Do I look too thin now?

Lozze

OP you don't need to lose weight. You've pretty much ignored the multitude of people giving you good advice and have grabbed onto the one person who told you what you wanted to hear.

You are bordering on too skinny now. You have little definition and losing 10lb will not give you the definition you want. You're more likely to lose more muscle.

My advice? See someone with experience in body disorders. I think you're at the point of having an EAting Disorder and need to discuss this with someone who will help you get out of this spiral.

pavrg

And insulting him is really going to help. I'd totally disagree that all was lean body mass. He's has some decent definition in his shoulders, arms and chest at 165, muscles you couldn't even see at 190, meaning he lost the fat covering them.

Insult? No, he did a great thing by loosing the weight. But yes, I am blunt.

I think he looked better at 190 than he did now. He lost a lot of muscle definition getting to 165 and I don't think losing another 10 lbs is going to give him the physique he desires.

danimalkeys

First, congrats on the weight loss, losing that much requires a lot of dedication.

You definitely need to hit the weights, harder than you are doing now. 30 years old is not too late to put on muscle. I was making gains and increasing my lifts well into my 40's. (and then I stopped lifting for some dumb reason- got lazy). You'll have to change your diet up for sure if you want to gain LBM, and don't be scared of putting on some weight during the process.

Iwishyouwell

OP you don't need to lose weight. You've pretty much ignored the multitude of people giving you good advice and have grabbed onto the one person who told you what you wanted to hear.

Give me a break. The man is at 15% bodyfat. Men can go as low as the 4-5% range and still be healthy. The body fat levels he's looking to get to are around the 9-10% range. He's got PLENTY of fat left, as his DEXA test showed. 15% is far, far from "too skinny". He can do a further cut down and then a slow bulk back up if he likes.

It's not up to you, or anybody here, to tell a man with FIFTEEN percent body fat remaining that he's "bordering on an eating disorder" or "too skinny". None of this man's markers suggest that. What is actually happening here is that, like most fat, or formerly fat, people, many here are severely distorted about what the human body looks like lean.

This man isn't fat, but he is NOT lean, and is nowhere near too skinny.

funkyspunky872

I think you look great. But I'm incredibly saddened by the fact that you tagged your pictures as ugly.

Ahem, and I know you're 10 years older than me... But daaaaamn, you fine. (Honestly, I'm a fan of poochy bellies.)

MityMax96

hey mate
I am 6'1" and 177 lbs (I feel kinda small at this weight myself)
I say just make sure your diet is right and hit the weights

congrats with the weight loss

Just_Kim_

You look amazing!

MityMax96

OP you don't need to lose weight. You've pretty much ignored the multitude of people giving you good advice and have grabbed onto the one person who told you what you wanted to hear.

Give me a break. The man is at 15% bodyfat. Men can go as low as the 4-5% range and still be healthy. The body fat levels he's looking to get to are around the 9-10% range. He's got PLENTY of fat left, as his DEXA test showed. 15% is far, far from "too skinny". He can do a further cut down and then a slow bulk back up if he likes.

It's not up to you, or anybody here, to tell a man with FIFTEEN percent body fat remaining that he's "bordering on an eating disorder" or "too skinny". None of this man's markers suggest that. What is actually happening here is that, like most fat, or formerly fat, people, many here are severely distorted about what the human body looks like lean.

This man isn't fat, but he is NOT lean, and is nowhere near too skinny.

at this point he would be better served to hit the weights and let the muscle he builds work on that 15% bf

grandpoobah12

I'm sorta in the same boat. I've lost almost 100lbs and am around 15% body fat now. That pouch is basically some saggy skin filled with fat that is dragging it down. Annoying, isn't it? I'm starting my bulk once I lose 3 more pounds since I have come to the realization that I don't have enough lean body mass to look good once my body fat gets low. A few bulk/cut cycles and I expect to be closer to my desired appearance (and strength, which is one of my primary goals). I think you're in the same boat but a little worse off than me (I'm currently 199lbs at ~15% body fat, I think you probably are quite a bit smaller than me in general which seems to accentuate the problem).

If you decide to keep cutting instead I don't see a problem. 15% body fat is not low or unhealthy for a male. My ultimate goal is 10% and I'm guessing yours is probably in the same ballpark. Healthy body fat range for a male is approximately 8-20%. Point your loved ones to research that indicates this and maybe they'll get off your back. Chances are they just aren't used to seeing you this small and/or they are used to the average person being overweight so someone approaching lean seems unusual.

