Im really embarrassed about this post. I've never thought I would be the one to write about weight issues. Before srs, I was small. Really small . No stomach, cute figure . Standing at almost 2 years post op, I have gained 60 pounds!! Don't get me wrong I get a lot of compliments on it from guys mostly, but I'm not happy with my body . I have ffs coming up in June and I want to be back to my before weight . I do plan on having some body reconstruction surgery next year after round 2 of srs (there's a topic I made somewhere on here explaining why) it's just frustrating. I think I eat to cope with things and how some surgeries have failed after saving so much money. Food is great!! Omg do I love cooking and fries... Did I say fries ? .. I meant potatoes wedges.. haha. I seriously have to stop and change my body . Hopefully this will help some girl out before she gets srs how important it is to be careful , because after srs , chileee, you just may blow up due to lack of testoterone . If anyone has experience this as well .. please feel free to leave tips and diet regimes that you have done and worked .

Thanks
Love

I'm 11 yrs post-SRS. At first, my weight was actually less than before SRS (I was taking Androcur before SRS, known to increase weight gain). I lost around 15 lbs and stayed at that weight no matter what. Then suddenly, around 2012, I restarted taking estradiol orally (vs. suppository, rectally) and my weight slowly climbed back up, about 15 lbs. I actually looked healthier, still got guys' attention, more curves, more breast, etc. My face not only looked healthier, but more feminine and younger looking. Fast forward 2 yrs, I switched to injections and later increased bio-identical progesterone which I had started taking a few months before. My weight went up even more, about 10 lbs. So 10 lbs heavier vs pre-SRS. During that time, I noticed guys looking at me less. Checked my T levels, they were VERY low, well under normal female range.

I recently added a little testosterone to help with general well-being, energy levels, mood/motivation, muscle mass, weight and cellulite. So far, so good except that my weight hasn't really gone down. Still stable.

Re: food intake. Years earlier, I tried going VERY low carb/high fat and actually GAINED weight, about 15 lbs. Eventually, going back to eating 'normally', I lost all of it very quickly. Now, I just watch how many carbs I eat and don't overindulge. Low carb/high fat works VERY well for many people, didn't for me, for some odd reason but I still believe it's the way to go until further causal evidence shows the contrary.

I know how you feel...do you take a lot of estrogen, too little? What about some form of progestogen? Did you check your free testosterone levels?

Estrogen and testosterone help keep weight off to a certain degree in unhealthy places, in theory.

Quote from: KayXo on April 06, 2017, 02:30:54 PM
I'm 11 yrs post-SRS. At first, my weight was actually less than before SRS (I was taking Androcur before SRS, known to increase weight gain). I lost around 15 lbs and stayed at that weight no matter what. Then suddenly, around 2012, I restarted taking estradiol orally (vs. suppository, rectally) and my weight slowly climbed back up, about 15 lbs. I actually looked healthier, still got guys' attention, more curves, more breast, etc. My face not only looked healthier, but more feminine and younger looking. Fast forward 2 yrs, I switched to injections and later increased bio-identical progesterone which I had started taking a few months before. My weight went up even more, about 10 lbs. So 10 lbs heavier vs pre-SRS. During that time, I noticed guys looking at me less. Checked my T levels, they were VERY low, well under normal female range.

I recently added a little testosterone to help with general well-being, energy levels, mood/motivation, muscle mass, weight and cellulite. So far, so good except that my weight hasn't really gone down. Still stable.

Re: food intake. Years earlier, I tried going VERY low carb/high fat and actually GAINED weight, about 15 lbs. Eventually, going back to eating 'normally', I lost all of it very quickly. Now, I just watch how many carbs I eat and don't overindulge. Low carb/high fat works VERY well for many people, didn't for me, for some odd reason but I still believe it's the way to go until further causal evidence shows the contrary.

I know how you feel...do you take a lot of estrogen, too little? What about some form of progestogen? Did you check your free testosterone levels?

Estrogen and testosterone help keep weight off to a certain degree in unhealthy places, in theory.

Oh gee, well sounds like you.tried everything except surgery. Well I don't take anything other than estrodial , my Dr has prescribed anything other than that. I have to had proregesterone in a long time. I can't even remember the last time. I just want to lose weight it's so hard.. im going g to try some type of sport I guess.

Exercise alone won't do anything. You may need to adjust your hormones and/or diet. My 2 cents...Best of luck!

What always works for me with any hormone makeup is eliminating sugar and processed carbs, limiting starches, and eating at a reasonable calorie deficit while increasing my time and frequency running.  That worked with both high T and with no T.

Right now I'm experimenting with very low carb with high fat and that's working very well too.  There is an adjustment period of a few weeks getting used to that though.


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

I gained a lot of weight due to a combination of HRT, surgery, and some medicine prescribed for an unrelated condition. Once I stopped that medicine I lost about 40 pounds, assisted with diet and exercise, and kept it off for well over a year. Then, last year, I made it my mission to get back in shape and lost another 50 pounds as well as toned up using exercise and weights. I didn't follow any special diet per se, but I did use a (free) calorie-and-fitness app that I could input everything I ate into as well as my daily weight and my exercise. I tried to be sure to eat enough protein and fiber, but I didn't cut out any food groups or anything. Using that low-calorie diet and exercise I am now maintaining an 80 pound weight loss despite being post-orchiectomy and on estradiol injections. I try and get in at least an hour of exercise a day, typically using a combination of online Barre classes and walking aerobics DVDs. When the weather is nice I like to go on long walks or hikes, if I feel up to it. The exercise is great and made me look way better, but you MUST watch your calories to lose weight and keep it off. It's very easy to overeat and not realize it.

