So I was super muscular a few months ago and put myself on a diet to get rid of the muscles, I also started spiro more than a month ago; I have dropped enough weight that my clothes don't fit anymore, I think I'm almost 2 sizes smaller than I was back in March/April. Anyways I started estradiol yesterday, when is it ok to quit the diet so I can gain weight in the right female areas? I like being skinny but I do look kinda tired and some people even wonder if I'm OK since the change was very drastic. I think I'm ready to put some weight back on but if it's gonna go to the same male places than before then of course I won't do it.

Quote from: Charlie Nicki on July 10, 2017, 01:52:46 PM
So I was super muscular a few months ago and put myself on a diet to get rid of the muscles, I also started spiro more than a month ago; I have dropped enough weight that my clothes don't fit anymore, I think I'm almost 2 sizes smaller than I was back in March/April. Anyways I started estradiol yesterday, when is it ok to quit the diet so I can gain weight in the right female areas? I like being skinny but I do look kinda tired and some people even wonder if I'm OK since the change was very drastic. I think I'm ready to put some weight back on but if it's gonna go to the same male places than before then of course I won't do it.

Hi Charlie Nicki, I just started estradiol also, been on Spiro for a month.  I was wondering the same thing.  I'm thin now and want my girlish figure to fill out in the right places.  I'm hoping it starts in my breasts, but anywhere is fine.


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If your hormones are right then the only way to find out is to eat more and observe what happens to your body.  If you like it then eat more.  If not then back off some. 

I think we have to be careful though because we still have the fat cells in the male patterned places.  So, they may not grow back as much as before but they still get larger if you start storing fat.




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

I takes quite a while for fat distribution to assume a feminine pattern.  If you put back on the weight you lost virtually all of it will simply swell the existing fat cells where they are.  A bit will migrate to where it ought to go, but you will likely be a little dissappointed.  I know I was.  Still, being too thin is neither healthy nor very attractive. 

Maintain a health BMI between 22 and 25 and let HRT work its slow magic.  The first thing I noticed (besides breast development, was a bit of a butt!  The butt has grown even though the boobs are about done.  Most of the fat redistribution for me has come in the last year.  For the first five there was not a lot of change, but the change was celebrated and welcomed.

Guess I'm saying be patient and find delight in the small incremental changes that will come more quickly.

Peace,
Julie

For me, I found that new fat started going to the right places after six months of my hormones being within normal female range.

You can always try the yo yo trick. Gain and then lose 5 lbs over and over. Might be a safe way to test/measures fat redistribution.

As Deborah mentioned, just be aware of where the fat cells are. It's all about your body's preferences.


~Brooke~

While I was off HRT, I lost fat in my face even though I was above my proper weight range. That caused people to comment that I looked like I was losing weight. I went on a diet losing about 30 pounds however I went back on estradiol and now I am getting the comment  that I look good at this weight. If you are comfortable at the weight you currently are at, I would maintain it and wait about 1-2 years for the fat to move into your face. Then if you desire a few more pounds, that would be the time to gain what you want.

"When is it safe to gain weight back after starting hormones?"

At five minutes to boobie! 

Hugs, Devlyn

Devlyn after reading your reply I am laughing so much I can't concentrate. 

Sure glad I wasn't driving.  My car doesn't have a pair of good bumpers yet.

Quote from: Dena on July 10, 2017, 06:05:08 PM
While I was off HRT, I lost fat in my face even though I was above my proper weight range. That caused people to comment that I looked like I was losing weight. I went on a diet losing about 30 pounds however I went back on estradiol and now I am getting the comment  that I look good at this weight. If you are comfortable at the weight you currently are at, I would maintain it and wait about 1-2 years for the fat to move into your face. Then if you desire a few more pounds, that would be the time to gain what you want.

Hmmm kinda. I like feeling petit and with not much fat in me but I'm still presenting as male so I definitely look tired and a bit too skinny for a man I think. At least compared to how I was before. I would love to gain weight in my butt and thighs but I see from all of your responses that hormones will take quite a while to do that...I'm starting to think it might be better to hit the gym and focus on my lower body.

Last summer I did regain about 20 lbs, partly to see what would happen but largely out of summer heat induced laziness.  My thighs and butt did get larger but didn't really have a good shape.  My waist started getting larger too.  I have since lost all that weight gain and am now trying to get some shape down there the hard way, in the gym.  Shape is coming slowly.  Strength however is recovering quickly and my lower body lifts are nearly back to where they were the last time I spent time in the gym in 2013, pre-HRT.  That was surprising to me as I expected much lesser results without T.


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

Quote from: Brooke on July 10, 2017, 05:34:31 PM
You can always try the yo yo trick. Gain and then lose 5 lbs over and over. Might be a safe way to test/measures fat redistribution.

At a little over 3 months in, this is the approach I'm following now (when I used to be into strength training we called it calorie cycling).  I originally lost 22 pounds from the end of March when I started HRT to around mid-June.  Now I'm at a weight that I'm happy with so I'm cycling up and down about 8 lbs each time.  I raise my daily caloric intake to around 2600 calories and I gain.  Once I'm up 8 pounds I drop to 1400 calories and cut it back down.

So far I've not seen huge results but I do definitely have a more feminine waist starting to form.  I can't tell if my hips have gotten wider or if they just look wider because my waist has narrowed, but I do ultimate have a slight hourglass shape.