FtM diet and exercise?

[Guest kandy_kane]

I'm a 16 year old FAAB, I weigh about 134 lbs, and I'm around 5'3". I do currently identify as genderfluid, but most often than not I feel more masculine. I have a bit of body fat which I've been working desperately to rid myself of, mostly to shrink my chest size down to a size more comfortable for me, and also to eliminate some of my curves. I've been working on my diet for a long while, and have been exercising for a few months. Once in a while when I think I'm beginning to see some results, I check again the next day and it seems the body fat is still there and I can't see the muscle I'm working on building.

I realize that it takes time to see real results - I was just wondering if someone could review my diet and exercise plan and give me some feedback; things I should keep doing and things I should change. I've been working for this for a while, a few times driving myself to the point of illness (which, I know, is never a good thing). I just want it too bad. Help is much appreciated, thanks in advance.

Diet

I'm on a 1200 calorie diet, closely watching my carbs, fats, sugars, and sodium intake. I'm very strict about it on the weekdays and allow myself to cheat a little on the weekends. No late night snacking, eliminated sweets, sodas, etc. Take vitamins every day.

Exercise

I go running nearly every day for thirty minutes, right after I wake up and after ten minutes of stretching, before my breakfast. Every other day I lift weights to tone my arms, usually doing three sets with ten reps.

Again, thanks!

[Guest PeterP]

You need to eat more. 1200 calories is not a lot of calories. Your body will protect you when it feels that you are not taking in enough calories. It actually slows down your metabolism because it thinks you are starving. Exercise is good but not on an empty stomach. There is a theory that you should eat within 30 minutes of waking. This actually helps to kick up your metabolism. You should definitely should consult your doctor to get more professional advice on weight loss. Good luck.

[Guest AlyTheGreatAngel]

The 1200 is fine nothing lower then that, I think the problem is you need to change it up on the exercise! Your body gets use to it, and slows progress. Also I think you need more cardio to burn fat. To bulk up choose a weight that you're comfortable, and do about 8 of each and slowly. Do 45 minutes of strength training every other day, and cardio everyday for 1 hour. With one rest day every week. C:

[Guest again]

I agree, your calorie intake is LOW! Eat a good breakfast---mix of protein and healthy carbs with a little healthy fat. Eat something every 2 hours--just a small snack is fine between meals--100 calories or so--an apple with very small portion of cheese (protein)--one square inch is enough. Your lunch plate should consist of 1/4 healthy protein to 3/4 healthy carbs. Small snack again 2 hours later--try a little nut butter with banana or some low fat chocolate milk (perfect after workout snack). The body fat will come off eventually and you will see the muscle underneath, just so long as you are consistent with your workouts---30 minutes daily of cardio; then every other day add some FULL BODY strength/muscle training into the mix; always save your static stretches for the END of your workout to avoid injury. Just make sure you always warm up before doing your full on cardio or muscle workout. Check out the American College of Sports Medicine for more info: http://www.acsm.org/ good luck and keep up the hard work!

[Guest Kelly92]

Losing weight and gaining muscle isn't so much about dieting to lose weight as it is a life style change. If you improve your metabolism and ensure you eat good foods you shouldn't need to worry about calories. Exercise increases metabolism, as does eating. So having 3 small meals and 3 snacks is better than 3 big meals as it keeps your metabolism going. Don't burn your self out on too much exersise either. I pushed myself too hard thinking if I kept going I would build up muscle. It didn't work. I tore my muscles and now have to work twice as hard for twice as long to build myself up again. I think it's recommended to get about 30 mins LIGHT exercise every day. Light being walking. And to only work out 3 times a week, or every other day. Your muscles need some time to build up inbetween. I've recently changed my diet to try to be healthier, below is what I now do:

Breakfast: fruit and nut musli - this is full of a range of protein, fibre, and other good stuff

A fruit grain bar about 4 hours later

Lunch: a corned beef sandwich, fruit yoghurt, fruit grain bar

After work: I have a handful of my yoghurt coated fruit and nut mix (mixed nuts basically, but some raison and peanuts covered in yoghut to make them taste nicer)

Dinner: Try the meat and 2 veg rule. Red meats such as beef are good for iron but higher in fat. Chicken has almost not fat. Try different coloured veg as each colour is different nutrients

I also have vitamin tablets and drink ovaltine (a vitamin drink)

Think of it like an energy bank. You need to put some in to spend it on muscles by exercising. If you don't put enough in, your body will hold onto it and you'll get nowhere.

