Weight loss important or not?

[Guest Astrosmurf]

Still waiting for my appointment with endo before I can start hormones. In the meantime I had another appointment with GT and asked him about how realistic it is to think that belly fat (m2f I'm talking) gets redistributed to other places. He said it does, to whatever extent, differing for different folks. I'm not massive but I have put on a few pounds and been taking steps to reduce it before starting HRT

The reason I asked him is that I always hear two different things on this. Some say the fat shifts, others say you have to lose all your weight first otherwise you'll be stuck with a pot belly forever and you'll have way less energy to go out and burn fat off? Or, Does it just stay as it always is: eat less and exercise and you'll lose weight whether you're on hormones or not?

What have people here experienced?

I asked GT About the energy thing too, and he seemed to think that was bull. I was worried about losing drive (everyday drive, not sex drive, I know male sex drive diminishes), I was worried with all the transgender m2f who say they feel calmer after stating HRT, like maybe it wasn't so much that the brain was getting in-line with the body but more like when you fix a Tom cat and it mellows right out ( sorry for crude analogy) . . . But, GT was great about that, he pointed out that anxiety is actually way way more common in women than men, so the calm feeling much more likely to be caused by new body/brain harmony etc. in his opinion.

[Carolyn Marie]

I think you will get a lot of different responses, hon. In my case, my weight increased, but I believe some of that was due to changes in my diabetes medicine, but also partly due to the HRT. I what ratio I have no idea. The Spiro had other undesirable effects, which disappeared after my orchi.

I did not notice any decrease in energy after beginning HRT, and in fact, my energy level seemed to increase quite a bit, in part, I think, to increased life satisfaction and general happiness increasing, and the lowering of stress i experienced after my successful transition.

I wish you luck, hon.

HUGS

Carolyn Marie

[VickySGV]

Even after starting HRT, if you lose fat from a male spot, but put the tonnage back on, it will "tend" to be distributed in a female location. I go through cycles getting a few pounds taken off and then something happens and I regain the weight. Since the this began 6 years ago I have seen a re-distribution. From front on I have a feminine waist, but from the side I still have some belly blubber, but I do keep carving it down a bit. None of my fat replacement has hit my boobs yet, and by now that will not happen.

I did experience some loss of muscle strength and bulk which made it a bit harder to do some exercise, but I did not have less energy as a whole, but what happened was that it was not the nervous energy that I had as a male, and the energy was not on the male show off stuff. I could still walk a 4 mile course in a reasonable time, but I was not focused on the distance, just the world around me.

[Charlize]

I lost a good bit of weight before starting HRT for heal reasons. It was mostly lost by changing my diet and removing as much fat from my diet as possible. HRT has indeed caused some loss of muscle mass. I'm not as strong as i was but at 67 it is hard to say how much of that is caused by age, health or HRT. I don't think fat has shifted but the mass that was muscle is now a thin layer of subcutaneous fat that smooths my skin and soften my features.

Getting rid of a pot is always a good healthy choice, regardless.

Hugs,

Charlize

[Guest Raya]

Well, I'm playing it safe and losing the belly first. Almost where I want to be now, but would still like to shift some waist up and down, if the redistribution could work that way. I don't know if I will need to add some fat to get curved, I'd rather not but???

[Guest]

If you have a huge energy loss you may have too high of dosages of spiro and progesterone.

Energy levels may dip slightly as your body rapidly changes, maybe more for older folks. Loosing the weight first sure couldn't hurt. Hug. JodyAnn

[Guest AllisonRae]

I started loosing weight and speed walking/running prior to being close to starting HRT. I also quit smoking when st the same time. That was almost 8 months ago. I am within 15 lbs of my weight loss objective for this year and am into my 3rd week of HRT. My weight loss is still steady to date and the only thing I have noticed since starting HRT is that my endurance dipped slightly. It seems almost back to normal now. Everything I have read indicates that I should continue to shead belly fat and if I gain any back it will be in the thighs and hips. To day I have noticed little change in strength.

Hugs

Allison

[Guest Kayla Grace]

StephanieVikingGirl and I are doing a bit of a study on this. Her and I seem to think that those with lower fat percentages have better results with HRT as a whole. Though this is just a speculation and can't be proven. While I personally think that with less fat to move around, it will be quicker, one could also say that the less fat you have, the harder it will be since there's not very much. I can't even really attest to my own results since I'm losing fat as well.

I asked my endo this very question, and he said losing the gut shouldn't be an issue on HRT granted you don't have other factors in play. But he doesn't think the HRT in itself will cause weight gain. It's very well possible and both of us could be wrong. As for the strength and bulk cut, I can't say I've noticed any bulk cuts, but the spiro certainly gave me a strength cut. The estrodiol is likely going to give me one aswell. I've only been on Spiro for 2 months and E for 2 weeks though.

Generally as Charlize and Jody directly said, losing weight is never a bad thing - as long as it's done healthily. If you decide losing is what you need to do, I have guides and a video posted on my profile. I wish you luck regardless of whichever you choose to do

Stay safe,

Kayla <3

[Guest Astrosmurf]

Thanks so much all. Guess will just have to try and lose a bit more, but not stress about it, and see what happens.

.

Liked this statement a lot, Vicky Can relate to this even without hormones!