So I've been on hrt for almost a half year now (estradiol and cypro). In the first three months, I didn't exercise a lot and I could eat whatever I wanted and still maintain the same weight (and even lose some if I wanted to), now for the last few months, I gained a few kgs, and while I have cut back on the unhealthy food and started to walk 10 kilometer daily, I find it impossible to lose weight. I don't get it, eating less calories and burning more should equal weight loss but its not happening.

Also on a side note, my breasts have stopped being itchy and sensitive and I haven't noticed any development in the last two months. is that normal?

You may very well be experiencing an expected reduction in muscle mass and the results can be a less robust metabolism of calories---just like most women.  I have similar concerns about my weight and overall we are all well advised to keep active and eat better.  Good to hear you are working on it

Breast growth is one of our favorite topics around here, it seems.   So many different experiences suggest to me that growth continues erratically for years when on HRT or after GCS.

Thanks for your reply, so I guess I should just be very patient then 

patience is not one of my strong suits and I can only hope you are better at it

I lost weight initially then all the sudden I started gaining. I increased my exercise and ate better. I could maintain my weight but I needed to lose the 25 pounds I gained. I ate super healthy and increased exercise more and I have lost 15 of the 25 pounds. I will need to further increase exercise and eat even better to lose the last 10 pounds.

Brest growth will still occur and you will have periods of sensitivity and growth spirts for years to come.

Talk with your doctor and make sure your T is low and you have adequate E.

Quote from: meow8 on January 06, 2016, 12:23:22 PM
I don't get it, eating less calories and burning more should equal weight loss but its not happening.

It's not as simple as eating less and moving more. Gary Taubes explains it very well in his books. It's very much got to do with hormones, whether it be cortisol, estrogen or testosterone, thyroid hormones, etc.

First, progestogens such as Androcur tend to increase fat deposition such that more fat is accumulated, you are less able to access fat for energy and as a result, you are either more tired if you keep eating the same number of calories OR you eat more.

The loss of testosterone and increase in estrogen is also another factor that makes fat deposition increase in certain areas of the body (glutofemoral, breasts, face, etc.). Estradiol should however keep waistline in check, if taken alone.

I think cyproterone acetate (Androcur) also interferes with glucocorticoid action and this can affect fat deposition.

In other words, cypro is most likely the culprit if you gain TOO much weight. A little weight gain is to be expected and normal for a woman.

QuoteAlso on a side note, my breasts have stopped being itchy and sensitive and I haven't noticed any development in the last two months. is that normal?

There are times of growth and then nothing...and sometimes, it suddenly comes back...or it could be that the only means of triggering more growth is to increase estradiol or add progesterone (with your doctor's consent). Androcur might also be responsible as its progestogenic effets somewhat oppose estradiol, glucocorticoid effects shouldn't be ruled out either (be sure to also check prolactin levels regularly). Whether anti-androgenic effects are stronger in the balance of things is an individual thing.

Whatever the reason, this should be discussed with your doctor.

Lowering carbs while eating fat and protein to satiety appears to be a healthy means of keeping weight in check, as well.

my endo appointment is in early february so I'll discuss it then. I was just confused since in the first months on hrt i could eat anything and keep a stable weight, and now I have a more healthier lifestyle but not losing any weight. Its not that I have gained a lot, just 4 kilo's over a 6 month timespan but i'd like to keep my weight in check.

Also some fat has accumulated on my stomach instead of hips/breasts/face. Is that normal? I'd expect fat loss from that particular area on hrt.

Most likely suspect...progestogen...hence, cypro.

I've been on HRT for about 15 years and it didn't really slow my metabolism down much, if at all.  It definitely depend on your genetics - my grandmother also has a fast metabolism so I probably got her genes.   However, what little weight I am able to gain does go in the correct place (and this is without being on progesterone in years).

Breast development is also pretty random.  Mine went slowly and in spurts over quite a few years...

