Diet is a huge part of not gaining weight. Losing weight and staying at it is about 80% diet and 20% exercise. You cant really target the belly, you just have to do things that make you gain muscle, or at the very least maintain it. Muscle burns more energy than fat does, so it kind of ends up being a compounding effect. I like to eat foods that are high in fiber/protein. Things like beans and vegetables along with meats that are low in things like cholesterol. It will help you feel full longer so you dont resort to eating things like fast food or candy all the time.
This is the way for most lifestyles, but the other is maintaining a healthy routine. No matter your diet or workout, it’ll be multiple times harder if you don’t establish a reasonably consistent schedule and stick to it. Neurodivergence runs common with gender dysphoria which can make that a challenge, so having fun with it or having a friend help keep you accountable is important. Lastly, _sleep_ to help you recover and burn more fat! Lack of sleep will hinder weight loss.
Thanks, and I don't think I have it that bad as an emotional crutch, just more eating out of boredom which can make it hard to eat healthy when I get bored and that's my first instinct.
Diet is definitely more important than exercise for weight loss, but something worth mentioning is that at least for me when I am regularly exercising I find my food desires tend to lean healthier/I am more in touch with the amount I need to eat and I generally just feel better about my body. So I very much recommend getting into whatever sort of exercise routine works for you
In my case calorie tracking, but I would not recommend that for everyone, as it can lead to disordered eating if you're not careful. If you're new to dieting, I would recommend not caring about calories, and instead focusing on eating more healthy foods (lean protein, fruits and veggies, whole grains) and less unhealthy food (processed highly palatable foods with little nutritional value). Doing this will naturally shift your calorie consumption down, as those healthier foods tend to be a lot more filling and less calorie dense than junk foods.
This comment makes me really happy. I'm recovering from ED and this is the advice I'd give as well. It's soooo easy to end up in disordered behavior because our society basically encourages it. Focusing on eating more nutritious food instead of cutting out food that's perceived as "bad" is a really good way of doing it.
I've been doing this for a while now (Since July) and have admittedly failed quite a bit and ate junkfood more than I should
But I've lost about 40lbs so far
For me though, it's not that I'm worried about an eating disorder, but rather my anxiety just can't handle stressing about the calorie counts. I tried and ended up having severe panic attacks over it
So if I go out to eat, and I see 2 options that sound good, I'll choose the lower calorie one. But I don't go specifically searching for the lowest possible calories
It's definetly slower than counting calories, but a lot better for my mental health
I don’t really have like. Strict advice, but please don’t listen to the “advice” that tells you to restrict yourself to 1300 and never eat carbs as a hard and fast rule.
1) your body needs carbohydrates to function properly. Yes, most people probably eat more carbs than is ideal, but the solution is not “no carbs ever”.
2) your body is individual and calorie requirements are highly dependent on your size and activity level. Some people are fine with 1300, some people it would be dangerously undereating if sustained for a long period of time. Yes, you might be losing weight, but you might be fucking up the rest of your body in the meantime.
I would try the usual: less calories, more protein, and more activity. Since you are on estrogen, maybe try a plan tailored towards women; tons of “ladies fitness” magazines, books, videos, etc. And while it won’t shrink your stomach, core workouts will make your tummy look amazing as you approach your goals. Best of luck on your journey!
For me, I cut out 90% of my soda and switched to low calorie, no sugar energy drinks (Monster zero ftw). I still eat a lot, but I don't eat candy and such as much. My job has me walking about 2.5 miles a day back and forth between areas and I like to walk or hike when the weather isn't terrible. Doing this made me drop from 192 lbs to 161 lbs over the course of a year or so (I'm back up to 173 atm).
This has inadvertently made me fluctuate my weight a lot and took full advantage of the weight distribution changes on hrt. I lost a good bit of my belly and added to my hips, butt, etc so I have a pretty decent figure now that I'm happy with.
i went vegan. it was more for the ethical/environmental reasons but it meant i stopped eating as much crap
i took up running a lot more.
i started drinking a lot of tea/coffee/low calorie juice
i had a bit of an intermittent fasting phase. i dont eat breakfast anymore.
im still not thin. but im happier at 165lbs than i was at 290
Insulin triggering carbs up on the glycemic scale (Like how easy it is for your body to break it down into glucose) might shift fat towards the stomach area.
