Why do I weigh only 130 pounds?

[Dinner42]

I'm 5'9" and I weigh 130 pounds, which is very low.

I have absolutely no doubt that if I eat more and apply progressive overload, I can gain more weight. So I will do just that.

So there is no mystery to why I haven't seen gains-- CLEARLY I have not been eating enough or training hard enough. (What, were you expecting me to insist that I have been doing enough? See what I did there..I subverted your expectations.)

The mystery is this: Why is it so EXTREMELY low? Even without the diet and exercise, shouldn't I weigh more than 130 (and that is even with a small amount of visible midsection fat, so if that were gone I'd be about 125)? We've all known people who have never worked out, and as a result they look skinny-- but even these people would be closer to 150. That would be a more normal "baseline". Or how about people who were overweight and went on a diet until they lost all the fat. Even at a caloric deficit, at the end of their fat loss journey they will not be as low as 130.

I have noticed that when I gain fat (as opposed to muscle) it all goes to the midsection and never to the arms. Most people seem to have better fat distribution, so that may be part of it.

Again, I'll be working on bringing it up through diet and exercise. Eventually, I'm sure I can get up to 150. But why is it that most people wouldn't even have to do anything to get to 150? I'm using that number just as an example, but the point is that we should be more than 125-130 even without any muscle gains at all. Could there be an ADDITIONAL factor that is making my "default" weight even lower than normal?

[TolerantLactose]

Eat and lift like a bird, look like a bird.

[George2100]

Don’t eat LIKE a bird. Eat the bird. All the birds, and their eggs

[Dinner42]

Eat and lift like a bird, look like a bird.

Whether I do or not, even compared to people who eat and lift like a bird, I am underweight. I'm not trying to figure out why I'm not making gains... I'm trying to figure out why people who have never made gains still weigh more than me even if they have a flat stomach.

[TolerantLactose]

Keep deluding yourself about what you eat vs. other people. You are not a snowflake.

[Dinner42]

Keep deluding yourself about what you eat vs. other people. You are not a snowflake.

But I'm not comparing myself to lifters. You may know people who don't eat well or lift at all, but chances are they are more like 150, not 130. Do you see what I'm saying? A normal person could eat 2000 calories of junk every day, never lift, and you could give them that same advice... But would they be more than 130.

[TolerantLactose]

A normal man would eat 2000 calories/day if he wanted to lose a lot of weight. Do you see what I'm saying?

[Dinner42]

A normal man would eat 2000 calories/day if he wanted to lose a lot of weight. Do you see what I'm saying?

A normal man who is my height and does not work out would not lose a lot of weight at 2000. They'd be about at maintenance assuming a sedentary job.

I could tell you I eat enough to get a beer gut, and despite all the protein none of it seems to go to muscle. Then you'd say there was a problem with my workout, and I'd give you my workout regimen and tell you I lift as much as I can without sacrificing form.

To keep it simple I'm saying let's assume my workout and diet are no good. As bad as someone who has never seen a gym or heard the word macros. What have they done differently from me?

[TolerantLactose]

What do you squat, bench and deadlift?

[CommitmentRulz]

From your post here in October 2028 https://forum.bodybuilding.com/searc...hid=2738569341

I've worked out on and off for years and never saw any gains. My strength never increased either. I lifted as heavy as I could without sacrificing form, and I did lots of compound exercises.

During college I worked out for a few months and ate loads of protein, but still no gains.

The problem wasn't thati want eating enough, because I ate enough to get belly fat and love handles.

I'm 5'9" and 120 lbs.

You have "belly fat and love handles" at 5' 9" and 120 (even 130 pounds) you obviously have very little muscle. VERY LITTLE muscle. This will result you being lightweight. Even others who do not lift likely have measurable more muscle.

You can question it or correct it. Your call. Not sure what else you want us to say...

[Dinner42]

From your post here in October 2028 https://forum.bodybuilding.com/searc...hid=2738569341

You have "belly fat and love handles" at 5' 9" and 120 (even 130 pounds) you obviously have very little muscle. VERY LITTLE muscle. This will result you being lightweight. Even others who do not lift likely have measurable more muscle.

You can question it or correct it. Your call. Not sure what else you want us to say...

Exactly, so why do they have measurably more muscle despite not working out?

[TolerantLactose]

What do you squat, bench and deadlift?

