No matter what I do, I cannot seem to lose weight. I'm technically at a healthy weight for a girl, but I look like a really chubby guy. My face is so pudgy and round and my thighs are so big. I have tried to diet, starve myself, exercise; everything. None of it works. I have absolutely no willpower and I always binge. Then I get mad at myself because worrying about my weight is girly. I watch other guys lay around and eat as much as they want, but they stay slender. I just don't know what to do and I feel like I want to kill myself. The only thing that has really kept me from going insane is the possibility of testosterone helping speed up my metabolism and get rid of my face fat. Have any of you guys lost weight with testosterone?

"I have absolutely no willpower and I always binge."

Well, you already identified the problem.  If you are going to binge, keep some carrots, and celery, and cauliflower around.  I don't think I know any fat vegetarians.

There is a tumblr made for "trans fats" that's sort of on an unofficial hiatus. I felt similarly to you with my body. I have dealt with an eating disorder. Testosterone won't really make a change in your metabolism. One thing that could help you better understand what's going on is by tracking your food and exercise. Sparkpeople is a good resource for tracking. It has numbers plugged in for nutritional facts so you only need to plug in how much you eat. If you're able to, try to actively do something. Bike, jog, hike, swim, or just clean and organize things. I find that actually doing things would prevent me from eating and improved my mood.

I'm also not in the "healthy" range in terms of size. I'm 5 foot 3 and 180lbs.

Quote from: Jamie D on June 24, 2013, 04:19:10 AM
"I have absolutely no willpower and I always binge."

Well, you already identified the problem.  If you are going to binge, keep some carrots, and celery, and cauliflower around.  I don't think I know any fat vegetarians.

I know a bunch, fat vegans too.

I think the problem could be to do with your metabolism and how it gets affected after each time you binge. It's not the overeating part of the binge which is the problem, but the lengthy periods of starving yourself and not eating.

This changes your metabolism and the entire homeostasis of your body. When you starve yourself your body responds by compensating for the lack of food and calories so that when you do eat your digestive system has changed to not just process the calories and transform them into energy but also to store additional calories as fat for when you don't eat.

One of the staples of losing weight is to eat regularly, drink plenty of water, and take regular exercise. If you can't take exercise then do something creative or play computer games because you can also burn calories through mental activities.

Failing that, and if you're convinced that you're doing everything to lose weight and still can't, then I would seek medical attention from a doctor and get them to do some blood tests. This can often reveal a hidden reason why you're not losing weight which isn't that obvious.

You answered all your own questions. Diets never work. Starving yourself only makes your metabolism worse and makes you bigger, not smaller, and binging just makes that metabolism factor even worse!

With what you're going through, Testosterone would only make it worse. Right now I feel hungry 24/7. However, I eat small meals 5 times a day and I have absolutely no junk in my house. Never have it. Nothing for me to snack on but fruits, yoghurt or veg.

The reason you're not losing weight is because you're doing pretty much everything wrong, and that's okay, it's what we think will work but never does, it's counterproductive. If you don't see results, and you miss food you love, then you fail! It's a predictable failure so you can't blame yourself really, the way it seems right to go about it just sets you up for failure as inevitable.

The successful route: start eating 5 times a day at regular intervals around 3-3.5hrs. And schedule moderate exercise daily. Go for the daily 30. Cleaning your house counts as exercise. Walking on the spot while watching TV counts, just get 30 minutes of moderate exercise going EVERY day. Then add in any workouts on top of that if you want to lose more at a faster rate. The benefit of exercise is increased drive, energy and motivation (which helps you commit to making all those small meals lol). Exercises for losing weight are exercises that combine cardio and weights. Muscle increases metabolism and cardio speeds up the fat burning.

And most importantly schedule treats or you will absolutely and positively fail. Anyone trying to go for a healthy eating plan by thinking they'll never touch their favourite foods or sweets again, I'll tell you right now, it's not even worth starting. They will fail outright. I said I don't keep junk in my house, but I have days where I schedule to make myself a burger, or pizza, or buy a little chocolate for myself; whatever I enjoy. Then you don't look at eating bad food as a "slip up" or outright fail. It's just a treat you deserve!

