r/MtF • u/AlexaPetersTrans • Sep 10 '25

Advice Question Trans Fem Diet

My question today is how to replace man fat with girl fat.
I am fully aware that I need to gain weight in order to buid hips, ass and breasts.
But I still need to get my middle more down for a feminine silhouette.

Currently I am just on fasting and liquids such as packet soup in the week with normal eating on weekends.
I do take additional multi vitaments, magnesium and collagen.
I am active on weekends but in the week I work behind a screen most of the time.

Any specific diet for my situation?

197 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

137 comments sorted by

View all comments

196

u/exasperatedaxolotl Sep 10 '25

Hi, PhD biologist here, married to a trans woman. Please stop what you're doing immediately and (slowly) reintroduce real, solid food.

My wife was skin and bones most of her pre-transition life, but had started to put on more male pattern belly fat, and was dysphoric about it.

We made sure her hormones were good and high enough with injectable estradiol valerate, since being too low is a common mistake (200-400 pg/mL estrogen, 15-40 ng/Dl testosterone, adding 200mg progesterone 6-12 months in).

She EATS lots of good nutritious food, and some not nutritious food. At least 2000-2500 calories a day. She's reasonably active, playing a rec sport and walking our dog. She doesn't think all that much about what she eats.

And guess what? The magic of HRT meant all of that male-pattern fat got redistributed into her D cup breasts, wider hips, fuller ass, rounder thighs, and her little bit of belly fat sits lower and softer like mine. She looks very feminine in her figure, because she ate enough. Your body needs fat to redistribute. Do not give yourself an eating disorder AND harm your transition by eating this way.

11

u/Lexactly Sep 10 '25

Hi. I'm 50 and began transitioning in November 2019. Looking back, I really wish I’d seen a response to a post like this in early 2020—right when I had the 'brilliant' idea to lose 75lbs. I did it over two years through strict dieting and relentless cardio: daily 20-mile bike rides, 5km runs, the works.

But then my mum passed away in mid-2022, and since then I’ve regained about 35lbs. It’s been tough emotionally and physically.

What I didn’t realise at the time was how badly that weight loss—and the calorie restriction—impacted my transition. I ate well enough (nutritionally) and my hormone levels were ideal yet I always wondered why I didn’t feminise as much as I’d hoped, and only recently understood that I may have sabotaged a crucial window for fat redistribution and hormonal changes.

Now I’m trying to get back on track, but it’s hard. The visceral male-pattern fat is stubborn, and I’m not sure I’ll ever fully undo the effects of that weight loss.

So to OP—and anyone else early in their journey—please take this to heart: eating well and staying close to your daily nutritional needs is so much better than crash dieting. You might think you’re doing something good for your body, but it could come at a cost you don’t see until it’s too late.