5'9 Male, 220 lbs. and 28% body fat - Am I obese? What can I do?

[jtreland234]

Hey all,

So I've always been a little bigger in terms of weight - even when I was relatively fit and had a healthy body fat %, I was btw. 175 and 180. Recently I've let myself go a little (over the last couple years) and now I find myself here. I still don't feel like I look that fat, but I was recently told by a fitness expert that I'm "obese by any standard". I guess I never thought about it way - maybe a little overweight, but not obese. I definitely don't think you'd look at me and think I was obese if you didn't know the numbers, although I will admit I've been getting less attention from the ladies since I gained the weight.

Anyway, I've tried working out recently and feel I've built some muscle and gained some cardio endurance, but my weight and body fat % havent budged. Is it possible to be my weight and body fat % and not be obese - could I just have a different kind of body? What else could I do?

[mrmrbill]

eh, not long ago I was 5'9", similar body fat around 210. If your BF isn't budging, you're not in a caloric deficit -- simple as that. Eating less or exercising more, or both to put you in deficit. Figure out your maintenance level here: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703981

Any notion that you're not obese is probably self-denial. If your LBM% were high enough to support 220 at a healthy BF%, it would mean you've been lifting large and strong for quite a while, and ... well, you'd already be self-aware, not needing a board to figure out if you're obese. 220 at something like 15% BF wouldn't "just happen" to an untrained 5'9"er.

[nerd_power]

Hey all,

So I've always been a little bigger in terms of weight - even when I was relatively fit and had a healthy body fat %, I was btw. 175 and 180. Recently I've let myself go a little (over the last couple years) and now I find myself here. I still don't feel like I look that fat, but I was recently told by a fitness expert that I'm "obese by any standard". I guess I never thought about it way - maybe a little overweight, but not obese. I definitely don't think you'd look at me and think I was obese if you didn't know the numbers, although I will admit I've been getting less attention from the ladies since I gained the weight.

Anyway, I've tried working out recently and feel I've built some muscle and gained some cardio endurance, but my weight and body fat % havent budged. Is it possible to be my weight and body fat % and not be obese - could I just have a different kind of body? What else could I do?

You could eat at a deficit.

If you have 28% bodyfat, then you're obese; the only thing "different" about your body is that you carry your fat distributed in such a way as you don't look as overweight as you are.

Commit to eating less and working out consistently, and do it for a long time, and you'll transform.

-Andrew

[Boooshmaster]

I was in a similar position myself at the start of the year. 5'9" and 225lb 25+% BF.

I would have claimed before this year that I've always been a little chunky, that my size was due to being muscly and that I don't really look fat. I can now see that I may have been living in a dream world slightly. Although, it's true, I have always been a little bit on the larger side and my mum always said I was "well built" as a complement.

I have now come to the realization that being big doesn't mean being strong. Lifting heavy weights means being strong!

Anyway:

Who gives a **** what the numbers say. Look at a rugby player / weight lifter, a lot of which are classified as obese. You can disregard the numbers in certain circumstances, but yours is not one of them.

You are obese.

In my experience (losing 50lb fat in 6 months, down to ~18% BF) the first step is realizing you're fat. Look at yourself in the mirror, take photographs, measure your waist and chest... 38" waist? 45" chest?

It's ever so easy to lose fat when you realize you're fat. 90% is reducing calories and reducing foods that you know you shouldn't be eating. Reducing is the key word. Every now and then have a pizza, go to KFC, do whatever the **** you wanna do! Just be at a deficit all the time.

As for working out. It's not going to have a drastic effect on your weight loss. It will, however, start to tone you up and you WILL notice it in the mirror and you WILL be motivated to carry on your transformation because of it!

If you really are naturally a big guy, get big and muscly on a proper strength training program.

[MikeKK]

Hey all,

So I've always been a little bigger in terms of weight - even when I was relatively fit and had a healthy body fat %, I was btw. 175 and 180. Recently I've let myself go a little (over the last couple years) and now I find myself here. I still don't feel like I look that fat, but I was recently told by a fitness expert that I'm "obese by any standard". I guess I never thought about it way - maybe a little overweight, but not obese. I definitely don't think you'd look at me and think I was obese if you didn't know the numbers, although I will admit I've been getting less attention from the ladies since I gained the weight.

Anyway, I've tried working out recently and feel I've built some muscle and gained some cardio endurance, but my weight and body fat % havent budged. Is it possible to be my weight and body fat % and not be obese - could I just have a different kind of body? What else could I do?

Yep 28% is considered obese. 15-20% is still normal, above that it's obese. Just eat less than your body burns and you will lose weight. Also weight training boosts your metabolism and buiilds muscle, and these 2 are great ways to burn even more cals.