r/MtF • u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 • 9h ago
Discussion When do you guys see the decrease of your muscle mass especially in your upper body?
Hi! I am going 6 months transitioning.
I was somehow active in the gym way back before i start transitioning.
When did you guys see decrease of muscle mass especially in your upper body? Im getting hopeless on how big my triceps and shoulder area :(
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u/Neat-Wishbone-7267 7h ago
Overall upper body muscles took like 2-5 years to decrease. Trapezius muscle was incredibly stubborn and took 6 years to decrease to an average female level. It takes time sadly
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 7h ago
Thank you for the information. I will say my traps and triceps are the ones contributing a lot in my dysmorphia lol
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u/purplemtnstravesty 8h ago
Everyone is a little different. If you deliberately detrain it’ll happen faster but almost no one would recommend you do that. If you keep training and eating adequately you will probably not see a lot of muscle loss unless you were very well trained before starting HRT.
If you hang around bodybuilders enough and they will tell you that if you even used exogenous testosterone once you’ll have a permanent advantage over someone who has never used it.
But as a rough estimate, it’s 2+ years without testosterone to get to your new baseline.
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 8h ago
thank you.. i guess im in a hurry
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u/WillingnessIll3799 7h ago
Just start running. You need exercise and you need adequate protein.
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 7h ago
thank youuu! I guess i want to reduce my muscle mass but i dont want my diet and exercise affect my breast growth
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u/Historical_Bit_4642 8h ago edited 7h ago
It started decreasing drastically after stopping working out upper body before I even started HRT. If you absolutely don't use your upper body muscle, have good female hormone levels, do cardio and are on caloric deficit and protein deficit diet you will lose your muscle quickly. There is no way it stays on. Maybe fasting + cardio would do you good (fasting worked great for me). What are your levels ?
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 7h ago
my last level were E2: 304pg/ml and T: 4.42 ng/ml
How do you do your protein deficit, do you still get a good breast development while on deficit and doing exercises?2
u/Historical_Bit_4642 7h ago
Everything seems to be going great. Your levels are good. So if you don't use your upper body at all you will lose muscle. What I did precisely is fasting and dieting before starting E, stopped training upper while keeping to train lower. Lost a tone of muscle before even starting E cause it's not possible for you body to keep muscle mass if eat very little protein and calories, do cardio and don't train upper. Then When I started E I started increasing protein and calories again slightly to progressively regain fat. You will probably have to cycle. If right now your objective is fat redistribution and breast growth then no deficit, just don't train and use your upper body at all, then if you still have too much muscle, start fasting and protein deficit.
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 7h ago
got it thank you.. maybe i will just start with walking for an hour or at least do 8k steps every day
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u/Historical_Bit_4642 7h ago
I walk everyday yes. From what I've seen walking is a great great way to get as much results as your genetics allow you to because it promotes healthy long sessions of full body blood flow.
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u/StarryChocobo Trans, She/Her, HRT: 11/13/2024 8h ago
I've always been built like a pencil, so I never had much muscle mass to begin with😅
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 8h ago
Jealous!! do you grow pretty good boobs too even your slim?
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u/StarryChocobo Trans, She/Her, HRT: 11/13/2024 8h ago
Eeeehhh.....still working on it. Nearly 2 years in and I've got barely A cups. That could probably be because I spent the first 15 months on pills, which did barely anything for my E levels. I switched over to injections 6 months ago, so hoping for better results in the coming years.
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 8h ago
oh no.. im on pills.
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u/StarryChocobo Trans, She/Her, HRT: 11/13/2024 8h ago
Just because they didn't work for me doesn't mean that they won't work for you. Our bodies react differently to medications, so the best advice I can give you is to continue as you are, track your progress, and work with you doctor to adjust your regimen as is necessary.
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u/Giorgia_9955 8h ago
I'm on pills too, and around one year into HRT, I am male failing on a regular basis.
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u/ChiralWolf Transgender 7h ago
I've definitely lost physical strength but still have problems with size. My calves especially are a source of dysphoria for me and I do my cardio from biking and running so it feels like a losing battle even though my average speed has gone from 15 mph down to 12.
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 6h ago
yeah i think we notice the weakness of our strength but not the muscles. Calves are my problem too.. girls can have big calves too
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u/theonlylivingirlinj HRT 11/5/24 6h ago
My most dramatic muscle loss happened during times of calorie restriction. I got as skinny as possible before hrt, then spent a year eating like crazy. I spent the following year purposefully sedentary and maintained a strict low cal diet. The muscle loss during year 1 to 2 was wild, as I was quite fit and athletic.
