Quote from: fionabell on December 29, 2011, 05:31:19 PM
Men get beefy when they don't constantly exercise.
This. Not all men, of course, but many. I've gained weight in the 8 to 9 odd months I've been on T, but it's muscle. I was at 17% body fat when I started T, and now I'm at about 10%. I'm bigger (especially in my shoulders and arms), but still small-ish overall. I'd say 'wiry' describes me well.
My diet changed; I eat a lot more, but I also work out 4-5 times a week. I do 30-45 minutes of cardio at least 3 times a week, I walk 2+ miles on most of the days I don't, and I do weight lifting/pull-ups/push-ups/core work 3 times a week.
As for my face, sometimes it looks puffier than others, and that's water retention for sure, probably HRT related. Overall though, my face isn't fatter. It's thicker in places, but thinner over all I think. My cheeks thinned out a bit, and my jawline looks sharper. Somehow I have a 'blockier' look to my face though, but it's subtle. I do think the 'bloat' from water retention is responsible for a lot of guys on T having fatter faces though.
Testosterone definitely has the potential to make some people gain weight without diet or activity change, it depends on one's genetics. The guys in my family have fast metabolisms and tend to be ectomorphs, and I think I'm similar. I know several transguys who have gained fat though, and they're starting to exercise to get some of it off. That's probably a necessity for many, no matter what their diet is.