Am I eating to little?

[JumBie]

6 foot 170 is on the thinner side unless you have zero muscle. When i was in the army i was 6 foot 175 at my thinnest and my family said i looked unheathily skinny. I feel my best around 190, but i may never get back there

I guess it depends on your frame. If you have very short arms, narrow shoulders, i guess you could be 170 and flabby...but my guess it that is not true, and you are just overly critical of yourself. You probably need to GAIN weight in the right places to fill out. Increase your back chest and thighs, even if you maintain body fat - you'll have a better appearence.

I must be going crazy... How is everyone saying that 170 at 6ft is skinny? I clearly have some sort of muscle, as I am able to lift modestly, but I have a ton of midsection fat. It seems that's where all of my fat is. My friend is 6ft 158lbs and he still has quite a bit of stomach fat, and love handles.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I must be going crazy... How is everyone saying that 170 at 6ft is skinny? I clearly have some sort of muscle, as I am able to lift modestly, but I have a ton of midsection fat. It seems that's where all of my fat is. My friend is 6ft 158lbs and he still has quite a bit of stomach fat, and love handles.

It's because what's normal is considered ridiculous. In peoples minds on this forum, if you don't lift 4 hours a day you must be underweight or fat, and the average person that's fat just think it's normal until you're completely disgustingly spherical. The concept of just being normal and healthy is completely lost in our culture.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

I must be going crazy... How is everyone saying that 170 at 6ft is skinny? I clearly have some sort of muscle, as I am able to lift modestly, but I have a ton of midsection fat. It seems that's where all of my fat is. My friend is 6ft 158lbs and he still has quite a bit of stomach fat, and love handles.

Not to be a dick but I think calling your lifting numbers modest is generous. I would expect most untrained adult males to be able to bench at least 100lbs. At your weight a 100lb bench is pretty much equivalent to doing a pushup.

The point we are making isn't that you can't weigh 170 and have fat. We are saying that even if you were lean 170 is at the light end of the range for your height. None of us have seen pictures of you or know your body composition but I think you will get a better result if you build up some muscle then cut back down.

 

[DarkForceRising]

I don't see how someone 6' could weigh less than 200lbs(my weight at 16). I'm currently between 215-225 depending on the day/time of day. Granted I'm not super cut by most anyone's terms I'm not fat. I do have some fat but getting rid of it while maintaining my strength and endurance to keep up with my current routine it's going to be a long slow cut.

I'm 6 foot and I've been right around 200 lbs since January when I injured myself. I still have (guessing) at least 15 lbs more to drop. I'm by no means thin or cut, at all.

I'm honestly having trouble seeing your point of view here. The only way I can see a 6 foot guy weighing more than 200 and still being really fit is if they were a really stocky build or they have a large amount of muscle, which I don't think applies to most people in America.

 

[JumBie]

I'm 6 foot and I've been right around 200 lbs since January when I injured myself. I still have (guessing) at least 15 lbs more to drop. I'm by no means thin or cut, at all.

I'm honestly having trouble seeing your point of view here. The only way I can see a 6 foot guy weighing more than 200 and still being really fit is if they were a really stocky build or they have a large amount of muscle, which I don't think applies to most people in America.

I agree I have a friend who's 6'1 200lbs, he looks perfectly fine, because he's all muscle. I cant see anyone else weighting that much without muscle, and being called normal weight.

 

[Pantlegz]

I agree I have a friend who's 6'1 200lbs, he looks perfectly fine, because he's all muscle. I cant see anyone else weighting that much without muscle, and being called normal weight.

This is pretty much the point I was trying to make. You said 170 at 6' is overweight, and for some people I'm sure it may be but not everyone.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

This is pretty much the point I was trying to make. You said 170 at 6' is overweight, and for some people I'm sure it may be but not everyone.

Yea, but at the same there's people in this thread talking about how 170 6' must be ultra thin bordering on hurting yourself... when it's waaay far away from it. For someone who doesn't lift a lot of weights, it's actually borderline overweight. Actually being lean at the weights people talk about in here 200+ pounds takes immense dedication. Most people talking about how their 200+ pounds all muscle are actually a lot more fat than they realize or at least willing to admit.

