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Once I see my six pack and have noticeable definition then I figure I'll be around 10%.
Everything I have read about a six pack on a man says his body fat needs to be BELOW 10% for it to show. Perhaps some man on here might want to correct me LOL
150 for 5'10" is underweight. You should be at a good weight right now, I don't know why you'd want to lose more. Under 10% bodyfat isn't healthy. Be careful not to get perfectionistic about this. It can develop into body dysmorphic disorder. If you don't agree, ask your doctor.
Depends on build. One of the things I discovered when training for distance running was that weight lifting - upper body - was adding on several pounds of 'unnecessary' weight. For the weeks leading up to my first race I cut back on resistance training and dropped another 6 lbs or so. It's not as if reducing the amount I could bench press had any negative health effects. The other thing I discovered in the process was that my healthy, active weight was several pounds less than I would have guessed, even with the extra lower body muscle I gained from running constantly.
I brought this up with a buddy of mine that had been running marathons for a few years and he had a similar revelation, that 6'2 175 was actually his ideal weight despite having a medium-large build. He'd been doing it long enough to know whether the reduction in body fat was having negative consequences - the biggest and most obvious is reduced immune response. If you're catching colds all the time, it's a sign that you're too thin, otherwise the extra weight is probably unnecessary.
Most Americans are used to carrying around an extra 30+lbs, but plenty of people live long healthy lives weighing less. 1800 calories a day for someone who is active seems unsustainable, but if you're 20 lbs overweight (which OP would be at 5'10 185 with a medium build) it should be fine for a limited time if it's mostly lean meats and fresh vegetables.
If you feel good about yourself, that's all that counts.
This, times a million. People always would rather hate on the successful in order to justify their own personal failures. Especially if youre surrounded by a lot of overweight people. Theres a growing trend for obese people to be "proud of their looks" and these people really hate on those who are trying to be healthy. My wife is in the same boat. Her coworkers are all 40+ year old overweight women who were nagging her about being too skinny. She found it was just easier to say shes a running addict rather than saying she prefers to be skinny.
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?
I was 149-150lbs(at a hair under 6'0) for a number of years when I was very much into long distance running. Minimal fat, no muscle. My Mom would criticize me that I looked like someone from a famine ravaged country. My various GFs thought I was a little bit too skinny. I felt wonderful. No one else ever said commented negatively, actually only positively since I had such extraordinary energy and stamina from the workouts.
As usual it is those close to us who give us hell.
don't listen to them. i am also 5'10'' and i went from 205 to around 155. i get comments ranging from "you look great!" to "you could gain a few pounds". i am in the normal weight range for my height. so i conclude that it's not that we're too skinny, it's just that everyone else is too fat & jealous. it has been all the ones that were overweight that have commented that i was too skinny. coincidence? i think not!
as for bodyfat %, i have no idea what it is or how to get it tested, but i estimate it is around 11-12%, easily half of what it whas when i weighed over 200.
keep up the good work and forget about what everyone else says. good thing about losing this weight was the fact that it increased my self-esteem just to the point where i don't give a damn about what anyone else thinks. you should adopt this ideology too. you've bettered yourself physically, why not transfer some of that into some positive self-esteem?
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?
I have the exact same issue.
My GF complains about me "not eating enough" even though I eat whatever I want. I just met her at a time when my workouts were not very good and when I was at my fattest (though I was at about 15% BF and now am at 6.5%) and she tells me "you're getting too skinny". All my life I wanted to have a 6-pack, and I didn't achieve that goal until I was about 30, so keeping it is something that makes me feel good.
Plus, I feel much healthier and my energy is better when I am lighter.
My GF complains about me "not eating enough" even though I eat whatever I want. I just met her at a time when my workouts were not very good and when I was at my fattest (though I was at about 15% BF and now am at 6.5%) and she tells me "you're getting too skinny". All my life I wanted to have a 6-pack, and I didn't achieve that goal until I was about 30, so keeping it is something that makes me feel good.