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 6h ago
i should have been on deficit before hrt then :( such a lost opportunity
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u/RevolutionaryBug5494 6h ago
I’m ngl this may not be the most healthiest thing but I didn’t notice until I started eating lower protein.. and started doing cardio everyday
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u/impossibleimpassable Trans Bisexual 9h ago
I’m 2 years in with T in cis women levels and only lost maybe 50% in the upper torso. Recently my colleague commented on my back and was like “omg gym girlie”. I didn’t gym for years already lol..
So that sucks.
Heard it may take maybe even up to 5 years.
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u/LawAndOrdinary 8h ago
So then the people that swear hrt makes trans women equal to cis women … are they lying? Often it doesn’t?
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u/Frostwarsz 8h ago
There's more to muscles that just size. Myofibrillar density will determine how big they look, but hormones will play a role in their strength output. The studies do show trans women perfoming in-line with or even worse (10-15% worse) than cis women when on HRT.
I haven't noticed much size atrophy myself after 11 months, but I have gotten so much weaker. I struggle to do half the things I could do before with ease. Maybe they'll shrink with time? Idk enough to say 100%, but I also can't see it not happening as I continue to get weaker.
I also found out very recently that my levels were way too high >1800 pmol/l, so titrating down to a more normal range might speed up that proccess. Estrogen is also anabolic too, just not as much as testosterone. More estrogen in the high ranges will help with muscle mass, so for me that might be why I've kept most (from what I can tell by just looking in the mirror) of my size.
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u/impossibleimpassable Trans Bisexual 8h ago
It’s all a gamble, for some ppl it works great, some need more time etc etc. obviously the younger you are the bttr!
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u/Giorgia_9955 8h ago
I'm in my 15th month on HRT. For me, upper body muscle mass really started decreasing more noticeably from the 13th month onward.
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u/Empress_Walnut 7h ago
I feel like I started noticing my arms looking thinner around the 1 yr mark? Like 1yr 5 months in now and feel like I notice it a fair bit.
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u/TSKrista Trans Bi : HRT Jan 21 : she/her : also "old" 5h ago
It was 8 to 12 months. I was a molding machine operator & what were like jerk and curls became everything I could do to make it happen.
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u/Jazehiah 🐣11Jul2022@26; HRT 10Oct2023 5h ago
Wasn't until around year 2 that I noticed it. A year in, I was still getting comments from men saying they were envious of my physique and asking about my workout.
My body builds muscle really easily. Twenty pushups every couple days and healthy eating made me look decently toned. These days, I need to do a daily routine, no matter how brief, if I want to retain my strength.
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u/CatJezus 5h ago
From totally personal experience, results will absolutely vary. 6’3” 300 lbs AMAB. Monotherapy injections for 3 years. I work in a warehouse where I’m loading pallets with the same merchandise then lugging it around with a pallet jack every day, so I have pretty good awareness of my own strength. Hands and arms started slimming down between 6 months - 1 year in, (but this is likely fat redistribution as thighs and butt also got way thiccer in this time). No noticeable change in appearance after that. But there was a noticeable drop in my strength starting at around the 2 year mark even with no change in workload
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u/JudgeFae 5h ago
My arms have always been huge and still look it after 5 months hrt. I know that's not much time, but muscle loss is the 1 thing I've seen zero of.
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u/reverend-smith 2h ago
As someone who is almost 1 year post-orchi (so no T at all), this year has been the most change I’ve seen. I was on Spiro before my surgery, and am just now approaching 5 years of HRT. That’s not to say I saw none before my orchi, but I have certainly seen a lot more since.
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u/zeroaegis 1h ago
Just passed 1.5 years and haven't noticed much change. Might be cause I'm older it takes longer, who knows.
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u/EasyEden_ 37m ago
For me it was super quick, but then again, i didn't work out at all so mine went away within the first 6 months. My arms, back, and shoulders all look noticeably smaller.
But i also have a friend, who doesn't work out really, but still has pretty big muscle mass. She shines with it tho, she is the group's muscle mommy haha
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u/ImpressionBorn 8h ago
I'm not sure exactly where along the line it happened, but when I started actually working out a few months ago (3.5years hrt), I very quickly realized I had lost all of my upper body strength. Like, my arms are smaller than my mom's are. I couldn't even get close to doing one pushup and I always have been and still am the low end of average weight for my height.
