Choosing the maintaining weight

DvoycY

How do you go about it?

Before, I have thought that body fat percentage is the king and that as a man you should aim for ten percentage

After reaching ten percentage with some muscle mass I have decided to go for the BMI - if under 18.5 is anorexic I will then maintain 19 to be as lean as possible while being healthy; in my opinion aesthetics are all about being lean and having definition

Currently I am 135 pounds at a height of 5'10 - my strength and size (more like definition) gains are going up in the gym, however I am slightly confused if I should maintain my current weight or should slightly bulk. Recomp is working so far for the last month but I keep reading online all the time that as a man "you need to be pushing 200lbs" - not sure if this is being highly sarcastic or if there is some truth to it, like being a big buff dude is attractive (for modelling business I was told that it is all about definition, also giving a leaner face with a lower bf %)

Runaroundafieldx2

There is no truth in that you need to be 200lbs

Choose a weight range that you are comfortable with.

Stop over thinking the minutiae

sijomial

Aesthetics are very personal - your choice is not my choice, my choice is not yours. Being extremely lean has never been a desire for me, I prefer to be bigger and stronger. There isn't one universal body composition let alone weight that is for everyone.

At 5'9" my lowest adult weight was around 156lbs when my main sport was motorcycle racing and I wanted to be lighter - I hated being that low and felt small and weak.

My current weight is 168lbs (right at top of BMI healthy range but BMI wasn't the determining factor). I simply kept adjusting and reassessing with the question "lower, maintain, higher weight?" using body composition, energy levels, ease of adherence and aesthetics until I was happy.

Different models are required for different markets, fashion and the cover of Men's Health have different physiques. As long as you are healthy you do you but the goal of not quite anorexic sets off alarm bells.

CarvedTones

Below a BMI of 20 can be healthy for petite women and some very small men, usually of Asian descent. For the majority of the population it's not healthy. I based min on BMI, first getting below 25 and then setting a range lower still, centered around 24. If I wanted to be at the lower end of healthy, I would center it around 21.

mountainmare

I picked the amount it would require to maintain as my goal weight. It is overweight but looking at my age (69+) and regular exercise I didn't want to live on 1370 cal per day for the healthy BMI range.

steveko89

I think the "pushing 200lbs" narrative is completely body dysmorphia of the bodybuilding community bleeding over; on par with "you aren't really lifting if the bar isn't bending" type of nonsense. Not everyone is going to be a 6'4" 225lb specimen. Like sijomial said, aesthetics are largely based on personal preference and each individual has varied ideas. I'd hit a somewhat fluffy 180lbs around this time last year and got conflicting comments of "don't cut, you'll look scrawny" to "looking a little too bulky" from two different coworkers on the same day (6'1", <15% body fat at the time, for reference).

born_of_fire74

DvoycY wrote: »

How do you go about it?

Before, I have thought that body fat percentage is the king and that as a man you should aim for ten percentage

After reaching ten percentage with some muscle mass I have decided to go for the BMI - if under 18.5 is anorexic I will then maintain 19 to be as lean as possible while being healthy; in my opinion aesthetics are all about being lean and having definition

Currently I am 135 pounds at a height of 5'10 - my strength and size (more like definition) gains are going up in the gym, however I am slightly confused if I should maintain my current weight or should slightly bulk. Recomp is working so far for the last month but I keep reading online all the time that as a man "you need to be pushing 200lbs" - not sure if this is being highly sarcastic or if there is some truth to it, like being a big buff dude is attractive (for modelling business I was told that it is all about definition, also giving a leaner face with a lower bf %)

Strictly speaking, 200lbs at 5'10" is overweight. Other than ensuring you do not lose any weight because your BMI is currently very low, maybe weight is not the best metric to go by at this point? Focus on gaining the strength you want to have while maintaining your low BF% and let the scale say what the scale says.

Your weight should naturally come up as you put on more muscle and you've got a long way to go before you get to 200lbs. Even if you make that your target now, you can decide somewhere along your journey that 200lbs is not what you really want and make adjustments at that time.

FWIW, I think you look pretty darn good now.