[Igor Antunov]

@Godstud that's when the Fat Free Mass Index (FFMI) becomes useful

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20531353/

If Igor is natural, then his FFMI is at most 25:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7496846/

I'm at the limit, I cannot build anymore muscle except maybe on my legs. Not without getting on gear and shriveling my balls. I've always had incredibly high testosterone, it's inherited. My dad is a gorilla, I'm merely a chimp though. A relative manlet, everyone else in my family is over 195cm tall. Mainly because of my stunted chimp legs. I have the torso and arms of a 2m guy.

BMI is a feeble measure however I wouldn't call some bodybuilders and most strongmen terribly healthy, they're obviously blown up and in the case of bodybuilders they have dangerously low fat content. But their primary ailment is growth of internal organs due to use of anabolics. Enlarged liver, heart, kidneys, guts etc are a bad combination. This happens when you start juicing young and do it for years.

When it comes to general health BMI is idotic across the board because highly anabolically active tissue like muscle actually helps regulate cardiovascular function and protects the heart and major organs from fuckery.

I think after 50's I will start taking hormone supplements because testosterone levels drop dramatically in 40's- I never want to shrivel up into a true manlet.

And @godstud you look damn good. Must be the lifestyle. And that's key. How you live and act defines what you look like. Instead of promoting the fat lifestyle, fat people should consider changing up their lifestyle. I know it's hormonal in some cases, my sister has poly-cystic ovarian induced Hypothyroidism. Her appetite is out of control and she has to be on meal plans 24/7. She's still lost most of her excess teenage weight in her twenties and is now very healthy. Lifestyle.

[Rugoz]

This is me. Am I obese?

No, but still overweight.

Needless to say you should ask your doctor, not me.

[Godstud]

You're trolling, @Rugoz.

I am fit as hell and NOT 'overweight'. Having muscle ruins the BMI. I think that you call having muscle as being "overweight". You have skinny bird arms and legs. Do you even lift?

At my physical, last year, my doctor told me, "Keep doing what you're doing". So

@Igor Antunov All those FFMI and such are just guidelines. You can build bigger but you plateau and then it takes a long time for small gains. Keep at it, bro!

Most bodybuilders only maintain the fat cut for a short time immediately prior to the competitions and so they don't take pics from a few weeks AFTER, where they aren't cut. Most are very healthy, unless they're on the PEDs to a great extent. That'll fuck you up, for sure, in the long run.

Thanks for the compliment. 4 years of work to get there. It's a greater struggle later on, so lifting at an early age gives you a big advantage.

I get the best compliments from the ladies, though. I often get mistaken for a man in his early 40s, despite being 54. Women like a man with muscular arms, and a chest bigger than their belly.

[tomskunk]

@Godstud

You are fit Godstud. You should be proud of your hard work. Don't let anybody tell you any different.

[Godstud]

@tomskunk I am fit enough to do anything I want, and that's what's important to me.

I've been fat. It's not fun. You feel terrible and look terrible. Clothes don't fit well and your health suffers. Women don't look at you much, either.

I'm now wearing the same size pants I was when I was 25 years old. I am fitter and stronger than I have been at any other time in my life(including when I was in the army). I had to throw out a bunch of shirts and pants that fall off me, or are so baggy that they look terrible. It felt great doing that!

If you're dieting, keep at it. Just change the whole lifestyle. It's so worth it!

[tomskunk]

@Godstud

I have been losing weight slowly because I am following the advice of a dietician. Once I am finished with school, accomplish some of my academic goals, and be allowed to be a normal person again with a normal schedule and life, THEN, I will have more time freed up to where I actually have some time to exercise. UNTIL THEN, I have to suffer and sacrifice to achieve my academic goals. You can't achieve your academic goals without real sacrifice either anymore than you can achieve your exercise goals without real sacrifice in time and resources.