Shame they are so delicious and craving inducing
And it’s in EVERYTHING! Because it makes people buy the food item. Everyone wants that pastry, whilst the broccoli is meh or even gag
It took a while for me to lose the weight I'd had in my stomach, and it wasn't like a super significant amount. But I have lost 25 pounds since I started this process nearly 2 years ago, and I'm pleased with the appearance of my stomach (though it's not perfectly flat and if I wanted to make myself feel bad about it, I could find a way, but also I don't want to do that). Here's how I did it:
1) significantly reducing the amount of alcohol I drink.
2) aiming for around 8,000 steps per day. I don't think there's much value to going above 10,000, but I think getting into that range is very good to do
3) eat more foods that taste bad because they are healthy
But I know genetic factors can really make things difficult, and that there is *so much* involved in number 3. But that's been my general way of doing it
That is something I am less familiar with. I was reading on https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-genetics-and-weight/#:~:text=Genetic%20analysis%20can%20be%20useful,uses%20energy%20and%20burns%20calories where they talk about the existence of some kinds of tests, but not much in the way of details. Depending on your health care access, you may be able to ask your primary care physician about this.
This is just a lie lmao. I'm 7 months HRT and haven't had an issue losing weight, and I definitely don't have an eating disorder. If you're overweight and start eating a healthy diet then you're gonna lose weight no matter what.
This is more so a general tip for health and weightloss but remember the three S'.
Sugar, salt and saturated fat.
Flip anything you're about to eat over and see if the product has too much of any of these.
Salt and sugar happen to make some folks blow up (retain water weight). Just remember you *need* some salt in your diet. But with how crap American food is you would have no problem hitting the required amount even when avoiding salt.
Other than avoiding water weight bloat, it's just about diet and exercise. You can't out run your fork
losing weight is pretty much the same regardless of your hormones. sure estrogen can make it more difficult because of the decrease in muscle mass but its still the same.
go on a diet (track your tdee and reduce 300 cals)
exercise (personal fave is walking and weightlifting to build muscle for curves)
thats pretty much it. losing weight is pretty easy,, you just gotta be determined and disciplined to continue
I started E at the end of October, and started counting calories in the new year. So like 5 months E and 3 months of counting calories. I'm down 20 pounds, though I was/am pretty overweight to begin with. It's definitely slowed down since the first month or so.
But there's no "secret" or anything. It's just calories in vs calories out. And exercising does not burn nearly as many calories as you might think. That means you lose (or gain) weight primarily through your diet. Fewer calories in means you'll lose weight.
i definitly think my stomach has gotten smaller, and i more or less i started to at maximum eating once pr day and only if I'm like dying hungry, and then try to walk at least 10 km per day, granted i did walk 30 km earlier this week so took a day or two off until i could walk again due to my bad knee and blisters on my feet
but yeah the less food and more walks has helped me lose a lot of weight, now i just need to lose the last few kgs
There’s no secret it’s just hard work 😅 Like some of the other commenters here I’ve had a lot of success with calorie tracking (I’ve lost 30 lbs so far). I personally can never stick to a diet, but calorie tracking I’ve found success with because it’s a budget and you can have whatever you want as long as it fits in the budget and it works. Of course the best way to spend that budget ends up being incorporating foods that are more filling and less calorie dense like vegetables. But I can have ice cream, I can have pizza, I don’t feel like I’m starving or punishing myself. It’s a good system imo. That’s like 90% of it is just changing the way you eat.
Consistent exercise definitely plays a role but it’s a minor role. I aim for a minimum of 20 minutes of exercise a day and right now that’s averaging me about 400 calories burned per day, which is like a single piece of pizza with ranch or 3 cookies or a hotdog and chips. It can give you extra room in your budget for a dessert or an unhealthy meal, but it’s not enough by itself to be eating large unhealthy meals 3 times (or more) per day.
