5'10, 145 - Am I fat or do I have an excess skin problem? Pics...

[mistalis]

Skip to end if tl;dr.

A little history is probably necessary. I'm 27, 5'10, 145 lbs currently. I was raised on chocolate milk, juice, cinnamon rolls, cake and mashed potatoes. I was always overweight as a kid, but never crossed into obesity territory (according to BMI). I was never made fun of and it never seemed to hurt things with girls, so it's safe to say I've always been my primary critic. When I was 16, I somehow got down to 160 from around 200 over the course of one summer--I still don't know how. When I returned to school that fall, everyone pointed it out to me, and I had no idea till I went in for my next checkup. That probably suggests I had a little body dimorphism, and it's likely I still do today. Being extremely white sort of compounds that, as I know I personally find an overweight person less appealing if they're as pale as I am.

In between my 21-year-old physical and 22-year-old physical, I somehow went from 165 to 213, my all-time high and the first time my BMI went into obese-land, which shocked the living **** out of me. Like I couldn't tell me when I lost weight, I had no idea I had gained it either. I went from eating four times a day to three and stopped eating out all the time, and by my 23rd birthday I was down to 145, and I've been between 140 and 150 ever since. The place I used to work in had a couple different gyms in the building, and they were all free access to employees of my company, so for 12-18 months, I was hitting the gym 3-5 times a day during my lunch break where I had a somewhat methodical machine rotation and did some treadmill/stair-stepper stuff when I could stand it. I felt like I was doing good work, but I wasn't seeing or feeling any results. I didn't eat enough to gain weight, but I didn't exactly eat healthy during that period either--lots of fast food and snack garbage like Nutrigrain bars and crackers. Equally important, possibly, is the fact that I was rarely getting more than three hours of sleep each night during that period, so it's possible that long-term sleep deprivation was wreaking havoc on my metabolism.

For the past three months, I'm living a lot healthier. I get decent sleep now, I feel a lot better, I'm very conscious of what I eat, and I've gone from casual opioid/GHB use to none at all. I eat oatmeal every morning with a little olive oil and almond milk in it; eat a large lunch consisting of a salad, some sort of quinoa-based dish, something brown-rice based, or rarely a sandwich from Whole Foods or similar if I'm on the go; and for dinner I eat fruit and nuts, a 1/4 cup of rice or quinoa, or some Greek yogurt. When I eat meat, it's either turkey, chicken, or fish, no exceptions. I never drink calories of any kind--only unsweetened, decaffeinated black tea or filtered tap water. I tend to consume 1500-1800 calories per day. Probably not significant, but I take a multivitamin, B complex, vitamin D, and fish oil daily. All that that results in a stable weight, I'm never hungry, and it staves off the usual signs that I haven't eaten enough, such as headaches. It may be relevant that I still ate a lot of carbs, including processed foods and baked goods containing sugar, until three months ago, but now I eat very little sugar, typically only in the form of fruit as I've ditched processed foods, and most of my carbs are in whole grains or something else that is fibrous.

The problem is, during those years of weight flux, I feel like I never lost any of the "outer" fat around my mid section--I look somewhat hollow now whereas I was likely bursting at the stomach at 200+, but there's just as much excess flab as ever and at this point I feel like I may have something more difficult to beat back than fat: excess skin. I don't have any sort of skin elasticity issues elsewhere. I generally look my age, don't have excessive wrinkles, and I can't pinch skin anywhere and not have it snap instantly back into place. I realize I'm not an accurate judge of my outward appearance, particularly as it pertains to my weight, so I'd like to get some opinions from all the experts here.

I'm a writer and coder and have a mostly sedentary life-style. I no longer hit the gym. That said, I do a couple rounds of pushups daily, do crunches on days/weeks when my lower back isn't hurting, and usually go scrambling once a week where I work hard enough for a couple hours to get a high that almost rivals a shot of good heroin That leaves me sore the next day as it should, so I feel like I at least do a little bit of effective exercise, even though I don't run 3-5 miles a day. I also swim about once a week.