Ahem.

[Dinner42]

What do you squat, bench and deadlift?

Not much. For the purposes of my question it doesn't matter. I'm not even expecting to gain muscle at the moment because I'd like to lose the muffin top first.

I'm trying to find out why it's so low to begin with. As another user pointed out, even other people who do not lift at all will have measurably more muscle than me.

I think you guys are so used to skinny guys asking why they're not gaining weight that you're reading my post the same way. That is not my question though. It's about how extremely low my weight is. To lose enough to have a 6-pack I will be at 120. 120 pounds is insanely low. Me telling you I squat half a pound would not even explain a number that low.

[stealthlife49]

You're 5'9, 125 lbs. I was 6'2, 126 pounds at the beginning of my journey, so let me lend a helping hand. I understand your question: "Why are you 125 compared to someone who does nothing and weighs 150? Why am I skinny?" Who knows, genetics, hormones, doesn't really matter. The fact of the matter is, you're not eating enough, and you're not lifting hard enough. Go to the gym for a year, work out every single week for at least 4 days a week, do NOT miss a single day, eat a lot, and you'll be bigger. Stop focusing on your past failures the past two years and focus on today and tomorrow and keep focusing on today and tomorrow. Funny thing about hormones is they tend to react to physical stimuli, which in this case is eating a lot and lifting a lot. Stop focusing on macros, at this point it doesn't really matter, just don't eat a crap ton of junk food and eat a lot of decently healthy foods and you'll look pretty good. You HAVE to lift heavy and harder, stop making excuses in the gym, if your body isn't responding and is just piling on fat instead of muscle, LIFT HEAVIER AND HARDER. I see you say you can't lift heavy without sacrificing form. I get it, I benched 55 lbs when I first started. Progressive overload buddy, more reps each workout, more sets, which eventually equates to more weight, lower reps. Then you increase the reps on that until you get plenty of reps there, then increase the weight again.

[TolerantLactose]

Some people don't want help. They just want to broadcast their disordered thinking for all to see. I'm done here.

[Dinner42]

You're 5'9, 125 lbs. I was 6'2, 126 pounds at the beginning of my journey, so let me lend a helping hand. I understand your question: "Why are you 125 compared to someone who does nothing and weighs 150? Why am I skinny?" Who knows, genetics, hormones, doesn't really matter. The fact of the matter is, you're not eating enough, and you're not lifting hard enough. Go to the gym for a year, work out every single week for at least 4 days a week, do NOT miss a single day, eat a lot, and you'll be bigger. Stop focusing on your past failures the past two years and focus on today and tomorrow and keep focusing on today and tomorrow. Funny thing about hormones is they tend to react to physical stimuli, which in this case is eating a lot and lifting a lot. Stop focusing on macros, at this point it doesn't really matter, just don't eat a crap ton of junk food and eat a lot of decently healthy foods and you'll look pretty good. You HAVE to lift heavy and harder, stop making excuses in the gym, if your body isn't responding and is just piling on fat instead of muscle, LIFT HEAVIER AND HARDER. I see you say you can't lift heavy without sacrificing form. I get it, I benched 55 lbs when I first started. Progressive overload buddy, more reps each workout, more sets, which eventually equates to more weight, lower reps. Then you increase the reps on that until you get plenty of reps there, then increase the weight again.

Thanks for actually reading and understanding my question. That is helpful. I'm wondering though if it could be a thyroid issue causing a hormonal imbalance.

I was very consistent over the last two years, and yes I did do progressive overload and worked out 5 days a week in 45 minutes each. I can count on one hand the number of days I missed. And I ate lots of food.

Right now I'm trying to lose my little bit of fat I have, so this doesn't apply at the moment, but I really want to understand why I, and apparently you too, weighed so little while people who never went to the gym weighed more.

[SuffolkPunch]

The previous advice may have been a tad abrasive - but nevertheless it IS the advice you should have been listening to.

It's very well known that underweight people believe they eat more than they actually eat - and they think they eat as much as heavier people. Whereas heavier people have the opposite tendancy and will often covertly eat more than they claim or is apparent to others.

This is a bias caused by the very strong force of appetite - you have a small appetite and will need to consistently eat more than you believe you should be eating to make progress.

Of course issues like overactive thyroid exist - but in 99 cases out of 100 this is not the issue. It's all too easy to blame something beyond your control without fully exploring the more obvious options first.

