Getting Fit, Not Thin

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COliver416
COliver416 Posts: 87 Member
in Getting Started
I get so tired of hearing, Oh My God, how skinny are you trying to become. You need to slow down, you're going to look like skin and bones.

I'm nearly 6'1, I weigh 212 pounds, I have a 14 to 16 percent body fat. My goal has always been clear in my mind and it's never been to be thin. I once weighed 347 pounds. I'm broad shouldered. And I can tack on muscle like I'm on steroids when I put effort into it.

My goal has been simple. Go down to 185 pounds, pretty much the lowest I want to go, to burn off the subcutaneous fat beneath my skin that still causes that drooping effect--also in that time, through programs like Insanity and Tapout XT 2, condition my cardio so that for the first time in my life, I can run with speed and endurance. Then, to deal with the loose skin that'll likely remain, and to increase my physical form for my body shape. I plan to start a body building regimen, involving heft bulking for two months, with one month of cutting and a mix of weight training and agility and speed training.

My goal has been to get to the weight I'm at now at but at about half my current body fat percent, 8 to 10% body fat.

Why is Fit so difficult for people to understand, and all they can see is skinny or fat?

Sorry for the rant.

Replies

  • 4Pick
    4Pick Posts: 25
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    lol CO I dig the rant, and it was well put. I think your goals rock and mine are very similar. Let the haters hate, you have a great plan
  • itsolyo
    itsolyo Posts: 27 Member
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    I like this post because so many people don't understand the struggle when they've not been in our shoes of being overweight.

    I've found people say things like 'you're going to be skin and bones' as a compliment, and do not understand the message it conveys.

    I think the goal of being 'fit' is the underlying goal for anyone who's overweight and seriously wanting to change their life and lose weight, whether they state it or not. A goal to be superficially 'thin' will only amount in failure or easy outs, ie, Gastric Bypass, (not knocking anyone who's had the surgery at all). Those are the ones that see skinny or fat.

    As someone who shares in your struggle to be fit and being where you were when you started this journey, kudos to you, sir.
  • Edmond_Dantes
    Edmond_Dantes Posts: 185 Member
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    Out of curiosity, how did you get the estimate of 14% bodyfat? I'm 6'4" and 207 lbs and estimated at 18% - according to Tanita scale which I know is pretty crappy at estimating this, and closer to 20% based on pics.

    At 14%, you can see your ab six-pack, correct?
  • COliver416
    COliver416 Posts: 87 Member
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    I can see my upper abs if I flex. I've gotten various readings, that fluctuated between 14 and 19 percent, but, for a month, through the three devices I've used, it's been between 14 and 16. I don't know how accurate it is, my friend's gym has them out, handheld ones. So, I don't know.

    But yeah, I can see the upper abs. I still have a lot of subcutaneous fat that hangs down around the bottom of my midsection and really thick lovehandles (39 inch love handles, my waist is 34), but, my upper torso is quite defined, along with my shoulders, and I'm getting a lot of vascular appearance in my arms. I'm broad shouldered and have always had a wide frame, genetics--my mother is 5'10 and once weighed 120 pounds and couldn't fit into anything smaller than a size 10 or 12. It depends a lot on your frame.

    I've always been told that you start to see a full six pack at about 10% and you see it permanently at about 8%.

    I'd check whatever device you're using. Cause 207 at 6'4 is pretty close to ideal for most men. But, I don't know.
  • thepetiterunner
    thepetiterunner Posts: 1,238 Member
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    I totally get this. I think for most people though, diet and exercising IS only to get skinny. I mean most ads for things just show people looking skinnier, to fit into a bikini better, etc. It's not usually about how low your body fat is, how strong you can get, etc. The main message out there is diet + exercise = the skinny life. Not many people actually think some of us are out there to just be fit and active.
  • COliver416
    COliver416 Posts: 87 Member
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    Well, I do admit to being in it to look good too. But I've never wanted to be thin. I've always wanted to have that muscular body that shows the work and effort. Not a body that's achieved because I don't eat a lot. I like eating. I like eating good foods and eating it in abundance.

