Fitness & Nutrition

by Carolyn Layt

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

Once we have started hormone therapy our bodies obviously start to change shape. With this change of shape though there is a downside. Biological females carry a higher percentage of body fat to that of biological males mainly due to reproductive reasons. For example, a trany girl who is quite slim in her former state has a possibility of not remaining so, after being on hormones for a while, especially if she lives a sedentary lifestyle. The one plus I have found is that weight appears to be distributed to the areas that I have wanted it to be i.e. the hips, gluteals and my bust. The obvious reason for this is that I am going through my second puberty.

... you will find that by just reducing your intake of fats into your diet, will help you lose weight.

From my personal point of view, my body fat seems to fit in all the right places for me now, whereas if I was overweight at any time when I was pre-hormone, it would appear other places, i.e. my stomach and the "love handles" on the lower back. Physiologically, weight distributes to all areas of the body, but does appear to show in certain areas.

Female to males are glad to get rid of their female shape. When they start putting on weight in the desired areas, it obviously makes them very happy. Males are usually physically bulkier than females, so obviously Female to Males are going to bulk up to some degree after starting hormone treatment.

Unfortunately, many people don't know how to lose weight in a correct and sensible manner, so quite often you will find they will go on a "crash" diet. This form of losing weight is quite unhealthy.

What happens is once you begin eating normally again, you will put on more weight than you did before. The reason behind this is that a "crash" diet will slow down your metabolic rate (the rate at which the body "burns up" or changes food into "fuel" or energy that the body uses). Once the metabolic rate is slower, your body also compensates for receiving less food by eating into your fat stores at a slower rate as well. This is a survival mechanism triggered by your body, so that your fat stores will last longer. We need a certain amount of fat stores in order to survive.

The correct way to diet is to eat sensible and healthy meals without eating too much fat. Many sports people eat more meals a day, but in smaller portions in order to keep their metabolism skipping along at a faster rate. In between meals, they will quite often have a piece of fruit or something similar to reduce the risk of bringing on something unhealthy. Also, you will find that by just reducing your intake of fats into your diet, will help you lose weight. If you cut down on fried food and food with a high sucrose (sugar) level, you will find that can help you lose weight also.

For example, I have a naturally slow metabolism and being a person who loves food, I found myself ballooning out to 84kg recently. What I decided to do, was to cut out my fats in my diet and at the moment I can proudly say I am now down to 77kg. I feel and look a lot better, but I have also made sure that I have had a sensible and safe diet that has allowed me to lose weight slowly and correctly. I still love junk food occasionally, so I treat myself about once a week. I find that if I don't treat myself like this, I will binge badly. It should be okay to treat yourself once in a while as a reward.

Another aspect of weight control is that we want to look like a certain person or achieve a certain body image, when unfortunately our genetic make-up doesn't allow us to look the way we would like to. For example, I am a solid girl. My mother in particular was very good at sport and passed these genes onto me. I have a lot of Fast Twitch Fibre (fibre that allows for quick muscle development, strength and speed), so this allowed me to be good at power sports and also allowed for good muscle development. As I played a lot of power sports before changing over, I built up my body. If I tried to look like Kate Moss, it would be impossible. Whereas, it is possible for me to have a body like Lisa Curry-Kenny because I have a similar genetic make-up to her. So what I am trying to say is that no matter how hard I try to reduce my body size by aerobic activity and degree by going through puberty in my younger years, so I know my bone structure will always be a little bit different to the average girl. We sometimes have physical limitations, but there is no reason why we can't all have good strong, healthy bodies. I also believe that the media has definitely a lot to answer for in regards to women wanting to be too slim.

I like the fact that I have an athletic body. I think we should all learn to like our bodies for what they are, because through exercising and a correct diet there is no reason why we all can't look good in our own way. Some people have Slow Twitch Fibre (good for endurance activities and they are more slightly built people). Someone like marathon runner Steve Moneghetti would have trouble looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger as they have totally different body types. Some of this is due to their chosen sports but a lot of it would also be due to genetics. Arnold's father was a stocky man whereas Steve Moneghetti's father would probably be of a more slight build.

For biological men, especially in ethnic cultures, there is too much of an accent on being big and strong. This is where the culture of taking steroids to build the body can be dangerous, especially if he doesn't know what he's doing. It would be nice if the accent was on a nice fit and healthy body for everyone.

What most people want is a quick fix. Unfortunately there is no quick fix. Exercise and diet go hand in hand. They ask "will my stomach become smaller if I do abdominal curls". The answer is no. The stomach muscles may become stronger, but the same amount of body fat remains there. You can't spot reduce by working a certain area.

You can increase muscle size by doing weights, but there will still be the same amount of body fat there, as this type of body fat isn't working your heart and lung capacity. To reduce the amount of body fat you have to do aerobic activity as well as a sensible and healthy diet. The reason for this is when you do aerobic activity, during the first 15 minutes you are burning into your glycogen stores (or the food from your last meal beforehand). After this period you begin burning into your fat stores. So it is probably advisable to do at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity at least three times a week. If you are a beginner starting out, three times a week is plenty, with a rest day in between, otherwise you may burn yourself out. Pacing yourself is vital.

Aerobic activities include aerobics, swimming, running, power walking, cycling etc. Once you get past this beginner stage you may like to increase the tempo. If you have no background with exercise I'd suggest you see a qualified personal trainer who can design a program to suit your specific requirements. A word of advice though, you probably should check their qualifications before you start as there are some shonky trainers in the fitness industry. They should at least be Fitness Leader 1 accredited with the Australian Fitness Accreditation Council. If you can't afford a personal trainer you could head to a fitness centre and ask for a tailored program to suit your needs. Fitness centres these days usually employ qualified fitness professionals to help you and your needs. If you are worried about being discriminated against, there are plenty of centres that are trany friendly in the inner city locality at least.

Remember, with a good exercise program and a sensible diet you should be able to see some steady improvement over time. It won't happen straight away, but it will happen if you're consistent with your diet and exercise program. One other thing is that you should have a thorough medical check up with your Doctor and a chat with your endocrinologist before you start.

Finally, what I have written in this article are some basic tips that you can follow and I hope that they can be of some use to you and your training. Good luck! If I can be of any assistance to you with either personal training or mapping out a program, I can be contacted through the Gender Centre.

I am a Level 2 Fitness Leader registered with the Australian Fitness Accreditation Council. I am presently teaching aerobics at Broadway Gym and The Fitness Exchange (Pride Centre) so if you want to come along and do a class, you are most welcome to do so.

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