Does HRT effect your male metabolism if you are MTF?

[Gabrielle66]

I have a question for those of you who are already on HRT and are MTF. Are you aware of whether or not the estrogen cocktail causes your metabolism to enter the "female" zone or when you are trying to figure out calories should you still calculate things from a physically male perspective? I'm working on my weight loss and this is a topic of interest for me. Faith and love.

Gabrielle

[Devlyn]

I ballooned up, and had to drastically alter my eating habits. As in all things HRT, YMMV. 

[AnamethatstartswithE]

I actually lost weight my first few months. Though for me stress seems to be the main determinant of whether I gain or lose weight. As Devlyn said, your mileage may vary.

[Shambles]

This is something ive wondered about too given the differnet daily calories for men and women differ

[AnamethatstartswithE]

Full disclosure: about a week ago I ran my 13th marathon, so I don't have the same body composition or nutritional requirements as the average woman.

[Virginia]

PreHRT I was 146 pounds and ate like a horse. Nine years later I still weight 146 pounds and eat like a horse. Hormones had no effect on my weight or metabolism.

[Michelle_P]

There is some variation, based on genetic, epigenetic, and endocrine system factors.

In my particular case, I was maintaining my weight around 150 lbs (5'8") while running on testosterone.  My daily calorie intake was 1800 kcal plus a bit when activity is high (software and gadget tracked this). I tracked my diet very carefully for medical reasons.

After a year and a half of HRT including testosterone suppression and Estradiol, my weight was 138 and holding steady for 6 months, and my daily calorie intake was 1250 kcal.

After two and a half years, including Gender Confirmation Surgery (GCS) that took care of the testosterone problem so I could drop the blockers, my weight is 135 lbs (5'7" ), and my daily calorie intake is 1250 kcal plus a bit when activity is high.  I still track my diet carefully for medical reasons, but nothing major.

[Natasha.Belle2]

I have a question for those of you who are already on HRT and are MTF. Are you aware of whether or not the estrogen cocktail causes your metabolism to enter the "female" zone or when you are trying to figure out calories should you still calculate things from a physically male perspective? I'm working on my weight loss and this is a topic of interest for me. Faith and love.

Gabrielle

Hi Gabrielle and all the other girls.

I think you're in the same place I am (although not as much I hope) and I've been seeing doctors and specialists about this. In MY case part of the weight problem has been very low T levels which, I'm told, causes less muscle mass which is why females need fewer calories, muscle burns calories much faster than the same weight of fat.

As gender issues can cause much mental anguish you may have been comfort or binge eating when feeling down, that is the other issue with me. I'm told, again, that sorting out my hormones will reduce this considerably. I kept a food and mood diary for 6 months and the correlation was stunning. Now I know when I'm due a binge and can prepare for it.

To return to the point I started at the male calorie level, then am following this reduction;
20% of total weight reduction achieved drop 10% of total calorie difference between male/female
Repeat
20% weight reduction drop 15% of total difference
10% reduction drop 15% difference
10% reduction drop 15%
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
Last 10% reduce gradually to female intake.
The weight percentages are the percentage of what you want to get rid of at the start. So if loss is 100 pounds it's 20 pounds etc.
I offer this as an example only. It is what I've been advised by the medical people and may not apply to you.

General Top Tip: At each stage completion give yourself a non-food reward. That reinforces the improved eating habits. I've made mine all transition related next reward is getting my ears pierced. When I'm at weight it's a boob job and belly piercing 

Finally start exercising as soon as you feel able. You won't lose weight directly but will increase muscle where you want it which helps, and you will tone your body which will make a world of difference to your self-esteem.

Reading that back I sound like your Mother. But I hope some is useful to you.       

[Charlie Nicki]

I don't think it affected my metabolism or weight in any specific way. I seem to lose weight as fast as I did before and my metabolism is still super fast, so I'm naturally thin. Now that I'm working out it seems like I can eat almost anything and still keep my six pack intact.