Plus, I feel much healthier and my energy is better when I am lighter.
Me as well....I'm happy with my look and the way I feel so why should I care honestly. I still don't understand why shedding a ton of fat makes someone "too skinny" when the whole point of weight loss is to shed excess fat. If getting below 10% bodyfat means I have to reduce my weight down to 150 then so be it. It means I never had much LBM in the first place so my "normal/average" look consisted of my naturally thin self surrounded with a thick coat of bodyfat.
People seem to think you can easily transform from 185 lbs of doughy skinny fat to a 185 lbs ripped muscular tank. Sorry but only the genetically blessed or those taking anabolic steroids or HGH can pull that off.
The rest of us have to pick between shedding fat or gaining mass (muscle/fat). It's impossible to do both...
Everything I have read about a six pack on a man says his body fat needs to be BELOW 10% for it to show. Perhaps some man on here might want to correct me LOL
No, it depends on genetics and posture; generally, the abs for someone in reasonable shape start to show approaching 15%; this is why "15%" is a very common quoted goal among men. P
Problem is;
- genetics can play a factor, some guys just will accumulate the belly fat area more than others, so even at 15%, the abs are not showing.
- Guys who are lacking muscle mass will not have abs, but yet are low on the body fat scale. Or similar, have abs but as the saying goes "who wants to look like a toothpick with abs?"
- Posture issues are often over looked, pelvic tilt will create that "belly sticking out" look while they are in fact at a good body fact percent.
Me as well....I'm happy with my look and the way I feel so why should I care honestly. I still don't understand why shedding a ton of fat makes someone "too skinny" when the whole point of weight loss is to shed excess fat. If getting below 10% bodyfat means I have to reduce my weight down to 150 then so be it. It means I never had much LBM in the first place so my "normal/average" look consisted of my naturally thin self surrounded with a thick coat of bodyfat.
People seem to think you can easily transform from 185 lbs of doughy skinny fat to a 185 lbs ripped muscular tank. Sorry but only the genetically blessed or those taking anabolic steroids or HGH can pull that off.
The rest of us have to pick between shedding fat or gaining mass (muscle/fat). It's impossible to do both...
At least you are think on terms of "body fat" and not "weight"; you are already ahead of most people. While you are focused on body fat, nothing prevents you from strength training either. You can very well gain muscle mass while losing body fat. Of course you are not going to gain it like someone bulking, but numerous people obtain muscle mass just fine while losing body fat, it is not unusual.
As far as the "too skinny" comments; some people just generally find criticism on other's successes and discipline, in all areas of life. Since they fail at one or more aspects of this game, it is easier for them to change the rules "as in you are too skinny, and them being fat is normal", than it is for them to develop the discipline and success getting themselves to lose fat.
And you are right, it is not easy to transform from a doughboy into a low fat muscular type, and it irritates me when people say something like "genetics", as if my being in the gym almost every other day for over 20 years, along with a constant proper diet, has nothing to do with my success in this area.
Even better when someone states "I do not lift heavy because I do not want to look bulky", as if in their all 6 months combined of lifting every three years is all of a sudden going to transform them into a body builder in a month if they start lifting heavy. These people do not lift heavy because they cannot, they are weak, better to make excuses like "I am a runner", or "I do reps", or even better "lifting heavy is bad for you", than to actually engage in a program and stick with it. But they will mock others who do all day long.
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.
Well really, it can be a little difficult to drop from 16% to 10% while trying to gain muscle mass. Muscle mass is all about surplus calories, but what comes with that is fat. Dropping from 24% to 16% is easy because even with bulking, your calorie intake will be far less than what was needed to maintain 24% body fat.
But to drop lower, it is just difficult to do, that is why a lot of people will hit their target body fat, then go from there, as it is actually easier to control and keep off the extra fat. Body builders, boxers, etc go through this routine all the time.
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