I am wondering whether HRT makes our basal metabolic rate decrease down to the level of cis women. If so we certainly should lower our food intake compared to what it was before starting HRT, all other things being equal.
Any opinion, advice or feedback on this subject?

Yes it does change our metabolism, so some things should be changed. Less burgers, more lettuce [emoji13]

Quote from: LiliFee on April 08, 2017, 04:58:28 AM
Yes it does change our metabolism, so some things should be changed. Less burgers, more lettuce [emoji13]

At what point should we make that change?  My dietitian that is working with me for weight loss hasn't told me that we needed to adjust for HRT, at least not yet.

But that could be why my weight loss has slowed so much.

Estrogen for me, slowed down my metabolism tremendously. I would say eat 1/2 of what you ate, but keep up your physical activity as usual, You should be ok after that.  Before hrt Artesia, if you can, since once on hrt, it will be twice as hard bringing down your weight, my experience.

Quote from: LiliFee on April 08, 2017, 04:58:28 AM
Yes it does change our metabolism, so some things should be changed. Less burgers, more lettuce [emoji13]

Foreal. My body keeps telling me this in more ways than one, and I keep not listening 

I actually don't think my metabolic rate has changed much - that is to say, calories out seems about the same. However, how I get those calories makes a huge difference in how I feel physically, emotionally, how well my digestive tract works, even my skin tone is noticeably different (true story! I've had comments!).

If I eat vegetarian I feel like a million bucks. The larger portion of my diet that comes from meat, the worse I feel and function. And I've always been practically carnivorous, so either my taste-buds are like - "wth is this crap" or my body is like "wth is this crap".

I really need to quit eating for pleasure and start forcing myself to eat things I'm not overly fond of the taste/texture of. As it is, I often go for as long as I can without eating, and then get fast food when I feel like it's getting to the causing problems stage. When really I should've just had some damn eggs (or god forbid, fruits and vegetables!) before I left the house.

I suck at being a chick
Or an adult. Whichever way you wanna look at it 

Quote from: SonadoraXVX on April 08, 2017, 06:58:10 AM
I would say eat 1/2 of what you ate, but keep up your physical activity as usual, You should be ok after that.

1/2 is a lot ! You mean that if your calories intake was e.g. 2500 calories before HRT you would eat 1250 calories only once on HRT ? That's a near-starvation diet !

Eating is chemistry! You need a verities of veg and fruit to power your lower bowels to keep the microorganism healthy! 2500 hundred is a healthy amount to target for. Just try and have your foods more on alkaline side than acidic. Acidic food tends to drive inflammation! Live healthy and happy!
Dr Eric Berg, Nutrition Facts org and (Dr Sircus! YouTube) They have nothing to do with transitioning but only stand to reason that it will be easier to keep your body healthy for transitioning!


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Listen to your body and try and eat the right, healthy foods as much as possible. Estradiol, in and of itself, according to the scientific literature, helps keep the weight off the waist while indirectly, through increasing (upregulating) progesterone receptors, increases how much fat is stored in the glutes, thighs, breasts and other regions, this is why women gain so much fat during pregnancy and these are fat stores for the baby, for when the mother will breastfeed. This, at least, is my understanding.

I personally don't adhere to hypocaloric approach as it is frustrating mentally, can be hard to keep up, makes you terribly hungry and tired, irritable and can, over time, rob you of nutrients you need. My 2 cents.

In addition, it's possible too little testosterone can result in excess weight gain so keeping T at a reasonable level *may* help.

Thanks to all of you for your replies.

Quote from: KayXo on April 08, 2017, 07:54:34 AM
I personally don't adhere to hypocaloric approach as it is frustrating mentally, can be hard to keep up, makes you terribly hungry and tired, irritable and can, over time, rob you of nutrients you need. My 2 cents.

As male I should eat 2300 calories, given my height, my weight and my activity rate (according to Mifflin-St Jeor formula). As female I should eat 2000 calories only. However eating 2100 or more calories raises my weight. Eating 2000 calories or less I feel hungry most of the time. I can't believe that 100 calories only can make such a difference. I probably should eat my fill and search for the reason of my weight increase...

QuoteIn addition, it's possible too little testosterone can result in excess weight gain so keeping T at a reasonable level *may* help.

That's might be the reason. The AA I take (bicalutamide) is quite effective and blocks most of my testosterone. Perhaps I should lower my dosage in order to have more active testosterone.

While many people find they lose weight on low carb/high fat, I found it was the opposite for me and upon increasing my carbs, I QUICKLY (a few weeks) lost all the weight I had gained, around 15 lbs. Remains a mystery to me...

Progesterone can also cause weight gain.

Quote from: KayXo on April 08, 2017, 08:30:28 AM
While many people find they lose weight on low carb/high fat, I found it was the opposite for me and upon increasing my carbs, I QUICKLY (a few weeks) lost all the weight I had gained, around 15 lbs. Remains a mystery to me...

How much carbs do you eat each day (on average) ?

Quote
Progesterone can also cause weight gain.

I tried to lower my progesterone dosage but I did not feel well.

