Am I eating enough?

jdbrrw

So basically I'm worried that I may not be eating enough. Not like I'm starving or anything...but I don't want the weight to come off too fast and me not be able to maintain it. I'd rather lose it gradually and be able to keep it off. I've noticed I'm still feeling pretty hungry throughout the day.

I am 5'8 and 192 lbs.
My goal weight is 145 lbs.

One reason I'm kind of confused about what I need to set my goal to be is that I'm female-to-male transgender. I have been undergoing testosterone hormone therapy for about 5 months now. I have gained some muscle just due to the hormones, but I'm not sure at this point whether I should be basing my calorie goals on female or male standards.

Right now I have my goals set to lose 1.5 lbs a week and my calorie goal is 1500. Is this too low?

Other info:
-I have a desk job so I'm seated most of the day, but I have been going to the gym about 2-3 times a week for the past couple of weeks, and it's my intention to keep that up.
-Right now I'm replacing 1-2 meals a day with a "meal replacement" shake. I know it's not the healthiest thing to do. It's not my intention to keep it up forever. But it's been very overwhelming for me to plan/prepare all of my meals with my schedule (I work ~50 hrs/wk and go to college full time). I've gotten discouraged in the past because of this, and I've found that the convenience of the shakes has helped me out a lot.
-I looked through my diary history and it looks like most days, I end up 200-300 calories short of what my goal is. Which means instead of 1500, I'm eating closer to 1200. I definitely feel like this is too low...so if I should really be eating more calories, at least it wouldn't be as bad if I didn't hit exactly on the mark.
-I do use a food scale so I feel pretty confident that what I am logging is accurate.

Can someone please help me figure out what a good goal would be for my calorie intake? If there are any changes I need to make with what I'm doing, please feel free to tell me. I'm open to suggestions.

sharday2005

Your fine

swaggityswagbag

Meal replacement shakes aren't necessarily sustainable either. If sustainable is a major concern you should be eating real foods.

For the record, when people say "sustain" in re: a diet, they mean "not falling off the wagon and going back to not caring at all". You don't actually have to sustain a specific low calorie diet, nothing about it being low calorie inherently makes losing weight as a whole unsustainable. Eventually you will bump up your calories when you reach your goal. "Sustainable" is basically another way of saying "likelihood of quitting".

If you're hungry, go ahead and eat more. But if you're strict, 1200-1300 will be fine. However, if you're going to the gym to strength train, you might want to bump it up on those days to be able to make actual progress.

Christine_72

I'm 5"8 and I do alternate day fasting. I eat 1550 cals on one day, then 500 calories the next, and repeat. My goal weight is 132lbs

Lasmartchika

You say you don't want to lose weight quickly, yet you have your goal at 1.5/week. How about if you try only 1/week or even .5/week? This way you have more calories to eat and you lose your weight gradually like you said that you want to do...

About whether you should go with male/female standards, I suggest you ask your doctor who could definitely answer that. 

healthygreek

I say closer to male standards since you are transitioning to a male. I also think you should try to eat more of your calories than drink them since you'll be learning how to eat the proper portions this way. If you MUST use the shakes temporarily, at least add snacks that you can sink your teeth into like peanut butter and apples, nuts, hummus/veggies and maybe a good quality high protein bar. You can get an insulated bag and use it for some cheeses or chicken or turkey and maybe some Fage yogurt and hard boiled eggs. Healthy fats and protein will keep you satisfied throughout the day and give you more energy.
Please try to eat the full 1500 calories allotted to you and even more if you're still hungry. There's no need to be hungry as you lose!
It just requires a bit more planning but you can do it!

Liftng4Lis

If you're going to male, you need more calories, than a female would. Why are you using replacement shakes instead of food?

Kalikel

Doctor, doctor, doctor. It would seem to make sense that you'd need additional calories, but I have no clue what is going on with you.

RodaRose

Eat more. Change your goals to 1 pound (or even one half a pound) a week.

jdbrrw wrote: »

with my schedule (I work ~50 hrs/wk and go to college full time). I've gotten discouraged in the past because of this, and I've found that the convenience of the shakes has helped me out a lot.
-I looked through my diary history and it looks like most days, I end up 200-300 calories short of what my goal is. Which means instead of 1500, I'm eating closer to 1200.

1 Those many hours a week are not sustainable. Remember that you want good grades and you want to do well on the job. Cut back one of them (school or the job) to part time.
Trust me on this. You need a better plan.

