I'm 54 and my body fat percentage is around 10%, I don't think i'm too skinny. But my wife keeps saying that its not healthy to have that low of body fat at my age. What do you guys think?
Wife says i'm too skinny.
Farrl
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I agree...165 at 5'10" a bit chubby by racer standards..i'm 6'0 and 165 right now in the heart of Cross season and am trying to get back down to 160 from MTB race season wieght over the summer. i'm 48 btw.
Its tough at the end of the summer i was at 160ish and then had a wedding bender weekend and shot up to 165++ and have'nt been able to shake it.
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All this talk doesn't override the cold hard fact that being married and the cliché "happy wife = happy life" means more than body fat, World Cup comparisons, etc. If your spouse wants to nag or think you're unhealthy then it doesn't matter ... never mind.
In my area we have many top 10 national pros. One is "normal" looking aka not skin and bones. He's a 6 time age group champion. When I take friends to races they always comment "wow, that racer is so skinny, is that healthy, how can they ride for 6 hours?" Maybe your wife's opinion and perspective is like my friends'.
I'm not paying the bills with racing so I choose not to lose that extra 10 pounds. My dating life would absolutely go to shitz if I was any thinner. Funny but it's true. I have proof not in the way of power meters or KOMs but headboard marks on the wall.
In my area we have many top 10 national pros. One is "normal" looking aka not skin and bones. He's a 6 time age group champion. When I take friends to races they always comment "wow, that racer is so skinny, is that healthy, how can they ride for 6 hours?" Maybe your wife's opinion and perspective is like my friends'.
I'm not paying the bills with racing so I choose not to lose that extra 10 pounds. My dating life would absolutely go to shitz if I was any thinner. Funny but it's true. I have proof not in the way of power meters or KOMs but headboard marks on the wall.
Famous quote from Dan Empfield, over at Slowtwitch:
the trick is to keep losing weight until your friends and family ask you if you've been sick. then you know you're within 10 pounds. if they start whispering to each other, wondering if you've got cancer or aids, you're within 5. when they actually do an intervention, you're at race weight.
Winner. Close thread!
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Its funny when your wife is eating a Big Mac for takeout - with little ones you end up going to McDonald's more often than you would think - and all you're eating is a small bowl of Greek yogurt with a tiny sprinkle of granola.
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I'm 48 also and it's a shame how easy it is to put on 5 pounds on a weekend if you let yourself go a little. It takes me over 2 weeks to lose that extra 5 pounds.
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I was 225 and now 205. Age 55 and 6-1. Wife says too skinny because she could feel the bone on top of my shoulders.
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You're really making this much too easy for me to derail this thread in a big way with potential responses to that quote! :lol:
My youngest brother is my height but around 220lbs. His BF% is very low (maybe down around 10%). He's lean muscle from decades of weight training. My family says he looks sick.
Last time I saw my family they commented "OMG he looks just like Phillip...he looks sick!" and not in a positive way either. I'm 5' 11" and 177lbs. I can tell ya I have too much fat in the form of a spare tire around my mid section. I calculate around a 22% BF and a BMI that indicates I'm a couple pounds from being overweight. While I'm just getting back to weight training from this year's MTB crash bone repairs, my physique is more "solid" (I have some definition and getting at least my 4-pack back) than the vast majority in my mid-50s age group with a BF% that is dropping while my weight slowly increases.
Here's the thing, my family is a bunch of fat asses and anyone with fewer than 2 chins is considered underweight and sick. Being as lean of physical condition (muscle-wise) as my youngest brother is not exactly what I'm striving for and neither is "who gives a **** fat".
The last checkup the doc documented that I have the vascular system of a 40 yo (doppler checked) and my resting heart rate before surgery was 43bpm, (scared the crap outta me that my heart would slow down more and stop while under anesthesia!). We all have our views on it but I don't believe one could go wrong with "I don't want to be so skinny with cardio to run/ride forever but I also don't want to be so strong that I don't have any cardio to ride/run at all.". And there in lies the rub...
Last time I saw my family they commented "OMG he looks just like Phillip...he looks sick!" and not in a positive way either. I'm 5' 11" and 177lbs. I can tell ya I have too much fat in the form of a spare tire around my mid section. I calculate around a 22% BF and a BMI that indicates I'm a couple pounds from being overweight. While I'm just getting back to weight training from this year's MTB crash bone repairs, my physique is more "solid" (I have some definition and getting at least my 4-pack back) than the vast majority in my mid-50s age group with a BF% that is dropping while my weight slowly increases.
Here's the thing, my family is a bunch of fat asses and anyone with fewer than 2 chins is considered underweight and sick. Being as lean of physical condition (muscle-wise) as my youngest brother is not exactly what I'm striving for and neither is "who gives a **** fat".
