first attempt at recovering from bad dietary teachings

amondo_mi
amondo_mi Posts: 1 Member
edited November 16 in Introduce Yourself
hi im nathan, im a transman and id like to be healthy and build some muscle so i can have a more masculine appearance! i grew up in a house of weight obsessed people who would do diets like the 500calories a day challenge so for the longest time i thought that was healthy because they never told me it wasnt, they just said we needed to lose weight. i didnt even know a BMR was a thing- it feels like common sense that we naturally drop calories, but i always thought calories just added up or something and that i had to eat very little and work off as much as i ate. ive ended up very soft and frail with little to no muscle because of lack of nutrients.

ive already learned a lot from here and i plan to look around more to properly build a healthy and enjoyable diet and exercise routine. nice to meet you! :#

Replies

  • aimerspenguin
    aimerspenguin Posts: 5 Member
    Hey Nathan, nice to meet you too :) I'm glad you've learned a lot on here. This is a great place for support.
  • __TMac__
    __TMac__ Posts: 1,669 Member
    Welcome! I'd recommend reading all you can -- both here and elsewhere. There's a lot of conflicting advice so use your critical thinking skills. There are lots of good approaches.

    Since you're looking to build muscle, and not lose weight (is that correct?), you'll want to eat at maintenance or even a slight surplus, eat enough protein to support muscle growth, and lift heavy weights with a progressive program. I'm not clear if you're taking hormones yet, but if not, building bulky muscle may be a challenge. You may want to work with a trainer. Good luck to you!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    if you think you're suffering from malnutrition you need to see a doctor.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    Welcome, Nathan!

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10260499/i-like-old-posts-and-i-cannot-lie/p1

    Use this to get started. Lots of helpful info in these threads.

    If you have any specific questions, ask away!
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    Hi Nathan! welcome!

    i just want to say congrats on getting out of the diet vortex, it takes a long time to unlearn bad habits if it's what we grew up with. i come from a family of woo as well. if you haven't already i would set your stats in mfp and pick out your goals. if you want to build muscle you are probably going to need a bit of a calorie surplus which may be difficult coming from super restricted calories but there is lots of good info here and you can always reach out for advice.

    good luck and feel free to add me!
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