Quote from: Deborah on April 06, 2017, 04:29:12 PMRight now I'm experimenting with very low carb with high fat and that's working very well too.  There is an adjustment period of a few weeks getting used to that though.

I never adjusted. I read and read all I could get my hands on, followed the recommendations. Still, no luck. 

Calorie restriction? Not for me. Way too frustrating. I need to enjoy life a little. I already stopped smoking, drinking coffee and alcohol, rarely any junk food, no soda. The only thing I am not cutting back on is DARK chocolate...YUM. 

OMG TS you pulled out MY EXACT CURRENT PROBLEM. I was very skinny before despite I ate a lot before but now 3 years post op I'm fat as hell even have belly popping out. It's so annoying. Not even exercise is helping. I even created a thread before 'Are post ops like cats which become fat after orchie'. I really don't know how to solve this. In fact I even logged back after so long to create post cos basic exercise is not working and I wanted to know if I do profound exercise, will it work.

Quote from: Deborah on April 06, 2017, 04:29:12 PM


Right now I'm experimenting with very low carb with high fat and that's working very well too. 

What type of foods are low carb-high fat?

Basically I don't eat sugar, grains, most legumes, or starches.  So most of my food is eggs, butter, coconut oil, olive oil, cheese, fish, meat, nuts, and leafy green and cruciferous vegetables.  I try and eat fewer than 50 g net carbs and 140 g of protein each day.  Beyond that is as much fat as needed to be satisfied, usually somewhere between 140 to 220 g.  All fat is good except the manufactured vegetable oils full of trans fats.

I do allow myself some lentils, dark chocolate and fruit from time to time.

More or less I'm following what's spoken of in this website.  http://www.marksdailyapple.com


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

Lack of testosterone/estradiol may account for increased weight gain too.

Try the ketogenic diet or intermittent fasting. both work and you can find heaps of vids on youtube about them. Keto is low carb-high fat like healthy fats lol but yeah i was on that before surgery but now im home my apetite has gone through the roof i never ever used to get hungry during the day only at night time dinner time and now im hungry all the time. So im getting back on keto and IF, if you mix both you should see some fast but good results. Just gotta stick to them i guess.

Studies have shown, again and again, that estradiol suppresses appetite while progesterone or progestogens increase appetite.

Quote from: KayXo on April 07, 2017, 07:19:07 PM
Lack of testosterone/estradiol may account for increased weight gain too.

just like a castrated cat 

Castrated cats are not on HRT.  If it was all simply due to low testosterone then all women would be overweight.  But they're not. 

In nearly all cases it's due to diet.  Even then it's more what you eat than how much you eat.  The standard western diet is inherently fattening.


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

Quote from: Deborah on April 09, 2017, 07:00:56 AM
Castrated cats are not on HRT.  If it was all simply due to low testosterone then all women would be overweight.  But they're not.

Castrated cats have low E and T, hence increased weight gain. Hormones are critical in how and where fat is deposited and these include sex hormones as well. Several studies show that when you give estrogen to ovariectomized rats, weight and appetite go back down.

Pre-menopausal women have low testosterone relative to men but have higher levels relative to post-op transwomen and hysterectomized/post-menopausal women. This certainly helps in keeping weight down to a certain degree. Along with eating healthy. They all work together, insulin, growth hormone, cortisol, estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, etc.

I was 'lucky' to develop gluten intolerance before I transitioned. It forced me to lose 60 lbs without trying.

When I started HRT, I started gaining again still I gained about 20 of those 60 lbs back.

That's when I said no more.

I started working out at the gym and trying to limit how much I was eating out and trying to eat healthier.

That was 5 years ago and I've stayed pretty fit and fairly well maintained a decent weight and body fitness.

it's not easy but I feel like in my 30s , it's much more difficult to keep weight off and this has worked for the last 5 years.

I can also advocate for keto and IF. I've been on a ketogenic diet for about 18 months. Intermittent fasting daily for 9 months. Starting weight 245. Currently 135.


~Brooke~

I've recently read that one benefit of intermittent fasting is that it will increase the level of growth hormone.  This is because insulin and growth hormone oppose each other.  This can only be good for those of us on HRT.  Just cutting out all between meal snacks will result in two five or more hour fasts during the day along with the eight to ten hour overnight fast.   Skipping one or two meals would be better depending on one's activity level. 

A keto diet in general keeps insulin pretty low anyway which can only work towards increasing the effectiveness of those fasting periods.


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

That's correct Deborah. The counter regulatory hormones are released in the absence of insulin.  Noradrenaline helps keep your metabolism up, and growth hormone makes sure that when you do eat again you pay down lean mass rather than store that energy as fat.

After a 24 hour fast HGH had been shown to increase by 1200% in woman and 2000% in men.

It's actually one of the reasons I   Fast on a daily basis (19/5 fast/feed schedule).

I also IF to induce a state of autophagy/repair and recycle, as I'm trying to get rid of my extra skin without having surgery, and I'm also suffering from systemic nerve damage and am hoping that the body will repair itself.

Of course on a regular diet IF gives your body a chance to actually dig into those fat stores on a regular basis.

I have a hypothesis that keto and IF should expedite fat redistribution and increase breast ( of muscle growth in ftm ).

I definitely wonder if it is helping with my shape. Though because of the tendency to put down lean mass there is always the chance I'm hurting my breast development given breasts are mostly fat.

IF has also been linked to longevity in most mammals. Living longer is always a plus.


~Brooke~