The last checkup the doc documented that I have the vascular system of a 40 yo (doppler checked) and my resting heart rate before surgery was 43bpm, (scared the crap outta me that my heart would slow down more and stop while under anesthesia!). We all have our views on it but I don't believe one could go wrong with "I don't want to be so skinny with cardio to run/ride forever but I also don't want to be so strong that I don't have any cardio to ride/run at all.". And there in lies the rub...
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I think it depends where you live too. I live on the Wasatch front in Utah and is one of the fitter areas in the nation. I'm 5'10" and usually between 155-160 with well defined small muscles and I get told all the time that I look "fit". I lift weights all year round 1-3 times a week per the weather/pollution.
But my wife thinks I'm too skinny and hates when people call me fit, hahahaha.
When I go back to Texas or Florida to visit family/friends they tell me that I look emaciated.
My wife's family from Texas came to visit one summer and they're pretty overweight. We had the AC on full blast and the house wouldn't cool down and they all complained that they were too hot (too much natural insulation). Then my brother-in-law had the idea to stain our two small balconies and deck. Wow, I couldn't believe how broken they all were after we were done. Carrying that extra hundred pounds while bending over and such takes huge energy. I went out and rode my bike 3 hours after that staining project no problem.
But my wife thinks I'm too skinny and hates when people call me fit, hahahaha.
When I go back to Texas or Florida to visit family/friends they tell me that I look emaciated.
My wife's family from Texas came to visit one summer and they're pretty overweight. We had the AC on full blast and the house wouldn't cool down and they all complained that they were too hot (too much natural insulation). Then my brother-in-law had the idea to stain our two small balconies and deck. Wow, I couldn't believe how broken they all were after we were done. Carrying that extra hundred pounds while bending over and such takes huge energy. I went out and rode my bike 3 hours after that staining project no problem.
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6'4 and 190lbs. I don't get it all the time but people have asked me from time to time:
Don't you get tired of salads all the time?
You need to eat more.
Why are you so skinny?
How are you so skinny?
How do you eat so much and not get fat?
Don't you get tired of salads all the time?
You need to eat more.
Why are you so skinny?
How are you so skinny?
How do you eat so much and not get fat?
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What passes for normal these days is pretty disgusting. It's common in the US but getting to be more so around the globe. People wonder why our "outcomes" in our health care aren't as good as some other countries. It's not so much our health care system that's at fault as our people who take no responsibility for their health. "I can just eat/ingest/inhale anything I want to and somebody else will/should take care of me." Rant over. For now.
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Weird, I'm just an inch shorter but 30 pounds lighter and I never hear that stuff, maybe everyone feels sorry for me
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It really depends on body composition. Some guys look normal at 2 lbs/in, some guys look horrific. Some guys can manage 8% BF, some guys naturally hang out around 14%.
I get *$&% all the time for being skinny @ 6-4 and 185, I don't feel like it.
My big pet peeve is "skinny" is really peoples way of saying "not muscular". Crossfit guys have less bodyfat than me, are they "skinny" too!?
I just tell everybody if I was a pro rider I'd be 25 lbs lighter (like Wiggins), then show them some pictures of true skinny cyclists and then go on with my day.
Unfortunately being the Alpha out on the track means you don't look it in the gym....thats the sport we live in.
With that said, I think an extra few lbs of muscle is beneficial for most of us that are not pro...
I get *$&% all the time for being skinny @ 6-4 and 185, I don't feel like it.
My big pet peeve is "skinny" is really peoples way of saying "not muscular". Crossfit guys have less bodyfat than me, are they "skinny" too!?
I just tell everybody if I was a pro rider I'd be 25 lbs lighter (like Wiggins), then show them some pictures of true skinny cyclists and then go on with my day.
Unfortunately being the Alpha out on the track means you don't look it in the gym....thats the sport we live in.
With that said, I think an extra few lbs of muscle is beneficial for most of us that are not pro...
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It’s kind of shocking going from CO to a place like Atlanta.
You’d think that with the more temperate climate, the south would be skinnier. But it’s not.
Hell, it’s shocking going from Boulder or Fort Collins down to Colorado Springs. There are decidedly more fat people in CS, despite it being the home of USOC, etc.
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You’d think that with the more temperate climate, the south would be skinnier. But it’s not.
Hell, it’s shocking going from Boulder or Fort Collins down to Colorado Springs. There are decidedly more fat people in CS, despite it being the home of USOC, etc.
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It's also the home of "Focus on the Family". Among other things they've managed to forget that's in their "good book" is anything related to gluttony and sloth...
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