Crossdressing as a motivation to lose weight?

[Sandie70]

As I've gotten more and more into my CDing I find myself salivating at beautiful clothes that I can't wear yet. I weight too much. But the desire to reshape myself into someone more and more feminine is giving me the motivation to shape up and slim down. Is this so with any of you? When you look in the mirror and see yourself, do you envision yourself with a more shapely and feminine body? Do your womanly desires carry over into a more healthy lifestyle?

[franlee]

I wish that CDing would motivate me to do so, I would have all my old favorite things along with my wife professional wardrobe she never wears any more. I can't say how happy that would make me but It hasn't worked so far. And believe me I want to and have tried.

[Beverley Sims]

I think it is a waste of good clothing if I put on weight.
With me a couple of pounds does make a difference.

[Marcelle]

Hi Sandie,

I have always maintained a very active and fitness oriented lifestyle (occupational hazard - military). Not a very big guy but athletic in frame so while I can carry off some looks others are a stretch due to my body type. So I guess in response to your questions, the one thing I have done is shed bulk (175 - 150 lbs).

Hugs

Isha

[Kim_Bitzflick]

It's kind of helped me keep from gaining. I've always been slender but the last few years I've gained a lilttle fat and lost some muscle. The net result is not a weight gain but I have gone up a dress size. I'm not really trying to slim down but I am trying not to get any bigger :)

[Teresa]

Sandie,
I just smile at the dog and stroke her head, she's about seven now but when she replaced my old dog my walking pace increased and in two months I lost almost 28lbs !
So at 5' 7" I weigh 152lbs and can fit mostly UK size 12 clothes off the peg ! With full makeup and wig and a nice outfit I'm happy with my look !

[Linda E. Woodworth]

Short answer, no.

I was a short fat kid in grade school and lost it all one summer with dieting, exercise and a growth spurt. I never want to be that heavy again so I watch what I eat and continue to exercise. I like to look good in whatever gender I'm presenting and carrying extra pounds doesn't help that. I get as much joy out of looking good in a coat and tie as I do in a nice cocktail dress.

[Alex!]

Yes, absolutely. When I started dressing up in a serious way back in 2006, I only weighed about 145 or so. At 5'9" I was pretty skinny. This was due to a food poisoning issue that ruined my appetite for easily about 3 years. Then I got back on track and gained a good deal of weight since about 2010. I went from a size 8 to a size 12. I'm okay with that, sort of, but recently I've resumed a regimen designed to lose about 12 pounds. So far, so good. The motivation? Mostly so I can get into a size 10 :)

[RachelsMantra]

Yes, dressing is definitely a motivation to lose my last few pounds of belly flat. A lot of women's clothing is skin tight so having a muffin top or pooch is not attractive (in my opinion). I just have to avoid carbs as much as possible and I am guaranteed to lose weight. The problem is carbs are everywhere and so, so delicious! It's hard to go through life being super-strict all the time. When you are with friends you just wanna eat whatever tastes good. But I really wanna look good in those skinny jeans. Having a concrete goal is good for motivation.

[Michelle (Oz)]

Pretty much the sole reason I lost 70lb to be happy with my appearance but unfortunately I put 20lb back on. How dumb is that? A recent heart attack has given me the incentive to lose weight with a bonus by being able to fit into all the clothes that have been put away.

[Jillian Faith]

Yes, absolutely. When I started dressing up in a serious way back in 2006, I only weighed about 145 or so. At 5'9" I was pretty skinny. This was due to a food poisoning issue that ruined my appetite for easily about 3 years. Then I got back on track and gained a good deal of weight since about 2010. I went from a size 8 to a size 12. I'm okay with that, sort of, but recently I've resumed a regimen designed to lose about 12 pounds. So far, so good. The motivation? Mostly so I can get into a size 10 :)

I'm in the same boat as Alex except my weight gain occurred due to inactivity after multiple surgeries. I'm 95% recovered and looking to lose at least 20 lbs to get back in all my pretties.

[Pat]

It's working for me right now. I'm committed to looking really good for my August vacation and I use the thought of me in awesome clothes to motivate me. My doctor was thrilled because on the way I dropped below a threshold that essentially took me off the diabetes meds I had been taking for the past few years -- he asked how I did it, so I told him. He just smiled and told me I should try to lose another dress size. ;) Now it's funny when I see him because he doesn't want to say "crossdresser" or "transgender" so he just keeps alluding to "your motivating factor." :heehee:

[Krisi]

I suppose looking in the mirror or at photographs and seeing a belly provides some motivation to lose weight but crossdressing isn't listed in the Weight Watchers handbook.

