Male, 5'8, 162 pounds, 33% body fat

Live_life_well

Hey,

I reduced my weight from about 170 down to 162. However, I am confused as to how to achieve my goals. I like looking "bigger" at 162 and having been 154 before I just look fuller and more manly. However, I also am very small boned and I am probably at around 33% body fat right now which is considered obese.

Should I lose weight and drop down to 150-154 and look like a tiny guy or try to stay at 162 and recomp from fat to muscle?

Additional info - 5 gym sessions weekly. 40 mins of cardio and 30 mins of weightlifting in each session.

jflongo

Adding more muscle will certainly burn more fat as well. Maybe you can talk to a trainer about dropping your cardio a little and beefing up your weightlifting. I'm not an expert here, just a thought.

Live_life_well

jflongo wrote: »

Adding more muscle will certainly burn more fat as well. Maybe you can talk to a trainer about dropping your cardio a little and beefing up your weightlifting. I'm not an expert here, just a thought.

Maybe I am alone in this one, but to me cardio is like a happiness drug. I don't have scientific proof but I find that I am much happier and feel more alive on days that I do significant cardio.

Good advice though. I may pony up for a nutritionist or trainer to see what can be done in my situation.

rckeeper22

If you enjoy cardio from the endorphins, that's not a bad thing, and it doesn't mean you have to cut it out, just need to find the right lifting/diet combo to protect the muscle.

Also, it may be time to step away from focusing on the scale, and use how you look in the mirror as a better judge of where you're at. That way, it's not about hitting a certain weight (which can be skewed anyways, since adding muscle may bring your weight up, but result in you looking better). I think as a society we tend to get really wrapped up in what the scale says, when really, it's a pretty poor judge of fitness as compared to performance or body comp/looking in the mirror.

I agree with jflongo - find a solid lifting routine designed to help you grow, and either talk to a nutritionist or do some research online to find some eating guidelines that will help you reach your goals. I'm not sure if we're allowed to mention sources on these boards, but Testosterone Nation is a solid resource.

Live_life_well

Rckeeper22 - thanks for the feedback. I am actually going in to get a DEXA scan and get an accurate reading on BF%. Plan on going every 6 months to see how much fitter I am truly becoming.

Will also check that source you shared with me.

rckeeper22

Good deal, sounds like a solid plan!

jjpptt2

I guess I'm missing something... you prefer the way you look when you're heavier/bigger, right? So what's the reason/draw to drop more weight?

Live_life_well

jjpptt2 wrote: »

I guess I'm missing something... you prefer the way you look when you're heavier/bigger, right? So what's the reason/draw to drop more weight?

Prefer the way I look bigger when wearing clothing as I look fuller. However, my body fat is very high and I don't like how I look in beach attire. So ideally I would like to be full but muscular. Same weight but trade muscle for fat.

jjpptt2

Gotcha. So you need more muscle mass. One option would be to recomp... it would keep you at the higher weight, but will take longer to see improvements in muscle mass and body composition. The other option is bulk/cut cycles.

Neither is inherently better than the other... do what lines up best with your preferences.

rightoncommander

What evidence do you have that your BF is 33%? Body fat is notoriously difficult to measure, and you indicate in your comments that you haven't yet taken a measurement by a more reliable method.

It would be unusual, though not impossible, for someone of your dimensions to have such a high body fat measurement, but I'd definitely want a second opinion if someone tried to tell me my body fat was that high (I am a similar height and weight to you).

sgt1372

5'8 and 158# with 33%BF????

This would mean that you only have 102# LBM and are carrying 56# of BF.I don't see how that is physically possible.

FWIW, I'm 5'8" and 158# w/only 10-13% BF as measured by hydro and DXA with a BMI of 24.

Your BMI would be the same as mine and would be considered a "normal" weight for people our height.

Say what you will about the faults of BMI but it is still a pretty good measure of the relationship betweet weight and height for most people, so there's no way that you can carry 33% BF and weigh only 158 at 5'8" tall.

When I weighed 196, my BMI was 29.8 and, while it was not measured then, I'd guess based on comparative pics that my BF was between 25-30% then.

So, I'd expect you to weigh over 200# if you are actually carrying 33% BF.

BTW, when I weighed 162#, my BF as measured by hydro and DXA was 16 & &, 20%, respectively w/a BMI of 24.6 (still w/in the normal range).

jasondwightpowell

I'm 5' 6" @ 177lbs and probably around 10% BF. I can't believe you are at 33% BF - whoever measured you or whatever measurement tool you are using has to be incorrect.

IMO - Diet is key (Lean proteins, Green veggies, Brown rice/Sweet potato) coupled with 5 days a week in the gym like you are currently doing. I focus on one body part per session (back, shoulders, arms, chest, legs) and I do cardio after weight training.

And through BMI out the door - BMI says I'm 29 and overweight - BMI is a joke!

PAV8888

Your quoted body fat percentage at your indicated height and weight would be unusually high.

I suspect that either inaccurate measurements, or incorrect percentage expectations are contributing to these numbers.

If you like your weight but you don't like your body composition there are really only two options:

--change your composition without changing your weight (i.e. re-comp at a relatively stable weight)
--temporarily change your weight with the expectation of achieving the same goals after one or more cut-bulk cycles

The second one, if adhered to correctly, should enable you to reach your goals faster.
NEITHER will achieve your goals fast.
There are risks associated with each course of action and they should be evaluated based on your personal reality.

sgt1372

jasondwightpowell wrote: »

And through BMI out the door - BMI says I'm 29 and overweight - BMI is a joke!

BMI has it's limitations but it is not totally useless.

Your BMI is off because of your higher than "normal" weight for your height, which I assume is due to a very high level of muscle development and low BF.

This is a known problem w/BMI but that does not mean that a BMI measurement can not used in this case to make a meaningful comparison between the OP's weight/height and mine.

Live_life_well

rightoncommander wrote: »

What evidence do you have that your BF is 33%? Body fat is notoriously difficult to measure, and you indicate in your comments that you haven't yet taken a measurement by a more reliable method.

It would be unusual, though not impossible, for someone of your dimensions to have such a high body fat measurement, but I'd definitely want a second opinion if someone tried to tell me my body fat was that high (I am a similar height and weight to you).

Looking at pictures online. If you saw a picture of me you would know what I mean but I am unfortunately not happy enough with my body to want to put up a pic online.

I have been going to the gym 4 times a week for years but eating terribly. So I have basically wasted all of those years and I am trying to correct for it.