what is the ideal male body fat %? what do women find the most attracting?

sscarmack wrote: »

If that's your only goal...........

You want women to find you sexy. Work on your personality and becoming a better, more confident, well rounded person.

All the muscles and abs in the world won't save you if you're a complete DBag. Well, you probably won't get past the first night at least.

Be respectful, kind and actually engage yourself into conversations, and be attentive.

and

3dogsrunning wrote: »

Shockingly, women aren't attracted to one particular bodyfat percentage or even body type.
I think abs on a guy are sexy. I've dated guys who have abs. My husband, who I also think is sexy, does not and has never had abs (while I've known him).
I've known guys with abs who are not sexy at all.
I even have girlfriends who don't like abs on a guy. Crazy, I know.

Great advice.

RobynLB83 wrote: »

Sex appeal in men is 100% personality. I've found skinny, ripped, and fat guys sexy. If I'm just looking at photos and asked to pick most attractive body, I'd probably pick someone at 8-10%.

^^^I believe this is what the OP was going for. Obviously there's more to all of us than our looks, but are we really so PC that we can't say that physical attractiveness matters? For me, a person's face has to be attractive, or it doesn't matter how good their body looks. Bright eyes and a nice smile can make up for several % BF LOL.

13-18% is considered the healthy range for men. Most people don't get much of a six pack until they hit 10% or lower. Below 10% might feel like a full-time job to maintain.

Let me give you some advice I wish someone had given me when I was 18: Focus on listening to girls rather than trying to impress them. Don't try to be the funniest/coolest guy, instead try to be the guy that people enjoy being with - because you take interest in them and laugh at their jokes.

Every interaction you have with anyone, ask yourself afterwards "did they feel better about themselves after talking to me, or did they feel worse?".

When I was 18 I couldn't get an 18 year old girl for love or money - because I didn't listen to them and just tried to impress them.

McCloud33 wrote: »

jemhh wrote: »

McCloud33 wrote: »

RobynLB83 wrote: »

Sex appeal in men is 100% personality. I've found skinny, ripped, and fat guys sexy. If I'm just looking at photos and asked to pick most attractive body, I'd probably pick someone at 8-10%.

^^^I believe this is what the OP was going for. Obviously there's more to all of us than our looks, but are we really so PC that we can't say that physical attractiveness matters? For me, a person's face has to be attractive, or it doesn't matter how good their body looks. Bright eyes and a nice smile can make up for several % BF LOL.

Well yes, looks matter, but looks are more than body fat, which is what the OP was asking about. I have never looked at a man and said "10%! Excellent!"

I don't know. I'm old I guess. Or senile. Maybe both. I don't remember people being obsessed with body fat percentages and 6-pack abs twenty years ago the way so many seem to be now. Yes, part of what attracted me to my husband was that he was fit/in shape, but that was in general, not a specific "he has X% fat" type of thing. And, past that, it was completely about personality. There are plenty of people who look good when they are silent and then ruin it by opening their mouths.

Yes, it's more than a number, but there is a general look associated with different BF%'s. You said you were attracted to your husband partially because he was fit/in shape (So probably between 10-20% depending on your definition of fit).

How different BF% look is going to be largely dependent on the amount of muscle that someone has as well. I would think that *most* women (please correct me if I'm wrong) would prefer some variation of a the traditional "V" shape. Wider shoulders, thinner waist. But I also know that some women prefer more of that long distance runner type body where there isn't as much upper body muscle, but lean all over.

Oh yeah there is a general look associated with BF% but the OP seemed to want a specific number. He asked "7%? 10%?" and my thought was that those numbers are way too specific. I went ahead and looked at a few picture-based body fat charts and yeah, your 10-20% is pretty much right. But I also have to say that nobody is going to be able to tell what your more specific body fat % is in most social circumstances. At the beach, yes (assuming the person has an idea of what different bf%s look like.) In the shower, yes. Any normal, just meeting a person situation? Nope. Nobody is going to be able to tell if the op is 7% vs 10% or 15% vs 18% at school or work or the grocery store or anywhere else where he's wearing clothes.

As for the V shape, I really don't know. I've never really had girlfriends who I discuss that stuff with so I don't know what other women like. I can only say that different women like different things and that I look all around me and see people of all sorts of different sizes and shapes who are coupled up. I'm sure there is an overall "ideal" or preference but I'm not a good person to report on it.

Now I sound shallow, and I'm so not. But I'm trying to be honest if we're talking about what is physically sexy outside of the man being a great guy, which is a given for most women to be attracted to him.

OK, this may be a good tip: Women feel your arms a lot on dates, and I do like to feel a muscular arm (but not huge). I could care less about your lats, and a 6 pack is just going to be a bonus, but a suitably muscular arm/shoulders is so noticeable in a good way I like those muscles more than I care about a bit of fluff, myself. And that's my shallow view. The better your smile and attitude, the more fluff you can pull over on me

there's a lot of information and opinions here already, and mine and a dollar will get you a Nestle Crunch bar out of the vending machines in the cafeteria at my job...but having said that, I'm gonna put two things out here for your consideration. take them with as many grains of salt as necessary.

1. women who actually have checklists that include "the guys' BF percentage has to fall within this guideline" are probably not worth your time or effort, because as soon as you dare to venture outside this - or ANY - of their "checklist" parameters, you'll be on the outside looking in...because some people really are just that shallow. so why bother wasting your time in pursuit of that particular flavor of fickleness?

2. if you're pursuing weight loss/exercise/recomp/etc. with the sole motivation being "what will chicks like?", then i'm betting there are other areas of your life for which this is also the sole criteria.

please consider my words carefully on this one.

if you're looking at everything in your life from the perspective of how to attract women, you're doing it wrong.

women can smell desperation from the next time zone. they don't find it attractive in the least, and it's the absolute best way to chase them screaming from your presence.

if you want to actually attract a mate...and not just any mate, but the RIGHT mate - spend all that time and effort in defining who you are, who you want to be, and just go out and be that person.

because if you come up with an act, then you're gonna have to become the person you invent and stick to your script once you find someone, and that's exhausting...and you'll eventually let your guard down and they'll disappear anyway.

if you be yourself and find a mate, that's obviously the best case scenario.

if you be yourself and don't find a mate, that's actually your second best outcome.

if you put on a persona like a suit and find a mate, that's going to unravel on you the minute you change clothes, and you'll be right back where you started...except with a healthy dose of mental anguish to carry around with you.