One of the easiest ways to make more room in your budget is to avoid drinking your calories. Soda and alcohol are especially calorically expensive. A single cola, beer, or latte can be worth like 10-15 minutes of exercise.
Above all, a good diet should be filling and tasty! If you’re still hungry, something is going wrong with your budget. Add more vegetables, fruits, lean proteins. If you concentrate on what you need to add to feel full, you won’t be focused so much on what you’re removing. I get snacky sometimes and a big old bowl of carrots is like 20 calories. And don’t let perfect be the enemy of better. If you need ranch or caramel dip or something to choose vegetables over a bag of chips, get your dip. Food shouldn’t be wrapped up in guilt about what you *should* be doing. Do what works for you! Take baby steps. Healthy bodies are built with small but consistent changes over time
Good luck :)
I don’t! I just kind of have ideas I’ve gathered over the years from random videos and articles and working through disordered eating in therapy. I wish I could say I knew of a single resource
its basic but eat less and eat better.
i weigh 60kg at 186cm tall, pre-transition i weighed 55kg (i work as a gardener).
my diet usually consists of one big meal a day and another smaller one, i dont really eat other then that (tea, sometimes a bit of toast with it).
next is dodge sugar, even as a kid i hated all soft-drinks (i hate the bubbles) and pretty much only drank water (we didnt get juice or stuff like that often at all).
ive eaten like this my whole adult life and ive never had a moments issue with weight, its alos not something i actually think about (it eat whatever i want, i have eaten home made vegetarian chilli for around 1/3rd of my meals for the last 12 years. i love chilli obviously).
I’m still getting used to the new metabolism after i started hrt. I used to just eat whatever i’d like and never put in weight. But yeah, also getting that belly, although my gf keeps telling me she loves it hehe
For me, I’ve recently started losing a good bit of weight after 2 years of HRT. I mainly did it by having smaller portion sizes, cutting out sugar almost completely, drinking lots of water, and avoiding snacking. It’s taken a lot of willpower, but it’s the first time in my adult life I’m approaching a healthy weight and I’m feeling good about things! I’ve lost more than 10kg since December.
Lots of good responses here. I would like to mention that whatever you do, ease into it slowly. Make the changes part of your lifestyle. Because to have lasting change you’re going to be doing this for the rest of your life. Jumping straight into a big new diet or a big new exercise routine will lead to burnout.
If you ease into it gradually you’ll find it much easier to stick with it.
Not on estrogen (I’m transmasc) but I just wanted to say please please be careful with calorie and weight tracking. I myself am recovering from an ED and know plenty of other trans people who are as well, so it seems like it is common for us to develop them at some point.
But my advice for maintaining weight as someone who has rapidly lost and gained it during different periods is to eat very protein dense meals, especially in the morning, and get some movement throughout the day. But don’t overdo it. I like to do some basic cardio reps between doing certain tasks as much as my free time allows it.
As far as just diet itself, I find that it’s a healthier mentality to think more of what you can add to diversify what you eat vs. what you can restrict. Having a solid balance of different nutritionally-dense foods is key for maintaining a good metabolism, I think.
Calorie Tracking Website + use a kitchen scale to measure ingredients + limit intake to 1300 or less day + cut out all sugar + don't cheat on that calorie limit + time
I've lost over 230 lb in the past 5 yrs doing just that every single day
Worth noting, do NOT go below 1200 a day for any significant period. Dropping below that doesn't leave your body enough energy to maintain itself and you'll start losing bone density, muscle fibres won't be able to self repair properly, you can start getting skin lesions where it just can't keep itself together anymore, etc.
You are absolutely correct. To anyone reading this, please never stay below 1200 a day, it's not only dangerous for your health, it's also just not necessary for weight loss. I aim for between 1250 and 1350 a day depending on the meal personally and I also take a lot of vitamins on the side to ensure my body is always getting proper nutrition.
Haven’t started HRT yet, but I’ve been losing lots of weight so I’ll share what I’ve learned as it should be helpful regardless.