[.Christy]

HRT definitely helped me add on a few pounds. Metabolism wise, I guess it did change a bit when progesterone was added. I eat a lot more on progesterone and my stomach is now a lot pudgier

[Dorit]

When I first started HRT I had an almost immediate weight lose of 2 kilos, from 72 to 70. (I am 183cm)  I thought this was because the T-blocker (cyproterone acetate) is a strong diuretic so the weight lose was water lose.  Does this make sense?   Since then my weight is stable around 70 kilo.

[PurplePelican]

When I first started HRT I had an almost immediate weight lose of 2 kilos, from 72 to 70. (I am 183cm)  I thought this was because the T-blocker (cyproterone acetate) is a strong diuretic so the weight lose was water lose.  Does this make sense?   Since then my weight is stable around 70 kilo.

Cypro is not a diuretic, you may be confusing it with spironolactone, which is a diuretic.

[jill610]

For me, my metabolism crashed around month six and is solidly in the female zone and extremely sensitive to carb intake. I look at a pretzel and gain five pounds. It's ridiculous.

My "don't care about myself" weight in 2014 was 267, my stable weight 2015-2017 was 120-130, my 12+ month HRT weight was 165, now 172 after implants. I am 40, 5-10, and size 8. Most of the weight is going to hips, butt, and belly. Two of the three are welcome

Full disclosure, I used to go to the gym 2-3 times a week. Now maybe 1 time a week and my routine is far less strenuous. Now that the new gym is open at work, I will probably go more often so hopefully that helps.

I do walk around 10 miles a day though.

[Sylvia]

My partner was extremely skinny and ate like a bird pre-HRT. He now eats a lot more and has put on about 2-3 kilos. He's always also had a sweet tooth, like 5 cookies with his coffee, which previously made no difference to his weight, but now I think it does. I did warn him, lol!

[Gabrielle66]

My metabolism sucks as it is and I am pre HRT. This really is a big concern for me because I want to lose a very significant amount of weight. At least 80 up to 100 pounds. It's time to get my butt in gear and do way more exercise. I want a bikini body. I may not look good in one but I want that body. Love and faith.

Gabrielle

[GingerVicki]

I believe that it is logical that the metabolism will decrease. Once the testosterone declines atrophy to the muscle tissue begins to decrease the rate of caloric intake resulting in weight gain.

[Dorit]

Cypro is not a diuretic, you may be confusing it with spironolactone, which is a diuretic.

Then what caused me to have to urinate so much after I began HRT?   It seems that the general consensus here, where spironolactone is never used in HRT, is that it has a diuretic effect.   Maybe it is just a difference in degree.

[Memento]

I'm on the opposite end here, HRT for the last 5 or 6 years has done nothing for my metabolism and I'm still very thin. I take it orally, so I'm not sure if that would make any difference. Most people blow up, but there are mutants like me who experience no changes.

Good luck~

[PurplePelican]

Then what caused me to have to urinate so much after I began HRT?   It seems that the general consensus here, where spironolactone is never used in HRT, is that it has a diuretic effect.   Maybe it is just a difference in degree.

Nope, it has no action by which it can be a diuretic - it's chemically unable to act that way. It's not listed as a side effect by the manufacturer, nor in any reference I've seen.

[SadieBlake]

There's really no such thing as gendered metabolism (where metabolism is the process of taking in nutrient energy and expending calories as work energy).

If calories in are less than calories out then you lose weight and vise versa. The exceptions to that include that in addition to protein, the body must have some fat (it's possible to starve on a diet of rabbit).

It seems clear that appetite can be affected by hormone balance e.g. I've found that progesterone seems to make me crave a bit more fat in my diet.

If you have a training history emphasizing power & strength then loss of testosterone may result in some loss of muscle mass. I always trained for endurance and minimal mass strong musculature so this point has been moot for me.