I was cursed with a hyper-feminine body shape from a pretty early age, and I feel like it's gonna be the death of me. One of the changes I was most looking forward to when starting T was fat redistribution, but of course it seems to be one of the slowest too. Around what time did you start noticing a change in fat distribution? When did the change "peak", and how significant was it? Also, has anyone found that specific exercise helps with losing fat in the waist/butt region? I know the effects can be less than gratifying for some guys and I'm worried I'll have to hide under baggy clothing for the rest of my life.

Sadly you can't pick and choose what areas for fat to burn off, there are no excersizes to target specific areas of fat.

Personally, I don't think testosterone redistributes the fat that's already there, I think it dictates what areas new fat will be placed, so once you burn off the fat you already have, testosterone may place fat in new places. This can obviously be very gradual, for instance for someone who doesn't exercise much or get very lean, this could possibly take months to years of your body using small amounts of fat and replacing it with new.

The best thing you can do to reduce the appearance of hips is to exercise regularly. Work on building up your upper body to become wider up top, and also try to lean out to get to a lower bodyfat percentage. You can never shrink hip bones, but losing bodyfat will minimize the amount stores on your hips to make them appear narrower.

I actually experienced fat redistribution quicker than I expected. I'm currently about 8 and a half months or so on T, and I've definitely noticed a more masculine body shape, particularly with how my fat sits on my hips/thighs vs waist. It was such a gradual change that I cannot tell you when it happened, and I wouldn't feel comfortable describing a 'peak' since I am only 8 months on. Also, something I didn't expect so much but I definiely have noticed is that I can feel a lot more of my bones. Not in a losing weight kind of way (I've gained actually) but its like there is less fat on my joints. Elbows particularly, but also on my wrists and fingers and now around my neck as well. I do not exercise, the most I get is walking between classes and climbing up my bed. (I'm the top bunk.) I will say I lost some fat from the top of my butt surprisingly early on, however, very little of my butt fat has redistributed compared to the rest of my body. My waist size has gone up, however my thighs/hips have slimmed down.

One thing I always struggled with was insecurity about my weight, and I could never tell whether it was a dysphoria thing (like how my weight is carried) or if it was a body image thing. I've realised now it's mostly a dysphoria thing because I am much less bothered by my weight now. Even though I weight abouto 20 lbs more than I used to and I have more belly fat, since it's being help in a more masculine way, I really don't care all that much. Sure I'd like to lose it, but I'm much more bothered by other things now.

Despite all the ads about losing just belly fat, you really can't isolate one area to reduce. Part of your fat distribution is genetic, and there are cis guys with fat distribution around the hips as well. Redistribution is individual, but will depend on how your body does with HRT and when your blood levels reach your Dr.s goal.

Jogging helps drop weight and is a good overall exercise. Another thing you can do to offset your hips and thighs is to do some weight lifting and build up your shoulders. If you widen your shoulders, it will make your hips appear more narrow. A good exercise for that is using dumbells, one in each hand and slowly raise your arms sideways and upwards until the weights meet over your head. Be careful because too much weight to start with can really strain your shoulders. Start light and do three sets of ten reps. Make sure you do both arms at the same time so you don't inadvertently use other muscles to push the weight up.

sam1234

QuoteA good exercise for that is using dumbells, one in each hand and slowly raise your arms sideways and upwards until the weights meet over your head. Be careful because too much weight to start with can really strain your shoulders. Start light and do three sets of ten reps. Make sure you do both arms at the same time so you don't inadvertently use other muscles to push the weight up.

This is good advice, except for one thing: raising your hands above shoulder level isn't such a good idea, because it can cause impingement -- part of the rotator cuff gets squished between bones, and bad things happen. There's lots of info on this on YouTube if you search for shoulder impingement, and some good demos of how to do this and other upper body exercises safely.

I think it took like a year or more, but I'm at 5 years now and now if I have fat it sits in my gut. I'm a skinny guy but the fat I had on my sides around the waist all moved to my stomach

7 months on T so far for me.  I started noticing the redistribution after only 3-4 weeks on T.  My weight is in my chest and stomach.  My chest was DDD before, and now I am down to DD just because of fat redistribution (the breast tissue itself doesn't go away).  I started weight training (nothing crazy - very basic routine) when I started T, and that seems to be working wonders to shift the hourglass shape into a more masculine inverted-triangle shape.  It all depends on our genes, of course, but I was pleasantly shocked at how quick the changes started, and I expect them to continue for at least another year or two.

The fat change was something that happened to me even before I began to pass. Around 5 months it was like my butt just melted off lol...I got more nd more of a man belly probably over the next 6 months or so. Since then, all I have left is some "love handles" but w/e. I have my flat 4x4 butt and that's all I need.