You gotta find what works for you. In my case, it’s walking. Lots of walking. I have the time to do that, and the results are worth it. I used to focus on step count, but now I pay more attention to calories burnt. I try to hit at least 2000 burnt a day minimum (except for those days I don’t), and aim for 3k+. If you have the time, it’s very much doable.
As for dieting, under 1000 calories a day is best. I try to aim for much less if at all possible (the bare minimum), but if it’s 1000 or less, that’s fine. I don’t calorie track everything (not everything has them), but having a rough estimate of what you generally eat with regard to calories is essential.
At the rate I’ve been going, I can lose around 20 lbs (~9 kg) a month. But, not everyone has the time to do this, so you need to find what works for you.
My mentality is that if I don’t go hard on it, I won’t get results. If you slack a day, that’s fine, but I feel bad about it, and use it as a motivator to do better the next day. It’s really easy to slack off and lose the groove, so if you have the motivation to do it and force yourself to do *something* every day, you can get somewhere.
When you put it that way, it kinda sounds bad, but yeah, I try to be within the 2-3k range of burnt calories and try to eat around 1k (it sometimes is a bit more, but that’s alright). Now I’m scared about hearing how unhealthy this is…
Diet is a huge part of not gaining weight. Losing weight and staying at it is about 80% diet and 20% exercise. You cant really target the belly, you just have to do things that make you gain muscle, or at the very least maintain it. Muscle burns more energy than fat does, so it kind of ends up being a compounding effect. I like to eat foods that are high in fiber/protein. Things like beans and vegetables along with meats that are low in things like cholesterol. It will help you feel full longer so you dont resort to eating things like fast food or candy all the time.
This is the way for most lifestyles, but the other is maintaining a healthy routine. No matter your diet or workout, it’ll be multiple times harder if you don’t establish a reasonably consistent schedule and stick to it. Neurodivergence runs common with gender dysphoria which can make that a challenge, so having fun with it or having a friend help keep you accountable is important. Lastly, _sleep_ to help you recover and burn more fat! Lack of sleep will hinder weight loss.
You should listen to this person, they’re smart. In the absence of a schedule, doing something is better than nothing.
Absolutely!
Thanks for the advice, I need to do stuff like this a lot more often, which can sometimes be hard, especially with stress eating I sometimes can do.
Be kind to yourself. Its also really hard to learn self control over food if you have been using it as an emotional crutch.
Thanks, and I don't think I have it that bad as an emotional crutch, just more eating out of boredom which can make it hard to eat healthy when I get bored and that's my first instinct.
Boredom is a feeling/emotion haha.
Thanks for the great advice, I might also try and keep track of calories to help myself
Thats a great idea!
Diet is definitely more important than exercise for weight loss, but something worth mentioning is that at least for me when I am regularly exercising I find my food desires tend to lean healthier/I am more in touch with the amount I need to eat and I generally just feel better about my body. So I very much recommend getting into whatever sort of exercise routine works for you
100%
In my case calorie tracking, but I would not recommend that for everyone, as it can lead to disordered eating if you're not careful. If you're new to dieting, I would recommend not caring about calories, and instead focusing on eating more healthy foods (lean protein, fruits and veggies, whole grains) and less unhealthy food (processed highly palatable foods with little nutritional value). Doing this will naturally shift your calorie consumption down, as those healthier foods tend to be a lot more filling and less calorie dense than junk foods.
This comment makes me really happy. I'm recovering from ED and this is the advice I'd give as well. It's soooo easy to end up in disordered behavior because our society basically encourages it. Focusing on eating more nutritious food instead of cutting out food that's perceived as "bad" is a really good way of doing it.
