Testosterone and Appetite/weight loss

Peacebone

I'm a trans guy who switched from testosterone gel to shots six weeks ago... My appetite has been much higher since. It feels like a much deeper urgent hunger and rather than craving sweet foods, I feel it's more for protein. The craving "healthier foods" may reflect lifestyle changes though... But the hunger is annoying.

I'm around 15lb "overweight" and want to drop this for chest surgery which, if I can access it hopefully will be late winter/spring next year. I'm worried the NHS will look for more reasons to stop people accessing it due to funding cuts, so wanna be in the best shape and place possible.

I work long hours and often six day weeks, usually leaving home 7:30am and often home 7:30pm and struggling to find time to get to the gym and also get anxiety there...

Any tips on shedding the fat I need to? I am an outreach support worker and walk a lot on my job, so hardly inactive.

CJ_Holmes

I don't want to make any assumptions about your body goals or current routines, but most of the trans guys I know feel the most satisfaction from the changes they have seen with building more muscle using weights. It's totally normal to feel anxiety and discomfort in a gym setting, and I'm sorry that you are experiencing that. Can you at least get some heavy dumbells and use them at home? Check out geekfitness and convict conditioning for ways to do fast, high-intensity bodyweight strength training with no equipment. Use the extra calories, protein, and T to build up more muscle, and you'll probably be happier with your physique both before and after the surgery.

shiftynj

What approximate percentage of your diet is protein? I just read in what looked to be a pretty scientific study that if you are trying to cut fat, you should be consuming about 1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight, and that different types of proteins are metabolized at different rates, but it didn't explain how to land on an overall baseline calorie count or what percentage should be fat/protein/carbs. I've been aiming for 20/40/40 based on a metabolic typing survey I filled out years ago, but I am a cis guy and not having to take hormone consumption into account. Wish I could be more helpful!

tarabole

If you are low on time, circuit training especially including plyometrics may be a good option for you as you will build muscle and burn fat at the same time so it tends to be a good option for busy people. Building muscle will increase your metabolism which may help with your appetite. Also consuming high protein foods and lots of vegetables can help keep you full, so that may also help. I wish I had more details on the impact of testosterone on appetite to share with you but this hasn't come up with any of my trans friends.