Do I look too thin now?

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  • BigCed77024
    BigCed77024 Posts: 1,115 Member
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    I would go lighter on the weights as losing weight and doing HEAVY lifting is an oxymoron. I would also increase my protein intake (200grams).

    Ultimately you have to decide what you want to do. Congrats on the weight loss, however you can't complain because that was your goal! If you want to gain muscle you have to eat more if you are going to lift heavy.
  • ehimass
    ehimass Posts: 92 Member
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    Thanks for all the continued responses. I have read them all and do appreciate your time and thoughts on the matter.
    One question - how did you come up with 155 as a target weight? (My approach was to look up tennis players and 400 metre runners that were my height, and use their weight as a benchmark)

    I really targeted 10% more as my goal rather than a lower weight; I estimated that going from 175 from 155 at least 50% of my weight loss would be from fat (hopefully more like 70-80%). I had 26 lbs of fat at 175. So if I had 16 lbs of fat at 155, that would be right at 10%.
    When was the last time you had a break from eating at a deficit? You say your strength hasnt really increased a great deal, so why not eat at maintenance for a while and concentrate on your lifting/fitness?

    For more than a few weeks? Probably back in August. I had pulled my hamstring plus I had a bout of some sort of flu, so I stopped exercising and ate 2000-3000 calories per day for about 2-3 weeks. For most of this year though, I have been cutting save for a few binge/cheat days. 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.
  • mdhummel
    mdhummel Posts: 201 Member
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    I wouldn't aim to lose any more weight. 155 lbs. seems really light for a 6ft man. Instead of cardio I would switch to strength training and maybe hire a personal trainer to help you focus on the spots you want to improve.
  • ehimass
    ehimass Posts: 92 Member
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    Just as a reference for muscle mass, here is what I looked like at 240 and 190. I honestly don't think I had much muscle mass at either of those weights either. 290 was too gross so I never took a picture.

    240:

    obese.jpg

    190:

    190.jpg

    165:

    ugly4.jpg
  • Mr_Excitement
    Mr_Excitement Posts: 833 Member
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    I know it will never happen because of my age and the damage I've done to my body, but I'd like to get a lot closer to that than what I am now.

    You're 30 years old! You can definitely get into that kind of shape. It won't even take long-- there's not much actual mass in either of those guys, and you've already got yourself down to a pretty lean state.

    Unless you've got some joint damage that makes lifting impossible, I don't see why you can't reach those goals within a year (well, the Ed Norton picture anyway) just lifting heavy and eating right.
  • Seesawboomerang
    Seesawboomerang Posts: 296 Member
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    Look at what you've achieved! Amazing work, so be more pleased with yourself!

    You need to eat more. Seriously. Eat more and lift. The loose skin will tighten up in time. Even if it didn't it really doesn't look as bad as you think.

    Right now, try not to focus so much on how you look, and just ensure you are eating adequately.
  • grentea
    grentea Posts: 96 Member
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    I think you look great. Excellent job on the weightloss! I wouldn't suggest losing anymore, but toning up.
  • bgelliott
    bgelliott Posts: 610 Member
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    Your achievements are amazing...Great job. However....at 6' tall I'm not sure 155lbs is a good weight. Everyone is different but my suggestion would be 185 at 10% body fat.
  • bgelliott
    bgelliott Posts: 610 Member
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    "ugly4" and "ugly5"?

    First suggestion I have is stop calling yourself "ugly"!

    Totally agree with this!
  • jazi719
    jazi719 Posts: 150 Member
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    Your extra skin doesn't look bad at all but if it bothers you that much, see how much the surgery is. Make sure you do your homework when searching for a surgeon.

    In the mean time, hit the weights! This guy I know only lifts one day a week but he lifts til his muscles are fatigued. He looks great!
  • steph6467
    steph6467 Posts: 54 Member
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    I won't repeat the good advice you've been given, but will add my, "you like fine!" to the chorus.

    I have to wonder if your family and friends are more queuing in to the negative way you seem to perceive yourself. I'm inferring a lot here, I realize, but I am basing my thoughts on the titling of your photo files "ugly" and stating that you will never measure up to your own ideal because "it's too late" and you've "damaged" your body.