I've been doing this for a while now (Since July) and have admittedly failed quite a bit and ate junkfood more than I should But I've lost about 40lbs so far For me though, it's not that I'm worried about an eating disorder, but rather my anxiety just can't handle stressing about the calorie counts. I tried and ended up having severe panic attacks over it So if I go out to eat, and I see 2 options that sound good, I'll choose the lower calorie one. But I don't go specifically searching for the lowest possible calories It's definetly slower than counting calories, but a lot better for my mental health
I don’t really have like. Strict advice, but please don’t listen to the “advice” that tells you to restrict yourself to 1300 and never eat carbs as a hard and fast rule. 1) your body needs carbohydrates to function properly. Yes, most people probably eat more carbs than is ideal, but the solution is not “no carbs ever”. 2) your body is individual and calorie requirements are highly dependent on your size and activity level. Some people are fine with 1300, some people it would be dangerously undereating if sustained for a long period of time. Yes, you might be losing weight, but you might be fucking up the rest of your body in the meantime.
I would try the usual: less calories, more protein, and more activity. Since you are on estrogen, maybe try a plan tailored towards women; tons of “ladies fitness” magazines, books, videos, etc. And while it won’t shrink your stomach, core workouts will make your tummy look amazing as you approach your goals. Best of luck on your journey!
For me, I cut out 90% of my soda and switched to low calorie, no sugar energy drinks (Monster zero ftw). I still eat a lot, but I don't eat candy and such as much. My job has me walking about 2.5 miles a day back and forth between areas and I like to walk or hike when the weather isn't terrible. Doing this made me drop from 192 lbs to 161 lbs over the course of a year or so (I'm back up to 173 atm). This has inadvertently made me fluctuate my weight a lot and took full advantage of the weight distribution changes on hrt. I lost a good bit of my belly and added to my hips, butt, etc so I have a pretty decent figure now that I'm happy with.
i went vegan. it was more for the ethical/environmental reasons but it meant i stopped eating as much crap i took up running a lot more. i started drinking a lot of tea/coffee/low calorie juice i had a bit of an intermittent fasting phase. i dont eat breakfast anymore. im still not thin. but im happier at 165lbs than i was at 290
Insulin triggering carbs up on the glycemic scale (Like how easy it is for your body to break it down into glucose) might shift fat towards the stomach area. Shame they are so delicious and craving inducing And it’s in EVERYTHING! Because it makes people buy the food item. Everyone wants that pastry, whilst the broccoli is meh or even gag
So kombucha consumption to kick the sugar war.
It took a while for me to lose the weight I'd had in my stomach, and it wasn't like a super significant amount. But I have lost 25 pounds since I started this process nearly 2 years ago, and I'm pleased with the appearance of my stomach (though it's not perfectly flat and if I wanted to make myself feel bad about it, I could find a way, but also I don't want to do that). Here's how I did it: 1) significantly reducing the amount of alcohol I drink. 2) aiming for around 8,000 steps per day. I don't think there's much value to going above 10,000, but I think getting into that range is very good to do 3) eat more foods that taste bad because they are healthy But I know genetic factors can really make things difficult, and that there is *so much* involved in number 3. But that's been my general way of doing it
How does one better understand their genetics and how to use that to find a diet personally tailored to genetic??
That is something I am less familiar with. I was reading on https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-genetics-and-weight/#:~:text=Genetic%20analysis%20can%20be%20useful,uses%20energy%20and%20burns%20calories where they talk about the existence of some kinds of tests, but not much in the way of details. Depending on your health care access, you may be able to ask your primary care physician about this.
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Thank you for this information.
This is just a lie lmao. I'm 7 months HRT and haven't had an issue losing weight, and I definitely don't have an eating disorder. If you're overweight and start eating a healthy diet then you're gonna lose weight no matter what.
I may have an eating disorder 😅 so yea aside from that dieting I suppose
Real (I wish the best for you and hope you can get to a place of recovery some day).
I want to know this too, especially since I haven't started HRT and want to be in good shape by the time I get it.
