Body fat

Charlie Mike

Charlie Mike

Sober since 1-7-14 (still a Paranoid Nutjob)
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Nov 1, 2000
Messages
28,365
I just hopped on the scale out of curiousity and was surprised. Wearing generic Dickies jeans, costco t shirt, steel toes from my avatar, biker jacket, 2 locking folders and a slippy, light, smokes, lighters, ETC... I'm 177.5 lbs as per a digital scale. When I came home from the box, I was approx 190 lbs in my PT uniform yet I looked sucked up like a tweaker. I'm 5'9" to give you an idea. My BDU size is currently LR for pants and MR for jacket... Strange enough, so is Mrs CM.

My question is about acceptable body fat percentage. Fat is stored energy. My lowest adult weight was 130 lbs at 23 when I had become a full blown meth addict. Still found a way to function/survive somehow. Approx 5 years later, I wear a 38 as opposed to a 32. If you are lean, I think your food needs will be much higher. I wouldn't say I'm less combat effective now than I was in 03. I was eating at least 3 MREs per day in combat. Today I eat 1-2 times per day which could be construed as meals. My weight actually surprised me. I was figuring 180 lbs naked. I guess this proves that I have lost a significant amount of muscle mass after the army.

So where would you strike a balance for your "average" urban survivalist.
 
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I'm hovering at right around 70% body fat right now. I find that ideal.:D

I also find my weight to be weird lately. Lost a full pant size in the last month, had to make a new hole in my belt but gained 5 lbs.

I guess I've toned up.:confused:
 
10% BF, 170lbs , 5'9" . Majority of my weight is in my cyclist legs. My Doc has already requested i donate my legs to her for research if i get in an accident. Pure muscle.

when i used to big wall climb and cycle lots I used to eat 6 - 10 times a day, plates of food, and come off the wall or bike weighing 10 - 20 lbs less and still being hungry.
 
I'd consider 12-18% bodyfat a good range for your average athletic male, low to mid 20% for women. Lots of folks claim to be leaner, but they are hardly as lean as they think they are.
 
Bushman5 sounds like me. I still have yet to renew my license after my DUI in 08. If I had to go anywhere, I'd just drive my steel toes. My x says that I walk too fast... I say I'm moving like I have a purpose. I have covered 28 miles with a full combat load (including ruck) in 12 hours. I'd actually like to know how many calories I burned given a 120 degree temp in a hightened state of awareness with reduced sleep and rations. I refuse to get my license until it's necessary.
 
The leanest I ever was was about 11% body fat, 152 pounds, 5'9"

I'm now 189 pounds, probably like 22%-23% body fat and a 32 inch waist.

For me, I'd be comfortable at about 17% bodyfat, my goal is about 170 pounds, more muscle less fat to achieve my goal of 17%.

Unlike B5, I quit cycling about 10 years ago, though my calves have lost very little strength, they lack the endurance of the 40 mile a day bike rides and running.

I sincerely believe that everyone is different, I've seen some fat dudes outrun me, so fat is more of a general indicator than a solid gauge.
 
When I was much younger, I hit a low of 9%. I would be afraid to know now...
 
ok something that im somewhat of sme in. average male bodyfat per study of norms by Lohman, Houtkooper and Going (1997)

age low mid upper (these are for physically active males)
18-34 5 10 15
35-55 7 11 18
55+ 9 12 18

non active
age not rec low mid upper obese
18-34 <8 8 13 22 >22
35-55 <10 10 18 25 >25
55+ <10 10 16 23 >23

obviously, how you measure matters. order of effectiveness low to high.

BMI, BIA (electric current), Skinfold (assuming good tech), Bod pod, underwater weighing, DEXA

-wyatt
 
I've seen some pretty fat dudes get it on, so I suppose it's more about the person who owns the fat than the actual percentage, to a point. I've never known my bodyfat, even in the Army. I've always had thick,dense muscle so every weigh I had to go to the tape as I weighed heavy for my height. I'm six feet tall, and even after basic training with a six-pack and all I still weighed in at 205. I also had a 52 inch chest, so you see how I was put together.
Today, however, is a lot of years later. Beer, burgers, chips, scotch and six months of unemployment have further refined my physique to some frankly embarrassing numbers. We'll be fixing that shortly, though.
 
bushman14 said:
I've seen some pretty fat dudes get it on...
Click to expand...

:eek:


Like a lot of people, I've gained a little weight since I came to college...good thing for me, I think. I weighed 135 wet 'til I was 20, so now that I'm coming in at 190, 6' tall, I feel pretty good. I don't know my body fat %, but IMO it's all about what you can do and how you feel, not the numbers.
 
