Losing fat: Now everyone thinks I'm too skinny (lifting, bench press, reduce)
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Don't listen to them. I'm about 5'10 and my normal bodyweight when I eat whatever I want is about 165-170lbs. When I was in high school I was about 155 my senior year (at this height) and looked good. I ate what I wanted and exercised a lot. Some people are just naturally thing and that's fine. For people that eat a healthy amount and exercise their weights will vary. My dad is 6'1 and 170lbs and looks good for his age. Now I weigh 210lbs and have put on about 40lbs of LBM over the last 3-4 years, while dropping a few % BF..
You're doing it right, just keep going with your goal. Make sure to keep your protein high and your carbs lower. Most have a hard time doing that, they have carb filled diets which is why so many are so fat.
Sounds like he wants to cut first, then bulk up. But, my guess is he is unable to accurately figure out the numbers as far as the fat goes. Instead of thinking about the scale, he should focus on the visual and body fat %, not the "I wanna lose another 10-15 pounds of body fat....".
I am 6' 1" and weighed in this morning at 173 lbs. I am lean, cut, chiseled and somewhat muscular in a ballroom dancer/gymnast kind of way, NOT bodybuilder. These numbers would make people who haven't seen me say "too skinny" but when they see me they be all like "Can I have your number, we should hook up?".
OP, I say keep doing what you are doing, but stop focusing/guessing on the weight part and just hone in on reducing your body fat % by cleaning up your diet/nutritional intake.
I am doing exactly just that King.....
I measured at 184 at 24% bodyfat when I started........
so 184*.24 = 44 lbs body fat (rounded) and 140 lbs LBM.
I am now at 162 so that leaves me with 22 lbs of bodyfat remaining (assuming I lost no muscle).
22/162 = 13.6% bodyfat
If I lose 10 more lbs I will be at 152 (assuming no LBM changes) with an estimated 12 lbs of body fat
12/152 = 7.9% bodyfat
Please explain to me how my math is wrong or monitoring my weight is useless. I know it is not the end-all be all to fat loss, but having a metric to track my progress is useful for figuring out how close I am to my goal.
Don't listen to them. I'm about 5'10 and my normal bodyweight when I eat whatever I want is about 165-170lbs. When I was in high school I was about 155 my senior year (at this height) and looked good. I ate what I wanted and exercised a lot. Some people are just naturally thing and that's fine. For people that eat a healthy amount and exercise their weights will vary. My dad is 6'1 and 170lbs and looks good for his age. Now I weigh 210lbs and have put on about 40lbs of LBM over the last 3-4 years, while dropping a few % BF..
You're doing it right, just keep going with your goal. Make sure to keep your protein high and your carbs lower. Most have a hard time doing that, they have carb filled diets which is why so many are so fat.
Thanks for the encouragement Dan,
Most fitness trainers advise bulking when you have a low bodyfat so most of your gains come as muscle and not fat.....that is my strategy.
I'm off the processed carb train and it feels great.....only get my carbs from fruits, vegetables, and nuts. I pretty much stay away from all things processed/grains/bread. Besides that, I eat all the natural proteins and fat I want as long as I stay around my 1800 calories.
I measured at 184 at 24% bodyfat when I started........
so 184*.24 = 44 lbs body fat (rounded) and 140 lbs LBM.
I am now at 162 so that leaves me with 22 lbs of bodyfat remaining (assuming I lost no muscle).
22/162 = 13.6% bodyfat
If I lose 10 more lbs I will be at 152 (assuming no LBM changes) with an estimated 12 lbs of body fat
12/152 = 7.9% bodyfat
Please explain to me how my math is wrong or monitoring my weight is useless. I know it is not the end-all be all to fat loss, but having a metric to track my progress is useful for figuring out how close I am to my goal.
How are you having your body fat tested? When you get really low you need to make sure you are using a very accurate procedure to make sure you aren't so low that you could have some health issues.
Why do you want to get down to 150 and then up to 170 with muscle? Why aren't you trying to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time? Honestly, it does sound like you may have a problem with body image if you want to get really thin BEFORE you start adding the muscle.