Long story short, do whichever you feel like, I think either is a valid option at this point. Just remember if you bulk up you're gonna have even more fat to lose to get lean. Cutting further right now to say, 10% means if you start a bulk after you'll be ahead of the game. Regardless, no one can make that decision for you.

He`s got the goods. Family isn`t used to you. Fat skin pouch. You`ve done a great job getting this far. Now it will take that year or so to work on muscle mass. Get to where you want to be first. Only you made the journey, point out the healthy body fat percentages to your family, and revel in the fact that you are a weight loss success story. Too bad all your hard work didn`t result in a perfect body but with your muscle building it will come around.

shauner03

Usually I aim for 10,500 on weekly caloric intake and 6000 for weekly cardio exercise burn, and I'm able to attain that on a weekly basis, even if certain days get out of hand.

based on those figures you net about 800 calories per day....

you seriously need to get some food down you!!

If you aren't eating back your cardio calories, you are running a HUGE daily caloric deficit. That's only 4500 net calories per week! The problem with that is you're going to lose a ton of muscle mass along with fat on your last ten pounds you want to lose on such a restrictive calorie diet.

I'd really recommend increasing your calorie intake and doing weight training, you'll see muscle gains and toning as well as some additional fat loss.

MityMax96

Usually I aim for 10,500 on weekly caloric intake and 6000 for weekly cardio exercise burn, and I'm able to attain that on a weekly basis, even if certain days get out of hand.

don't do this to yourself. that is not healthy
I eat around 21000 calories weekly
and also I saw you said you had no hope to transform your body cause you are 30
I am 36 mate. don't sell yourself short

jenilla1

You look good. Your family just isn't used to you this way. I don't think you need to lose any more weight. If you want to lower your body fat%, you don't necessarily have to lose weight. Just change your body composition. Start lifting weights. In fact, you'll probably end up gaining some weight (lean mass, yay!) as you reduce fat. :drinker:

SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish

I would ignore the skinny lover in the crowd and work on the weights for three main reasons: its easier to gain muscle with some fat, the last pounds you want to get off are harder to get off and you will probably lose more lean body mass doing it, and the fact of the matter is, nobody tells you this but you DO definitely have "lose skin" after losing so much weight, some more than others, and the slower you lose weight, the less likely you get a "pouch" of loose skin. Some people mostly resorb it, some never do and are left with lots of lose skin flaps (yes there is fat there, thats part of skin layers). You actually kind of got off lucky for 125lb loss, I've seen much worse! Yes males can go down to lower body fat, and even if you really want this, gaining strength first will be most effective and best for you in the long run because of the above 3 points.

brown46545

I think you are adorable. You look fantastic.

jenilla1

... I'm hoping to change that over the next 12 months by lifting heavy and transitioning to a high protein diet about 10% above maintenance level...

Sounds like a plan. :flowerforyou:

pavrg

OP you don't need to lose weight. You've pretty much ignored the multitude of people giving you good advice and have grabbed onto the one person who told you what you wanted to hear.

Give me a break. The man is at 15% bodyfat. Men can go as low as the 4-5% range and still be healthy. The body fat levels he's looking to get to are around the 9-10% range. He's got PLENTY of fat left, as his DEXA test showed. 15% is far, far from "too skinny". He can do a further cut down and then a slow bulk back up if he likes.

It's not up to you, or anybody here, to tell a man with FIFTEEN percent body fat remaining that he's "bordering on an eating disorder" or "too skinny". None of this man's markers suggest that. What is actually happening here is that, like most fat, or formerly fat, people, many here are severely distorted about what the human body looks like lean.

This man isn't fat, but he is NOT lean, and is nowhere near too skinny.

Repeating wrong information doesn't make you right.

He looked 18-20% bodyfat @ 190, which would put his LBM at 150-155 lbs. That is about average for an untrained 6'0" male, and a 'goal weight' at 12-15% bodyfat would be 170-175 lbs.

If he was still 15% bodyfat @ 165 lbs, his LBM would be 140 lbs, which means he managed to lose 10-15 lbs of muscle in a 1:1 ratio with every lb of fat he lost from 190 lbs. Not impossible, but also not likely given that his bodyfat % is above 12-14%.