I'm having that same fat deposit in my abdominal area, which seems odd. My friends tell me it's just a "pooch", which is normal is women. I wish fat would deposit in a more orderly fashion, but that's just not the way this whole ride works

Thanks for the replies. I have been do my endo and she told me the results of the blood tests 3 months prior:my E 'was high' at 442 and my T was at 0,6. So apparently thats good. Still my breasts still don't it h/hurt of haven't grown since my last post. She measured my bust size (which was the same in januari as it was in october last year), but she really pulled the tape measure really right, so she flattened my breasts quite a bit.

Also i have stopped excercising a lot and have been eating more and i went from 70 kg to 68 :s weird.

If your body enters starvation mode by not consuming enough food for the activity, it can become really hard to lose weight. Strange as it may sound, reducing the burn rate and upping the consumption can result in weight loss. In a normal diet you only want to short your intake by about 500 calories to keep your body out of starvation mode. This would limit you to a pound or two weight loss a week but a good diet takes time.

Quote from: meow8 on February 21, 2016, 02:17:52 PMmy E 'was high' at 442

I'm assuming this is estradiol in pmol/L. IF I am correct, range in cisfemales is from as low as 73 pmol/L - 2,386 pmol/L. Pregnancy levels can go as high as 275,000 pmol/L. 442 is definitely not high. Last measured, mine ranged between 5,000-9,000, highest being 14,000 a year ago.

The units are most likely pg/ml in which case for a non pregnant woman is a bit on the high side.

Quote from: Dena on February 21, 2016, 10:45:27 PM
The units are most likely pg/ml in which case for a non pregnant woman is a bit on the high side.

Unlikely, for two reasons that lead me to believe she lives outside the US and in a country, where like where I live, estradiol levels are measured in pmol/L. First, she is taking Androcur (cyproterone acetate). Second, her T is 0.6, most likely total T at 0.6 nmol/L which is the level you would expect on E + cypro.

Even if it were high and in pg/ml, studies have shown high levels are not indicative of health risks but rather the type of estrogen is, bio-identical vs not, especially ethinyl estradiol. With EE and Premarin, you will have low levels of estradiol but ignoring the other active estrogen components that strongly affect pituitary gland, clotting and blood pressure.

**UPDATE**

Through reading her old posts, I found out she lived in the Netherlands. There, estradiol is measured in pmol/L and total T in nmol/L.

Yeah sorry, i didn't know the units in which estradiol and testosteron were measured. Apparently 442 pmol/l is considered high by my endo's standard. In the netherlands there are two teams of gender specialists (psychs, endo's suegeons etc) all working together in the same hospital. I know of other tg's who go there and some of them have 160 pmol/l as far as i know.

Quote from: meow8 on February 22, 2016, 12:03:26 PM
Apparently 442 pmol/l is considered high by my endo's standard.

Your endo's standard is based on what? Certainly not on ciswomen's range.

Quote from: meow8 on February 22, 2016, 12:03:26 PM
some of them have 160 pmol/l as far as i know.

Normal range in MALES, based on one source... 48-154 pmol/L.
Based on another source, 73-256 pmol/L
And another source, 50-200 pmol/L.

For me weight loss and exercise have always been linked to how I feel about myself. When I made personal commitments to compete in Ironman events I had no problem training 15 hours a week and sticking to a training diet.

Then when I went back to work in an office that triggered anxiety , disphoria and depression my weight shot up by 20kgs. I slowly lost some of this over early 2015 by intermittently exercising and switching to more home cooked meals.

The best bit is from the Day I started  HRT my depression has lifted and I've been consistently exercising 4+ times a week and gradually increasing effort and distance and have dropped from 95kg to 86kg in 19 weeks and today ran my first 15km run in about 5 years.

The clarity and direction that HRT and coming out have given me have made me feel so much more in control of my life . Not what happens to me but how I feel about it and how I feel about myself.