Is it possible I have more of a skin problem than a fat problem? Is my own personal body image more abnormal than my actual physique? Is the solution, if there is one, the same if it's a fat problem OR an excess skin problem? Is it possible that since I've only recently cut back on sugar that my cortisol levels are still out of whack causing fat to accumulate at my stomach, and that three months just isn't long enough to expect a noticeable difference? Can I improve things primarily through anaerobic core exercises since I probably don't need to lose additional weight, or would getting down to 135-140 be okay? I feel better than I ever have in my life at 145, so what could losing 5-10 more hurt?

Don't fear being brutally honest--I'm very excited to get honest opinions from people who don't have a vested interest in me. After all, who can trust their girlfriends' physical assessment? I'm only trying to change things for myself and am not trying to impress anyone else, so I can handle it... At the same time, I must admit I hope the attached pics are more horrifying to me than to most of you :P I'm looking for both your assessment of my physique, so I have an idea of just how bad it is, and your recommendations on how I can change it. I probably haven't provided enough pics or measurements for this, but a body fat estimate would be cool if it's possible. I only want to look normal--not "typical fat American" normal, but healthy enough that I can do things like swim without a shirt...

Other info: 33" relaxed at the hips (belt-line), 31.5" relaxed an inch above the naval, and I wear size M/32. The photos didn't capture it, but I completely lost my man-breasts when I came down to ~145, so I didn't have any sort of excess fat/skin problem there for some reason...

If you've made it through this entire post, thanks so much for your patience! Otherwise:

tl;dr version:

I was kinda fat as a kid, lost a lot of weight, was really fat again four years ago for 6 months or so (213 lbs at max), now I'm 145 and the pics show I still have a lot of flab/excess skin. Just looking for a brutal assessment of how bad it is and some recommendations. Could be poor genetics, quite possible, but I'm wondering if there's still something I can do.

According to the healthstatus.com calculator: "Using your measurements of a 31.5 inches waist and weight of 145 pounds your body fat percentage is estimated to be % using the U.S. Army body fat algorithm, or % using the U.S. Marine body fat algorithm, or 17.43 % using the U.S. Navy body fat algorithm, or 15.51 % using the formula developed by the YMCA."

[teariki]

in b4 dear diary



























i spoke 2 soon

A little history is probably necessary. I'm 27, 5'10, 145 lbs currently. I was raised on chocolate milk, juice, cinnamon rolls, cake and mashed potatoes. I was always overweight as a kid, but never crossed into obesity territory (according to BMI). I was never made fun of and it never seemed to hurt things with girls, so it's safe to say I've always been my primary critic. When I was 16, I somehow got down to 160 from around 200 over the course of one summer--I still don't know how. When I returned to school that fall, everyone pointed it out to me, and I had no idea till I went in for my next checkup. That probably suggests I had a little body dimorphism, and it's likely I still do today. Being extremely white sort of compounds that, as I know I personally find an overweight person less appealing if they're as pale as I am.

In between my 21-year-old physical and 22-year-old physical, I somehow went from 165 to 213, my all-time high and the first time my BMI went into obese-land, which shocked the living **** out of me. Like I couldn't tell me when I lost weight, I had no idea I had gained it either. I went from eating four times a day to three and stopped eating out all the time, and by my 23rd birthday I was down to 145, and I've been between 140 and 150 ever since. The place I used to work in had a couple different gyms in the building, and they were all free access to employees of my company, so for 12-18 months, I was hitting the gym 3-5 times a day during my lunch break where I had a somewhat methodical machine rotation and did some treadmill/stair-stepper stuff when I could stand it. I felt like I was doing good work, but I wasn't seeing or feeling any results. I didn't eat enough to gain weight, but I didn't exactly eat healthy during that period either--lots of fast food and snack garbage like Nutrigrain bars and crackers. Equally important, possibly, is the fact that I was rarely getting more than three hours of sleep each night during that period, so it's possible that long-term sleep deprivation was wreaking havoc on my metabolism.

