BMI and Transitioning MtF

[Autumn]

I had myself weighed today and according to the BMI calculation I am slightly overweight (at 11 stone 6 ounces weight and 5ft 6in height). What effect will this have when transitioning. Is it good to have some extra fat before transitioning for your body to play around with(so to speak) or do I need to lose weight now before I start any hormone treatment?

[Charlize]

I had to look up what a stone weighs in lbs.. 14 that would make you 154pounds 6 ounces at 5'6". It does not sound like you are terribly overweight but please do realize that it os often harder to loose weight as a woman because of the loss of muscle mass. You will also need fewer calories for that reason after starting HRT. It might be a good idea to watch your diet. Please talk to your doctors for their advice as well.

Hugs,

Charlize

[Autumn]

slight mistake, that should have been 11 stone 6 pounds, so. that would make me 160lbs. Yeah. I'll put this on the list of things to discuss with my doctor next time I see her.

[Guest]

Don't freak out and obsess over it, just keep an eye on the diet and exercise activity level. The weight does stick to me now much more than before. Compare notes with other local women too. We all fight that battle, much more as we age. Avoid fad diets and pill fixes, focus on your upcoming good changes.

The up side is the gifts the Boob Fairy will bless you with. There's a few joyful pounds added! Hope for that wonderful bouncy jiggly fun to have weight that makes you different from the boys. Also a little extra fat is good to have something to migrate to the right places. (Although unfortunately I have some in the very middle that seams to refuse to be evicted to my back end. Drat!) You will be fine, so enjoy your journey! Giggle. Hug. JodyAnn

[Guest]

Also BTW, if you indulge in beer, loose that taste pronto, no need to chunk on any more plys to the spare tire in the middle. I guess that goes without saying for a lot of junk food. I'll be a good Grandma here and recommend you eat all your fresh veggies. LOL! You go girl!

[Ravin]

One thing is that if you lose weight either way, if you start to gain it back (or you gain additional weight generally), it will tend to deposit in a more female pattern after you start HRT--hips/butt along with tummy, although there's no guarantee about losing belly fat as both sexes tend to accumulate it with age--and losing weight generally might be more challenging.

[StephanieVikingGirl]

Weight is a very individual thing, so it pays to know oneself. Apparently I never had much testosterone (due to an intersex condition), and yet I was a natural athlete with extremely long arms and legs. I actually lost weight during transition. I went from a lean, muscular 190 lbs to a slender athletic 180 lbs at my current height of 5'10". Since I had very low body fat levels at the start, as I have gained subcutaneous fat, it has gone rather evenly between my breasts, hips, and stomach, along with a smooth layer over my long limbs. I think that I lost a lot of muscle, but that is fine by me. I love the way I look and sound now, I feel very comfortable in public, for the first time in my life I seem kinda "normal".

hugs,

Stephanie

[Autumn]

small update on this. Since posting I have cut out most sugar from my diet and most recent weighing puts me at 10 stone and 13.6lbs plus or minus 0.4lbs.

or in lbs only: 153.6 plus or minus 0.4lbs.

so I've lost about 6lbs in 10 days. I think that's good.

[Guest KerryUK]

Hi Autumn,

I think that's very good.

I'm 5' 5'' tall and managed to keep my weight around 9 1/2 stone prior to starting HRT. Even then, I did have a somewhat chunky waist. I am now at 3 years on HRT and 2 years post op and my weight hovers around 9 1/2 stone to 10 stone. My waist is somewhat more defined (because some of my fat has redistributed so my hips are slightly rounder and my legs are more feminine) but the hardest part to budge is the tummy - this seems to be the first to bulk out and the last to go down. If you look at cis girls though, many of them have tummies.

Kerry

[Autumn]

I'd be extatic if I got down to 9 1/2 stone. 10 is my target weight, then the next battle will be keeping it steady around there. I've got a long wait before starting hormones though if I continue to go the NHS route(at least 6 months). And at the moment I have little choice in the matter. The silver lining is I can use the higher metabolism to help me get the weight off where I want it while I wait for HRT.

[Guest Clair Dufour]

I would rather talk dress size than height or weight as there is so much genetic about this. I have friends who are 5-11 and are a size 6 US and others who are shorter and in the plus sizes and who also pass very well. That said, if one wants have a female body one should eat like a woman and perhaps avoid too much of that nasty dark stuff that many blokes fancy. Also, there is the matter of genes. My sisters are shorter and weigh more and have smaller breasts than I do. Something that makes me glad I only have to deal with crossdressing. That said, all things considered, body weight will move from one place to another according to ones genes when on hormones and we must accept the female version of our DNA and not what all of us wish we were. To conclude, 5-6 is in the center range of both genders, height and more or less weight is a variable regardless of sex and gender preference.