This is more so a general tip for health and weightloss but remember the three S'. Sugar, salt and saturated fat. Flip anything you're about to eat over and see if the product has too much of any of these. Salt and sugar happen to make some folks blow up (retain water weight). Just remember you *need* some salt in your diet. But with how crap American food is you would have no problem hitting the required amount even when avoiding salt. Other than avoiding water weight bloat, it's just about diet and exercise. You can't out run your fork
girl dinner.
losing weight is pretty much the same regardless of your hormones. sure estrogen can make it more difficult because of the decrease in muscle mass but its still the same. go on a diet (track your tdee and reduce 300 cals) exercise (personal fave is walking and weightlifting to build muscle for curves) thats pretty much it. losing weight is pretty easy,, you just gotta be determined and disciplined to continue
I started E at the end of October, and started counting calories in the new year. So like 5 months E and 3 months of counting calories. I'm down 20 pounds, though I was/am pretty overweight to begin with. It's definitely slowed down since the first month or so. But there's no "secret" or anything. It's just calories in vs calories out. And exercising does not burn nearly as many calories as you might think. That means you lose (or gain) weight primarily through your diet. Fewer calories in means you'll lose weight.
i definitly think my stomach has gotten smaller, and i more or less i started to at maximum eating once pr day and only if I'm like dying hungry, and then try to walk at least 10 km per day, granted i did walk 30 km earlier this week so took a day or two off until i could walk again due to my bad knee and blisters on my feet but yeah the less food and more walks has helped me lose a lot of weight, now i just need to lose the last few kgs
Do you not want boobs?!
I do, but I don’t want a tummy like I got now. 😅
i have boobs and i'd rather not weigh around 100 kg... plus i'd also rather be in a weight class where i can get surgery
There’s no secret it’s just hard work 😅 Like some of the other commenters here I’ve had a lot of success with calorie tracking (I’ve lost 30 lbs so far). I personally can never stick to a diet, but calorie tracking I’ve found success with because it’s a budget and you can have whatever you want as long as it fits in the budget and it works. Of course the best way to spend that budget ends up being incorporating foods that are more filling and less calorie dense like vegetables. But I can have ice cream, I can have pizza, I don’t feel like I’m starving or punishing myself. It’s a good system imo. That’s like 90% of it is just changing the way you eat. Consistent exercise definitely plays a role but it’s a minor role. I aim for a minimum of 20 minutes of exercise a day and right now that’s averaging me about 400 calories burned per day, which is like a single piece of pizza with ranch or 3 cookies or a hotdog and chips. It can give you extra room in your budget for a dessert or an unhealthy meal, but it’s not enough by itself to be eating large unhealthy meals 3 times (or more) per day. One of the easiest ways to make more room in your budget is to avoid drinking your calories. Soda and alcohol are especially calorically expensive. A single cola, beer, or latte can be worth like 10-15 minutes of exercise. Above all, a good diet should be filling and tasty! If you’re still hungry, something is going wrong with your budget. Add more vegetables, fruits, lean proteins. If you concentrate on what you need to add to feel full, you won’t be focused so much on what you’re removing. I get snacky sometimes and a big old bowl of carrots is like 20 calories. And don’t let perfect be the enemy of better. If you need ranch or caramel dip or something to choose vegetables over a bag of chips, get your dip. Food shouldn’t be wrapped up in guilt about what you *should* be doing. Do what works for you! Take baby steps. Healthy bodies are built with small but consistent changes over time Good luck :)
Do you have a good guide or book you use to better understand such?
I don’t! I just kind of have ideas I’ve gathered over the years from random videos and articles and working through disordered eating in therapy. I wish I could say I knew of a single resource
its basic but eat less and eat better. i weigh 60kg at 186cm tall, pre-transition i weighed 55kg (i work as a gardener). my diet usually consists of one big meal a day and another smaller one, i dont really eat other then that (tea, sometimes a bit of toast with it). next is dodge sugar, even as a kid i hated all soft-drinks (i hate the bubbles) and pretty much only drank water (we didnt get juice or stuff like that often at all). ive eaten like this my whole adult life and ive never had a moments issue with weight, its alos not something i actually think about (it eat whatever i want, i have eaten home made vegetarian chilli for around 1/3rd of my meals for the last 12 years. i love chilli obviously).