[allie45]

I really want to lose the weight, but I have trouble sticking to it. Work disrupts all attempts to stay on a healthy diet, and I hate to get out in the muggy Houston air in the summer.
I am also finding it hard to change my lazy ways.
To those girls who have lost weight, what kind of diet plan were you able to stick to?
I would love to lose 50lbs, but anything would be an achievement at this point!

[larry]

Yes very much a motivator for me..

[reb.femme]

Coming off of a three year stint on steroids (fat belly makers) so I'm starting to control my weight again. I need to lose a whole whack at the moment but will start by aiming for achievable goals, such as one dress size, which I hope is going to be in the next couple of weeks.

This is a craft, as another beautifully presented member of this forum said to me just this week, a view I very much agree with. I have an image in my mind of how I can look and that is my ultimate goal right now.

So in summary,CDing definitely encourages me to lose weight and long may it continue. :)

Rebecca

[Barbara Black]

Since retiring, I've lost nine pounds. When I was told that by the doctor, I immediately thought about how good it was for slipping into more dresses and looking good. LOL. but it has been in the back of my mind for a while, fitting into women's clothing by losing weight. One more reason to keep in mind...

[bridget thronton]

The short answer is yes

[MonicaMarie]

It has certainly been a big part of my motivation to lose weight. Last summer I was 225 at 5'8", and I was wearing about a 2X. I wanted to look better and be able to wear some of the cute clothes that I couldn't fit into. So over the course of about 7 months, I shed 65 lbs. My shopping options have really opened up since I now wear a 10-12. I carefully monitor my weight and never want to have to go back to my big girl clothing.

Allie45 - everyone is different in what will work for them, but I used the My Fitness Pal app to keep my caloric and fat intake down. The first thing I did was give up sodas and high fructose corn syrup altogether. I dropped 15-20 lbs. in no time doing this alone, and then I started watching my entire diet. After I got into that habit, I bought an elliptical trainer. This has been a wonderful tool for losing weight and becoming more toned. Motivation is the hardest part, and you can't just eat less and overlook exercise. I wish everyone struggling with weight great success.

[xoMindyxo]

For me, yes and no.

Four years ago, I weighed 325 lbs. I was just sick and tired of being sick and tired. I had not been dressing for 6 years at that point. As I lost more and more weight, I tried on clothes I had lying around the house and seeing that I could fit into them again, yeah, it gave me more of a drive and still does to this day.

I lost 110 lbs. I did gain 16 of it back over the course of this year. Mainly due to quitting smoking a year ago and gaining muscle mass. But I work out 3-4 days a week and try to eat well also.

[Amanda M]

Yes - see my thread "Curious Question"

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Sandie, With three closets of lovely clothes I think that I will stay where I am:daydreaming:
I hope you get to where you want to be.

[Ceera]

My occasional cross dressing is certainly an incentive for me to lose weight. I've known for years that I would be better off all the way around if I lost 30 to 50 pounds or so. My best weight was beterrn 150 and 175, and my worst was 220. Since I started Dressing I've lost 25 from that peak, and am still striving to get back down to 175.

[CarlaWestin]

Weight control and general good health are strongly motivated by crossdressing. I'm careful about eating healthy and avoiding injury and cancer feeders like sugar and processed foods. Once you start it's just second nature. I'll be retiring someday and I want to enjoy many years of dressed up fun when I do. At 5'10" and 146' it's easy to wiggle into even the skimpiest of thrift shop finds.

[Cheryl T]

For me it's a definite yes.
It's not so much that I want to reshape my body, although that would be great, it's more that I want to maintain my weight (lose a little too). I have a fairly extensive wardrobe and can't see wasting all those clothes simply because I don't watch my weight. When a skirt or slacks begins to feel snug it's time to diet a bit and make sure everything fits right.
I'm lucky in that respect as I haven't fluctuated in weight very much throughout my entire life.

[Madilyn A.]

For me, this has been my main motivation to lose weight. Some years ago I posted a thread on this subject and it ran for quite a while and several girls were posting their progress. I have slipped and weight is getting the better of me these days as dressing has had to take a back seat to some family health issues. However, when the dark cloud had passed, dressing will be my motivation to get back to a proper weight and my wardrobe will again make it out of the closet.