It's often the quality of what you eat that counts. Once I gave up my diet of crisps, cake etc I dropped a stone in about 8 weeks.

Good luck!

[JJ]

I lost 200 lbs and all my female fat on 1200 calories a day at 65 years of age BUT I was on T for part of that -estrogen ensures that a body hangs on to a layer of fat as long as possible. If you are not on T you can't lose all body fat without doing damage.

But you can lose weight and be fit. Ii actually ended up losing all body fat and my Dr wants me to gain-a concept I am having some difficulty adjusting to actually. But one of the biggest problems with eating 1200 calories a day-or any set amount is that your body will adjust to it. I took one day a week and ate anything and everything I wanted, No guilt and no counting, It keeps you from going into starvation mode or from lowering your metabolism so that you can't lose at 1200 calories a day. It also keeps you from binging or cheating. I had one day on 18 months I cheated and then only by 400 calories.

It is also vital to track exactly what you eat, I use the MyPlate feature on livestrong,com which is free. Keeping it in your head makes it too easy to misjudge or forget something, They also have a fitness component so you can see how many calories what you are doing is burning and how many calories you can eat in relation to what you do to lose the number of lbs a week you want, BTW more than 2 lbs a week is usually not considered safe or desirable, My circumstances were extreme and I would not recommend loss at that level.

I still do the eating day and tracking even though I am no longer trying to lose. It keeps me accountable and aware and I plan to do it for the rest of my life. Well worth the 15 min or so a day it takes.

I can't run because of some serious back and joint problems so I started rebuilding atrophied muscles by swimming, Hard aerobic swimming till I built up to a solid hour a day, After swim season I started hiking 3-4 hours a day-average 100 hours a month. Most people don't need that level but at 65 i did, I had been bedridden for 3 years and I actually didn't eat as much as a normal size person but my metabolism was so bad I still ended up at around 350lbs. According to my Dr I have around 40 lbs of excess skin now which may never completely resolve and can't be lost since it is an organ -my actual body weight now is approx 110.

If you have access to swimming it would make a great addition to your exercise program or a change up for you. Swimming can be the most calorie burning exercise there is and actually burns more than running without the joint impact. Works every muscle in the body too for some strokes. I still swim but skin dive more now-which is also a high calorie burning activity.

According to my research-and I did a LOT-a minimum of 15 minutes of cardio is necessary to bost metabolism (I really push for 15 min a day hiking to get my heart rate up on days I don't swim. Swimming is excellent cardio too) but the effects last 24 hours,

I like the way i eat-am having trouble changing it to add more the way the Dr has requested and I enjoy the exercise I do, Which is why it worked, I have one more thing I added to it, No excuses -None-Ever. If you give in and eat more for some reason you will eventually do it more and more, i can and do switch my eating day around for special occasions -no problem as long as it is one day a week I eat.

Find what works for you and you will stick with and then be patient. I found that I would hit times I seemed to be losing nothing and then lose 10 lbs or more in just a couple of days. The body abhors a vacuum and will replace lost fat temporarily with fluid, Eventually it lets go of the fluid but while it it doing that it can be maddening and discouraging. Especially since water weighs more than fat. but if you have been tracking and you know you are consuming less than you burn you just have to tell yourself it is coming off and wait till that water flushes. Drinking plenty of fluids also helps with that and protects your organs, Losing weight is actually hard on them and extra water is necessary to flush excess toxins that can be created.,

Lastly please don't get impatient and cut down on calories more. Research has proven it is the surest way to gain more weight in the long run because of the negative impact on metabolism and it can cause serious health problems as well. You can lose massive amounts with those ultra low calorie diets but you cannot maintain it-for one thing much of the initial loss is water and for another your metabolism is forced into starvation mode where loss becomes impossible eventually and everything ingested is stored as fat, And for a long time after the low calorie diet ends too. A really ugly situation. Some of the people who have pushed those diets have been prosecuted for fraud. Most if not all have been sued as well for the long term caused to people who tried them.

Good luck with the loss! It can be done and done safely as well as in a way that won't cause you to rebound,

Johnny

[Guest kandy_kane]

Thank you all so much for the advice! This is very helpful!