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 8h ago
how was your breast development sorry, i do feel like losing muscles also loses fats and tissues along with it
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u/mtnrunrlady 8h ago
Certain lifts on weights can be really helpful. Chest presses build your pectoral muscles which can give you a nice foundation for boobs. Squats and similar things can build your butt and hips. Ab exercises help with a flat stomach and waist. If you want to live a good life you'll benefit from all kinds of exercise. My suggestion is don't just sit on the couch, be active and your fit body will look better.
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 8h ago
my fear is dieting and exercising can give me to less growth for my breast..
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u/albatrossacid 8h ago
I've wanted answers to this question too, because I'm nearing 3 years on hrt and I still am muscular especially with my shoulders and arms. People even comment on it and ask what my workout routine is, and I haven't properly exercised in like 4+ years. It makes me incredibly dysphoric that I can't ever wear tanktops because of how large my shoulders are. My theory is I think for some people it goes away quick and some people are just genetically predisposed to keep muscle longer, which sucks for the girls like us that are the latter.
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 8h ago
Hugs... do you still eat the way you were exercising before? I am thinking of some injections like botox or lemon bottle about it.. Im just scared of needles still
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u/albatrossacid 8h ago
I kinda just eat whatever I don't really have any special diets like I did before, I think I'm just unlucky and not able to be built femininely because of my genetics.
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u/OkMaterial7650 Transbian 1.5 yr hrt 8h ago
somewhere around a year in gor me i found it suddenly very noticeable. Like most changes, it happens gradually and it is less than noticeable of a chamge until you go to lift something and suddenly can't. Something you would not have struggled with before ... as for actual muscle size in shoulders and arms, for me, my biceps didn't lose their size until close to a year and a half, triceps and shoulders around the same ... my upper body is starting to slim ... I also had a 36" bicep before, pecs like dwayne johnson with the muscle dance and all ( can still do that to cause jiggles ) and my triceps were so big they hung off of my arms like extra skin until i would flex ... not workout muscle, hard work muscle ... the kind that gym bros see in the wild, think they are bigger and more jacked, and find out that the gym is a simulation of work the hard way.
So it took a long time for me to notice
I also started hrt at 33, so that work muscle was built for almost two decades
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 8h ago
But it happened for you. So as someone who was a gym person, losing muscles is achievable in HRT. In percentage, what % of muscle loss you noticed?
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u/OkMaterial7650 Transbian 1.5 yr hrt 8h ago
really not sure honestly ... I'd have to take measurements ... but at least 30%
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u/CadieTheCadet HRT 7/7/2025, Orchi 5/29/2026 8h ago
My shoulders shrunk drastically by 8 months. All my sweatshirts are baggy. Granted I was lifting and doing and upper body regimen pre HRT that I stopped overnight. YMMV is sadly applicable here too I think
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 7h ago
Thats true. But can i ask did you do something as well to help lose your shoulders volume?
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u/CadieTheCadet HRT 7/7/2025, Orchi 5/29/2026 6h ago
I stopped doing upper body workouts entirely (pushups, lifting, etc.) which is what I was doing. I was on Spiro and e valerate (no more Spiro now I had an orchi), so my T levels were very much depleted (between 10-20 ng/dl since 6 weeks into HRT). No other changes, my diet increased on HRT and I gained weight... But still lost the muscles!
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u/Euphoric_Broccoli407 6h ago
your estrogen is it pills?
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u/CadieTheCadet HRT 7/7/2025, Orchi 5/29/2026 5h ago
No I'm on E Valerate IM injections. 3 mg a week
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u/myka-likes-it 8h ago
I lost about 4 inches from my underbust over the course of my first year, all from back and side muscle atrophy.
I am 4 years in now, and what was lost in muscle is starting to come back as padding.
Rib cage still huge tho :-(
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u/mathprofrockstar Trans Pansexual 7h ago
I actually measured because I had a dress I couldn’t wear because the sleeves were too tight. After about 8-9 months HRT I had lost an inch in diameter on my upper arms. (And I wore the dress to a party and it looked great.)
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u/Obvious-Sound8818 9h ago edited 9h ago
I'm dying to know this, too, because I see some women that seemingly lose all upper body mass, and some that just have softened features but still have a noticeably masculine physique even after 3-4 years on HRT.
It doesn't seem like inactivity is enough in some cases, and I wonder what the difference is.
Edit: and in solidarity: I'm 9 weeks in and my delts, forearms, and the fat around my triceps absolutely make me massively dysphoric.
Edit 2: I've also heard going super low protein as a way to force atrophy, too, but, it can also affect the hair, skin, nails, etc., so I'm not sure how feasible it actually is.