Body Type Pre-Hrt

[Reyes]

Okay so not sure if this is where this would go, but thought I'd try, if it needs to be moved that's fine.

Anyway, I've read on numerous sites how it's not good to have to much body fat pre hrt as the less you have the better it all redistributes once you start HRT.

So I'm 6'2, and I weigh 140 pounds. I've always had a very high metabolism(which I actually wonder a lot if I'll still have).

So anyway, does that sound like I might be good on that front when I eventually start HRT?

[Dena]

I started at the same height but 145 pounds. It's a good place to start because you may find you put on a few pounds after starting HRT. Hopefully this additional weight will go where you want it but don't be in to much of a hurry to add weigh. It will depend on your genetics but a pound every month or two would be a reasonable weight gain if you put weight on. Over that you  could be gaining to fast. If you would like more specific information, you should talk to you endo about it.

[Deborah]

So I'm 6'2, and I weigh 140 pounds. I've always had a very high metabolism(which I actually wonder a lot if I'll still have).

I did not experience a significant metabolism change.  What did change was minor, took a long time to happen, and I believe was solely due to some reduction in muscle mass.



Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

[Artesia]

I wish I had waited a bit longer before starting HRT.  I am 5'10" and weight 272Lbs.  I had gotten down to 265Lbs right before starting, and it went up almost immediately after starting HRT.  Good news is I have lost a bit since I began HRT, the highest while taking my meds was 275Lbs, and my weight when I finally realized/admitted that I am supposed to be a woman and started dieting, I was 302Lbs.  My goal is to be below 200Lbs.  Loosing weight has become a lot harder on HRT.

[RachelH]

This is one of the reasons I have not started HRT yet.  I am way too heavy but am depressed so I eat and drink which as you can imagine stops the emweight loss process...it feels like a never ending cycle and that I will never actually start since I have been heavy most of my life. 

[Deborah]

On HRT I have not found weight loss difficult.  That's not to say it's easy but the exact same weight loss strategies work before and after HRT.  For me personally that is a lot of exercise, elimination of sugar, reduction in processed carbs, and a close monitoring of daily and weekly energy balance.  Lately I have also been experimenting with a low carb ketogenic approach and that is really working well.

One benefit HRT did give me was eliminating the depression which freed me from both alcohol and tobacco.  This along with an increased motivation to improve my body has made weight loss easier.


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

[RobynD]

My metabolism slowed initially on HRT and it was a challenge to maintain weight. Then came the progesterone which further increased appetite and it was more challenging. I gained probably 5-7 pounds and then lost it and gained again. After an increase in my estrogen dosage, things reversed and now i am down about 15 pounds. My target weight is about 160 pounds now and i am pretty sure i will get there this year.

My recent shape though has remained pretty constant. I started as more of a rectangle or square shape and now i am definitely hourglass (large breasts, bigger butt and hips and slimmer waists. Even better the recent weight loss did not effect my breasts in any significant way.

Your thinness should be awesome for HRT.

[jentay1367]

Been on HRT 9 mo. 73" tall , 165 lbs.  to start.  170 now. Every static measurement is pretty much the same as when I started.  I use a stair climber  150 minutes a week and live on fish and rabbit food. It's definitely changed for me. I used to live on beer and whatever I wanted to eat and whenever I wanted to eat it.  No more of that.  The toughest part of transitioning seems to be waiting....waiting....waiting for the reality to match the dream we started with. It sure tests your ability for single mindedness of purpose.

[Pisces228]

I am 5'10 and weighed 125 when starting hrt.  I started with 9 percent body fat and now am at 143 pounds.  My weight went to my butt and thighs.  There wasn't much in guy areas to redistribute so I felt the need to gain some weight to look more feminine.

[josie76]

I was once 180 lbs and fairly well muscled at 30 years old. After I had a vesectomy about 7 years ago my T dropped off and I gained over 30 lbs eating the same as I always had. At 40 I wasn't as strong as I was at 30 but in the last couple of months I have lost a ton of muscle size. Despite loosing muscle and trying excercise, my weight has remained the same. I may be down 5 lbs but still right at the 200 mark. I have noticed with the muscle loss my stomach fat is more noticeable and sometimes the staples from a hernia repair from many years back get to hurting again. I think I am seeing some fat around my upper thighs. My lower legs and arms have gotten a lot smaller.