    I hope you know those things aren't true. I hope that you've just developed a habit of self-bashing because it's easier to do it to ourselves (especially when we've lived as fat people) then to wait for someone else to cut us down.

    Lonestarwings (I wish I knew your first name, as I'd use it here), you look fine (I actually find the 190 lb version of you most physically appealing), you are worthy, there is nothing wrong with you. Your body as it is now is physically attractive and would be desired by many many people. You have not ruined your body, it's not too late for ANYTHING, and you are NOT ugly. At all. I'm just a stranger on the internet, I don't know you, and I don't have any reason to stroke your ego falsely. These are truths.

    I think the next thing you need to work on is the way you perceive yourself. If you can start valuing that good looking guy in the mirror, your family and friends will NOTICE and they will stop worrying about you. They may not even be conscious of this , but what they are truly afraid of is that you are trying to destroy yourself and that you won't be happy no matter how much weight you lose. Is this true? Is any part of it true? If so, that is what they are worried about (rightfully so, I might add), not your physical weight or body fat percentage.

    Lastly, you may not ever be able to look like the ideals you posted, but you could get pretty darn close. It would take some time and effort, but you can spend your time and effort on anything you choose. You're only 30 years old, for heaven sake!! I see lots of guys in the gym that are cut and look fabulous and make me secretly hyperventilate a little ;) , and (maybe because I'm 39 and my tastes are aging along with me.. lol) a lot of those hot hot men are well into their 40's. Dude, you can do a lot of physical "perfecting" of your body in a decade.

    Anyway, I think it's time for a little perspective and a little deeper self evaluation. There is nothing wrong with you, you have plenty of time, and you are not in any way shape or form ugly. You've made a great transformation to this point and it's time to let your brain and psyche embrace who you really are and who you have always been, the good looking dude in the mirror.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    I agree with everyone else. You do not look too thin NOW. But you would at 155 (for a 6' tall man, that's too thin). What you are seeing in your stomach is extra skin. Your arms and your chest look great. I think you should eat at maintenance for a while (like 3 or 4 months), keep lifting. Give your skin some time to rebound. Then consider doing a bulk to gain muscle.
  • pavrg
    pavrg Posts: 277 Member
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    Somewhere between 190 and 165 you fell off the tracks. Based on your pictures it looks like you were 18-20% bf at 190 (which estimates your lbm @ 152-155) and you lost a sizeable amount of lbm in those last 25 lbs. In fact almost all of it was lbm. Your current weight would have you at 8% bf if you retained your lbm.

    Stop crash dieting and ditch the body dismorphia.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Somewhere between 190 and 165 you fell off the tracks. Based on your pictures it looks like you were 18-20% bf at 190 (which estimates your lbm @ 152-155) and you lost a sizeable amount of lbm in those last 25 lbs. In fact almost all of it was lbm.

    Stop crash dieting and ditch the body dismorphia.

    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.
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
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    Hi,

    A lot of people in my family are telling me that I've taken things too far and that I need to stop losing weight. My mom is a doctor and even she has been telling me this, she's the one that wanted me to start losing weight in the first place. My sister says the same thing. I'm currently 167 pounds as a 6'0"(183cm) 30 y/o male.

    The problem is I had my body fat measured by a DEXA machine at the beggining of October at 175 lbs and it registered 15%. So I made a goal for myself to get to 155 pounds and 10% body fat by the end of the year. My stomach still does not look flat (it looks kind of like a floppy/droopy pancake) and I feel like there are still significant fat deposits around my midsection. In fact, the dexa scan said I had 14 lbs of fat on my "trunk" alone, which I take to mean midsection. There was also 10 lbs of fat on my legs and 2 lbs on my arms.

    I have been lifting weights during most of my weight loss, an 8-12 rep routine with barbells going as heavy as possible. I'm also trying to keep my protein intake over 100 grams per day to minimize muscle loss.

    Anyway, I just wanted to get some honest opinions. I think I still need to cut down to 155, see what I look like, then probably work on adding 10-15 lbs of muscle mass next year. I truly do feel like that if I've come this far, why not put in the effort to burn off that last little bit and see what happens? But like I said, I'm meeting a lot of resistance from the people around me, and it is resulting in efforts by them to sabotage my diet to a degree (I can do a great job of that on my own, certainly don't need their help!)..