Crop the picture to 3-4" above his belly-button and he doesn't have the appearance of someone @ 15% bodyfat. Particularly pay attention to the fact that you can clearly see his bone definition in the upper torso, which doesn't show at 15% bf unless you stretch. The only thing his body shows as 'fat' is the loose skin around the gut that comes with rapid weight loss in extremely obese people.

Also, while men can go as low as 4-5% bodyfat and be healthy, it usually takes a lot of extra help. Getting below 10-12% is really hard, takes a very strict diet, and is usually done with assistance from PEDs. Most professional athletes are actually in the 12-16% bodyfat range.

SkimFlatWhite68

... I'm hoping to change that over the next 12 months by lifting heavy and transitioning to a high protein diet about 10% above maintenance level...

Sounds like a plan. :flowerforyou:

I'd be going with this plan now.

cafeaulait7

You look great, OP Start eating at at least maintenance and work on putting on more lean mass now, or you will look too skinny, definitely, imho.

OP you don't need to lose weight. You've pretty much ignored the multitude of people giving you good advice and have grabbed onto the one person who told you what you wanted to hear.

Give me a break. The man is at 15% bodyfat. Men can go as low as the 4-5% range and still be healthy. The body fat levels he's looking to get to are around the 9-10% range. He's got PLENTY of fat left, as his DEXA test showed. 15% is far, far from "too skinny". He can do a further cut down and then a slow bulk back up if he likes.

It's not up to you, or anybody here, to tell a man with FIFTEEN percent body fat remaining that he's "bordering on an eating disorder" or "too skinny". None of this man's markers suggest that. What is actually happening here is that, like most fat, or formerly fat, people, many here are severely distorted about what the human body looks like lean.

This man isn't fat, but he is NOT lean, and is nowhere near too skinny.

'Too skinny' includes lean mass to me (and most people, I'd think). HUGE difference between a buff guy at 10% BF and a guy with little muscle at 10% BF. Think runway model vs female fitness competitor. Nobody needs to be showing a lot of bones on purpose, lol.

Iwishyouwell

Look OP, you're a grown man. You can take whatever advice you need.

But remember, while a few here will get your desire to go for the lean/ripped look, many will not. Very few posters I've seen on here have a "lean/ripped" goal, so many will process your attempts to get low as being extreme, too skinny, or "unrealistic".

I was almost exactly where you were when I first lost a load of weight. Ended up with a body fat percentage at around 15%. Look slim with clothes on, but had the same "loose skin" from years of being a fat kid/teen. I knew it was fat, even though many folks ignorant to how skin truly works would say "oh you can't get that off". I did. The average person has absolutely zero idea what leanness looks like. You are NOT "skinny".

You can do a slow bulk up from where you are, like suggested, and gain some more mass, and then cut. It's a viable option.

But you also can continue to cut body fat and THEN do a slow bulk up, because you are very close to your goal. You'd want to slow the cut down as to avoid anymore excessive LBM loss, but this too is an option if you'd like to get your BF down before bulking your LBM back up.

Either way, do what's best for you. And don't let anybody, not a friend, family member, or anybody here at MFP dictate to you how you should look.

pavrg

I am one of those people who know what lean actually looks like. I disagree that 4-5% is the gold standard for lean, I'd put it more at 10-12% for men (6-pack abs, good deltoid definition, striated arms/pecs). Going under that is solely for body building competition, which isn't in most people's goals.

Compare OPs pictures from the sternum up to pictures of people known at 14-16%. He doesn't look nearly like them. At 15% bodyfat, you cannot see someone's entire rib cage like that and you don't lose all pectoral definition.

His DEXA scan @ 175 lbs came back with 148.75 lbs of LBM, which means he would have had to defy biology and lose 80% lean body mass on his way down to 165.

I'm not saying this to make myself feel better. I'm 15% bodyfat and my goal weight is based on being 10-12%. But I'm 5'9", he's 6'0", and you have to factor in about 5-7 lbs of lean body mass per inch even in an untrained person (and I am in the 'beginner/untrained' category when it comes to the amount of LBM I have). That means OPs DEXA scan was right in the normal range for an untrained 6'0" person, but 15% bodyfat @ 165 is well below.

I agree with you that one's physical goals are a personal decision, but I don't think that mainaining 155lbs @ 6'0" is going to give him a physique he's happy with. A lean 6'0" person who looks like they work out is going to be in the 170-180 lb range.