 

[Pantlegz]

Yea, but at the same there's people in this thread talking about how 170 6' must be ultra thin bordering on hurting yourself... when it's waaay far away from it. For someone who doesn't lift a lot of weights, it's actually borderline overweight. Actually being lean at the weights people talk about in here 200+ pounds takes immense dedication. Most people talking about how their 200+ pounds all muscle are actually a lot more fat than they realize or at least willing to admit.

Honestly 170 is pretty thin, my little brother is 6'ish and 170-180 and he's thin. He's got some muscle but he doesn't lift or anything. It really varies person to person and how they hold their weight.

And I'm one of those guys at 200+ and I know I'm not super lean. I've actually been trying to get a DEXA scan done but can't seem to get the guy at the university to call me back. I also don't mind posting pics (in my log) to prove how fat I am.

 

[QueBert]

I'm 5'11, I was 170 in high school and every day somebody would comment on how I looked like I needed to eat. I was 195 2 years ago and didn't have a gut. I'm amazed at people where the BMI chart's actually accurate for them. I know if I weighed what the BMI said I should, I'd look like I had an illness. Even at 185 I looked like I needed a few lbs more.

 

[Whisper]

Yea, but at the same there's people in this thread talking about how 170 6' must be ultra thin bordering on hurting yourself... when it's waaay far away from it. For someone who doesn't lift a lot of weights, it's actually borderline overweight. Actually being lean at the weights people talk about in here 200+ pounds takes immense dedication. Most people talking about how their 200+ pounds all muscle are actually a lot more fat than they realize or at least willing to admit.

I would definitely agree--for someone who doesn't lift (and you could definitely make the argument that lifting isn't needed in order to be healthy), 6' and 170# would seem fairly normal. It initially sounds low to me, but that's only because I'm now so used to my own weight after years of lifting--this same type of knee-jerk response is probably happening with other posters in this thread.

If I think back to what I weighed before lifting (i.e., 155# @ 5' 10-ish"), it helps put things a bit more into perspective. I've always been relatively slim, but I was far from skin-and-bones back then. Someone 2" taller and 15# heavier would likely be in the same boat I was in.

 

[highland145]

Don't laugh, but when I started 3 months ago, I was benching 60, and worked my way up to 75. Now after two months, I can bench 100.

Not laughing at all. Gotta start some where. FWIW, I don't bench at all, the shoulders are shot.

Your situation is unique to you/your body type/skeletal frame/etc. My humble opinion is that you need to add some more calories and hit the weights using a good program to put on muscle. You'd be surprised how little time in the gym it takes to put in some muscle. Less than an hour a day.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Not laughing at all. Gotta start some where. FWIW, I don't bench at all, the shoulders are shot.

Your situation is unique to you/your body type/skeletal frame/etc. My humble opinion is that you need to add some more calories and hit the weights using a good program to put on muscle. You'd be surprised how little time in the gym it takes to put in some muscle. Less than an hour a day.

You can build up strength pretty quick as a beginner. Later on things become more difficult.

I guess what I was getting at earlier about someone being 170 @ 6' is not that they are super skinny, but probably that they don't look fit at all. I'm about 5'11" and I'd like to get down to about 200 from 230 and see what my body composition is like. I started eating better while am at work this week. No more frozen dinners I need to eat something with better nutrition, and I need more protein. Hopefully the change in diet will help my energy levels in the gym, and at work.

It's amazing how lethargic I have been feeling lately while eating frozen dinners at work because I'm too lazy to cook.

 

[highland145]

^^^
Yep. I'm 6'1" 200. At 195, I'm in 34" pants, easily. My bro, also 6'1", is 175-180. He's thin but it's mostly lean muscle. That's the difference between a sitting job and working 12 hrs/day as a plumber.

For me, simple carbs kill me after lunch so they're out.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

^^^
Yep. I'm 6'1" 200. At 195, I'm in 34" pants, easily. My bro, also 6'1", is 175-180. He's thin but it's mostly lean muscle. That's the difference between a sitting job and working 12 hrs/day as a plumber.

For me, simple carbs kill me after lunch so they're out.

When I was framing houses I could get away with this horrible diet. Nothing like carrying 300 sheets of plywood on a 100 degree day to get the blood pumping. Of course now I have a bad back and imbalances in my lats and traps from only using the right side of my body to carry things.

Religious pendlay rowing, pull ups, and shrugs is starting to even things out finally.