I always try to relate my blogs to my experiences at dressings and one of the biggest worries I get from my girls is weight loss. You see it so often that they have such an ideal shape that they would like to achieve but are frustrated as to how to get there as their body just does not want to play. Corsets and shapewear can do some of the work to change the different bone structures from male to female but there are parts where the only real solution is to lose the muscle or fat.
As we all know losing weight is about a combination diet and exercise. But for a male to achieve the female form a lot more has to be thought into your regime. Firstly its down to hormones. Women have a predominance of Oestrogen and men Testosterone. These affect the body in different ways in things such as where we put weight on (women for hips, men the stomach) and what happens when we do exercise. This is particularly relevant to men who bulk up much more quickly in the chest area than women. So you see those macho gym junkies who have big big shoulders that look so naff, just does not appeal to me! Secondly there is the pure onslaught of age. As we grow older our metabolism slows down and whilst we may eat and drink the same amounts our bodies take longer to process it so it stores the excess as fat. Our approach to life has to be changed!
Transvestite Bodybuilder
So in revising our plans to look more womanly we have to review certain basic elements. These should be lifestyle changes and, as your body adjusts to them, so will your shape. The first thing however as with all lifestyle changes is it needs a shock to kick it out of old habits.
I am not going to prescribe the ideal diet or exercise regime just to try to point out where you should focus your attention. Through this we hope we can get over that nub of just not being able to shift weight. I have one girl who exercises at the gym 5 days a week and eats salad yet her weight stays the same. But that is because her body has adjusted to this so it sees this as the norm. You have to change the norm. Oh God I am sounding like a lifestyle guru! Anyone who has met me knows I am the complete opposite!
Diet
Purely because it worked on Tara and I at the beginning of the year I would recommend either The High Fat Diet or The Cabbage Soup Diet. Both are based on the old Atkins concept that to really lose weight you must cut out carbohydrates in your diet. The principle that the body cannot process protein and carbohydrates at the same time. So it just stores the carbs as fat whilst it cleans up the protein which it finds easier to digest When it is ready to get rid of the carbs, normally just by the next meal, there is more protein to get rid of so none of the carbs get burned off. Any beneficial exercise you have done in the intervening time use up the new proteins, not the carbs!
All I can say is it seems to work. Combine this with the 5 days good eating mixed with 2 days low intake (max 500 calories) for 3 weeks and you are well on the way to losing the right amount of weight and re-training your body.
From a tranny perspective I would also suggest you cut out those muscle building things such as red meat as well, at least for the first 4 weeks. Then as all the diets say the shock treatment is over so you can start to add a few carbs and meats! Worst of all for me was stopping alcohol for the first 3 weeks!
Exercise
This is really the hard part. Fundamentally this is about building lean, long muscle that looks great in stockings and heels with a great short skirt. Men tend to do so much intensive physical exercise and unfortunately when they want to wear that short revealing skirt their strong calves and thighs just do not show the physique they so desire. I am afraid its more about lower intensity longer duration workouts with less resistance, combined with lots of stretching. You can also look at other sites such as Sukanya's and Adriana who make it simple for further tips. But the fundamentals are do plenty of low impact long distance cardio work with light resistance ( weights ). If you have the guts i would also suggest you try pilates (which will so help your girly posture) or Yoga. I know they are seen as a bit girly but they are geared to relaxing and creating lithe muscle rather than explosive short bursts. Sorry!
Tara used to do big sprints, heavier weights and power exercises and had that 'great' (matter of opinion) man-chest powerful shoulders, thighs and calves. Now with a few adjustments, that unfortunately take up more gym time she has reduced her manly physique and looks so much better in those short dresses she loves to wear that she knows are far too young for her. The slut! But yes exercise programmes suggested by people such as Ali Jones and Renee Reyes.
We also try to get out doing higher intensity walking, but then we have the beach close by!
One exercise I would however suggest you do is plenty of squats. Men tend to have a flatter bum than women. Hence why hip pads with inserts are available. But regular daily squats say 100 per day, will see that gorgeous j-lo butt emerging in a couple of weeks. It hurts at first but do persevere.
I would also suggest calf raises as well as its really helpful if you are going to be wearing high heels for significant periods of time, but again only in a stair and no extra weights.
So those are my recommendations get on a carbs free diet with a low impact longer workout exercise regime and ideally couple it with a yoga/pilates class. Simple...not! I am not the walking example of this but I have just given up smoking and that was my first goal of the year. The weight and exercise are now following. I promise, and that is now in writing.
Tara a glass of Sauvignon please this blog has got me exhausted!
Susie XXX
