Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I will be hopefully starting HRT treatment by September
& just wondering if I should start a chart for my measures, chest, hips ,bust that sort of thing.
Good idea or not!
Sara.

Hi ColdHeart,

If you are going to start measuring yourself every week, or even every month, it could end up being frustrating and make you think you're not getting "good results".  HRT takes a while, and may never produce significant changes to your body unless you start in your teens. It hasn't made a big difference with me, and I have been on hormones for two years.  I started at age 58, though. I have A-cup boobs, less body hair, and less skin oil, but that's about it.

Weight loss made much more of a difference. I dropped 27 pounds in the last three months and it really makes a difference with the clothes I can wear. I think that is more important, as far as looking more feminine. It's a more practical consideration, anyway, if you are living full-time.

Anyway, that's my opinion.

With kindness,

Terri

Even I took a set of initial measurement however I am not sure if I even have them any longer. If you take a set, just remember it may take months before you see much of a change in the numbers. More likely you will feel and see changes long before the ruler shows much. However after all these years it would be interesting to look at those old numbers and see how things have changed.

I took a set at the beginning of HRT (who knows where they are now) but once I discovered they were missing I have taken another set that I only plan to compare at 6 monthly intervals. I have been taking roughly a Selfie a day which is too often and have cut that back to a couple a week and will end up using only one photo per week, I currently have my first 18mnths on HRT in a photo timeline that looks great 

This what I am measuring

Weight
Bust
Backside
calves
thighs
biceps
waist
neck
     

Yes Terri perhaps your right as I would only get frustrated by the no changes.
Dena
I,ve been told it will take months even years for the changes to happen, but I've been told I'm half way there (see avatar) but don't believe it but it would be nice just to soften my features.

Out of interest would it be more than likely it would be applied by patches as I have read some bad thing using HRT by tablets.

So should I take a selfie a day/week! ElizabethK.

H Sara,

I started HRT at age 50. The mental and emotional change was wonderful. I had a 5 inch difference between breast to band size. That sounds like a lot but is was an a cup and somewhat conical breasts. I think I gained a few inches in my hips but that could have been from weight gain. I have lost 22 pounds this spring and summer but I did not measure the change. My cloths fit much better.

Hair and skin got drier and skin got very soft. My face got much softer.

I wish I took weight and body measurement and kept the records updated every few months mainly for changes in weight from HRT and procedures. I was 190 pounds pre HRT and I had gained 10 pounds from stress eating. I am now at 196 pounds. My goal is 180.

I know a later transitioner that developed large breasts, so it can happen.   

Tablets have been given a bum rap by Premarin. Estradiol in tablet forum is far more potent and if you are in good health is fairly safe. The doctor will tell you what your options are and it depends on the person. Tablets are cheap but you need to take them every day and some people are better off not taking them. Patches you stick on a couple of times a week but they are a bit messy to clean up afterward, a bit more expensive and some people can't absorb estradiol through the skin. Injections are once a week but you have to keep things clean, jab yourself and again they are more expensive than pills. Like all things in life, there are tradeoffs and it will be between you and your doctor to determine what's best for you.

Quote from: coldHeart on August 06, 2017, 06:14:05 PM
Yes Terri perhaps your right as I would only get frustrated by the no changes.
Dena
I,ve been told it will take months even years for the changes to happen, but I've been told I'm half way there (see avatar) but don't believe it but it would be nice just to soften my features.

That's you??!!

Half-way there?  My God, you're already done!  You have ten times the results I have had.  You look completely and totally feminine as far as your figure. You don't even need HRT.

Terri

Hi Sara!!!!

I love the sound as those gears of progress begin turning for you!!! Soon they will be humming along and unstoppable!!!

I would avoid measuring unless you are really invested in seeing numbers slowly change!..  In the end measurements are not what this journey is about... Sweating small stuff like that when you already have a gorgeous figure sounds pretty unecessary ... Stuff like that can become something to needlessly focus on and have negative feelings about if we are thinking that we are this number but we want to be that number.... We all get what we get in the end and your figure is already beautiful!!! :)

For what it is worth... I have used injections for all but the first month on hormones when I took pills.... I was worried about liver issues with pills... Adhesion issues with patches due to all the running I do and I had heard people speak of better results with injection but I don't think there is definitive proof of that... As Dena said... Everything is a trade off of sorts but one advantage of injection, in my view, is that it is very easy to fine tune dosage and therefore, your hormone level...

So great to see your post here today my dear sister!!!!

Onward we go!!!!

Ashley :)

I created a progress spreadsheet.  But I quickly gave up on the idea.  When my breasts were growing, although the shape and firmness changed, the actual circumference measured by a tape didn't.  I have to assume that the growth of breast tissue was exactly matched by the loss of fat and muscle.  It would have been too depressing to keep a record of that!

I typically have measured myself monthly and record it in my journal. Journaling in general is something i highly recommend, particularly in times of change like this. Sometimes writing feels like an obligation and at those times i simply use bulleted points about how i am feeling and what is happening etc.