From a survival perspective (since that was mentioned in the OP) I guess you'd last longer cannibalizing yourself if you were fat. But I'm not going to get out of shape just for that scenario. I don't think that anyone could really say "Oh, I'm intentionally this shape... I'm preparing for a SHTF scenario". Being fit and lean is always, always better than being fat and unfit. Looks better naked too!
 
I'm 5'9 190lbs, stocky build, 15% to 17% body fat, I used to play rugby so you know what those guys look like, the good thing is I weigh the same as I did 10 years ago, with a little more muscle mass now...I work a job where I press 100lbs over my head, and upright 50 lbs up to my chest everyday, probably 10 to 15 times in 8 hours each.....I can run also, so that's not a problem....
 
Why the hell do you only eat 1-2 times a day? That's bad. You should eat at least 3 times a day, preferably around 5.
 
Dr Heelhook said:
Why the hell do you only eat 1-2 times a day? That's bad. You should eat at least 3 times a day, preferably around 5.
Click to expand...

This is a good point. I've already gained the wrong weight since my return from Afghanistan, but I was working out daily and eating about 4-5 times a day...all healthy snacks, fruit and protein shakes. Keeping your metabolism active is just as important as keeping your body active. I'm sure my body fat is not where it should be...time to get that fixed!

ROCK6
 
Good post CM. I am 6 '4 and 200 lbs and right around 9% body fat. I eat 4-6 times a day and work out regularly along with sports like Softball, Basketball and Paintball. I dont know my BFP when I was playing ball in college but I was the same height and 180-185 most times.....very lean. Most of the weight is muscle so I feel good bout that.
 
http://sportscenteraustin.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341ceb4553ef0105369d2528970c-800wi

GET YOUR BODYFAT % MEASURED---MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR WEIGHT
IT'S VERY HARD TO GET "TOO LEAN"--AS IN TOO LITTLE FAT WITH MORE MUSCLE.

TOO SKINNY IS BOTH A LOSS OF FAT AND MUSCLE(METH ADDICT FOR EXAMPLE)

WHY DO YOU WANT TO GET AND STAY AS LEAN AS POSSIBLE??

I SUB SPECIALIZE IN BARIATRICS--AND I ASK MY PATIENTS 2 QUESTIONS WHEN I MEET THEM.

THEY ALWAYS ANSWER YES AND NO---AND SO WILL YOU.

QUESTION #1: YOU DO KNOW WHAT A SUMO WRESTLER LOOKS LIKE??
ALWAYS---YES.

QUESTION#2:EVER SEEN AN OLD ONE??
ALWAYS-- NO.

AVERAGE LIFE SPAN OF A SUMO------58 YEARS.

I USED TO WEIGHT 270---NOW 180LBS.

GET AS LEAN AS YOU CAN WHILE MAINTAINING YOUR HEALTH.
 
I am 63 years old, 6'8" tall, weigh 265 pounds, and wear a size 40 waist.

I am within 35 pounds of my weight before heart surgery when I wore a 48" waist.

How can 35 pounds make that much difference? Then I was a couch potato. Now I do regular heavy duty weight workouts. Body fat is indeed more important than weight.
 
My body seems to follow a natural cycle, bouncing between 160 and 190 pounds. In the early spring, I go on an enduro/cardio binge and burn all my winter insulation away in about a month. By mid to late april I am all lean skinny muscle, putting on many miles a day and eating not much more than a small meal and a small snack or two a day. In the summer time, I build muscle mass from being active and eating more-I bulk up to about 180 pounds. between late summer/early fall and Christmas time, I weigh about 190 and have a nice healthy layer of blubber going, that I maintain til early spring and the cycle continues again. This has happened no matter what my environment and daily activities are, whether I was in florida, texas, idaho or wisconsin. I think being super lean and skinny isn't ideal for survival, having a little extra meat on you doesn't hurt. I don't see any drastic changes in run times etc at my different body weights, I can still crank out pushups, pullups, situps etc. An extra few pounds can save your ass, as long as you don't use that as an excuse to get lazy or fat. This is all a natural cycle, I don't consciously change my eating or workout habits as the year goes on, I just go on what I crave/need.
 
PS, Carmichael Training Systems has an awesome fat/calorie/workout calculator on their website, it's specifically for road biking athletes but works well for everybody. It's gotta be the most accurate out of all the internet body fat calculators, this guy has spent his life into analyzing athletes' metabolisms and anatomies.
 
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