Quote from: Lucie on April 08, 2017, 08:38:54 AM
How much carbs do you eat each day (on average) ?

Around 100-200 grams. I once consumed no carbs at all for at least 9 continuous months. This is when I gained most of my weight.

QuoteI tried to lower my progesterone dosage but I did not feel well.

Interestingly, I did too recently and feel BETTER. Taking once daily vs twice daily. No change in weight though, YET and this, despite adding a little testosterone too to my regimen recently.

In theory and in practice don't always match.

Your metabolism my get lower after a time, but it takes a while and it really doesn't get much lower.  Last week I averaged 2800 cal per day at 163 lbs and still managed to lose a little weight.  (That was about 300 cal more than my plan LOL.  I got weak a couple times)

Mostly it's going to depend on what you eat.  If you eat a lot of carbs and particularly a lot of sugar you will retain or gain weight easily.  If you eat few carbs and a lot of good fat you can eat more without gaining weight and you can easily lose weight.  It's not calories in minus calories out but rather the effect that the different macro nutrients have on your hormonal regulation system.

Last week my macro nutrient daily average was 79 g carb with 31 g fiber for 48 g net carbs, 147 g protein, and 217 g fat.  The fat was all natural fats with zero manufactured vegetable oils.  It came from a variety of sources including meat, fish, eggs, butter, nuts, cheese, avocados, olive oil, and coconut oil.


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

MtF HRT does tend to lower metabolic rate in many people.  I have gone from over 2000 kcal/day to 1470 kcal/day to hold my weight steady, but that is just my particular case.

Ultimately, you need to adjust your food intake to YOUR individual needs.  I doubt that at a fine level of detail any two of us has identical responses and metabolic needs.

I use an app (MyFitnessPal) to track everything I eat, and monitor my activity with gadgetry.  That's how I found that I needed my particular base food intake to hold MY weight steady.  I do adjust my intake slightly when I am exerting myself.

It raised my metabolism.

 . . . and yet another reason it's great to be trans.  We are way more weight conscious (healthier) than the general public.!

. . . and we don't smoke. Mostly.

Quote from: Deborah on April 08, 2017, 11:12:24 AM
Your metabolism my get lower after a time, but it takes a while and it really doesn't get much lower.  Last week I averaged 2800 cal per day at 163 lbs and still managed to lose a little weight.  (That was about 300 cal more than my plan LOL.  I got weak a couple times)

Mostly it's going to depend on what you eat.  If you eat a lot of carbs and particularly a lot of sugar you will retain or gain weight easily.  If you eat few carbs and a lot of good fat you can eat more without gaining weight and you can easily lose weight.  It's not calories in minus calories out but rather the effect that the different macro nutrients have on your hormonal regulation system.

Last week my macro nutrient daily average was 79 g carb with 31 g fiber for 48 g net carbs, 147 g protein, and 217 g fat.  The fat was all natural fats with zero manufactured vegetable oils.  It came from a variety of sources including meat, fish, eggs, butter, nuts, cheese, avocados, olive oil, and coconut oil.

I am on a ketogenic diet (< 30g carbs, 65-85g proteins, 170-200g fats) with mostly animal proteins and fats, organic as far as possible. I have been on this diet since the beginning of my transition, which one I started 19 months ago. I lost 2 kg during the first 3 months, and then my weight remained stable until last december. Then, I started to regain some weight and my belly is no longer as flat as it was previously :-(. It's strange because nothing at all has changed either in my diet or in my hrt. My daily intake was 2300 calories on average until the end of March. Since that time I have decreased my intake to 2000 calories. It's too early to tell whether this decrease had the expected effect on my weight. But I don't feel as well now as I did when I ate 2300 calories/day (more anxious, more tired).
I must tell that my mind is presently very busy with choosing a surgeon and getting a date for my srs on one side, and with the official change of my first names on civil registrars and renewing of all my personal documents (this is quite complicated and cumbersome in my country) on an other side. Perhaps the stress that these worries produces on me plays a role in having my weight unstable, who knows?

Quote from: Angélique LaCava on April 08, 2017, 11:51:59 AM
It raised my metabolism.

Angélique, how did you know that your metabolism has raised ?

Quote from: Jane Emily on April 08, 2017, 12:09:24 PM
. . . and yet another reason it's great to be trans.  We are way more weight conscious (healthier) than the general public.!

I'd rather say that being trans and being on hormonotherapy is a good reason to have a healthy lifestyle. 

Quote. . . and we don't smoke. Mostly.

For my part I have not been smoking for 31 years.

Quote from: Lucie on April 08, 2017, 04:40:25 AM
I am wondering whether HRT makes our basal metabolic rate decrease down to the level of cis women. If so we certainly should lower our food intake compared to what it was before starting HRT, all other things being equal.
Any opinion, advice or feedback on this subject?

The amount of food you should need daily is still going to depend primarily on your body mass provided your thyroid is in healthy order. I noticed metabolic changes from HRT, but it's the body size vs intake you need to watch really since you can offset slower metabolism by being more active. You will need to adjust for your own circumstance and goals.