MTF weight loss?

[PheonyxJayde]

Hi!!!
 

I’ve recently come out to myself as transfeminine and as I prepare to get to the place where I can start HRT I’m trying to do what I can to start the process of presenting more female. I’m 6’3” and 195 pounds and would love to get down closer to 160-170 before HRT as I understand HRT makes it harder to lose weight.  I know cardio and reducing calories will be important as will exercises to build my thighs and butt. Any advice on either how to diet to lose those last 20-30 pounds or exercise to incorporate?  Thanks for the help!  ?

[Kasumi63]

Yes, I imagine most mtf transgender people struggle with this topic, and I’m no exception. I’m looking forward to hearing from others. For me, I think it’s just a matter of developing a healthy diet and lifestyle. I always do better when cooking for myself and avoiding all takeout food. I’m vegetarian but not really hardcore about it, so I focus on eating lots of veggies, avoiding sugar and greasy foods. I make my own bread, hummus, guacamole, and soups.
 

For exercise, I use an app called “Seven” and also do a lot of Pamela Reid’s YouTube routines. Working out with Pam has the advantage of feeling more feminine when working out. For both of these I focus on legs, core, butt, and abs. I’m sure you’ll want to focus on those area, too. For cardio, I used to run, but after GCS, I haven’t been able to run at all. If you swim, that’s one of the best cardio activities, but there are numerous options, so you should pick something that you love doing. Good luck to you!!

[Jackie C.]

You're absolutely right that weight loss starts in the kitchen. You're going to want to cut way, way back on animal proteins and replace them with plant-based protein. Increase your protein intake in general and try to cut down as many carbs as you can. Eggs are your new best friend.

Great, now cut down on the sugar. 15g a day is plenty.

 

You can speed the process up by burning more calories in the gym (or outdoors because it's summer now). If you've never had anyone show you how, find a personal trainer that knows what they're doing and have them teach you. Cardio helps with heart health and getting your body to burn more calories. Weight training will help you with muscle tone. It's important to do both correctly if you want to maximize the effects.

 

Hugs!

[MirandaB]

I did the whole eat less exercise more thing when I lost some weight a few years ago.  
 

But also have been helped by trying to up my standards. Instead of saying FRIES or COOKIES when I see them I now try to determine if they are quality enough to put into my body and not just an automatic response-see cake, eat cake. 
 

And the law of diminishing returns-eaxh additional bite is giving you less joy than the first, so maybe be satisfied sooner. 

[Beatriz]

I had the superpower of eating all I wanted (which was a lot!) and not gain weight. Sometime around my early thirties, I lost it and became a common mortal ? This is what works for me, along the lines of Jackie's and Rhonda's suggestions:

 

Food:

- Meat and fish only occasionally (once or twice a week). Favor eggs and tofu.
- Pasta or pizza very occasionally (once or twice a month). Bread only at breakfast (toast).
- No sugar added to anything (not even coffee)

- No sodas (perhaps once a month?)
- No fast food (perhaps once a year?)
- Lots of veggies, fruit and nuts

 

Good habits:
- Eat less and (very important for me!) wait a bit for the "full" signal to reach my brain. It takes minutes in my case. If I don't wait, I'll keep eating till I eat too much, so I'll feel stuffed by the time the signal arrives!
- If I get hungry between meals, I'll have some tea or soup. If still hungry, maybe some fruit or nuts (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts)

[Josie Beth]

It's fun to experiment with recipes that you know are disaster proof. Like this one. I made some chili with riced cauliflower, beans, guacamole and a little cheese. There's almost zero carbs, plenty of fiber and it's absolutely delicious. It is light and fluffy but also a nice mix of spicy and the coolness of the avocado. And it's cheap. I made about 3 servings for the price of one of those keto frozen dinners. The rest is going in the freezer already portioned.

[Bri2020]

I found that the key for me was simply eliminate processed food and snack.  I focused on a diet that I would enjoy eating in the beginning. I was a junk food nut and didn't like a lot of veggy based foods when I first started taking this topic seriously. I wanted to lose 50lbs before my hormones kicked in and managed to do that in 4-5 months.  I didn't work out at all.  I did take 2 nice walks a day with the dog of at least 1.5 miles each.

For food I knew that to reach my goal, I needed to be on roughly 1500-1600 Kcals a day.  I did some researching the basic calories of the things I liked to eat and wrote them down so I could quickly judge how much to each per meal.  I eliminated as much process foods as possible as well as any bread/grains except rice or quinoa but only added 1/8-1/4 cup of that to any meal once a day.  Heres a typical day:

Breakfast was 2 hard boiled eggs, 1 cup of greek yogurt and a small helping of fruit like 1 banana or 1/2 cup of berries. No FRYING ANYTHING.  

Between meal munching snacks: sliced cucumber with lemon and pepper.  Baby carrots. Sliced bell peppers. I made up enough to get me through to dinner if I needed to snack.