[Jean 103]

Yes, I'm active and have always been slim and sometimes skinny. Lately I have been going for skinny again and I'm also trying to lose muscle. So last Friday I doing this installation at work and get the thing stuck. I’m hanging on it and can’t get it to move, I have to use a come-a-long to get it started. I try and hide how thin I am at work by wearing a baggy shirt and pants, still I have had customers notice and comment. This is kind a weird, to me. When I was a kid my best friend would comment on how skinny I was, and I would eat a lot back then, I’m just very active.

[Adriana Moretti]

YES!!!! Totally !!!!.....I am all for it....and do my best to eat right and workout daily, drink lots of water, and avoid junk food..its been working great and I never felt better, its also great motivation on days when you cant dress...I will put on my headphones, throw on a girly playlist of songs, and go for an hour long run and get lost in girl world.All the time thinking I need to squeeze into those high waisted shorts. I will also buy something a bit smaller in size and squeeze into it when nobody is looking to motivate me get down a size....it has worked too....

[Stephanie47]

My new Times magazine came yesterday. In an article in the issue it mentioned the average woman's dress size is 14. Given my natural comfortable weight I am happy where I am, although I could use some toning at the stomach. That is due to surgeries and back issues that prevent tightening those muscles. My motivation to lose twenty pounds was a combination of a desire to look better in a dress and health. I did drop twenty pounds.

As to a diet, the only recommendation I have is to dump sugary drinks and high fructose corn syrup, and, read the back of cans and packaging. I was aghast years ago about the amount of empty calories I was reading, and, the amount of time necessary to just burn them off. It is said a can of soda/pop a day adds ten pounds a year. I don't recommend going nuts about all this weight loss just to get a Barbie look. When you find your healthy body weight try to stay there.

[justmetoo]

Yes, it motivated me to lose excess weight and it continues to motivate me to keep my weight down where I like it.

[Michelle 78]

Yes for me too, I wanted to lose a bit of weight for a while but I never had the motivation to do it until I started dressing a lot more over the last year and I lost over 40 pounds. My dressing has motivated me to keep it off too, It's amazing the motivation you get from wanting to fit into nice dresses!!

[Kristy 56]

Right now it is Sandie, I'm going to lose 20 lbs. and go down in size. It'll be fun shopping for those new clothes. Good luck and good health to anyone trying to shed a few. :)

[CherylFlint]

Simply put, it’s the best motivation there is.
Some may say health is the best motivation, but I think that mental health counts too.
For those who are serious about “passing”, a gut or “beer belly” just doesn’t cut it. Face it, girls have waists and no amount of padding is going to hide a gut full of fat.
Some dress just to dress, but most graduate out of the house and in order to go out in public one has to make a monumental effort to “pass”, and controlling one’s weight is the first step to achieve that goal.
I did it and you’d be surprised the doors it opens for additional fashions to wear.
It all comes down to the age old saying “To Pass or not to Pass?”.
I opt to pass.
Good Luck.

[Stephanie A]

Yes, good nutrition is so important for good health. We need to recognize that over everything else. I should talk though as been trying to lose some pounds and been skipping some meals, so easier said than done. :sad: So eat well and exercise. ( Wow I sound like a mother :o )
Stephanie

[windycissy]

Totally! Especially this time of year, when I love to wear sundresses with only a bra and panties underneath. It goes hand in hand with shaving down and swimming, so it's really good for me

[countrygirl]

I do not mean to offend anyone but I feel when I am Amanda I want to be bigger than Ben. I have always padded myself to be larger than Ben. I do not know why but I have always enjoyed this

[Kate Simmons]

The way I keep my weight down by crossdressing is dancing en femme all night at the club. I find that most effective indeed. :battingeyelashes::)

[Nadine Spirit]

I am motivated to stay the same size to be able to wear all of my clothes, male or female. I really like my clothes and with a five to ten pound weight gain I go up a pant size, which sucks!

[Sandie70]

Wow! Thanks ladies for the wonderful comments. I think they show just one of the many positive aspects of crossdressing. I hope all of you with beautiful wardrobes keep fitting in them... and those of us who dream of what's to come, more power to us! I saw a dress today that I want to fit into some day and I've promised myself I will - come heck or high water (lol).

[Donnagirl]

Hell yes, and lots more than go.... Hate looking like a gorilla in a tutu... 220 - 170 in five months

[Genny B]

Was it my main motivation, no. Did it help, yes! As more weight came off and dress sizes went down the fun goes up!

