Appetite on T?

[Guest shaubjd]

Hey y'all.

I've been on T for about 8 days and have become ravenously hungry--basically having to eat every couple hours. Not just a banana or some oatmeal either, I'm craving bacon cheeseburgers and mexican food, really unhealthy stuff.

Has anyone else experienced this and have some suggestions for how to curb the appetite? I'm trying to use T as an opportunity to improve my help.

Thanks,

James

[JJ]

Hi James

Your body thinks you are now a growing boy and needs to eat accordingly. I found low cal things I enjoyed-like those 90 calorie chewy granola bars Quaker makes.Find something you like along that line. Things with oats and nuts are excellent for keeping appetite at bay. I eat about 6 times a day but keep it low cal. And for all that it increases appetite it will also increase metabolism as long as you increase activity with it. Take advantage of the extra stamina and strength that will also be developing. I discovered early on that moving and exercising felt good in a way it never had before and I used that to the max. Lost 170 plus lbs even though on T with that appetite and well over 60.

Hope some of this helps

Johnny

[Guest findthefire]

I discovered early on that moving and exercising felt good in a way it never had before and I used that to the max. Lost 170 plus lbs even though on T with that appetite and well over 60.

JJ-

that is both very inspiring, and exciting.

I was worried that I wouldn't pass very well, because I'm about twenty-five pounds overweight, and most of that weight is gathered in more feminine areas.

I've been trying to lose the weight for years, but it just doesn't want to come off. And, when it does come off, it doesn't want to stay off. I'm also vegetarian, and thus, eat more carbs than a normal guy would, so I think that probably plays a roll in my weight. But I digress.

I'm extremely excited to start T now, however far off that may be. Til then, do you have any advice as far as getting rid of hip fat, lovehandles, etc.?

I've seen you talking about your transition, regarding weight distribution, in other parts of the site. Do things like hip binders actually work? Or is it that if lose weight once you're on T, you don't get it back in feminine areas?

Thank you for taking the time to read, sorry for interrupting the thread a little.

[JJ]

There's good news and bad news sort of. We are blessed that hormones determine fat storage patterns. The bad news is that till you are onT your fat will come off in female areas last. And some areas like breasts can be almost impossible to significantly reduce. I found hips to be pretty stubborn too. Can't believe when I look in the mirror now and see the shape I worked so hard and never could get before because even when rail thin I was curvy.

But when on T any fat I may regain will go on male places like my belly first and those hips and hated chest areas last. Yea! It will also be more likely to go to muscle with exercise.

Yes binders do work-to varying extent. I found they worked better when I was larger than they do now. There is no longer any fat on my ribcage and so it is harder to compress my chest so that it isn't visible. At least to me. That is one thing I haven't liked about the weight loss. Even though they have kind of become mudflaps and headed further south they don't have a belly to blend into anymore either. They are my greatest source of dysphoria. Being asthmatic and liking to be active, binding creates real problems. Not binding in public is unbearable. A conundrum I haven't fully solved yet. I wouldn't of course but am only human and do have fantasies of taking a pair of hedge clippers to them.

And while it is technically true that when you lose weight it comes off everywhere it has been my experience that even when not ion T you can to some extent influence where it comes off by exercising the area where you want to lose more. Some Drs do believe that exercising an area helps break down the fat there -look at people who sit a lot and where they put on fat. Hips and belly-and there is an unmistakable pattern.

There is an exercise you can do where you sit on the floor with your legs flat and walk forward on your backside. I found that helped a lot to reduce hips. I think part of it may be that toned muscle looks smaller. Also though it is harder to build muscle without T it can be done and building arms and shoulders-upper body will make your other parts look smaller.

From what I understand muscle requires lots of protein to build and that can be a challenge on a vegetarian diet. You may need to do some tracking on a place like Livestrong.com to be sure you are getting enough protein to build muscle and fuel weight loss. I know that on this weight loss regimen I can't build muscle as well due to my nutrition level. And when I exercise more than usual my body makes me feel like I am starving to death for days because it wants to build muscle and doesn't have the necessary ingredients. It's a matter of finding a balance I think. Tip that balance and you feel it. I want to lose to a little below where I want to be and then up the nutrition and do some weights based exercising to build more muscle.

Hope I answered your questions. If not give me a heads up. I sometimes get to talking and miss things

Johnny