Practical Advice for FTMs #1


Invest in a set of Resistance Bands. 


It is very important to exercise if you plan to go on testosterone. There are many exercises that can be done with resistance bands, and one of the best exercises is pull ups.


There is something insidious about the trans influencer movement, as it skews the perception of testosterone therapy. The people who go on to become trans influencers are the very best outcomes. Everyone hopes that testosterone will make them look like a hot guy, but a lot of people just wind up looking like this:



This is not necessarily a bad outcome for some, until you consider the uncertainty that the future holds. There is always a possibility that you will have to stop testosterone therapy, in which case fat gained in the abdomen redistributes to the legs. If you started off as an androgynous female, the end result is actually worse than it was prior to treatment. How can you avoid this?


Negative outcomes can be prevented through careful monitoring. It can be challenging to monitor one’s weight, as testosterone therapy often causes water retention. You see the scale go up, and it is difficult to tell whether you are gaining fat, muscle, or just water. A helpful metric to record is pull up count. Prior to testosterone use, there is a decent chance you are unable to do unassisted pull ups. But even an unathletic female can do pull ups with resistance bands. 


If you decide to start testosterone, it is prudent to regularly record your pull up count. If it steadily increases, stay the course. If it starts to steadily decrease, you should reduce dose or cease treatment, especially if it ever drops below baseline. 


If you cannot do pull ups with resistance bands, you are too fat to start testosterone. Testosterone therapy is a bad idea if you are overweight. It will not make you into a hot guy, but will probably cause you to become obese. When you are overweight, your body is more likely to convert testosterone into estradiol, causing fat to accumulate in female regions of the body. Focus on losing weight before considering testosterone use.

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