Genny B

[gailbridges]

LOVE this thread. I didn't think there were many like me on this subject.
There is no doubt that I needed to get healthier, and for a long time I thought I could do it strictly with exercise and I was killing myself with hours at the gym. Then I became unemployed and had to give up our gym. After a while I just decided it was time to eat better and lose weight. Besides the fact that I was just feeling crappy in general, I REALLY want to get out and just look good as Gail. And to look decent I figured I'm going to have to get very trim, and then apply hip pads and breast forms to get a femme shape.
So far I'm down roughly 15 lbs.
But that has only brought me down to about 211 lbs.
I've always thought I had a large frame (being 5' 11 1/3" will make you think that), but did some investigation on the net and found that I have a MEDIUM frame. Which means that I should be able to get down to about 154 lbs or so.
Yes, I would be extremely skinny, but who cares?
So far my blood sugar is coming down as well as my resting pulse rate.

But, yes, CDing has definitely been a motivator to get this train rolling. (I really want skinny calves, and wouldn't mind losing a shoe size or two if that is possible)

Girls, tell me more!!!!

Gail

[Yoshisaur]

Yes definitely I can't lose my broad shoulders but I can tone down my stomach.

[Pat]

220 - 170 in five months

Just for the record, I hate you. ;) But I've gone 220 to 185 in about that amount of time. According to the BMI charts I've crossed from "obese" to "overweight" but I have to get to 165 to enter "normal."

Re: shoulders -- it's a point of sadness for me that no amount of weight loss will ever get my chest measurement under 40. Probably never under 42. I read of others wearing 36 or 38 band bras and become despondent from envy. But even though I'm limited by bone structure to the larger dress sizes, I get motivation from the idea of having a flat stomach under those wide shoulders. Someday I'll be phat instead of fat. ;)

[Sarah-RT]

I procrastinate so much and Ive realised im terribly lazy when I want to do something rather than need to but I plan to take up jogging over the summer now that ive finished college for two reasons, 1 being that I weigh about 230 pounds and ive always been on the larger side, thankfully im quite tall at 6'4'' so I carry it well but I also want to trim down to fit into clothes better.

So id certainly say dressing is beginning to push me to get in shape, which cant be a bad thing!

Sarah x

[AmyVanessa]

Oh yes,best motivation I've had.
I want to wear nice clothes and not look like a slob, so I had to lose.
I'm down 120 pounds, from male pants size 56to 42, I'm big built. But yes, I say, anything that motivates you is good

[ShayLeigh Dominique]

I don't know about "motivation " but since I accepted the possibility of the question of transgenderism I have noticed a paradigm shift... I've lost 14 lbs. so far. I eat less, not because I force myself to, but because I just don't feel the desire to, I don't crave the stupid stuff (high fat, high carb comfort foods) as much and I'm motivated to walk more. Maybe instead of acting "male" these last many years, I should have been "acting" female.

[SandraB]

Yes I find it as a positive motivator to lose weight and to look after general health. The biggest difference I think was accepting my CD'ing which has made a huge difference to my mental health, giving me a much more positive outlook and getting to like who I am. Now that I embrace CD'ing I'm highly incentivised to improve my appearance to have a better selection of outfits and to have them fit better. I can clearly see on the shopping websites and in the stores that my choices greatly improve with each dress size I can drop, so hopefully this will remain a long term motivator as I have a long way to go. Dressing provides very powerful feedback and everytime an outfit fits just a little bit better or I manage to fit something that was previously a little too tight gives a little extra boost to keep going. I also find that visualising an outfit I'm struggling to fit into as a powerful weapon to resist temptation.

[Sheila11]

Yes, yes, yes. Dropped from 198 to 158 last year, (40 lbs). That was all the way from a size 16 to a 10. I got to get an all new wardrobe and just love the selection of size 10 dresses. There seems to be 10 times as many options and I look 10 times as good in them now.

I used fitness pal and still do . I have maintained for 8 months. My friends are jealous and they haven't even seen me in a dress.

[cheryl reeves]

i been trying to lose the weight i gained for 22 yrs. now,my heaviest was 297 im now bouncing between 245-249 noe and am in a solid 16. i stand 6'1" so i carry my belly fat pretty good. my prob is due to my disability exercising stopped for me 23 yrs ago,so i try to watch what i eat.

[Algoma]

YES, I have been trying to lose weight and firm up mostly for my CDing. I have started taking better care of my skin and general posture etc.

[StephanieCLT]

I agree. It has definitely motivated me. I'm about 155 now, but I want to get to 149, and then, I'll go from there. It's really helpful in getting out of bed on those mornings that I don't want to workout, as well as when I am working out, to push a little harder!