CompTIA exams cost money and I want to pass the first time. Employers want BOTH CompTIA certifications and college degrees in my field. The Veterans Administration doesn't want to hear excuses about making bad grades because you needed time to exercise since they are paying the college bills. You have to be able to justify your cost to your benefactors. Something has to give somewhere. So, you know, my solution, since time is in extreme short supply, is to eat much more healthier and in a healthy way to slowly and gradually lose weight until I graduate with my Masters and have more time to spare for exercise.

[Godstud]

If it's working, then keep at it! It's all worth it. Diet is 75%.

I often encourage people who show up at the gym, who are overweight, to keep going and give them support. If they make it to the gym, they're doing something right.

[tomskunk]

@Godstud

I agree, going to the gym is important. But my demanding academic schedule makes it hard. Given, I admit, that taking on learning Russian is my own choice, but I feel this is important to do for my current field. In the IT field, these employers want BOTH CompTIA and college degrees if you want to get promoted to the highest levels and not have a promotion ceiling put over your head. However, I am confident, I will have more time on my hands once I finish graduate school.

[Godstud]

Self improvement is also about improving your mental health and acumen, as well. I started reading again once I started going to the gym, as I didn't want to neglect the noodle.

Time is often a factor in not being able to hit the gym, or even eat right. It's work. The people who look good usually have to work hard to look that good. This is especially true after age 30.

[tomskunk]

@Godstud

I guess I can try to squeeze some more time walking. Here is a question, how do you stay on track with an exercise program while not letting it take up too much time to cost you academically and to stick with it? Sometimes, you know, life happens and it gets tough to stick with an exercise program.

What are some tips and advice you might have on this topic of sticking with an exercise program when life happens like family members from out-of-town visits or when going on vacation with family and many of them don't exercise and just want to do things all day without exercise for example?

The people who look good usually have to work hard to look that good. This is especially true after age 30.

Yeah, they do!

[Rugoz]

You have skinny bird arms and legs. Do you even lift?

How would you know.

I often get mistaken for a man in his early 40s, despite being 54.

You look much younger than 54. I can make compliments.

[wat0n]

Congrats @Godstud, you definitely look younger than your real age.

@Igor Antunov if you are really natural and weigh 108 kg at 185 cm you're at least 20% bf. That's not obese (at all) but it'd be healthier if you cut some of it - trying to get to somewhere between 12-15% - i.e. just having a 4-pack or even being just a tad fatter than you'd need to be to be able to see your upper abs - would be better over the long run. Yep, it sucks to maintain that and I often fail to do so myself, but it is what it is.

I also used to be fat and the advice you gave is legit, in general, as long as overall calorie intake is under control (and, if trying to grow muscle, one hits free weights regularly - at least 3+ times a week - and eats enough protein). Those 3 things (keeping calorie intake under control, eating enough protein, hitting free weights regularly) are the absolutely necessary (yet often not sufficient) things one needs to do to improve body composition over the long run. Ultimately, this is a marathon and not a sprint.

[Godstud]

How would you know.

I am trolling, just like you were! I am sure your arms are perfectly human-like. Thanks for the compliment, too.

@Igor Antunov's body fat percentage might be lower than 20%. People have different builds and I could easily be 110 kg with 15% or less bodyfat, IF I was about 20 years younger. I've had to work harder for my gains because of my age, and not wanting to use PEDs.

You can start to see serious ab definition when you get around 15% or less bodyfat, but it's easier for some people to get there, than others. I'd love to get there, but I am not sure it's realistic without having to double the amount of exercise I do now.

Fucking friends visiting me in Thailand has thrown off my exercise routine for a month, along with my diet. I have some work to do to get back to "fighting trim", as it were.

[Igor Antunov]

Congrats @Godstud, you definitely look younger than your real age.

@Igor Antunov if you are really natural and weigh 108 kg at 185 cm you're at least 20% bf. That's not obese (at all) but it'd be healthier if you cut some of it - trying to get to somewhere between 12-15% - i.e. just having a 4-pack or even being just a tad fatter than you'd need to be to be able to see your upper abs - would be better over the long run. Yep, it sucks to maintain that and I often fail to do so myself, but it is what it is.