Sorry to budge in but I was having the same problem in that I was losing really good and then it stopped. I think it has to do with metabolism and it really sux to watch someone eat all they want and never gain a pound.

As for the testoterone, Probably not unless it boosts you energy level to execise like a mad man.

I just started losing again and actually had to increase caloric intake from 900 up to 1300 calories a day. Digestion in itself burn calories so starving to lose weight is not really good in the way of weightloss.

Everyone is different so you really have to find what's right for your body. When I tried to follow specific diets that worked for someone else, I failed everytime and would actually gain weight.

This is in no way correct in the process but actually works for me. I don't eat breakfast because if I do it makes me hungrier throughout the day. I usually eat one meal a day and that is around 2-3pm. This allows me not to become too hungry so that I end up eating too much and also allows for the calories to burn off somewhat before my metabolism slows down due to sleep. In that one meal I usually consume roughly 700 to 1000 calories. The colories that make up the other 300-600 for a total of 1300 is liquids in the way of soft drinks or small snacks for needed energy. But whatever you do the caloric intake should be based on your activities during the day. Chew your food slowly because it takes a while for the brain to catch up with the stomach in feeling satisfied.

Don't constanly obsess over losing weight, try differtent coloric intakes and figure out which one works for you and do not weigh frequently. Start with a weight, write it down and wait a week before weighing again. For me I don't eat anything different than before, just a whole lot less of it.

Stella is right and if you aren't losing weights after counting calories, you may need to get a checkup from your doctor.

T helps you build muscle which can aid in losing weight. But it increases hunger and even the experience of it (I start to feel literally sick when I'm hungry a lot faster and more intensely than before).
If T were some kind of weight loss drug, I wouldn't be seeing so many pasty guts and man boobs on the beach. 

What sort of exercise have you tried? You might be better off focusing on lifting/eating a lot of protein instead of burning/counting calories, depending on what you've tried. Building a bit more muscle on your upper body would look less feminine and wider shoulders would probably make your hips look smaller by comparison.

I think it would be important to have this under control before starting testosterone, because while eventually it could give you the results you want, at first it'll likely make things worse. A lot of people tend to gain a fair amount of water weight in the first few months on t, and that would show in the face especially. I mean, it'll go away eventually, but if you're already really upset over a puffy face, it's something to be aware of. (I went up like 15lbs in the first 3 months and then it gradually went away in the next 6 months or so.) And since testosterone might increase your appetite, ideally you'd already be eating relatively healthily and exercising so that you'd gain mainly muscle and not fat.

(And, this might just be me, but I think people who don't do any kind of strength exercises (either bodyweight or with barbells etc) kind of miss out on some of the fun with starting t. I got stronger very quickly without doing anything different--for me, that was one of the first noticeable changes besides voice, and I doubt I'd have noticed if I wasn't doing any sort of exercise.)

hey dude. its physically easy but emotionally hard (for some people) to lose weight. If you cant handle a strict low calorie didet for more than a few weeks, than dont do it. In the end it all comes down to will power. Get an image in your mind of what you want and focus on it. you have to decide my brother. Either be a fat dude and be okay with it or dig deep and go for a 45 minute run in the morning and a 30 minute at night then eat less than 2k calories a day. lose yourself in your workout use it as your time to tune everything in the universe out of your mind. Save all your anger and sadness for your workout. Dont let it seep out during the day, just use it to explode in the gym or in your sneakers.

Thank you for all of the responses, I appreciate it immensely. A lot of you have said that starving isn't the right way to go, and I would have to say that I've experienced failure from starving firsthand. At present, my plan is basically that while I'm at home, I can only eat fruit and celery. When I want something else, I walk five miles to Jack in the Box. I figured this way, I get exercise and I still get to eat some food that isn't strictly "health" food. I honestly don't think I have the stamina to go on a rigorous exercise program, however I will probably doing much more strength exercise when I start T.

Quote from: Nygeel on June 24, 2013, 04:22:55 AM
I know a bunch, fat vegans too.

How did they get that way?