[Gertrude]

I was once 180 lbs and fairly well muscled at 30 years old. After I had a vesectomy about 7 years ago my T dropped off and I gained over 30 lbs eating the same as I always had. At 40 I wasn't as strong as I was at 30 but in the last couple of months I have lost a ton of muscle size. Despite loosing muscle and trying excercise, my weight has remained the same. I may be down 5 lbs but still right at the 200 mark. I have noticed with the muscle loss my stomach fat is more noticeable and sometimes the staples from a hernia repair from many years back get to hurting again. I think I am seeing some fat around my upper thighs. My lower legs and arms have gotten a lot smaller.

T would help. I had a bad flu a couple years ago and my T plummeted after as my libido went away and I started getting pudgy in the middle without gaining weight. I went on T and I was pretty much back to where I was before. A couple things though. The T made dysphoria worse and it was like puberty again. It will add some muscle even if you don't lift. My arms returned to 18" doing nothing and it also gave me confidence I had lost. Having low T gave me some insight though into being more feminine. My T was real low...

[josie76]

T would help. I had a bad flu a couple years ago and my T plummeted after as my libido went away and I started getting pudgy in the middle without gaining weight. I went on T and I was pretty much back to where I was before. A couple things though. The T made dysphoria worse and it was like puberty again. It will add some muscle even if you don't lift. My arms returned to 18" doing nothing and it also gave me confidence I had lost. Having low T gave me some insight though into being more feminine. My T was real low...

Here's the thing, I don't want any T in my system. Just kinda explaining my situation. For me as an adult my libido was always low. After the vesectomy it dropped to zero. I didn't mind it at all but it made my marriage issues that much worse. In the last month my eating habits and excercise have both lapsed so there's that. I've never felt mentally better since starting just a low dose of E. I'm almost comfortable in my own skin for what feels like the first time in my life. My personal goal is to see if I can get down to 170 again and see what I look like from that point. Right now I imagine I'll be quite happy with myself at that weight. I just need to not allow myself to become complacent. Feeling better mentally caused me to start to have doubts about the rest of the process. Mainly the effect on my relationship with my wife and thoughts about how maybe it wasn't that bad, I can handle it, type of things. I know better. I am pretty sure I would not make it another 10 years being a man as I was.

[Deborah]

You don't need T in your system to control your weight or even to lose weight.  You just need to control your diet and balance your exercise.

My T is effectively zero and my weight now is the same as it was when I was 17 and making weight on the wrestling team.  I'm not starving myself either and have been eating 2400 cal daily to lose weight to get back to where I am now.  I'll be soon upping that to 2600 or so to maintain it.

Weigh yourself every day and adjust your calorie intake according to your activity level.  It also helps a lot to only eat real food and eliminate sugar.  It's no harder without T than it is with T.


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

[Artesia]

You don't need T in your system to control your weight or even to lose weight.  You just need to control your diet and balance your exercise.

My T is effectively zero and my weight now is the same as it was when I was 17 and making weight on the wrestling team.  I'm not starving myself either and have been eating 2400 cal daily to lose weight to get back to where I am now.  I'll be soon upping that to 2600 or so to maintain it.

Weigh yourself every day and adjust your calorie intake according to your activity level.  It's no harder without T than it is with T.


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

I started to use MyFitnessPal for the calorie problems.  Been using it for about 5 days, and have lost 1.5Lbs.  Before, I just ate when I was hungry, and walked 3 Miles a day.  Still walking 3 miles a day, but now am a lot more aware of how many calories I'm eating.

Still looking for an exercise to tighten the stomach, the local guys say that if you have a lot a belly fat, that sit-ups and crunches can make it look bigger as it builds muscle under the fat.

If someone is having problems counting the calories, I would suggest using an app of some kind, there are several free ones to choose from.

[Deborah]

I started to use MyFitnessPal for the calorie problems.  Been using it for about 5 days, and have lost 1.5Lbs.  Before, I just ate when I was hungry, and walked 3 Miles a day.  Still walking 3 miles a day, but now am a lot more aware of how many calories I'm eating.

Still looking for an exercise to tighten the stomach, the local guys say that if you have a lot a belly fat, that sit-ups and crunches can make it look bigger as it builds muscle under the fat.

If someone is having problems counting the calories, I would suggest using an app of some kind, there are several free ones to choose from.

