Before transitioning, I struggled with disordered eating. Hormone-replacement therapy helped me overcome it.

The body I was chasing in the gym was unattainable because I had gender dysphoria..

After coming out, I started hormone-replacement therapy, which helped me love my body...

I mercilessly berated myself anytime I failed to stick to a diet or exercise regimen often daydreaming about taking a magic knife to the parts of my body that I hated most..

Hormones take their sweet time changing your body, and this initial weight gain made me dislike my body more for the sole reason that I was gaining weight like a man..

Five years later, progress pictures help remind me that this imperceptibly slow change is ongoing, but my body is nearly unrecognizable today from the day I took my first dose of estrogen...