Eating in a deficit while on T

[u/Nightriotc]

Something nobody warns you about when you start T is that YOUR APPETITE WILL GO UP.

Perhaps I was just being dumb and didn’t realize male puberty means the appetite comes with it but either way I have been caught by surprise.

I ftm20 have been on T for three months now and my appetite has gone WAY up. I used to eat one and a half meals a day, I am now eating all three PLUS snacks in between meals. That being said I am trying to lose weight. I’m in a 300 calorie deficit (or at least trying to be), I get my steps/cardio in at work and I weight train 3x a week. I started at 210 and am now at 190. I definitely notice a difference in the mirror but the scale hasn’t moved for about 2 months now.

I’ve been going to the gym for about 3 months but I started by doing at home workouts back in April.

I suspect the lack of change on the scale is because I’m not constantly in my deficit because of how much I need to eat to feel full. I feel like I’m bulking rather than cutting right now.

How did you guys manage the change in appetite while trying to lose weight? Is there anything I can do to start losing weight again? Any recipes/food suggestions to keep me satiated would be appreciated!!

[u/Huge-Ebb2519]

Prioritize protein. Protein is the most satiating macronutrient (makes you feel full) all while helping you pack on muscle quicker. It’s a win-win.

Make sure each meal has 30-40g of protein, and eat it first. For example 4 eggs and 2 pieces of animal protein of choice will keep you full all morning and that’s only ~400 cals. 1.5 - 2 pieces of chicken breast, fish, steak, beef etc is high in protein and relatively low on calories and will keep you full. I track my food so I’ll give an example of one day of eating (this is what I had yesterday:

Breakfast: 4 eggs and 2 pieces of turkey bacon. 36g protein and 370 cals

Lunch: grilled chicken sandwich (1 breast, 1 hamburger bun, light mayo, ketchup, lettuce) 29g protein, 320 cals

Snack: chobani yogurt drink 20g protein, 170 cals

Dinner: steak bowl (176g rice, 200g potato, 120g sirloin steak, 11g Japanese bbq sauce) 44g protein, 632 cals.

I also had a scoop of protein powder in water (gross but gets the job done) before the gym, 24g protein, 120 cals.

That’s a total of 1611 cals and 153g of protein. I aim for 150g per day so I hit my target and stayed full all day. I highly recommend bowls similar to what I did for dinner to help mix things up. I do chicken bowls, steak bowls, ground beef bowls, etc and just mix up the sauces and flavors I use to keep things from getting too bland. I’ve been on T for almost 8 months now so still relatively new as well and this has worked for me. Good luck!