    I eat to fuel my body, not to feed it, because though I love to eat, I love eating because it gives me energy to go out and get done what I want to get done.
  • Edmond_Dantes
    Edmond_Dantes Posts: 185 Member
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    I can see my upper abs if I flex. I've gotten various readings, that fluctuated between 14 and 19 percent, but, for a month, through the three devices I've used, it's been between 14 and 16. I don't know how accurate it is, my friend's gym has them out, handheld ones. So, I don't know.

    But yeah, I can see the upper abs. I still have a lot of subcutaneous fat that hangs down around the bottom of my midsection and really thick lovehandles (39 inch love handles, my waist is 34), but, my upper torso is quite defined, along with my shoulders, and I'm getting a lot of vascular appearance in my arms. I'm broad shouldered and have always had a wide frame, genetics--my mother is 5'10 and once weighed 120 pounds and couldn't fit into anything smaller than a size 10 or 12. It depends a lot on your frame.

    I've always been told that you start to see a full six pack at about 10% and you see it permanently at about 8%.

    I'd check whatever device you're using. Cause 207 at 6'4 is pretty close to ideal for most men. But, I don't know.

    Thanks for the reply. 207 lbs would be great if I could switch out about 12 lbs of fat for 12 lbs of muscle, I would say. Still have flab at waist, lower ab and love handle (and to a lesser degree elsewhere) regions that I'd like to improve. It's not obvious when I wear a shirt but it still annoys me.
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
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    I have to admit to some confusion over a body fat % goal. I thought 20-30 was considered the healthy range? It is safe to go under that? I will be happy to get to 25, but if I can look better at 20, I am all for it, but I didn't really consider going under that. I guess it depends how happy you are with how you look at a given percentage?
  • Edmond_Dantes
    Edmond_Dantes Posts: 185 Member
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    I have to admit to some confusion over a body fat % goal. I thought 20-30 was considered the healthy range? It is safe to go under that? I will be happy to get to 25, but if I can look better at 20, I am all for it, but I didn't really consider going under that. I guess it depends how happy you are with how you look at a given percentage?

    Mainly depends on if you are a woman or man. 20-25% in a woman (beach body) looks like maybe 14-16 % in a man (rough estimate).
  • Helsbells123
    Helsbells123 Posts: 10
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    to be honest, I dont think it is a compliment to say that 'you will be skin and bones'. I think they are trying to put you down (probably subconsciously but still...) because you make them feel bad because you are so focused and seeing good results.It means that they have no excuse for not doing the same. I admire you for setting such clear goals and for sticking to them. Can I ask how you did decide on your goals?
  • COliver416
    COliver416 Posts: 87 Member
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    I have to admit to some confusion over a body fat % goal. I thought 20-30 was considered the healthy range? It is safe to go under that? I will be happy to get to 25, but if I can look better at 20, I am all for it, but I didn't really consider going under that. I guess it depends how happy you are with how you look at a given percentage?

    A woman at 20 to 25% is very healthy. 12 to 15% is considered extreme athlete. 15 to 20% is considered athletic. A woman shouldn't go below 12%, it'll effect her body from Menstrual cycle to her ability to carry a child, also her ability to regulate heat, lowers her immune system as well.

    The same for a man under 5% body fat.
  • COliver416
    COliver416 Posts: 87 Member
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    to be honest, I dont think it is a compliment to say that 'you will be skin and bones'. I think they are trying to put you down (probably subconsciously but still...) because you make them feel bad because you are so focused and seeing good results.It means that they have no excuse for not doing the same. I admire you for setting such clear goals and for sticking to them. Can I ask how you did decide on your goals?

