HRT and weight (particularly for thin people)

[Windy]

I've already received one wonderful response on this subject, but I'm interested to see what the wider transwoman community has to say on this subject.

Some background: I hope to start HRT soon. This has not been an easy decision, not least because I'm still awkwardly comfortable presenting as a man. However, I think its for the best.

I have also read a little about the weight changes in transsexual women that occur during HRT. As a tall, thin person who has always had trouble putting on weight of any kind (fat, muscle, anything) I'm interested to see what I can expect from HRT.

My mother is a large, pretty plump woman but I'm not sure that affects myself. Although I know all responses to hormones are a little different, have any other women with bodies similar to mine experienced significant weight gains? I'd really be reassured if I knew that other tall transwomen now have more traditionally feminine shaped bodies due to hormones.

[Aprilrain]

i'm 6', 155 lbs been on hormones for 10 months and I got nothin! A cups, thats it! I guess I have gained some weight over the fall and winter, I was 147 lbs over the summer. OH, and I eat like a pig!

[sandra-leigh]

It is said to happen, but the timescales are relatively long -- 2 to 3 years.

I was not thin; I have put on weight that I could have done without.

It went to my gut first. That and my tops and bras got tighter around (uncomfortably so for most of my bras), which suggests that my basic chest diameter also increased, which is something that I do not confirm through my measurements.

The gain to my bust has no significant weight compared to the rest.

I might also have increased in my butt. Something down there for sure: a lot of my skirts are not even close to closing now, and I really should get new jeans. Hmmm, just checked and I think my butt was better defined before. That and I can't figure out where the weight did go there, as my hip bones remain very close to the surface and most everything in that area is very firm. Dunno. Leg muscles to carry my extra weight, maybe.

There was a time when I was "Are you sure you are feeding that kid enough?!" thin. Until I lived in University Residence, and not since then, after which I've had the opposite problem.

My family is prone to high cholesterol, and I have inherited that. Even though I have been vegetarian for 20 years, I was borderline "you should take cholesterol pills" before HRT. With HRT, it became a medical necessity. Excess estrogen gets converted to cholesterol, apparently: gall stones is one of the recognized risks of HRT.

Looking at your age, and considering what you say about your mother's body type, I would say that there is a distinct chance that within a small number of years, even without HRT, your body will switch over to storing fat. I think it plausible that HRT could be the trigger for that.

[Zenith]

Three years on hormones, a year and a half post op, six months on progesterone. I'm tall and weighed 143 all my adult life. After progesterone that went up to 170. I'm down to 165 and my target is 150. So post op on progesterone is where the weight really increased. I would be hard pressed to say I have "A"s, though the nipple and areola development have been good as of late.

[Bree-asaurus]

I'm 6'3" and weigh 200 lbs.

I used to weigh 145 when I was a guy and nothing I did would cause me to gain weight. I had to pump iron and eat a TON of food... like 4000 calories a day, to gain weight. That got me to a nice toned 175-180. I gained the rest of the weight from hormones.

Now I'm trying to lose a little belly fat and it's tough (don't get me wrong though... I don't NEED To lose the fat, I'm not bone-skinny but I am skinny).

Oh and I've been on hormones for 1.5 years.

[CharleneT]

I'm almost 6' (used to be.....) and have weighed the same for many years (145 ). What HRT did change is that I can now gain weight if I try, but I have to over eat to do so. So far the most I have weighed is 148 (for me, that is a big change). As for development, there was little. I ended up about an A- cup prior to SRS/BA. I can now feel some new development starting. But it is not apparent in "size". Even though you mother was larger, it probably will not affect your reaction to HRT. As a post-op friend of mine often tells me: "Charlene, you've got to have fat to get it to re-distribute ....".

[Traci Elizabeth]

My experience is A-typical as far as weight gain and breast development.

I have been on mega doses of hormones (all doctor prescribed and monitored) for over two years now and at 5' 7" I weighed 135# before HRT. However, that was high for me as most of my life I weighted in the low 120's. I shot up to 152# which is the most I have ever weighted my entire life. I went from a 36 ZERO to a 36C over the two years (but as I have stated many times before, my body was very feminine looking all my life which caused me great pain from abuse). On both sides of my family my two grandmothers, mother, sister, daughter and now granddaughter all have thin bodies and large breasts. So I really believe that heredity and having low "T" all my life has attributed to my breast size.

I am now at 128# and still have the 36C breasts and have gained weight on my buttocks but not my hips yet (hoping). I have no idea how much my breasts weigh but I think my weight has in fact gone down. I know my upper body is smaller and my waistline is smaller so my weight shifted from there to my breasts and butt but no where else.

Everyone tells me I need to gain weight but I don't know if I want to be carrying more weight around. Although it might make me more curvy around my lower body. The verdict is still out.

[Julia_in_Pa]

Windy,

You will put on weight as a result of HRT.

How much depends on genetics.

Concerning shape HRT is a crap shoot concern whether or not you'll see any significant curves but it can and does happen.


Julia

[stacie]

I been on Hrt for 5yrs and been post opt for over a year now. When I started HRT I also change my eatting habits and gave up fast food, fried foods, process foods or anything with process sugar in it and anything full of unhealthy fats. My weight drop and now I am 145lbs and I am 6ft tall. My weight has not change at all in the last three years and I am still at 145lbs today. If you eat healthy foods and eat the amount of calories you need to be healthy your weight will stay in the same range. I do at times eat my favorites like pizza or Five Guys burgers :) but I don't eat the fatty things on a regular basis. Your body fat count will go up while your mucle mass drops but your average weight should stay in the same range if you eat right and keep up the right amount of calories needed. Good luck on your journey and just don't starve yourself or pig out and become over weight and unhealthy.

[Genivieve]

I have a really thin frame for a guy. However, I also put on weight very easily. I'm 5'9'' My forearms are thinner than most girls and even my thighs are slimmer than the girls I've dated!
Years ago I worked at a banking desk job and piled on 30 lbs. It looked terrible! It went to my face hips and tits (no hormones by the way).
I'll never forget...
I wore this vest and dress shirt to the bank.
I had an Irish coworker walked by one day and say, "Me gawd ye've got tit's!."

So since then I work hard to maintain a balance for my body type and it's quite easy. Like Bree stated above, whenever I would try to lift and gain muscle, it was an immense amount of work and just not worth it.

I get made fun of sometimes but I have a lifestyle that keeps me fit and healthy. I can go into any restaurant and order something reasonable (which gets made fun of by macho guys) and I do things I enjoy to work out.
At the very least, we're all going to get older and our bodies will have more and more trouble keeping weight off. Good habits early on can only help.
Don't worry about the weight gain, take it week by week and you will be fine.

[Jorja]

As with everything else concerning the results of HRT, it depends upon the genetic makeup of the person. HRT alone will not necessarily add weight. There are several other factors involved including the type of food consumed, how much or how little exercise the person gets, the persons metabolism (how efficient the persons body burns the fuel) and how much food (fuel consumed per meal). To go along with all of that, when are the meals eaten? Correct timing is a must for weight loss or maintenance. Also don't forget one of the most overlooked principles in the weight battle.... how much sleep a person gets.

Good Luck