So, I am curious how fast the muscle loss comes about.  I haven't noticed anything yet (hasn't even been a week yet), but I am just trying to figure out when I should start to notice muscle loss.

Anybody care to share how long it took for them?

For me the muscle loss was one of the only noticable changes hrt has had. I think it started happening after a few months, but I was always very weak to begin with. I started noticing it big time when I had to get my little sister, who's only five feet and tiny, to lift our Christmas tree so we could decorate it.

I still haven't lived that one down! 

It might depend on how fit and active you are though. Maybe you'll get more muscle loss if your not using them often?

in a year i lost a large amount of upper muscle and 50% drop in strength

thighs and legs followed much slower, i would say 2 years but female legs now too. i can only lift around 40lb in line with a bio female of my similar size.

i think it would matter from the point you started to how long so if you were a body builder it obviously would take much longer than a slimer person. the non effects of T though will take their toll just need to be patient and enjoy it

Well, for me, I am not super active, but I do a bit of rock climbing, right now (weather wise, mostly indoor) bouldering, which is pretty muscle intensive.  When it is less cold out, I do sport climbing outside, and some bouldering outside.  I have a pretty solid upper body, not ripped, but just tone.  Not that I am super worried.  For me, climbing is about the experience, not achieving super hard routes.

I am worried though because my arms at their current look rather masculine.  I know there are plenty of female climbers, but they just dont seem to have massive arms.  I just want my arms to get into female norms, and not look like they are bulging veiny male arms.

I guess I should also add that I am 5'9 and 145lbs (ish).

For me I lost a lot at first where it was hard for me to build muscle. So my biceps, forearms, chest, abs, and calves were the first to get smaller. For my shoulder, upper back, neck, and thigh have gotten smaller recently which is over a year of partial hrt and at a year of full hrt. I was dieting so I had significant strength loss and gotten a little hurt from not knowing what I could lift so be careful.

Anna

I'll Ditto Ms Delgado as to muscle loss.  I've about the same experence and 40 pounds is HEAVY now.  A side benefit is the shoulder blades tend to pull in due to muscle loss.  That was a pleasant surprise.

Beni

Women climbers totally rock!

But, no trad for you, Valerie? It's definitely my favorite.

~Alyssa

I think the annoying thing is that although muscle loss inevitably occurs as a result of hrt, bone structure stays the same unless one is transitioning at an early age. Therefore if like me you have wide shoulders, I'm sorry but you will still have wide shoulders! Just a bit less muscular that's all. Thankfully it is possible to disguise them by careful choice of clothes and women come in all shapes and sizes anyway.

Quote from: Alyssa M. on March 04, 2009, 12:47:41 AM
Women climbers totally rock!

But, no trad for you, Valerie? It's definitely my favorite.

~Alyssa

Trad is a little scary, in my opinion.  I'll stick to sport, at least for now.  I have some friends that are really into trad.  This spring I might try trad out some, but we will see.

Quote from: helenr13 on March 04, 2009, 03:21:04 AM
I think the annoying thing is that although muscle loss inevitably occurs as a result of hrt, bone structure stays the same unless one is transitioning at an early age. Therefore if like me you have wide shoulders, I'm sorry but you will still have wide shoulders! Just a bit less muscular that's all. Thankfully it is possible to disguise them by careful choice of clothes and women come in all shapes and sizes anyway.

I actually got lucky when I was younger, and broke my collarbone really badly.  It is a little bump now, but on the bright side, it shortened my shoulder width by a little more than an inch.  My left shoulder is definitely smaller than my right.

I'm definately loosing some upper body muscle. Been on HRT for a year and a half. Opening jars has been noticably more difficult. I might actually need a man in my life now just for such things ;-)
I was never for lifting big things anyway at 5'8" and 135 lbs....

I haven`t lost anything in a year and some months. I was a mason before I started transition though. I do know that I am out of the norm. I have no changes from HRT . ( I have currently given up on transition, kind of sad)

I've been on HRT for 9 months and there isn't much of a visual difference but I do have trouble with things that were easy before, e.g. 20lt Oil tins and boxes of drinks at work. I'd say I feel about half as strong...not that there's any real way to quantify it.

On the shoulders, well the bone structure does not change.  But the shoulder blades are supported by muscle. It looks like my reduced muscle mass caused the shoulder blades to fall in just a bit.  How do I know?.  I found that several guy jackets (motorcycle and fowl weather)  that use to fit me across the shoulders were now tents.  That was weird to notice.  I'd like to put it don't to weight loss, but I've not loss much weight yet.

