' up the muscles too . My hope was that the transition fairy would come and make me skinny and then i would round up from scratch .

That's the problem with gaining weight; you gain it all over, so all of your problem areas will standout more. I've discovered through trial and error that it's better for me to be thin and less curvy with my body type.

[amber roskamp]

I used to play sports all the time, and I was incredibly fit back when I was younger. I lossed 30 pounds from 18 to 20 and still at 23 I was far to fit to have a stereotypical cis women's musculature. Since I started hrt 8 month's ago I haven't rounded down at all in my arms and shoulders since then but my stomach has definitely changed. I'm hoping to gaining some weight to see if the fat will come in in more feminine Areas. I'll let u know who that goes.

[summer710]

I was a former male bodybuilder - 5'6", 175 lbs, between 4 - 6.25% bodyfat in season, so a decently stacked frame.  Stopped lifting seriously ~ 8yrs ago, went on total lifting hiatus from about 5 yrs ago to just recently (joined a gym ~ 1 month ago).  In the interim took up competitive road cycling averaging ~ 120 training miles/week and stopped any form of weight training and dropped protein intake from 1 gm/pound bodyweight to may 1 gm/3 pounds bodyweight (trying to shed upper body mass for cycling).  With all this, I was able to drop my bodyweight to 155 lbs - even though I shed quite abit of upper body mass, I was still abit more muscular then quite a few of the other male road cyclists (and definitely most of the female cylists).
I started HRT about 2 years ago at 155 lbs and my weight has consistently hovered between 147 - 153 lbs.  Even though I've clearly shed muscle (and gained a little bit of "hormone fat"), I'm still rather muscular overall - I still have a broad shouldered back, deltoids are still round, clear bicep bump, can still delineate the triceps heads.
On paper, I've clearly lost body mass - the tape measure and the weight scale tell me so; however, the reality is I'm still in the muscular/athletic male physique category.  I would love to have an athletic female physique - but not sure if that will happen (due to the intrinsic differences in the post-pubertal musculo-skeletal system between males/females). 
I can say I have gained alittle fat on my bottom - it actually jiggles abit, which it never ever ever did; I've also gained alittle breast tissue (again, jiggles), so my body is feminizing, though I still have the problem areas.

[Serverlan]

intrinsic differences in the post-pubertal musculo-skeletal system between males/females...

Yep, the chassis somewhat dictates body shape. Though how young you transition has an impact.