[PaulaJ]

I'd love to get to 6% body fat, or even 10%. Having this beer gut really limits what I can wear, and look good. I've been stuck at this weight for a long time. It's redistributed somewhat, but there's a limit to how much herbs or even HRT can do. I unfortunately am genetically likely to have small breasts and mostly gain weight in the tummy, looking at my female relatives. I can totally see why they usually stay so thin.

I've also started electrolysis on my face awhile ago. This is going to make a huge difference, as I just was not ever to completely cover my beard shadow, and I hate wearing foundation anyway.

[PleasantlyFascinated]

The unsightly belly and love-handles that I had definitely undermined any of my own feminization aspirations.  Celebrating a 60th birthday made me stop putting off applying what I already knew.

Doubtless there is already a lot of tribal knowledge sprinkled throughout this forum, on how to shrink a waistline.  Finding and compiling it, however, might be quite a chore.  I can say with 90% probability, that I've figured out what would work for anyone, and can say for sure what has worked for me.  It is about 60% dietary, 30% exercise, and 10% everything else.  Mostly, it is the dietary part that is going to cause people all the problems.  Depending upon where you're at with your own nutritional savvy, I'd say that losing the high-glycemic carbs is step #1.

[PaulaJ]

My issue has mostly been keeping to what I know works, counting calories and keeping them below maintenance.

I do really want to get my body fat down more than just about anything now. It is a slow process, I know I can do it though. It's far less painful than electrolysis, and if I can motivate myself to have that done every week, I should be able to motivate myself to eat right and exercise regularly. I totally am looking forward to seeing the results of both.

[VergeOfDiscovery]

Been on a mission of late to jettison a lifetime's worth of excess baggage fat/weight-wise. Have several motivations, but one of the main ones is that I just feel better when lighter on my feet.

Not terribly heavy, just bulky enough to be limited to the few things in my wardrobe that fit. Simply losing a few more pounds would open up a lot more things to wear (without having to buy anything).

And not just for appearances sake. Like to also reduce excess fat on internal organs as well.

I've come to terms with this being a long term (or rather life long) effort - not a diet, but new habits. Eliminating most junk and increasing veggies (which I love anyway).

Lately, as I look at grocery store circulars, seems like more than half what is presented is not real food. And I've had to discourage even my vegan friend from offering me doughnuts and chips, lol.

I've watched other friends get all excited about gym memberships and exercise equipment, and actually use it, only to find they start consuming way more (defeating their anticipated progress).

Already exercise a bit daily (light weights & treadmill), but it seems to make more sense to take less in, and have less to burn off. Also digesting food all the time can be exhausting in and of itself.

[PleasantlyFascinated]

The persistent visceral (internal) fat was really annoying me.  Not only is it specifically the fat that causes all the health issues, it was the fat-holdout that was preventing my waist from reaching the desired girlish proportions.

I too, am astonished at the levels of disinformation/misinformation that are rampant throughout our society.  I could write a book.  But then, others have already done so, only to have theirs contradicted by someone else's.  It's a mess.

Dr. Barry Sears' Zone Diet was a watershed (or fat shed) revelation to me.  At 39 years of age, I went from 210 down to 175 in about 8 months.  By understanding this simple nutritional concept, I've consistently kept the weight off for 20 years.  In that time, I have never allowed myself to be hungry, and almost never go more than 4 hours between meals, apart from while asleep.  I have never counted a calorie in my life.  The trick is to properly balance internal catabolic/anabolic metabolic processes, and to shift to fatty acid metabolism as the rule, as opposed to predominant glucose/glycogen metabolism.

In the last couple of years, however, weight had crept on, as I had allowed certain habits to combine with a natural tendency in a 50+ individual to get fat.  At 195 lbs. I was not looking or feeling like myself anymore, so I made a habits re-adjustment.  I cut out the high density carbs (even the ostensibly healthy ones like potatoes, rice, etc.), and filled up on vegetables. I got to thinking that maybe a quarter cup of olive oil in every meal might have been a bit excessive, so I just stopped using it, and found I didn't miss it.  I spent the summer on roller-skis, instead of waiting for winter again, to do cross-country skiing.

Using supplements to shift towards maintaining youthful levels of 5' adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has been a great help.  I also suspect that 15,000 to 20,000 mg. of vitamin C per day for 15 months has made a huge difference.  In order to do that, I make my own liposomal C.  Liposomal C is 5x more available at a cellular level, and does not upset your intestines.  (Anyone who has tried to exceed 5000 mg. non-liposomal vitamin C per day cannot necessarily stay too far away from a potty.)  Bushels of fresh leafy greens pureed in the VitaMix have been a real boost.

So now, at 6 ft. tall, I have a 30" waist, 40" chest, and weigh about 162 pounds.  That's the same as I was at 18 years old.  I'll never feel like a giant of a man, and at some point stopped wanting to.  I can now appreciate my boyish physique.  In my private girlish moments, I can look pretty great in that direction too.

[CheyenneWesten]

Has anyone done anything besides the herbs to feminize?  Such as grow your hair out, grow your finger nails, shaped your eyebrows or shaved like a gf?

I have shaved from neck down for the last couple of years, I feel really dirty and disgusting now if I am not fully shaved.  I paint my toenails and wear toe rings.  I dress fem as often as I can, but at least wear panties most days.

[notquitemale]

Has anyone done anything besides the herbs to feminize?  Such as grow your hair out, grow your finger nails, shaped your eyebrows or shaved like a gf?

I have shaved from neck down for the last couple of years, I feel really dirty and disgusting now if I am not fully shaved.  I paint my toenails and wear toe rings.  I dress fem as often as I can, but at least wear panties most days.

 I also feel so dirty if I am not clean shaven. I have been so for over 3 years now. I've found a nice subtle  tint I use alot on my lips
to. I now am not cautious  in wearing tighter  fitting shirts that show my breasts.

[KatherynD'Medici]

Has anyone done anything besides the herbs to feminize?  Such as grow your hair out, grow your finger nails, shaped your eyebrows or shaved like a gf?

My hair is a handspan from my nipples, was nipple length, but trimmed it to get rid of more "layers" from my old hairstyle. Love acrylics, either clearcoated or colored. get regular pedicures, always, well, usually dark reds or purples unless sis wins and I do pink. (My sister has a thing for pink) Eyebrows plucked and shaved nose to toes.