For the past three months, I'm living a lot healthier. I get decent sleep now, I feel a lot better, I'm very conscious of what I eat, and I've gone from casual opioid/GHB use to none at all. I eat oatmeal every morning with a little olive oil and almond milk in it; eat a large lunch consisting of a salad, some sort of quinoa-based dish, something brown-rice based, or rarely a sandwich from Whole Foods or similar if I'm on the go; and for dinner I eat fruit and nuts, a 1/4 cup of rice or quinoa, or some Greek yogurt. When I eat meat, it's either turkey, chicken, or fish, no exceptions. I never drink calories of any kind--only unsweetened, decaffeinated black tea or filtered tap water. I tend to consume 1500-1800 calories per day. Probably not significant, but I take a multivitamin, B complex, vitamin D, and fish oil daily. All that that results in a stable weight, I'm never hungry, and it staves off the usual signs that I haven't eaten enough, such as headaches. It may be relevant that I still ate a lot of carbs, including processed foods and baked goods containing sugar, until three months ago, but now I eat very little sugar, typically only in the form of fruit as I've ditched processed foods, and most of my carbs are in whole grains or something else that is fibrous.

The problem is, during those years of weight flux, I feel like I never lost any of the "outer" fat around my mid section--I look somewhat hollow now whereas I was likely bursting at the stomach at 200+, but there's just as much excess flab as ever and at this point I feel like I may have something more difficult to beat back than fat: excess skin. I don't have any sort of skin elasticity issues elsewhere. I generally look my age, don't have excessive wrinkles, and I can't pinch skin anywhere and not have it snap instantly back into place. I realize I'm not an accurate judge of my outward appearance, particularly as it pertains to my weight, so I'd like to get some opinions from all the experts here.

I'm a writer and coder and have a mostly sedentary life-style. I no longer hit the gym. That said, I do a couple rounds of pushups daily, do crunches on days/weeks when my lower back isn't hurting, and usually go scrambling once a week where I work hard enough for a couple hours to get a high that almost rivals a shot of good heroin That leaves me sore the next day as it should, so I feel like I at least do a little bit of effective exercise, even though I don't run 3-5 miles a day. I also swim about once a week.

Is it possible I have more of a skin problem than a fat problem? Is my own personal body image more abnormal than my actual physique? Is the solution, if there is one, the same if it's a fat problem OR an excess skin problem? Is it possible that since I've only recently cut back on sugar that my cortisol levels are still out of whack causing fat to accumulate at my stomach, and that three months just isn't long enough to expect a noticeable difference? Can I improve things primarily through anaerobic core exercises since I probably don't need to lose additional weight, or would getting down to 135-140 be okay? I feel better than I ever have in my life at 145, so what could losing 5-10 more hurt?

Don't fear being brutally honest--I'm very excited to get honest opinions from people who don't have a vested interest in me. After all, who can trust their girlfriends' physical assessment? I'm only trying to change things for myself and am not trying to impress anyone else, so I can handle it... At the same time, I must admit I hope the attached pics are more horrifying to me than to most of you :P I'm looking for both your assessment of my physique, so I have an idea of just how bad it is, and your recommendations on how I can change it. I probably haven't provided enough pics or measurements for this, but a body fat estimate would be cool if it's possible. I only want to look normal--not "typical fat American" normal, but healthy enough that I can do things like swim without a shirt...

Other info: 33" relaxed at the hips (belt-line), 31.5" relaxed an inch above the naval, and I wear size M/32. The photos didn't capture it, but I completely lost my man-breasts when I came down to ~145, so I didn't have any sort of excess fat/skin problem there for some reason...

If you've made it through this entire post, thanks so much for your patience!

[slopecarver]

Add Cliffnotes, walls of text get no replies
I'm going to say It's too hard/early to tell. Give us a bodyfat measurement and we can help.
Off the record, it does look like excess skin but since you've had the extra weight for so little time that it should go away quickly unless you have **** genetics.

[mistalis]

in b4 dear diary

i spoke 2 soon

Yeah it's difficult to reply before the thread is actually posted.