I think this is very difficult if not impossible to do. You have to pick one or the other first. 150 does seem pretty low, but everyone is different, so if it works for him, go for it...
I measured at 184 at 24% bodyfat when I started........
so 184*.24 = 44 lbs body fat (rounded) and 140 lbs LBM.
I am now at 162 so that leaves me with 22 lbs of bodyfat remaining (assuming I lost no muscle).
22/162 = 13.6% bodyfat
If I lose 10 more lbs I will be at 152 (assuming no LBM changes) with an estimated 12 lbs of body fat
12/152 = 7.9% bodyfat
Please explain to me how my math is wrong or monitoring my weight is useless. I know it is not the end-all be all to fat loss, but having a metric to track my progress is useful for figuring out how close I am to my goal.
When you're on a calorie deficient diet, theres always muscle being lost (thats just how the body works) How much muscle, depends on your diet and exercise regiment. Ample protein consumption and strength training can minimize muscle loss.
Put on another 5 lbs and the same people would start commenting on your excess weight. Just ignore them and do what works for you.
I am 6' and was ~170 lbs, now down to 155. I have lost more fat than anything else, so my face and neck looks thin, the rest is just fine and every time we go out people ask me or my wife if I am sick. I just laugh (while eying their protruding belly..).
I was originally pushing 185 at 5'10" a few months ago, and measured nearly 24% bodyfat. I decided I needed to lean up for health reasons and was tired of looking blubbery.
After 3 months I've shed a little over 20 lbs, and now the same people who were commenting about my protruding stomach are now warning me not to get too skinny. Thing is, I haven't lost any muscle and my strength has actually increased at the gym. I hit the weights 5 times a week in addition to my daily cardio and eat lots of protein, fresh fruit, and vegetables. I try to hit 1800 calories a day which is just enough to lose fat at a safe rate while not starving myself.
I actually want to lose another 10-15lbs of bodyfat to get my percentage under 10%, so that will put me at around 150 lbs, which I would then stop my weight loss and slowly start adding LBM to get around 170.
But I don't understand people's mentality, they chastise you for being overweight, but then when you shed the bodyfat they then think you're too skinny. As far as I'm concerned, I've always been a naturally small guy but tried to hide it with a ton of body fat.
My GF is also concerned and says "you just need to lose your stomach, that's all" I keep reminding her that I can't spot reduce; i have to get my overall bodyfat percentage down, but she still doesn't get it.
Are people just having a tough time adjusting to the lean "real" me?
How do you know what your body fat % really is? Its not as easy as some think. Electrical resistance is about useless, caliper measurements vary greatly depending on how they are done. Tank is better.
But if you look and feel healthy by your own measure, go for it!
How do you know what your body fat % really is? Its not as easy as some think. Electrical resistance is about useless, caliper measurements vary greatly depending on how they are done. Tank is better.
But if you look and feel healthy by your own measure, go for it!
Don in Austin
Understand Don, of course no body fat tool is ever 100% accurate but i've measured multiple times across multiple devices and got around the 25% range. Plus I visually compared my body to what a typical male looks like at that percentage so I'm quite confident I estimated in the right ballpark.
Right now I no longer have a potruding gut, have slight muscle definition, flat stomach but no six pack.....so just based off visual observation I can reasonably estimate around 13-14%. Once I see my six pack and have noticeable definition then I figure I'll be around 10%. Based on the math that equates to another 10 lbs of fat that needs to go.
I can still curl 45 lbs dumbells and bench my bodyweight and intake a high amount of protein daily so my muscle loss has been very minimal.
I get that 150 is a bit on the scrawny side, but thats only because most men carry too much bodyfat to begin with. Average weight guys like me that are trying to lean up stick out like a sore thumb when surrounded by guys with 18%-20% body fat, throw around a ton of weight at the gym and wear tight fitting muscles shirts can pass off as "normal"
Last edited by go-getta-J; 08-27-2014 at 08:36 PM..
How do you know what your body fat % really is? Its not as easy as some think. Electrical resistance is about useless, caliper measurements vary greatly depending on how they are done. Tank is better.
But if you look and feel healthy by your own measure, go for it!
Don in Austin
I agree about the tank.
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