Stopping Testosterone, question about weight change?

[toxicmetalexpo]

So I'm nonbinary and have been on Testosterone for the past year and a half and I've decided to stop for a number of reasons. One big reason is that the way it made me gain weight was incredibly distressing to me. I've always been heavier but I gained about 60 pounds since starting T and a lot of it in my gut. I'm curious what results people in similar situations have had with going off T.

(also before anyone mentions it, yes I know that certain aspects of T won't reverse like voice change, I'm fine with those. My biggest issue right now is my weight)

[Gertrude]

I was on T as a cis male and it did the same thing. I did start getting muscle and strength back, but a lot of fat too. I went off it and I'm trimming down now. The other side effect was a rise in blood pressure and aggressiveness. I think if I could have hit the weights, it probably wouldn't have happened. My T levels were 910 on t, 134 off.


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[Elis]

For me I have a stocky build so most of my fat goes onto my stomach. Since being on T I had gained some weight and more fat onto that area; but I think it's decreasing now slightly due to my body adjusting to T and trying my best to eat better/getting used to the increased appetite problem.

So you may not need to go off T there's a chance you could have the same problems I did.

[Deborah]

Like Gertrude my T before HRT was pretty high at 826.  Once I reduced it to zero on HRT I lost 40 lbs, a good amount of that from abdominal fat.  I did get off my fat butt and start exercising again though.  Last year though (on HRT) I did stop exercising for a few months and started gaining weight quickly at around 2 lbs per week.

However, when I had high T I always lost and gained weight quickly too.  With exercise and a good diet I lost weight fast.  Without it I gained weight fast.  So with high T my in shape weight was about 178.  With zero T my in shape weight is about 165.  My out of shape weight always went to about 205.  I was always fortunate that whenever I approached 205 my appetite started bottoming out and my weight leveled off.

So at least for me my exercise program and diet have a lot bigger effect on fat storage than my hormone levels.

** I have done a lot of research on weight loss and gain this year and have found that the primary cause of weight gain and loss is hormone levels.  These are not testosterone and estrogen though but rather insulin which causes fat storage and ghrelin and leptin which signal the appetite to increase and decrease.  You can manipulate these through long term dietary strategies to optimize fat loss.  The primary strategy is to decrease insulin levels in the body and increase your body's insulin sensitivity.  The way to do this is either with a low carb diet or through fasting or through a combination of both.

[TomTuttle]

Like Gertrude my T before HRT was pretty high at 826.  Once I reduced it to zero on HRT I lost 40 lbs, a good amount of that from abdominal fat.  I did get off my fat butt and start exercising again though.  Last year though (on HRT) I did stop exercising for a few months and started gaining weight quickly at around 2 lbs per week.

I'm pretty sure its unhealthy for women to have no T at all. Having too little T makes you more lathargic, more emotional, physically weak, kills your sex drive and is just generally not sustainable. Surely you have a little?

[Deborah]

Surely you have a little?

For the past year it's been below the amount that can be measured, <3 ng/dl.  I had my HRT adjusted last week to try and bring it up some and also mitigate the sodium loss and dehydration effects of spiro.  That more than anything is killing me when I exercise in the heat.

As for the libido, I'm happy that it is gone.



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