Hungry :(

[Squirrel698]

All right I'm sure I'm not the only one who struggles with this.  I'm afraid of gaining to much weight on Testosterone.  So far I've gained 5 lbs or so.  Going from about 150lbs to 155lbs and I am 5'10"  I'm trying my best to take that off right now by dieting but damn I'm hungry right now.  I use to be just fine on 1500 calories or so but T makes me so hungry it's crazy.

Reasons I'm so worried about gaining is that my partner would most likely leave me if I gained to much.  The slender well put together gay man is my ideal and what I am trying to emulate.  An FTM on T for three years told me that gaining weight was inevitable and I want to prove him wrong.   

There are some positive strides as I am down to 25 percent body fat from 32 before T and my exercise routine.  I do have a personal trainer but he costs $80 an hour and I'm going to have to stop seeing him because money is tight.  My routine is the elliptical 30 minutes a day at my maximum heart rate.  Followed by 30 minutes of using the heaviest weights I can to do some weight lifting.  Such as the assisted pull-up, chest press, bicep curl, dead left, and other common upper body exercises.  I'm trying my best and working out until exhausted.  I am seeing results but it's slow, slow, slow.

I take a protein called Stealth by VPX which is a lean mass gainer.  I only take about a third of the serving though as recommend by my trainer.  I also take a supplement called Super NOS Blast by Body Fortress which is suppose to increase work-out value with Creatine, L-Arginine and Taurine.  Then I drink two Hydroxycut drinks a day to keep the weight down.  I also eat a diet that is very high in protein. 

Anything else I can do?  Anything I am doing wrong?  I really appreciate any advice and would like to know what others are doing to gain a more idealized masculine body.     

[insanitylives]

Something I've noticed, a male and a female of the same height/build tend to have different weights.
It's the muscle mass thing. Muscle is denser than fat is, so yes gaining weight IS going to happen, but you're not getting fatter.
Biggest indicator of this is the fact that your body fat is going down

Also, working out the way you are is going to lead to more muscle gain. Cardio burns more fat and builds less strength.

=\ no i'm not on hormones, but I'm also in a position where i'm trying to either loose 20 pounds or gain some more strength (yes it is possible in a female body, just harder)

[M.Grimm]

If you're not already doing this, I recommend that you keep body measurements. Neck, chest, waist, hips, bicep, forearm, thigh, calf. Wrist and ankle as well if you like. It's very possible that you're putting on muscle which is much heavier than fat. So do not look at your overall weight, it's going to be very misleading right now. Part of being on T is gaining muscle, and muscle = weight.

That said, are you doing HIIT on the elliptical? If not, you may want to look into that. It's more effective at helping you burn off fat.

[Squirrel698]

Thanks you guys.  M.Grimm I am going to look into HIIT routines on the elliptical.  Thanks for the idea.  Might be a bit more of a challenge but hopefully worth it in the end.

The thing is when I start eating more my clothes start to become tighter and I fear I'm gaining fat and not muscle.  Or perhaps it's water weight, I don't know.  I have a hard time regulating myself without a strict diet.  I just tend to go nuts and eat everything unfortunately.  It would be nice not to have to worry about this at all.  Perhaps someday when I gained enough muscle. 

[insanitylives]

Thanks you guys.  M.Grimm I am going to look into HIIT routines on the elliptical.  Thanks for the idea.  Might be a bit more of a challenge but hopefully worth it in the end.

The thing is when I start eating more my clothes start to become tighter and I fear I'm gaining fat and not muscle.  Or perhaps it's water weight, I don't know.  I have a hard time regulating myself without a strict diet.  I just tend to go nuts and eat everything unfortunately.  It would be nice not to have to worry about this at all.  Perhaps someday when I gained enough muscle.

If your body fat percentage is going DOWN you are NOT gaining fat.

[Squirrel698]

Thank you Insanity, yes I know. 

There are plenty of good looking guys out there who are about 5'10" and 150 lbs.  I want to stay around that range if at all possible.

[zombiesarepeaceful]

If y ou're going to gain weight, you're going to gain weight. If it's in your genes to gain weight then you will, yes even if you work out.
However alot of us don't realize that the weight we gain on T is often muscle, not fat.
Working out will help and some guys gain alot of weight when they start, then it levels out.
Your fat pattern will eventually redistribute and make the muscle stand out. Takes time though.

[Jeatyn]

Don't worry man, unless your entire diet consists of cake then there's no way you will be gaining fat with that kind of exercise routine. You'll be gaining muscle, which is proven by the body fat percentage going down. Ignore the scales, measurements are a much more reliable way to keep track. Your actual weight depends on so many factors, it's only helpful as a baseline. Plus bear in mind this is your second puberty, lots stuff is shifting about in your body, let it settle down and the scale will be more stable

[Squirrel698]

Thanks Zombie and Jeatyn.  I will keep that in mind.  Body dysphoria is such a pain isn't it.  I'm working through it and I appreciate the support everyone.

I'm gaining muscle not fat.  I'll do what I can to keep that in mind.

[DRAIN]

Sounds like you're doing pretty well, but you actually might need to eat MORE. I recommend tracking what you eat and exercise daily on one of those sites like sparkpeople (google it, its free). I second trying HIIT, if you're already working out at max heart rate HIIT will be no problem. Allso, change up your cardio routine so its not just elliptical all the time. Most importantly,give yourself a break! your body is trying to deal with a lot of changes right now, so even if you gain some weight a lot of it will be muscle, probably some fat, but men generally weigh more than women anyway. If you're eating right and getting some exercise your body will tell you the weight it needs to be.

[DRAIN]

ETA: in my opinion, if your partner would leave you if you got "too fat" that's pretty shallow and possibly unhealthy for you