Body Weight and Fat

[LostInMyThoughts]

Since my sophomore year in college, I've been very self-conscious about my weight. At the end of my sophomore year I weight 220lbs (I'm 5'11" by the way) I decided to do something about it, and work my butt off and dropped down to 172...less than what I weighed in high-school.

 

Since then, I've been on a weight loss rollercoaster. Going from about 205lbs to 200lbs (I'm at 199 lbs right now). I would kill myself at the gym, eat fairly well, but not seem to lose weight.

 

It was kind of a bummer. At least my clothes fit okay, so I stopped really worrying about it.

 

Well last night I had a bit of good news. During a personal training session we did a body fat percentage analysis. My guess was that I was going to be in the 20-23% body fat area. When I first moved back to Seattle, I was 24% at about 205lbs.

 

The meansurement said I was 15% body fat (we used the electrical resistance measurement). I couldn't believe it, I was so freaking happy.

 

I guess the bulk of my weight comes from being muscular, which is good, but I am carrying around a lot of weight, which will take it's toll on my joints later. The bad thing is that I carry a lot of my fat on my face and around my waist. I know it's true of many guys, but because I already have "chipmunk cheeks" having excess fat makes me look fatter than I really am. According to the measurement, I'm at the high end of being "Fit" close to being "Athletic" in terms of body fat.

 

Anyway I just wanted to share this for the people who are out there killing themselves at the gym and not seeing drops in their weight. Weight isn't a good measurement of health!

[iamteddybearfeelmecuddle]

Why don't you try replacing your bulk building excercises with some aerobic excercises instead?

[NJRon]

That's a good point. You have obviously built up the muscle mass... some cardio may let it show a little more.

[BBHFutureAllAmerican]

yeah i've never really muched worried about my weight in general because i'm an athlete n i do A LOT of weight lifting for sports but congratulations on getting back on track