2 Eat more. Change your goal for now to one half a pound a week so that it will not matter too much whether you are using female or male standards -- either way you can benefit from one half pound a week until you get better info. Contact the office giving you the hormones to ask about calories. Someone there is supposed to know those things.
And PLEASE eat the amount that you decide. Set a goal and follow through.

Setting workable plans with school, with work, and with calories is all part of taking care of yourself.
You deserve good things.
If you need more calories and protein and sugar, keep granola around. Or buy granola bars for about 150 calories. They are usually tasty.

GaleHawkins

This is a question perhaps only your doctor is in a position to give you such advice. Best of luck as you morph to a male. Does the hormone therapy make you want to eat more?

jdbrrw

Hey guys. Thanks for the feedback. I do eat a lot of snacks, like granola bars, fruit, nuts, yogurt, etc. My diary is open if anyone wants to take a look at what my food intake is like. I have been trying to eat mostly solid food especially for the last few days, and I know that the shakes are not sustainable. I'm just using them as a stepping stone to preparing most of my own food. I technically only work 40 hours, but it takes me about an hour and a half to get to work, so I spend a lot of time commuting. I do plan on cutting back some on work though next semester. Honestly, transitioning is expensive so I try to work as much as I can without getting burnt out. Yes, hormone therapy has increased my appetite. But I also have been guilty of overeating in the past so I'm trying to train myself to realize what is physical hunger vs. mental cravings.

WalkingAlong

If you're trying to decrease in size, I think low cal is fine (and so are shakes). It's not forever. If you're trying to increase your muscle mass, then you'd probably be better off changing tack when you go for that goal. Good luck!

TimothyFish

Surgery doesn't magically give you a Y chromosome, so you should still use the female numbers.

Sued0nim

TimothyFish wrote: »

Surgery doesn't magically give you a Y chromosome, so you should still use the female numbers.

I think it's more to do with hormones and musculature rather than chromosomes

jdbrrw

TimothyFish wrote: »

Surgery doesn't magically give you a Y chromosome, so you should still use the female numbers.

To my knowledge, the reason that the numbers differentiate between male and female standards is that men burn more calories at rest than women do. This is due to the fact that A ) men tend to weigh more and B ) men have increased musculature compared to women. There is no reason that simply having a Y chromosome would cause someone's caloric intake needs to change. The testosterone I inject every other week has increased my muscle mass and my hormone levels are within normal male ranges...so I'm pretty sure that my chromosomes have nothing to do with it.

I never even mentioned surgery in my post so I'm not sure why you even mentioned that, and besides that, I found your comment to be ignorant and unnecessary, not to mention bordering transphobic. I don't understand why you would reply without having something positive/useful to contribute to the conversation.

wkwebby

jdbrrw wrote: »

TimothyFish wrote: »

Surgery doesn't magically give you a Y chromosome, so you should still use the female numbers.

To my knowledge, the reason that the numbers differentiate between male and female standards is that men burn more calories at rest than women do. This is due to the fact that A ) men tend to weigh more and B ) men have increased musculature compared to women. There is no reason that simply having a Y chromosome would cause someone's caloric intake needs to change. The testosterone I inject every other week has increased my muscle mass and my hormone levels are within normal male ranges...so I'm pretty sure that my chromosomes have nothing to do with it.

I never even mentioned surgery in my post so I'm not sure why you even mentioned that, and besides that, I found your comment to be ignorant and unnecessary, not to mention bordering transphobic. I don't understand why you would reply without having something positive/useful to contribute to the conversation.

You are correct. I would suggest to calculate the numbers for your TDEE as a female and male then subtract off the correct numbers to lose your desired amount (now you have the TDEE - 10% or so for both). Look at how long your transition will take (i.e. 3 months) to be fully counted as a male hormonally.

Then average out the difference per day over the course of the transition time, then you'll be at your correct calories at the same time that you transition fully. I'm a math geek so I am considering this to be similar to how you would titrate up to your maintenance calories from a deficit.

Psychgrrl

I would think the testosterone would help you increase muscle mass, which would indicate to me higher nutritional needs for your female body. It seems being biologically female, but undergoing hormone therapy as you transition to male would put your healthy/ideal weight and nutritional goals between the male and female needs. Which really are different. No wonder you posed your question! The answer seems like both and neither!

I would seek out a medical opinion--it can't be the fist time your doctor has heard this question and will surely have some good resources for you. What about a support group that's more focused than this one--people who've gone through f-m themselves and can relate to what you're going through? From the students I work with I understand the physical appearance aspect of the transition is really important for most, but there will probably be other questions you will have as well.

I'm really happy for you that you're taking the steps to be who you are and are being so meticulous regarding your health and well-being!