MyFitnessPal is great.  I've been using it for about five years now.  Whenever I stop using it for diet and stop checking my weight I gain weight without fail.  That was true before HRT also.  If I watch those things then losing weight or maintaining it where it is becomes very easy.

At one time I was up to around 217.  This morning, at 5'11", I was 165.

Another good thing to do is obtain a pair of bodyfat calipers and monitor your fat level.  That's a whole lot better indicator of your ideal healthy weight than the number on the scale.  I see lots of people here state body weight goals that will likely leave them looking anorexic if they ever meet them.

Calipers are not expensive.  Mine were about $20 in some health food store.


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

[AnneK]

After the vesectomy it dropped to zero.

How does a vasectormy affect testosterone levels?  I thought it just prevented delivery of sperm.  You still have testicles after a vasectomy.

[josie76]

Well after a vesectomy the testicles go into overdrive on T and sperm production for a few months. Then the build up of sperm inside with nowhere to go usually causes sperm production to stop. One listed uncommon side effect can be the testicles drop T production with it.

That's what happened to me. I didn't mind it at all. It was kind of a relief. I still had enough T to maintain muscle mass but for a good while I was larthargic and sex drive went completely flat. With lower T it was harder to block out emotional responses to things. It probably drove my disphoria worse. I know I was a lot more irritable about being treated like an unemotional being by my wife. She had this unconscious concept that it was fine for her to have emotions but somehow wrong for me to react to her with my own feelings. Anyway for me my T level was low enough at "normal" that in the few months before I got HRT just using flax seed, peppermint tea and saw palmetto caused a complete loss of T and started significant muscle loss. I also experienced what can only be described as PMS. Not fun feeling the your world is coming to an end over anything at all. I started taking a menapause supplement with plant phytoestrogens in it. That did help my mood but it was nothing mentally compared to what started just a couple hours after the first estradiol pill dissolved in my cheek. E is AMAZINGLY for me! 

[Niki Knight]

I have been on HRT for 3 months now and my weight is consistent. Im 5'8 and weigh 140 and have been eaten very healthy through out my life. I have a physical demanding job doing a lot of lifting etc. My job allows me to take winters off where I backcountry ski 3 to 4 days a week. My energy levels have been good during my backcountry activities but realize muscle mass will decrease which will decrease overall weight. My hormone dosages will be increased after 3 month point. Appointment is on the 22nd of March. Im curious to see how HRT effects my fat distribution as basically I have none. My calorie intake is crazy but I burn a lot as well. Not sure how extensive exercise will effect HRT or vice versa. So far though no slow down in energy levels or strength, cardio remains the same however recovery is taking a bit longer than before.

I expect things to change but so far nothing significant.

[Deborah]

You will lose muscle mass but that takes a while.  For me, that didn't become really significant until sometime between one and two years.

You may notice your aerobic capacity  fall due to a reduction in red blood cell count.  I did, again sometime after a year.  My case is exacerbated though because I donated blood too many times too close together last year.  As I recover from that I'll get a better feel for HRT's long term effect on aerobic capacity.

As for fat, I don't think it really shifts around.  As new fat is deposited it will go where it will based upon your genetics as they are influenced by estradiol.

In the long term you might want to monitor your body fat.  As an athlete you probably should shoot for something around 18 to 24 percent.  Mine is a little lower right now at 16% because even with HRT my waist fat is being stubborn.  My overall shape has changed though even at that level.  But it does take a long time to happen.


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

[Gertrude]

Here's the thing, I don't want any T in my system. Just kinda explaining my situation. For me as an adult my libido was always low. After the vesectomy it dropped to zero. I didn't mind it at all but it made my marriage issues that much worse. In the last month my eating habits and excercise have both lapsed so there's that. I've never felt mentally better since starting just a low dose of E. I'm almost comfortable in my own skin for what feels like the first time in my life. My personal goal is to see if I can get down to 170 again and see what I look like from that point. Right now I imagine I'll be quite happy with myself at that weight. I just need to not allow myself to become complacent. Feeling better mentally caused me to start to have doubts about the rest of the process. Mainly the effect on my relationship with my wife and thoughts about how maybe it wasn't that bad, I can handle it, type of things. I know better. I am pretty sure I would not make it another 10 years being a man as I was.

I agree, T doesn't help with the dysphoria at all, in fact makes it worse. Between age and low t I know I have to cut back on calories a lot and burn more.


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