Honestly, that's a terrible plan. Your body needs real food and some slow release carbohydrates. Fruit and veg are in addition to real food, not instead. They're snacks and not sustainable nutrition. Eating nothing but fruit and veg isn't going to help your metabolism as there's not enough nutrition in them and a lot of fruits are composed of mostly water.

You want to get in some real foods. Some chicken breasts (no skin), red meat, oily fish, pasta, potatoes, rice, some whole wheat English muffins, bread, pita bread, wraps.

You want to eat all meals off a side plate. Like a little fish, some mash and some veg could be your dinner. A yoghurt and an apple could be a snack. Some soup for lunch with a slice of bread.

And breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so get some healthy cereal and always eat breakfast. The way to see breakfast is like the word suggests, it's a break after a fast. You haven't eaten all night, your body desperately needs breakfast. Without breakfast your body starts to starve and that's when it starts to crave sugary, fattening foods because your body is starving and looking for something for survival!

Avoid junk food. One junk food meal can be the equivalent in calories of close to daily limit! It's not worth it and it's greasy and fattening. That's why I suggest having treat days but not every day.

I cannot stress enough that if you are only eating fruit and veg at home you are still starving yourself. So when you satisfy that hunger with junk food, you're not going to see results.

Eat more regularly, eat real food and get 30mins of moderate exercise a day and then you'll see results. It's recommended everyone do at least 30 mins of moderate exercise and getting that is probably far easier than you think. Walking around prepping meals = exercise so there's two birds with one stone. Any exercise program you do should always be on top of that so just try and concentrate on standing or walking to more places.

Although everyone has valid and good points for losing weight, I don't actually think that's the problem here.  If you're of a healthy weight, then you shouldn't be trying to lose weight, just aim to eat healthily and exercise in order to stay fit and well.  I don't think feeling that you're fat while being a healthy weight is a problem unique to you, I know that I struggled with seeing my weight as healthy whilst knowing that it was technically healthy, and I've heard of other trans guys saying the same thing as well.  I think there was a thread on here about it a while ago actually.

If you've still got estrogen running your body then your fat is going to gather in female places, thighs, hips and sit slightly differently on the stomach.  Because for us our fat should be carried mainly on our stomachs, having it anywhere "female" makes it seem excessive to us.

I think the solution to the problem isn't to try and carry out crazy diets until you feel that your body looks male, but rather just try and adjust the food your eating and habits so that you're well prepared for hunger increases on T when you get there.  And while you're at it, try and realise that you are at a normal weight, and the way it looks on you is only temporary.

Quote from: StellaB on June 24, 2013, 06:28:36 AM
I think the problem could be to do with your metabolism and how it gets affected after each time you binge. It's not the overeating part of the binge which is the problem, but the lengthy periods of starving yourself and not eating.

This changes your metabolism and the entire homeostasis of your body. When you starve yourself your body responds by compensating for the lack of food and calories so that when you do eat your digestive system has changed to not just process the calories and transform them into energy but also to store additional calories as fat for when you don't eat.

One of the staples of losing weight is to eat regularly, drink plenty of water, and take regular exercise. If you can't take exercise then do something creative or play computer games because you can also burn calories through mental activities.

Failing that, and if you're convinced that you're doing everything to lose weight and still can't, then I would seek medical attention from a doctor and get them to do some blood tests. This can often reveal a hidden reason why you're not losing weight which isn't that obvious.

Sorry, but that isn't true but I know it has been said over and over enough that many people believe it. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-23/two-large-meals-a-day-tops-six-mini-meals-for-weight-loss.html

The modern human diet is so different than what we have evolved to eat and there there is SOOOO much bad information out there. People think fruit is healthy but our body wasn't made to eat it except for certain times of the year (when the body would be trying to store fat for the winter or dry season) and it causes the same liver damage that eating a high sugar diet http://www.examiner.com/article/research-shows-liver-damage-from-fructose-monkeys   

Carbs sabotage you because they don't set off your satiety hormones and may actually increase your hunger hormones. Serious about loosing the excess weight? Take a look at the book, "Diet Evolution". It was written by a heart doctor and he explains a everything with science.  http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=diet+evolution+by+dr+gundry&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=13434607075&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1867577796315838619&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_3hrstfb9xt_b

Quote from: Jamie D on June 24, 2013, 05:02:38 PM
How did they get that way?