Add Cliffnotes, walls of text get no replies
I'm going to say It's too hard/early to tell. Give us a bodyfat measurement and we can help.
Off the record, it does look like excess skin but since you've had the extra weight for so little time that it should go away quickly unless you have **** genetics.

Hahah yeah I figured, I just wanted to give whatever history might be relevant. I really have no clue--I know how to eat right but little else regarding this topic. By the way, the extra weight has been off for around 5 years now, only just recently quit sugar though...

tl;dr version:

I was kinda fat as a kid, lost a lot of weight, was really fat again four years ago for 6 months or so (213 lbs at max), now I'm 145 and the pics show I still have a lot of flab/excess skin. Just looking for a brutal assessment of how bad it is and some recommendations. Could be poor genetics, quite possible, but I'm wondering if there's still something I can do.

According to the healthstatus.com calculator: "Using your measurements of a 31.5 inches waist and weight of 145 pounds your body fat percentage is estimated to be % using the U.S. Army body fat algorithm, or % using the U.S. Marine body fat algorithm, or 17.43 % using the U.S. Navy body fat algorithm, or 15.51 % using the formula developed by the YMCA." Neck/hip were included in the calculation, and yeah, those first two %s are blank.

[Z Gatrel]

Your not fat but thats not just extra skin. Even with my extra skin there is a major difference between 8% and 12%. I dont see abbs as soon as other people would but if I go low enough they are just as visibile as other people at a similar BF.

Problem is when you have excess skin like that, the fat tends to sag especially if your holding water.

[mistalis]

That's what I was hoping for... If it was primarily excess skin after this many years, things would seem pretty hopeless.

I think I may aim for 136-138 lbs and up my core work as my back permits, though I'd love to get as many opinions as possible.

[Choofer]

It's not excess skin, you've just made the common mistake of under estimating your body fat percentage.

I'd estimate you're about 20% bf still. Just keep cutting and you will see a difference. Simple as that.

[moore93]

It's not excess skin, you've just made the common mistake of under estimating your body fat percentage.

I'd estimate you're about 20% bf still. Just keep cutting and you will see a difference. Simple as that.

5'10", 145lbs, and still needs to cut?

Not sure if cut needed or muscle needed. I never imagined someone that height could be that low in weight unless they were an uber ectomorph.

[enclave2k7]

I am in a similar situation to you. Was around 220, dropped to as low as 133... and was still frustrated. Cutting is not the answer, we have nothing to cut into.

I was advised to eat at slightly above maintenance (TDEE +10%) and lift heavy (relative term) free weights. I think the same would apply to you.

[Brklyns_Finest]

It's not excess skin, you've just made the common mistake of under estimating your body fat percentage.

I'd estimate you're about 20% bf still. Just keep cutting and you will see a difference. Simple as that.

5'10", 145lbs, and still needs to cut?

Not sure if cut needed or muscle needed. I never imagined someone that height could be that low in weight unless they were an uber ectomorph.

this is what i was thinking. You look really soft underneath there. When I get down to that level of fat, abs are visible. I've never even came CLOSE to 10%, not by a long shot, but I've seen abs. The abs are muscles just like any other other muscles, so if they're underdeveloped, its gonna be a lot harder to see them. Every day someone posts "10% AND NO ABS?!!? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!!?" I'm not saying this is you exactly, I'm just saying just because you are at a lower bf percentage, doesn't mean you'll look like a guy who is 5' 10", 180 lbs at 10%.

LBM makes an enormous difference, just remember that.

[mistalis]

Thanks, all, for the input. I'm not sure we've reached consensus yet, but it's probably a combination of lack of muscle, too many carbs/too little protein, and possibly genetics (my extended family is primarily fat, though no blame ). I don't actually believe I'm the 15-17% BF that I pasted from an online calculator... When filling out my profile, I put 20% which is likely much more accurate.

I think I'm going to start eating a lot more protein and get down to 140 or so, lift more seriously, then bulk a little if it suits me... My primary protein intake consists of nuts and avocados, and I rarely eat meat. I'm going keep more turkey breast around at the very least and will probably add whey... Can't hurt.

[katznip]

wouldn't worry about it just bulk my man