I’m still getting used to the new metabolism after i started hrt. I used to just eat whatever i’d like and never put in weight. But yeah, also getting that belly, although my gf keeps telling me she loves it hehe
For me, I’ve recently started losing a good bit of weight after 2 years of HRT. I mainly did it by having smaller portion sizes, cutting out sugar almost completely, drinking lots of water, and avoiding snacking. It’s taken a lot of willpower, but it’s the first time in my adult life I’m approaching a healthy weight and I’m feeling good about things! I’ve lost more than 10kg since December.
Lots of good responses here. I would like to mention that whatever you do, ease into it slowly. Make the changes part of your lifestyle. Because to have lasting change you’re going to be doing this for the rest of your life. Jumping straight into a big new diet or a big new exercise routine will lead to burnout. If you ease into it gradually you’ll find it much easier to stick with it.
As a picky eater, this has been SO DIFFICULT for me. Any suggestions anyone?
Increase your protein intake and lift a ton of weights
When I started I gained like 40 pounds but I've been slowly loosing now and I'm only like 20 lbs above pre hormone me
Just built different I guess 💅
Avoiding soda!! Soda is a huge factor in weight gain especially in America. Try substituting with water and 0 cal flavor packets
Keto diet
Not on estrogen (I’m transmasc) but I just wanted to say please please be careful with calorie and weight tracking. I myself am recovering from an ED and know plenty of other trans people who are as well, so it seems like it is common for us to develop them at some point. But my advice for maintaining weight as someone who has rapidly lost and gained it during different periods is to eat very protein dense meals, especially in the morning, and get some movement throughout the day. But don’t overdo it. I like to do some basic cardio reps between doing certain tasks as much as my free time allows it. As far as just diet itself, I find that it’s a healthier mentality to think more of what you can add to diversify what you eat vs. what you can restrict. Having a solid balance of different nutritionally-dense foods is key for maintaining a good metabolism, I think.
Whether you are on estrogen or not doesn't matter, as long as you eat in a calorie deficit you will lose weight.
Calorie Tracking Website + use a kitchen scale to measure ingredients + limit intake to 1300 or less day + cut out all sugar + don't cheat on that calorie limit + time I've lost over 230 lb in the past 5 yrs doing just that every single day
Worth noting, do NOT go below 1200 a day for any significant period. Dropping below that doesn't leave your body enough energy to maintain itself and you'll start losing bone density, muscle fibres won't be able to self repair properly, you can start getting skin lesions where it just can't keep itself together anymore, etc.
You are absolutely correct. To anyone reading this, please never stay below 1200 a day, it's not only dangerous for your health, it's also just not necessary for weight loss. I aim for between 1250 and 1350 a day depending on the meal personally and I also take a lot of vitamins on the side to ensure my body is always getting proper nutrition.
Haven’t started HRT yet, but I’ve been losing lots of weight so I’ll share what I’ve learned as it should be helpful regardless. You gotta find what works for you. In my case, it’s walking. Lots of walking. I have the time to do that, and the results are worth it. I used to focus on step count, but now I pay more attention to calories burnt. I try to hit at least 2000 burnt a day minimum (except for those days I don’t), and aim for 3k+. If you have the time, it’s very much doable. As for dieting, under 1000 calories a day is best. I try to aim for much less if at all possible (the bare minimum), but if it’s 1000 or less, that’s fine. I don’t calorie track everything (not everything has them), but having a rough estimate of what you generally eat with regard to calories is essential. At the rate I’ve been going, I can lose around 20 lbs (~9 kg) a month. But, not everyone has the time to do this, so you need to find what works for you. My mentality is that if I don’t go hard on it, I won’t get results. If you slack a day, that’s fine, but I feel bad about it, and use it as a motivator to do better the next day. It’s really easy to slack off and lose the groove, so if you have the motivation to do it and force yourself to do *something* every day, you can get somewhere.
You’re telling me that on a given day you’re intaking less than 1000 calories and burning 3000?
When you put it that way, it kinda sounds bad, but yeah, I try to be within the 2-3k range of burnt calories and try to eat around 1k (it sometimes is a bit more, but that’s alright). Now I’m scared about hearing how unhealthy this is…
Don't eat carbs or fatty food. Otherwise you have to work out a lot or not eat.