    Do not open these links if you're offended by shirtless pasty people. In some ways I think I looked better shirtless when I was still 230+, and like I said, I know muscle building needs to be the priority next year, but I think the last bit of fat has to go first.

    http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae219/randomperson8008/ugly4.jpg
    http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae219/randomperson8008/ugly5.jpg

    I've gone through this also and it's the biggest mind ****!!! Go to whatever makes you happy ... don't go by a number on the scale.. your stomach is lose skin and the only way to get rid of that is surgery. They will also do a little bit of lipo when doing your surgery ... at least that is what the surgeon told me during a consultation.

    No idea where you live but if you want message me and I will share my experience I had with 2 plastic surgeons 1 was horrible 1 was amazing ... I have not done surgery yet but I will one day.

    Anyways what I did was I started a bulk when I heard I was to skinny all the time ... gained 28 lbs in 4 months ... I lost 3% bodyfat also ...however I didn't like the "fluffyness" I got out of the process... currently cutting back down and feel allot better about myself at my current size 192lbs

    Congratz on your loss brother !! killing it!! should be proud of yourself!

    Kind regards,
    Brad
  • KatrinaWilke
    KatrinaWilke Posts: 372 Member
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    I think everyone has given some great advice. I just wanted to add that YOU LOOK GREAT!! Congratulations!! Now if you want a body like the pics you posted, start lifting HEAVY WEIGHTS!!! You have lost so much body fat, now go get some muscle! You can keep dropping body fat and gain muscle at the same time, but you probably don't want to rely on the scale anymore.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
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    Sigh. I am so, so tired of seeing people blither on about "loose skin" when they have no clue what they're talking about.

    OP, that "pancake" is FAT. Most "loose skin" is FAT.

    You look about 15/16% fat. If you get your bodyfat down to 10%, or less, you'll lose the "pancake".

    Yes, you might still have some loose skin. But true, real, damn near fat-free "loose skin" is paper thin, like the back of your hand. It is NOT filled with fat globules, nor does it sit on your body in that way. That is simply not the way skin operates.

    You're at a pretty decent body fat level, certainly within the "normal" range. However if your goal is to get super shredded, you still have PLENTY of fat left to loose so have at it.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
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    Also, OP, when you have a goal to get truly lean, beyond "normal" levels, inevitably many people will think you're going overboard. Sure if they knew you already looking like Ryan Gosling or Brad Pitt in Fight Club, they'd be blown away and super impressed with your physique. But since you were formerly fat, they have an idea in their heads how you "should" look, and how far you "should" go. Dipping down into truly lean territory, such as the aforementioned 10% or less category, will put you at a place very atypical place, and leaving you looking very ripped. The people around you largely will not be able to conceptualize you at "model" or "famous actor" bodyfat levels, and yes, might even work to keep you from reaching your goals. And don't even get me started on the jealousy and envy...

    Ignore them. This is your body and you get to decide what your dream physique looks like. Do not let the ignorant, even if well meaning, people in your life, or even on this board, dictate what your goals are. If you stop because somebody else has decided what YOUR dream physique should be, that'll be a huge mistake on your part.

    Keep going until you see reflected back at you the man that you've always wanted to be.
  • ehimass
    ehimass Posts: 92 Member
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    Just wanted to say thanks for the rest of the replies. I've read them all and am considering everything carefully. I am having a good week and feel like the belly is taking more of a hit. I really don't think it's completely loose skin, there is still some fat there that I think might go away at 155, as Iwishyouwell indiciated. I also have a lot of scar tissue/stretch marks around the belly button, which means the stomach will probably always sag to a degree without surgery. I took a really graphic picture of it but will refrain from posting it. I may never look good without my shirt off but at least I can look decent with clothes on.

    Yeah, I will probably look too thin overall at 155, but I feel like it will be a good starting point for a slow "bulk". In the meantime I am continuing to lift and trying to keep my protein high. I weighed in at a solid 165 this morning so only 10 more pounds to go, I'm sure I can get there by the end of the year.

    I think part of the reason why I became such a fatty is that I never had the muscle mass in the first place to keep my metabolism high and make good use of the calories I consumed. So everything beyond what my puny frame needed just got turned into lard. 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.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    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!!