Are you willing to sacrifice your muscle for a better girl-mode look?

[Loni]

not so muscle bo

erickka...you make me sick,, only 150 pounds. i have trouble just getting down to 200. my Dr wants me to drop 40 pounds. yes we are the same age and i am 5-11.i have not been that light since i was in high school.

Loni

[Suzette Muguet de Mai]

Hell yes and getting there as slow as when I was young wanting to bulk up and then cut back, it took time. Been there done that now I just want to be as I was intended "petite".

[Amanda22]

To answer your question, "yes." For many years, I weightlifted and built a nice physique in typical male terms. Now that I'm dressing in public, I'm really self-conscious of muscle. I still enjoy lifting, but my darned body responds instantly with increased muscle, and I'm 51. So I avoid weights and jog every morning. This lowers my overall weight, and gives my arms and legs a more feminine shape.

[notquitegirl]

I never had much muscle, and my shoulders are fairly narrow. I'm more than happy to "sacrifice" my extra pounds, though.

[abbykins]

Muscles are very healthy, they regulate blood sugar and have all kinds of health benefits. This is a hard choice for me, and I'm deferring it. I have a workout routine designed to build muscle, and it works, I'm already a little muscular (but it's not obvious yet). I don't think I'm willing to weaken or starve my body.

[MsKimiko]

I have really muscular legs because I play soccer so it looks kinda gross in heels but as much as my male persona would love to have a more muscular torso. I think the lack of work out has provided a more femme look up top

[Sara Jessica]

To each their own and their own body, and I understand some who are FT need to be as average for a woman as possible to pass and survive. I just can't help see some sad social commentary in the notion women should not have muscles and be strong and those that are, are less feminine or desirable than ones who are not muscular.

I don't think anyone is saying that at all. It's really much more simple. The deck is stacked against many of us with things to overcome in order to achieve the presentation we desire. It is a choice not to emphasize something such as muscle mass which on a "male frame" comes across as being decidedly unfeminine.

I would love to have cute little "pipe cleaner" arms, flat little belly and shapely slender legs. I did lose a lot of bulk in the past year and kept it off. It did really help my girlieness. I did touch briefly on about 155 a while back but have leveled off at about 165 at 5'9 1/2" People do say you are too skinny when a guy loses weight but if I could be 150 I would. I could do it but it would take more than what I am doing now. 5'9' 150 sounds really good to me for being a girl.

I'm 5'9" and am in the same weight range, 165-ish on any given day. I believe if you check into those basic height-to-weight charts you'll find that you are pegged in a normal range. Yet I have been accused of being "too skinny" at times. Go figure.

That said, weight is simply a number. If you are content with your body and there are no health issues, there is no reason to try to get down to some arbitrary figure. Personally, I wouldn't try to lose weight from the 163-167 range that I feel comfortable in because when I do so, the first place it leaves is my tush which is the last place I want to lose it from!!!

[darla_g]

Ok just got done looking at a newstand and look at the titles for Women's magazines. Shape - toned tummy, arms and thighs, Elle - has an article about working out, Redbook has an article about exercise, etc. etc. Somehow doing nothing is not a real good idea for either men or women.

and you know what I find a woman who might have arms or shoulders a bit more contoured very attractive (not like a female body builder mind you) and maybe that's just me. the idea of what a women's body type can be is a bit more open than society seems to suggest in its stereotypes. To suggest that you need to avoid exercise means that you buy into the ideal that a woman must be a thin model like figure to be attractive. This is simply not achievable for most men. I think if you have an open enough mind to decide you want to dress like a woman then you should have an open enough mind to accept what the ideal is.

[DonnaT]

I've thought about it, but being a home owner I've found I need to maintain my strength as much as possible. Especially when carrying a 30' extension ladder around, heavy bags of this or that and/or large stones.

At 5'9" (or a little less, due to shrinkage as I get older) and 56 yrs young, I've a 50" chest, large calves and large arms, yet I swim a mile and a half nearly every morning which is supposed to lengthen the arm muscles, but after 40 some years of swimming, I can say for sure it has done nothing to lessen the muscle bulk.

[Maiko Newhalf]

Actually in my case the body weight is not too much of an issue. It is how the muscle/fat distributed. I tend to build up upper body much easier than core and lower body. So I have pretty much an inverted triangle body shape, epscially looking from the back. It's a nice male body form. But how nice it will be if I could I have narrower shoulder and wider hip!