Beni

@ OP:

I started out from being quite muscular from weights and martial arts training, but now about two years in (two years on AA's, one on E), I've lost much of my strength, though I still am quite bulky - my mom says I've lost alot of bulk but I don't see it, so I suppose it also has alot to do with body-image. Don't trust your own estimation - find somebody you can trust but haven't seen in a while once you've been on HRT for a while - a year is good, and see what their reaction is.

The reason female builders are not as built is because they don't have much T in their bodies to begin with, so the bulk they do add is much less unless they are taking steroids, and most of the strength they are adding comes from muscle adaptation - there's a mechanism called neuromuscular proprioception that forces your muscles to recruit more nerves and use your muscle more efficiently. One can also train specifically to develop better NP, but I've not tried that since on HRT yet, basically because I don't want to do anything to maintain bulk, which is sadly quite easy for me (I'm an endomorph). I'm at this point just concentrating on losing bulk, staying active through stretching and light forms training and dance and stuff, and then I can always reintroduce martial arts and strength training later.

Mina.

at almost 5 months I've noticed some loss in ability to lift but not mass really except in my shoulders.  but then again I'm loosing a lot of weight at the same time, so it's hard to tell what is muscle and what if just fat.

Remember that muscle weights more than fat.

I am 3 months HRT and in a waiting mode I suppose.  I have combined this with a diet, losing 32 pounds and before you shout, I am 6'2" and at 196 pounds now so I could survive that kind of weight loss without health problems. 

Muscle mass is going somewhat.  I still have to take out the garbage, and a huge garbage bag full, the one I could easily sling into the recepticle one handed, now takes two hands and a lot of effort.  And my legs have gotten bigger but weaker, especially up top.  My ankle bones and knobby kness have disappeared - so no more bird legs like a man, and they fleshed out. 

A big change was my face which lost all its angularity and softened.

My shoulders changed - I was surprised, and I guess it was the loss of muscular support and they droop a bit - so none of my coats fit well.  But surpsingly, my rings sizes shrank at least one size?  I suppose we have muscle and fat loss in our fingers.

But most dramatically was I now have a waist.  I cannot take off my jeans without loostening the belt and unsnapping the button.  Thats brand new.  My waist went from 42" to 36", and my hips stayed 41"

But I still have a muscle brain I think - hard headed and full of gristle

My therapist said I have had a quick and reponsive reaction to HRT.  So my results may not be typical, but I am older, so that was a pleasant surprise.

Quote from: Beni on March 04, 2009, 09:31:08 PM
On the shoulders, well the bone structure does not change.  But the shoulder blades are supported by muscle. It looks like my reduced muscle mass caused the shoulder blades to fall in just a bit.  How do I know?.  I found that several guy jackets (motorcycle and fowl weather)  that use to fit me across the shoulders were now tents.  That was weird to notice.  I'd like to put it don't to weight loss, but I've not loss much weight yet.

Beni

Its funny Beni after you mentioned shoulder blades i looked at mine and they do not stick out any longer. I also have very much slimmed chest and shoulders, my collarbone area matches up very nicely with the muscle loss and general feminisation that occured.

I am still looking for someone to carry those damm shopping bags

I want it all gone...   

Quote from: Elizabeth K on March 05, 2009, 03:37:11 PM
I am 3 months HRT and in a waiting mode I suppose.  I have combined this with a diet, losing 32 pounds and before you shout, I am 6'2" and at 196 pounds now so I could survive that kind of weight loss without health problems. 

Muscle mass is going somewhat.  I still have to take out the garbage, and a huge garbage bag full, the one I could easily sling into the recepticle one handed, now takes two hands and a lot of effort.  And my legs have gotten bigger but weaker, especially up top.  My ankle bones and knobby kness have disappeared - so no more bird legs like a man, and they fleshed out. 

A big change was my face which lost all its angularity and softened.

My shoulders changed - I was surprised, and I guess it was the loss of muscular support and they droop a bit - so none of my coats fit well.  But surpsingly, my rings sizes shrank at least one size?  I suppose we have muscle and fat loss in our fingers.

But most dramatically was I now have a waist.  I cannot take off my jeans without loostening the belt and unsnapping the button.  Thats brand new.  My waist went from 42" to 36", and my hips stayed 41"

But I still have a muscle brain I think - hard headed and full of gristle

My therapist said I have had a quick and reponsive reaction to HRT.  So my results may not be typical, but I am older, so that was a pleasant surprise.

All that in three months? I'm impressed Elizabeth