[Julie Denier]

I had lost weight during a hiatus from dressing, and the weight loss was part of what restoked the fires for me to start dressing again. But weight is a constant battle and I've put a bunch back on. Trying to beat it back down again, but still enthused about dressing and making this fat chick look as pretty as possible ;)

[EllenJo]

Was it my main motivation, no. Did it help, yes! As more weight came off and dress sizes went down the fun goes up!

Genny B

I totally agree Genny. I started loosing weight after my doctor told me it would help my back problems. I fought off the first 20 lbs and found more clothes that fit. After that the next 30 went quick. Right now I have a lovely print skirt hanging on the back of my bedroom door that won't zip up. That is my motivation for the next 10.

Hugs
Ellen Jo

[gailbridges]

Yes, yes, yes. Dropped from 198 to 158 last year, (40 lbs). That was all the way from a size 16 to a 10. I got to get an all new wardrobe and just love the selection of size 10 dresses. There seems to be 10 times as many options and I look 10 times as good in them now.

I used fitness pal and still do . I have maintained for 8 months. My friends are jealous and they haven't even seen me in a dress.

Sheila, That is awesome! Good for you! I can only imagine what that feels like to even consider getting into a size 10. Keep up the good
fun!

[gailbridges]

Just for the record, I hate you. ;) But I've gone 220 to 185 in about that amount of time. According to the BMI charts I've crossed from "obese" to "overweight" but I have to get to 165 to enter "normal."

Re: shoulders -- it's a point of sadness for me that no amount of weight loss will ever get my chest measurement under 40. Probably never under 42. I read of others wearing 36 or 38 band bras and become despondent from envy. But even though I'm limited by bone structure to the larger dress sizes, I get motivation from the idea of having a flat stomach under those wide shoulders. Someday I'll be phat instead of fat. ;)

Hey! 35 lbs is nothing to sneeze at. That's pretty awesome!
BTW, I've love the doctor's "your motivating factor". LOL
How tall are you?

[Kayla Marie]

I did but it was more that my guy clothes were getting too snug and I refused to buy the next size up so it gave me only one other option. However it was a win/win since I wanted to lose the weight so I could get the next size down in skirts.

[Pat]

How tall are you?

Somewhere between 5'10" and 5'9" (shrinking with age.) However, in heels I'm over 6 feet -- I feel I should be able to use that in my BMI calculation. ;)

[Madeleine Quinn]

I've been trying to motivate myself lately to lose a few pounds around my midsection. I'm still pretty thin, but whatever excess weight I do put on all goes straight there. One of my biggest challenges is that I have some other hobbies (craft beer, in particular–so good, but so many carbs!) that make weight loss difficult. Once I'm able to get back into a workout routine, I'd like to start doing one of the circuit training workouts that one of my local gyms offers, since I've read that circuit training can be a good way to lose belly fat; I might (emphasis on might!) start trying to do a bit of jogging/running–maybe a mile or so a few times a week. But, yes, in general, I'd love to look better when dressed, and having a better figure is a big part of that.

[ShayLeigh Dominique]

Just for the record, I hate you. ;) But I've gone 220 to 185 in about that amount of time. According to the BMI charts I've crossed from "obese" to "overweight" but I have to get to 165 to enter "normal."

Re: shoulders -- it's a point of sadness for me that no amount of weight loss will ever get my chest measurement under 40. Probably never under 42. I read of others wearing 36 or 38 band bras and become despondent from envy. But even though I'm limited by bone structure to the larger dress sizes, I get motivation from the idea of having a flat stomach under those wide shoulders. Someday I'll be phat instead of fat. ;)

Talk about hate... (born of envy, I'll get over it in 25 minutes). When I left boot camp I was at 195, and I entered at 200 after losing 40 lbs. just to join. I haven't seen anything less than that since I was 19-ish (I was at 175, never got lower than that; and that was only because my job entailed swimming for 8 hours a day... Ok, not the full 8, but even so...). I'd LOVE to see 185 again! I'd settle for 200 and staying there...

[Karen RHT]

Yes, the fact I enjoy crossdressing serves as a motivator for me to lose weight. However, my problem is a flabby (not fat) stomach area, and I discovered exercise is just as important, if not more, than weight loss.


Karen

[Lena]

Not only have I lost 50 lbs over the last 2 years, I quit smoking also. :)

[irene9999]

I would say it is a good motivator for me to keep my weight in check. I've always had a slim body but recently peaked at about 180lbs (I'm 5'10) and had a bit of a gut and that does not look good when wearing a dress! I've tried to eat better and a excercise regularly and I'm back to 165 lbs