[CommitmentRulz]

Right now I'm trying to lose my little bit of fat I have, so this doesn't apply at the moment, but I really want to understand why I, and apparently you too, weighed so little while people who never went to the gym weighed more.

You are 5' 9" tall, weigh 130 pounds, and trying to LOSE weight. I think I see your problem...

With your mindset of "losing that little bit of fat" (again, at 5' 9" and 130 pounds) you're never going to be able to handle putting on any weight.

[Dinner42]

You are 5' 9" tall, weigh 130 pounds, and trying to LOSE weight. I think I see your problem...

With your mindset of "losing that little bit of fat" (again, at 5' 9" and 130 pounds) you're never going to be able to handle putting on any weight.

You're using the word "never" to refer to a short period of time. I did not say this has been my goal of that it will continue to be my goal.

To clarify, this is a new goal. For the past 2 years I was not eating to lose weight. For the next 1-3 months I'm going to lose weight, and then go back to what I was doing. I think it will be easier to focus on one goal at a time. So for a short time I have the goal of losing fat, and then for the foreseeable future I will have the goal of gaining weight in muscle. It's 1-3 months vs a lifetime. Yes I will look like a skeleton but that is actually preferable to a skeleton with love handles. Does that help to clarify?

Notice I have not disagreed with the advice here. I was saying I already recognize that diet and exercise can help me gain weight. That's extremely, extremely common knowledge so I'm not sure why everyone feels the need to tell me that. I'm skinny, not stupid.

You yourself said even people who don't workout will have more muscle. Same for people who don't eat enough. They would still weigh more than 125-130. THAT is what I'm trying to understand.

[Dinner42]

The previous advice may have been a tad abrasive - but nevertheless it IS the advice you should have been listening to.

It's very well known that underweight people believe they eat more than they actually eat - and they think they eat as much as heavier people. Whereas heavier people have the opposite tendancy and will often covertly eat more than they claim or is apparent to others.

This is a bias caused by the very strong force of appetite - you have a small appetite and will need to consistently eat more than you believe you should be eating to make progress.

Of course issues like overactive thyroid exist - but in 99 cases out of 100 this is not the issue. It's all too easy to blame something beyond your control without fully exploring the more obvious options first.

You are correct.

But for a second lets take a look at a person we'll call John. John is my height, but he's obese and wants to lose weight. Gaining muscle is the last thing on his mind. He diets for a year until he finally has the flat stomach he's always wanted. Now, at the end of his journey, is he going to be 130 pounds? No, he's probably going to be more than that. Let's say he's 150. Was he eating lots of food to bulk up? No, just the opposite.

Will eating more and training harder help me to gain weight? Well yeah, of course it will.

Will I do that? Yes, planning on it.

Do I weigh even less than someone who has been dieting for the past year? Yes I do.

Does that make sense? No it does not.

So I am looking for help to figure out THAT specifically.

[FatBallz]

You are correct.

But for a second lets take a look at a person we'll call John. John is my height, but he's obese and wants to lose weight. Gaining muscle is the last thing on his mind. He diets for a year until he finally has the flat stomach he's always wanted. Now, at the end of his journey, is he going to be 130 pounds? No, he's probably going to be more than that. Let's say he's 150. Was he eating lots of food to bulk up? No, just the opposite.

Will eating more and training harder help me to gain weight? Well yeah, of course it will.

Will I do that? Yes, planning on it.

Do I weigh even less than someone who has been dieting for the past year? Yes I do.

Does that make sense? No it does not.

So I am looking for help to figure out THAT specifically.

Maybe you should post a pic. I am curious to see why you feel the need to lose weight at this point.

Genetics plays a large role in how your natural build is. Some people have a natural lack of muscle mass and some people have natural muscle mass without any real training. For example, a good friend of mine that I have known since high school has never lifted in his life, but he has the build of a linebacker with a good amount of muscle mass (a heavyset powerlifter look, definitely not like a bodybuilder).

If you don't have the natural build, you have to train (and eat) to get it.

[smokinal]

Am I confused here?
You seriously can't understand that different people have different builds, bone structures, frames, metabolisms etc etc...???

You seriously don't understand that we have different hair colors, eye colors, skin tones?

