Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Hey guys.

I have some questions regarding fat redistribution and T. I have been on T for almost 4 months now, but I have yet to notice even a small shift of the fat on my hips and butt. It's still as girly as it has ever been, and makes me rather dysphoric. I watch what I eat, I jog 6km 4-5 times a week and workout for about half an hour 4 times a week. Still, no shift.

After reading up on the forums about this, the general idea was that the old fat won't actually shift. You'll have to burn it off and new fat will be deposited at a male pattern. When I asked my endo about this, he said that if I just stayed at a healthy weight as I am now, it would shift on its own. I am starting to question this now.

So, here's the questions.

1. After how many months on T did you start to notice the fat shifting, if at all?
2. Did you diet and exersize for this a lot, or did it just happen on its own?

Any input would be greatly appreciated. I really hate these 'thunderthighs' of mine. 

first of all be sure it fat and not mucles or bones.
-
speaking fat I did not really notice any diffrence for along beside having my pants getting too big, but now when I look at picture being a few months on T to now I see the diffrence, but in general I would say 9 months-15 months then you probably see a diffrence.

I been doing fitness and run, but not at an extreme level just keep yourself active.

At maybe around a year I started noticing it. 2 years it became more apparent. I'm at almost 3 years and it's much more noticeable. In the past bunch of years I have lost 50lbs (although I didn't work out super hard core). I've had a lot of weight fluctuations, losing weight, gaining weight, losing again, gaining again which could have some attribution to my body shape changing.

I did notice my thighs getting more defined within the first year. Basically I had tube-like thighs. No definition for muscle at all. After a few months (less than a year) I could look at my thigh and go "oh, there's a muscle there, and one here."

I'm about 6 months. I have noticed it but I don't think that it is very much at this point. Where I am gaining or getting weight is abdomen and stomach and losing in hips and butt. I've gained an inch on my shoulders and lost an inch on my chest. I have been workign out, but you wouldn't necessarily expect to get weight on the stomach if you're working out.

Oh yeah definitely a lot of change of my facial shape. And my arms and legs look a bit different.
I may not be so typical I have gotten very little body hair.


--Jay

I suggest cycling (stationary if roads scare ya) and martial arts. I'm only 2.5 months in and I just checked proportions (waist to hip) and it's now 0.89 which shocked me. 0.9 is standard for a cis guy!

I still have the hip bones, obviously, and I still have fat to lose in butt and gut, and once I lose what I need in gut, the proportions won't be so great, but I've been surprised with the changes so far. However, they do say that cycling gives you a nice butt, both male and female. Also, if you look at UFC fighters with great kicks, who wear the tight shorts, (see George Saint Pierre for an example) they have fantastic legs and butt. I'm totally straight, I just want to look like GSP so bad, he's just perfection! Lol. So I think the combo of cycling and martial arts has worked in my favour. I say this because I've noticed big changes there, where I have a lot of muscle now (through to be fair, I've always had big calves and quads) compared to fat distribution around upper body, that I'm only now working hard on but admit there's way less change.

I think my results may not be typical just because I've always done martial arts and cycle everywhere. But I think they may help if one was to start.

Just remember that, like everything, results take time. Are you switching up workouts so your body isn't getting used to the same workout? Are you doing strength, endurance, resistance, cardio and plyometric workouts? Don't be scared of building muscle if you don't want to look like a body builder. Body builders have to work extremely hard to get that look, just regular resistance and toning workouts will just tone your muscles, not bulk them up, and increased muscle means increased fat burning. I believe because I have a muscular lower half and a pitiful upper half that that's why results are proving far better in lower half than upper body. The muscle is helping to burn the fat away there, but I don't have so much up top.

Just my two cents based on personal experience and possible theories.

Quote from: Jack_M on September 04, 2013, 03:04:22 PM


I've always done martial arts

Sorry to hijack the post, (hopefully won't be a long convo) but figured if I started a new topic Jack wouldn't know I was talking to him!!!!

What martial arts do you do? I've done Judo and Jujitsu which really were my life. Used to train 6 days a week, help out with all the kids and ran my own clubs too for many years. Unfortunately I've not been able to train for the last 3 years due a constant back injury that just made it not worth it due to the agonising pain and muscle spasms after every session, despite not being able to go even 50% of how I used to. It got to the point it was easier to walk away :'(

I'm kind of hoping, maybe once on T, the extra muscle I will build might support it a little so I can do a little Judo. Would be great to do some as a guy :)

Anyway, curious as to what you do?

Sorry again for the hijack!!! :/

I currently do ITF Taekwon-do.  I already have a black belt in Karate (though I only went cause it was a local club, I wasn't actually a huge fan of it but I did get the black belt anyway).  I also did a lot of Kung Fu as a kid when I was recovering from a car accident that left me in a wheelchair and I was trying to learn to walk again.  Kung Fu has a lot of difficult and low stances and going to classes helped me find my balance and build up muscle in my legs again.

I've done a teeny bit of Jujitsu but just through other practitioners showing me some moves and ground work.  Would love to do more of it but then there's only so many free hours of the day and money, right?  :P

Maybe a more stand-up martial arts would help with your back.  Judo and Jujitsu are great, but they do involve more crouched positions and ground work, not to mention throws onto your back.  I understand issues holding you back though, I currently have a trapped nerve in my left hip that makes side stretching really difficult and oddly enough I find left kicks fine but right kicks difficult because I'm weight baring on the left side.  Hoping to eventually stretch out and open up the muscle! *fingers crossed*

I'm only seven months on T but I haven't noticed much of a shift of fat, though I noticed that some fat I have gained has been in masculine areas(ie: my gut).  I plan to lose as much excess fat as I can to knock out as much 'girly' fat as possible and then regain weight in masculine areas.  With luck the other guys are right and there will be more noticeable changes farther along.

And my own two cents about martial arts...  Taekwondo is great.  It doesn't put much strain on your back as far as throws or lifting is concerned and works the heck out of your legs.  However, you will be doing lots of kicking, including jumping kicks and kicks that will force you to turn your hip and could be hard on the spine.

I'm 7 months on T and I haven't noticed much difference. But I've done nothing to improve it, I will be honest, I never exercise and I still eat a lot of junk food which is bad!  :-X I never really had huge hips and I am still pretty much the same weight when I started T (5'6 and 116 lbs). The cycling idea sounds really good and it probably would help with your thighs since you would be working out your legs a lot. I might start working out too :P

Thanks for the replies guys. It would seem that if any distribution is to happen, I need a lot more patience. This does make me feel better because it would explain why I haven't noticed anything yet.

Martial arts and cycling sounds nice, but I have no money to join a gym right now. And my bike isn't really made for long distance cycling (I swear, it'll fall apart soon). But I'll stick to jogging and working out a few times a week, just to stay in shape.

I started to see it shifting after about 6 months, but it's still shifting even now at nearly 2 years in.