I second the idea of journalling your trans-journey.  (See what I did there? [emoji6])  I also made a few videos of me talking about myself in the bathroom mirror, to not only cronicle my voice change, but of some of the very first experiences I had as I began to transition as well as pics of myself nearly weekly for the first few months I was on T.   I'm now down to taking pics of myself about once a month.  The journalling of my thoughts, feelings and experiences I'm still doing whenever they happen.

I don't think I could keep up such a chart of measurements, but I wish you well on your own journey to your true self!

Ryuichi



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Hi Sara,

  I am thrilled to think that you should be starting HRT in September. I think it will be the best therapy you can have. I don't want to read of you backsliding and  trying to climb down off of this high you are on. Ride it girl, ride the high. Keep yourself focused on doing this. All of us are here rooting for you.
  I am going to join in with the not recommending measurements, at least not often. If you feel you must, then take your starting measurements and put them in a journal or blog where you can go back to see them later. say in 3 months or so. Also take pictures for a before and after comparison, but again keep it infrequent. Doing these things often will not help you in feeling the progress you will definitely be making. They will be more a depressant than anything else if done too frequently and you know you do not need that. You will be making progress Sara, but it will be more in the subtler areas already mentioned. A feeling of well being, a lightness of heart, softer skin. Those will be the things you will likely notice first and they are good things for you to feel. The physical charges occur much more slowly as has been said before. You will notice them when they begin to occur but it will take patience.
   As i have told you and others have told you here, you have a good head start on most of us. A better start than some older folk like me will ever have. You have curves girl! From the back no one can see you are anything other than a woman. You look pretty good from the front too as we've all seen in your avatar postings. The only one that has trouble seeing it is you my dear, and you are mistaken in your perception of yourself. Even the part you says is your worst feature, is not. Your face is far from ugly, remember, I have seen it, You sent me the picture. I told you then and I'll tell you again, you do not look bad at all, I saw a woman in that picture. You, yourself said after your wife did your make up that you "might be able to pull this off" and I am telling you you can!  Given time, and it will take time, HRT will help you pass even better.
    Now go ahead and take those measurements and pictures and put them away for later reference. Don't worry about them afterwards for several months. Start a journal or a thread or a blog and keep a running record of how you feel, the progress you think you are making, issues that may arrive that cause you concern and your hopes and dreams for the future. We all dream, Sara, we need our dreams to keep us sane.

  I'm thrilled for you Sara and I'm here for you at need.

  Love ya and Hugs,
    Laurie

Sara, I am off the charts happy for you!  ;)  Great great news.

Measure once every 3-6 months or you are going to get soooo frustrated. I know I did.

I take pictures once a month. It is a better way to see the physical changes that your body is going through. I went 6 months without losing a pound but my hips got bigger, my 'barrel chest' went to my lower belly and my arms shrunk. The pictures are amazing to go back and see and compare to where you are today...


Raelynn

Quote from: coldHeart on August 06, 2017, 06:16:01 PM
So should I take a selfie a day/week! ElizabethK.

I was doing daily but I kept missing days and I also didn't plan it very well so I think the first year is a bit hit and miss with some complete weeks missing...but I am persevering. Trying to record as many as I can remember to do. If you were able to leave a camera set up in the same spot and once a day take the exact same picture. 

If you want to see a morphing effect you need the same shot each time, I try and do a head and shoulders, same position, same backdrop...you can then roughly get them the same size so when you run them in either a filmstrip or a slide show (my preference) there is not too much variation in pose and the actual changes really show....you could do it at one a day for a more complete run together however, I miss days...I was really diligent in the beginning and now have it down to a simple shot from the same three places  as well as normal selfies. I need to get back into a routine. 

I have a bit of fun with it, got a decent selfie stick with a remote helps...

I forgot to say congratulations, I hope it works out well for you

I have zero experience with gender transition, but I have lost significant amounts of weight twice in my life. I found that if I fixated too much on measurements or weight I was constantly stressed out about whether I was making progress or going backward. I suspect that reaching your feminization goals could be similar. If you do keep a log of measurements and/or images chronicling changes, I would try really hard not to let what you see or don't see in the chronicles warp your sense of reality. I remember there being times when people would comment on how great I was doing with weight loss and because my numbers didn't agree I just thought they were being patronizing. But the reality was they could see progress that I could not.

Quote from: WhatAmI? on August 07, 2017, 05:49:39 AM
I have zero experience with gender transition, but I have lost significant amounts of weight twice in my life. I found that if I fixated too much on measurements or weight I was constantly stressed out about whether I was making progress or going backward. I suspect that reaching your feminization goals could be similar. If you do keep a log of measurements and/or images chronicling changes, I would try really hard not to let what you see or don't see in the chronicles warp your sense of reality. I remember there being times when people would comment on how great I was doing with weight loss and because my numbers didn't agree I just thought they were being patronizing. But the reality was they could see progress that I could not.