Do you think we should all look exactly alike, all weigh the same and all be the same size??

You are the most obvious red on this board

Get your head and your ass wired together son

[Dinner42]

Am I confused here?
You seriously can't understand that different people have different builds, bone structures, frames, metabolisms etc etc...???

You seriously don't understand that we have different hair colors, eye colors, skin tones?

Do you think we should all look exactly alike, all weigh the same and all be the same size??

You are the most obvious red on this board

Get your head and your ass wired together son

I don't know what a red is but thank you for your contribution, such as it is

To answer your question, the answer is definitely yes

[Dinner42]

Maybe you should post a pic. I am curious to see why you feel the need to lose weight at this point.

Genetics plays a large role in how your natural build is. Some people have a natural lack of muscle mass and some people have natural muscle mass without any real training. For example, a good friend of mine that I have known since high school has never lifted in his life, but he has the build of a linebacker with a good amount of muscle mass (a heavyset powerlifter look, definitely not like a bodybuilder).

If you don't have the natural build, you have to train (and eat) to get it.

See guys-- that is a helpful post. Do you see the difference? FatBallz took a few minutes to read my post, and replied in a way that doesn't make him look like an idiot.

Thank you sir. So the simple answer to my question is genetics. Anything else though? I know that is part of it, but there may be something else I have not yet considered.

[SuffolkPunch]

You are correct.

But for a second lets take a look at a person we'll call John. John is my height, but he's obese and wants to lose weight. Gaining muscle is the last thing on his mind. He diets for a year until he finally has the flat stomach he's always wanted. Now, at the end of his journey, is he going to be 130 pounds? No, he's probably going to be more than that. Let's say he's 150. Was he eating lots of food to bulk up? No, just the opposite.

Will eating more and training harder help me to gain weight? Well yeah, of course it will.

Will I do that? Yes, planning on it.

Do I weigh even less than someone who has been dieting for the past year? Yes I do.

Does that make sense? No it does not.

So I am looking for help to figure out THAT specifically.

Dieting to lose fat is no easier than eating more to gain mass... you can't know what it's like to be a fat guy trying to do that.

Most don't succeed.... and one reason for that would be that they think they are starving themselves but are actually eating more than they think. The same as you - but opposite.

[Dinner42]

Dieting to lose fat is no easier than eating more to gain mass... you can't know what it's like to be a fat guy trying to do that.

Most don't succeed.... and one reason for that would be that they think they are starving themselves but are actually eating more than they think. The same as you - but opposite.

The point was more than John was starving himself to lose weight but still never got quite as low as me.

It's all a numbers game. weighing 125 is different from 150, even if in both cases there is not much muscle.

[SuffolkPunch]

There is no guarantee that a fat guy will end up with more lean mass than you after dieting down - especially if they do it without weight training.

Your current state is partly genetic but you also have to face up to the fact that it's mostly a product of your lifestyle and habits.

As I've said before, hunting around for reasons why it's not your fault isn't going to change anything and won't prevent you from improving if you do things right.

[Dinner42]

There is no guarantee that a fat guy will end up with more lean mass than you after dieting down - especially if they do it without weight training.

Your current state is partly genetic but you also have to face up to the fact that it's mostly a product of your lifestyle and habits.

As I've said before, hunting around for reasons why it's not your fault isn't going to change anything and won't prevent you from improving if you do things right.

When did I say it wasn't my fault? You're not the first person on this thread to think I'm saying that, but I never actually did. It's one of those things that seems implied but was actually was not intended that way at all.

It's my fault that I don't have muscle mass and am only 150 pounds like anyone would be if they made the same mistakes.

Except I'm not 150-- I'm 130. See my point? I already know the part that I know (that if I eat more and train more I'd be bigger). It's the other small part that I don't know. It's that 20 pounds.

[CommitmentRulz]

Except I'm not 150-- I'm 130. See my point? I already know the part that I know (that if I eat more and train more I'd be bigger). It's the other small part that I don't know. It's that 20 pounds.

Some guys are bigger than others. Some are smaller. Bone structure. Just body makeup. Call it genetics if you want. You don't have bad generics ,if that's what you're thinking - because you've done little to see how you can progress.

[Duplicitous]

OP, your question was adequately answered several times and yet you persist. There is no mystery here and there never was. The bottom line is that if you're unhappy about your body composition, go do something about it.