I also used to be fat and the advice you gave is legit, in general, as long as overall calorie intake is under control (and, if trying to grow muscle, one hits free weights regularly - at least 3+ times a week - and eats enough protein). Those 3 things (keeping calorie intake under control, eating enough protein, hitting free weights regularly) are the absolutely necessary (yet often not sufficient) things one needs to do to improve body composition over the long run. Ultimately, this is a marathon and not a sprint.

I really don't want to go below 100kg because the strength loss for every 5kg you lose is immense. I was by far at my strongest when I was 120kg. I could military press standing up just over 110kg. I could pick up an above average sized man and throw him across a room. But it meant my knees would hurt when running, also led to much more frequent kidney stones. Today I can't do more than 4 plates plus bar (95kg). As I get older I will slim down, but probably never below 100kg, at least not until I'm geriatric and dying.

I think my natural mass for the frame I have is 100kg. I'll hover between 105-110 while I can. I can run and sprint without issues now. But keep that infrequent it will mess with your knees no matter your weight.

Also never do deadlifts. It will fuck your lower back. Don't doubt it. IT WILL FUCK THE DISCS IN YOUR LOWER BACK and if you're extra into it your knees and hips will also be fucked beyond repair.

[Agent Steel]

@Godstud20% body fat is not good. You are certainly overweight. You are older though, so I'm not blaming you, but I'm just saying to let you know. It's good to feel proud that you're less fat than a lot of other people, but you need to lose more fat. Good luck.

[Rancid]

The weight of my balls always confuses my doctor.

[Politics_Observer]

@Rancid @Igor Antunov @Godstud

Don't be FAAATTTT! I am a fat bastard, but that's OK. I am doing the best I can and I am not worried about what anybody else thinks.

[Crantag]

This is the problematic attitude I am talking about. And this statement is most certainly fat shaming.

While I have never had a weight problem, I have had mental illness in the form of depression and anxiety. As a victim of depression, I know that not only is it NOT my fault, but, in fact I have seen my own efforts to fight my depression backfire and actually worsen the depression due to a flawed chemistry within my brain.

People with an obesity problem suffer from a similar type of flaw in brain chemistry as do people suffering with depression, in that, as I explained, the very efforts they employ to fight the disease can actually result in a worsening of the disease. It is truly a tragic set of circumstances and we MUST educate ourselves about it if we really are to solve the problem.

I would agree that such people are rare, BUT, being a victim of a rare set of unfortunate circumstances is exactly why common attitudes about weight loss are so harmful and offensive to these people. Being in a minority group is what makes them more oppressed by the masses. And for them it is very frustrating hearing ignorance and lack of compassion about their struggle.

Physical activity decreases, if not fixes, my depression, though. I have been in low places.

I agree that efforts to fix shit can make it worse. For me, counselling has never worked, and indeed made it worse. I'm doing okay recently, since I quit the counselling, and got off my ass and got a shitty job (I'd been out of work for a bit). My jobs suck, but in short the supposed treatments did make shit worse for me. I don't think I'll go back to that. Just had to get out of my shell again.

Physical activity is good for stress and depression though, at least for me. Even if in the form of a shitty job. And human contact with someone other than a 'therapist' is also good. Not to say things like therapy don't help some, but I guess we have to find what works for oneself.

[Godstud]

@Godstud20% body fat is not good. You are certainly overweight. You are older though, so I'm not blaming you, but I'm just saying to let you know. It's good to feel proud that you're less fat than a lot of other people, but you need to lose more fat. Good luck.

20% is within normal range(18-25%), but you are correct, and I am losing body fat. It's harder, while building muscle. I am not cutting. No PEDs, either.

As long as my chest is bigger than my belly, I am happy.

[Politics_Observer]

@Agent Steel

Thanks for your post Agent Steel. I feel you brother. The kindest and most empathetic people are those who have suffered greatly. Mental illness is no joke and empathize with you brother. Don't let anybody tell you that it is weak to have empathy for others. It is not. Empathy is strength.