Vegetarians can stuff their faces full of carbs and sugars just like the rest of us

Quote from: spacerace on June 24, 2013, 06:21:51 PM
Vegetarians can stuff their faces full of carbs and sugars just like the rest of us

That is the truth. My stepdad is vegan and weighed over 400 pounds. He had lap band surgery last Fall and is now struggling with self image because of loose skin. 

I'm a big guy (5'8" 240) and I blame nobody but myself. I'm working on losing at least 50lbs by next Summer for surgery but if I don't then whatever. I'll just keep working at it...not worth stressing over. I think it's amusing there is an image out there that most transguys are hot. Hahaha, we're not different than the cis population. There are a lot more hairy, fat, bald transguys than there are hot ones.

I used to stress about weight, but as I get older I get more comfortable in my skin. Better to be fat, happy, and fed than skinny, sad, and starving.

Quote from: Simon on June 24, 2013, 07:43:46 PM
I used to stress about weight, but as I get older I get more comfortable in my skin. Better to be fat, happy, and fed than skinny, sad, and starving.

True that!  I hate the idea of not enjoying yourself in order to stay thin.  Screw that noise.  If I can't eat burgers or steaks or pizza, at least in moderation, that's no life!  But way I try to see it is that = protein, so if I at least work out a bit, it's not actually bad for me - it can build muscle!!!  Haha!

Quote from: spacerace on June 24, 2013, 06:21:51 PM
Vegetarians can stuff their faces full of carbs and sugars just like the rest of us

Exactly, we dont live off fruit and vegetables like everyone seems to think. Yes I am guilty of this.. People assume we have a 'healthy' diet just because we're vegetarian, sorry not true. For some maybe but all who I know dont either. Its not even just about what you have for dinner, its what you have between that causes problems too. Or eating too much junk food as dinner, too much chocolate or sweets etc. Exactly the same as anyone else can end up overweight

I have tried to lose but I always seem to end up going in the opposite direction and I can never understand why. My GP has told me to keep a food diary for the next time I see him so we can see whats going on. I've had alot of problems with extreme tiredness and overheating issues for awhile now. My blood tests have all come back negative for the common things so things like diet and exercise levels may be playing a role here. I am starting to go out for walks and weight lifting again just for something to do. Hopefully see some difference this time. Even if I only lost a pound or something thats all I'd need to keep going. Its when I start to put on for no apparent reason that I lose all motivation and give up

The main thing just seems to be eat less. Even if you just ate the same things you normally would, just eating less of it alone might help a bit. You dont necessarily need to be calorie counting, not sure that actually helps. Treating it as a diet is the wrong approach from the start and setting up for failure. It has to be a lifestyle change and you wont be counting calories etc for years to come. Keeping a mental note of things should help with that but as Im doing just writing things down, what time you have it at, when you do exercise and for how long etc might help to identify any problem areas where improvement can be made. I certainly dont want to give up pizza or things I love as its not enjoyable to do. You can still have these things, just in moderation. The typical advice thrown around is eat less, do more. My GP said even if all you eat is healthy stuff, if you eat too much of it or dont burn enough of it off, you still wont lose weight. The concept of losing seems so easy but actually getting it to happen can be a nightmare

just to clear something up that seems to be brewing here.

When it comes to weight loss, a calorie is a calorie. I am NOT talking about health or building musce or diabetes or how those calories affect your body in general. No matter what crap you choose to eat, 2k cals is 2k cals. 1800 is 1800 and the 3500 calories it takes to lose a pound is 3500 calories.

So i would personally blow off all this low carb high carb low fat b.s. when i am trying to cut fat  I personally respond well to a low carb diet but i realize it is because i suuuck at tracking my carbs and i am an all or nothing guy. If i can have one piece of toast i want five. Its because i am eating less calories which is a result of eating less food. it is not the result of some magical carb fairy that somehow reduces my weight by depriving me of carbohydrates..