I can only speak for myself and my motivation(or lack of it) but I did this for the fun of it but I have used it before to see how far I have come, at times when I doubted the changes in me.

I understand what you are describing and doing it in the way you describe is not healthy I certainly agree.

Since my avatar photo was taken I have put on weight due to the depression I have been comfort eating which is not a good thing, my main problem is my face I want it softened.
Taking measures every few months would be the best option I don't want to become too obsessed with it & be disappointed

Quote from: Laurie on August 06, 2017, 10:56:05 PM
Hi Sara,

  I am thrilled to think that you should be starting HRT in December. I think it will be the best therapy you can have.

September Laurie

I just hope HRT will put a damper on this dam dysphoria depression as it is crippling me.
Sara.

Quote from: coldHeart on August 07, 2017, 07:48:25 AM
Since my avatar photo was taken I have put on weight due to the depression I have been comfort eating which is not a good thing, my main problem is my face I want it softened.
Taking measures every few months would be the best option I don't want to become too obsessed with it & be disappointed

Quote from: Laurie on August 06, 2017, 10:56:05 PM
Hi Sara,

 I am thrilled to think that you should be starting HRT in December. I think it will be the best therapy you can have.

September Laurie

I just hope HRT will put a damper on this dam dysphoria depression as it is crippling me.
Sara.

I did do that didn't I Sara. I meant September, I read September, I thought September but I did type December, Sorry. The only excuses I can make for it is 1. December is mt start month and I must have been thinking of it when I responded to you. And 2. Is the more ominous, "sometimers" I sometime get things wrong due to my advancing age. lol.
   Yes Sara, I did see the bit of difference in your more recent front picture but did not think I should point it out. Therefore I  said, "You look pretty good from the front too" in my comment and left it at that. You do still look good from the front and no one would say different except maybe you and we both know that you are very prone to being overcritical of yourself just as more women are. I sure am but then I am always right LOL

  Depression is a terrible thing to live with and it affects a lot more than our mood and thoughts. I do believe that starting HRT will help you a lot with it. We just have to work at keeping you focused on that day in September so that you do not fall back into that dark hole you keep frequenting. We need to keep you in the light of hope.
  We are here for you Sara, Listen to us and reach out when, no IF, you find yourself slipping.

  Love ya,
   Laurie

There is a great website that I started using years ago with my weight loss journey.  It is geared toward tracking your weight and measurements and things as far as weight loss, but I have found it to also be a very handy resource for tracking measurements and weight and energy level and things while on HRT now as well.  And an added benefit, is since I have been tracking my weight and measurements on it fairly regularly for 9 years now, I can look at charts that show how my body has changed over that entire period of time.  So that is pretty fascinating. 

  The website is SparkPeople dot Com.  You create yourself a profile, and then on the left side of the screen, you click on a little scale, that takes you to a page where you can customize what measurements you want to keep track of, and you can create you own.  Like I had to create a chest measurement one myself because it wasn't one of the default options.  But I have found it to be incredibly useful for many years now.  I keep a soft measuring tape here by my computer, and take all of my measurements and my weight every couple weeks or so.

  The cool thing is, since you can run a report that shows all of your historical measurements, you can compare them to each other, and see what measurements correlate with what dates, and how those measurements relate to each other.    This Sunday, I will have been on HRT for a month now.

I took measurements the first few months, but have more or less stopped. There were so many changes that didn't show up in them, like the shape of my hips and breasts. My doctor takes measurements, so I run with those. Breast size measured vertically and horizontally plus hips.

Happy for you girl, cant wait to see the smile on your face.

Yay!! I'm happy for you Sara! This is great news!
I took starting measurements, but 3 weeks in haven't taken any more. Like the others said, I think 3-6 months would be best for that. I am taking a picture once a week, though.

I've ran the gauntlet of several various "Transitions" throughout the decades. I learned how frustrating (at the very least, depressing is more like it) "Charting" at about any level can be (words of wisdom from a former fatty). For weight loss (or gain for the matter) how clothes fit (or no longer do), to me, is the functional equivalent of journalling. You get to really see "The long view"

When I started HRT, I have to admit, the urge to measure did win out for a brief period. But what also led to me tanking on the Trans-Beast for real was having gained 40lbs almost overnight and was soon pushing the 200lb mark on a scale. A neighborhood I swore never to live in again. But what really hit me up the side of the head was being totally depressed that I couldn't fit into any of my female clothes! I was dieting as I started HRT, so measurements were a total waste of energy.

I did start of journal, or a sort of diary. It was a tremendous help to me looking back into it during my many "WTF Am I Doing ??? " meltdowns. It served as a poignant reminder of the totally dark place I was in and how much all the effort I was undertaking was benefiting me. Whenever I had any doubts about the futility of my undertakings I was reminded of the feeling of joy I was actually experiencing for it.