 

Lunch: Baked chicken ( I would bake a few breasts for the week and put them in the fridge) diced up on a salad with basically burrito fillings: Pico de Gallo, 2 tablespoons black beans, 1/4 cup spanish rice (make a cup or 2 of rice with cumin, paprika and tumeric added into the water and use all week) 1/4 avocado and some diced sweet peppers.

 

Snacks on left overs from morning

Dinner: I took the time to make a nice dinner. It would feature some steamed veggies, sauteed mushrooms (no butter- avocado oil only) Protein could be broiled shrimp, baked chicken, really lean burger meat like buffalo or elk (no more than 1 red meat meal a week) or some kind of fish, grilled or baked. If I made a burger, I made sure it was only 1/3lb at most and would really fill it up with sauteed onions and mushrooms folded into the meat then grilled.  No cheese. I would place it on half a slice of toasted bread for an open faced burger. Be sure to add lettuce, tomatoe or other veggie type toppings.  ANy meat source for the meal would be 6oz at most unless it's fish. If fish, eat as much as you want basically.

 

After dinner snack was a cereal bowl of popcorn or 150 cal worth of pretzels.  

If I got really hungry in the middle of the night I would have 1 hard boiled egg.

 

I choose not to "exercise" or "work out" because I knew I would get even hungrier and I didn't want to get to that point where I crave food.  My goal was to get used to much smaller but better quality foods.  As my diet went on, my taste buds started expanding and I branched into different healthier snacks or food. I started craving more salads for instance. I hadn't eaten a "salad" in 20 years or more before this. lol.  

Small, quality and tasty portions, and eaten deliberately and savored. Put the fork down between bites and enjoy what you are eating. By slowing down you give you body time to tell your brain you are satiated.

 

I was HUNGRY for about a month with this plan. But I was seeing weight changes every day in the beginning which keeps you moving forward.  Eventually, my body reset what it thought I should eat and I got used to that few calories

I found the key is to take the time on Sundays or whatever to pre make most of what you can use for breakfasts and lunches and daily snacks.  Make HB eggs, rice, some skinless chicken breasts and slice up veggies for snacks or have the "snack sized" prepackaged veggy snacks and such.     Then in the mornings I would pack up my "calories" for the day in an insulated lunch bag and I didn't eat anything that didn't come out of the bag until I got home for dinner.

Good luck and yea, lose that weight now, it's real hard without Testosterone.

 

[Melissa Mazurek]

First thing you need to do is cut out ALL processed foods.  No breads, cereals, cookies, or 'empty' carbs.  Substitute with whole grain carbs--steel cut oatmeal, sweet potatoes, quinoa, brown rice (in limited quantities).  Cut out all pork and red meat.  My daily diet consists of either 4oz smoked salmon with sliced tomatoes, or two eggs and a banana followed by a salad with chicken breast meat for lunch and usually fish, brown rice, and more veggies for dinner.  No desserts.  No pop.  No alcohol.  Lots of water.  You will shed pounds doing this alone.  Do cardio and core for a workout.  Planks, situps, biking, running, squats, yoga, Pilates.  Mix it up.  The key here is discipline, and most people have a really, really hard time sticking to these diet and exercise routines.  I did a body building show 10 years ago and went from 185 to 145 in two months on a very restrictive diet.  I was also at 4% body fat at the time of the show---which sucks.  There is good news here.  One day per week you get a 'cheat' day.  You can eat what you want.  Just don't let ONE cheat day turn into a cheat weekend!  In Bri's post above, she is spot on with the trick, too.  

[Guest]

Melissa,

 

Good tip on the cereal. I got into a groove where I still eat my Raisin Bran, but I may change to oatmeal. I stopped all alcohol and rarely eat any bread now. I also avoid rice like the plague. I have been doing the intermittent fasting routine and I have lost about 35 pounds so far. I want to lose another 150. I have never been a big believer in vitamins, however, now that I am cutting my calories, I am taking a multivitamin. Vitamin deficiencies can affect hair, connective tissue, skin, and bone density. I suspect my cholesterol levels will be pretty much within normal limits. I want to get as lean as possible before taking HRT. That way, when I put weight back on, hopefully it goes to the right places.

Sincerely

Katie

[dandy1harper]

I don’t know how healthy it is for others but for me personally is working.

I am taking supplements (wellabs) and eat around 1000kcal a day (mostly protein, low carb). I’ve lost 12kg so far since I’ve started, the 16th of November and I feel great, I don’t feel hungry like I used to and I have a lot of energy.

[Guest]

Hi dandy,

 

I am using a low carb/modified keto/low calorie diet (between 1000 and 1200 cals). There will be some variation. I am finding similar results. It depends on how much I hit the treadmill or walk around with a backpack loaded up. I am on estradiol valerate as well as spironolactone. The weight keeps going down. I will never let myself go like I did. I love the changes that are happening to me. I actually very much care about my health now. 

 

I am thrilled with the progress for the past two months. Once you eradicate the majority of carbs, the typical hunger cycle goes way down, and yes, the energy levels go up. It just takes the willpower. I hope you have a great journey!

 

Sincerely

Katie