    When I started my weight loss journey, I weighed 347 pounds. When I lost my first 80 pounds I was really disappointed in the results and didn't like what I saw and began to sabotage myself and put on 20 of the pounds I lost. Then, I decided I'd get serious. I started working out, trying all different eating plans, but the scattershot approach I had just led to my joints killing, my body aching, and rabid mood swings and hair loss. I went from 275 to 232 and then gained back all the weight cause my body couldn't take it. Also, again, my body didn't look like I wanted it to look, or like I thought it would look at 230. Mostly because of my gigantic love handles, at my peak, they were 50 inches with a 46 inch waist.

    So, I decided to do things differently. I looked at what was the lowest possible weight I could get to and still be healthy. That was around 180 to 195. I also watched a lot of episodes of The Biggest Loser (a show I don't very much agree with but occasionally enjoy) and I noticed their body transformations weren't massively drastic to their weight loss, and that it's not until the real lesser weight that you begin to see drastic change. Also, I knew that I needed to be kept encouraged, so I needed to keep evidence of my success. So, I needed to take pictures.

    I put all my knowledge together. My specific goal is to get a 32 inch waist and 53 inch shoulders, which will give me a Golden ratio. I'm .5 inches from the shoulders, 2 inches from the waist. But, I need to get my love handles down another 6 or seven inches to get that awkward shaping away.

    And that's how I created my specific goals.
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
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    to be honest, I dont think it is a compliment to say that 'you will be skin and bones'. I think they are trying to put you down (probably subconsciously but still...) because you make them feel bad because you are so focused and seeing good results.It means that they have no excuse for not doing the same. I admire you for setting such clear goals and for sticking to them. Can I ask how you did decide on your goals?

    When I started my weight loss journey, I weighed 347 pounds. When I lost my first 80 pounds I was really disappointed in the results and didn't like what I saw and began to sabotage myself and put on 20 of the pounds I lost. Then, I decided I'd get serious. I started working out, trying all different eating plans, but the scattershot approach I had just led to my joints killing, my body aching, and rabid mood swings and hair loss. I went from 275 to 232 and then gained back all the weight cause my body couldn't take it. Also, again, my body didn't look like I wanted it to look, or like I thought it would look at 230. Mostly because of my gigantic love handles, at my peak, they were 50 inches with a 46 inch waist.

    So, I decided to do things differently. I looked at what was the lowest possible weight I could get to and still be healthy. That was around 180 to 195. I also watched a lot of episodes of The Biggest Loser (a show I don't very much agree with but occasionally enjoy) and I noticed their body transformations weren't massively drastic to their weight loss, and that it's not until the real lesser weight that you begin to see drastic change. Also, I knew that I needed to be kept encouraged, so I needed to keep evidence of my success. So, I needed to take pictures.

    I put all my knowledge together. My specific goal is to get a 32 inch waist and 53 inch shoulders, which will give me a Golden ratio. I'm .5 inches from the shoulders, 2 inches from the waist. But, I need to get my love handles down another 6 or seven inches to get that awkward shaping away.

    And that's how I created my specific goals.

    I hear you on the rant. The love handles, or that final 20 pounds (spare tire) is the tickler to get rid of, but health wise is super important as that's where all that last bit of visceral fat is hiding up in there around our organs and keeps cholesterol numbers high, poses health risks for men and can easily be hidden under you clothes while everyone calls you "skinny". When in reality, you are in the "skinny fat" stage right now.

    For those that question "how skinny are you going to get" and blah, blah, blah - don't worry. They have no idea what really skinny is.

    Here's really skinny...

    12369682985_2eca9e512c.jpg

    ...yet he's one of the best athelete's in the world. No chance he - or any other Tour de France winner - wants to carry any extra weight up those mountains for fear of not being able to outclimb the other contenders.

    Or a professional prima ballerina...

    12376139013_fbd210319f.jpg

    ...has to be light to be lifted. No way they have a professional career otherwise.

    Me? 6'4" and 168 pounds. So you're far from skinny, yet.

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