[JenniferR771]

I go for my 2 mile exercise walk daily. Sigh. Yes, I still lift weights a few times per week. But I am trying to build up my chest so I have better cleavage. I am built small and light to start with--and I am eating a little less. I don't get much exercise if I don't force myself to do it. I would like to exercise my stomach more and get down to 2 inches smaller waist and get into one size smaller dress.

[Jamie Parks]

I have been working on this for the past 10 years now...When I was a child I played LL soccer then LL baseball, then in HS I ran track and played football, raced dirt bikes, rode my bicycle everywhere I went, after HS I continued racing motorcycles for years, well into my 30's and also mountain biked about 50 miles a week too so even though I was chunky I had incredible legs, used to get complements all the time even from other men. But the last 10 years I have really been trying to "soften up my look", now the only exercise I do is take the dogs on hikes or road ride my bicycle, I have defiantly cut back on my eating too now that I am not burning calories like I used too. So to answer your question ...yes my look is more important to me then my muscles.

[LoriFlores]

I would sacrifice every muscle in and on my body for a better girl look!

Me too, a feminine look requires less muscle mass.

[paulaloha]

I have way too many hobbies that I enjoy as a boy and that require those muscles. So usually my daily life keeps me building muscle, so for me personally i am not willing to sacrifice my lifestyle for some clothes. No matter how sexy they are.

[bomba]

i just wanna say sea that you look really hot

[bomba]

i have been working out for years.but now that im feeling the need to dress more and express my feminin side i think i will change my workout.instead of hevey wieght training i have been doing light wieght lots of reps.im trying to get to the point where i can where a corset

[Jane G]

I've never had much upper body bulk to speak of. I'm definitely leg heavy after years of cycling in my youth. I've always gone for reps over weight to ensure strength and stamina without having to carry extra bulk around.

[Hali]

I have done that (loosing my upper male muscles to look more femme) and I got a lot of reward including being passable most of the time. It was hard and very very difficult am still not satisfied but much appreciative. One of the most difficult things was convincing people that i wasnt Sick (anorexic) or depressed and also had to coup with losing my "birth right"........ "my male upper-body appeal"....lol!

[Adriennegrl]

I'm like Stephanie and other girls in this thread; super skinny in my 20's; 5'9" 130'ish pounds. I'm still skinny in my 30's and have small shoulders, thin legs, but... my waist could stand to loose at least 2 inches.

I've been doing crunches, avoiding upper body exercises lately. Diet is key and my biggest demon is...beer...I know....

[CynthiaD]

In a word ... No. I like looking good in male mode.

[Sedona]

To answer the question, yes. I'm naturally muscular, so will never really pass, unless it's for a women's basketball player, discus thrower or rower. I don't do any upper body exercise, and do plenty of cardio (fast walking and cycling).

[DebsUK]

I do lots of aerobics and dancey type classes which are generally good, but I also have a couple of Boxercise classes plus a circuit and some toning sessions which have given me pretty well toned arms and shoulders. Fortunately my legs aren't very bulky (though also a bit well-defined). I'd hate to be "big", but I kind of like the athletic look (more Spiderman than Hulk). It does bug me that I couldn't wear any really skimpy tops and have to have at least cap sleeves, but at least it keeps me fairly slim. I'd like to reduce the muscle-toning exercise, but you do get into a routine and the classes I got to are pretty sociable and don't want to stop them. Mind you, as I'm ina fallow period for dressing at the moment it's not a major issue right now

[pinto]

Yes i would love to loose muscles - but how????? From nature i am quite muscular, especially the legs. I know, no lifting weights etc. This i don't do. My arms have become a little less muscular but my legs, terribly muscular.

[JennaR]

I don't see anything wrong with these muscles. Do you?

[Claire Cook]

Definitely yes for me. I've always been on the skinny side, except when the beer and junk food made me look pregnant ()! But I have cut out the pushups, junk food (but heaven forbid not the beer!), started yoga, aerobics and pilates, and am holding at 149 (5'10) and size 10. Less red meat, more fruit and veggies help.

So every morning I do my Denise Austin workouts (properly attired, of course). Great way to start the day -- just love to copy the dance movements, and be one of the girls. Less muscle topside ... we'll see if the butt, thigh and hip shaping works...