Too skinny?

M, 42 years ols, 6'0" Medium Frame

SW: 320 (46-48" waist)

CW: 188 (33"-34" waist)

GW: 165-170

Everyone is telling me that is too skinny and I look fine now at 188 and shouldn't lose anymore.  I tend to disagree because when I was in high school, I was the same height and weighed 150-155 and I looked great.

What do you think?

Go with what makes you feel the most comfortable.

Because of my build at 5'11" my doctor says I should be at between 140 and 145 but all of my friends and family say that it would make me look much too thin, because I looked good at 185. I disagree completely with them, I would be comfortable with between 140-145 and I am going with my doctor on this one.

It's your body and only you know where you are comfortable maintaining your weight.

You're getting old, things are not the same as they were before.

As you're growing, your skin is getting old and fat % usually grows too. And "looking great" is only relevant to the average person, and the average person your age is probably fatter than you are.

Don't worry though, if you don't have any health problems related to your weight - whoever is telling you that you're too skinny is probably jealous :)

It depends a lot on whether or not you were full grown in high school, and whether or not you had any muscle back then.

My husband is no taller than when he was in high school (he's short) but his shoulders and chest filled out a lot by the time he was 23 or so.  There is no way he could look good at what he weighed when he was 18. 

Also, even if you were "filled out" by then you may have een slim, like many high school boys are without much muscle.  It could be that your body composition is much different now than when you were in high school, so you might look scrawny if you lose too much. 

From what I've seen, most guys that are 6' tall look very nice in the 180-190 range. 

You bones become more dense as you become an adult, and reach maximum density at about age 30. So the weight you were in high school is not comparable to what you are now. Plus the muscle growth others have mentioned.

 

virtoriangirl: "You bones become more dense as you become an adult, and reach maximum density at about age 30. So the weight you were in high school is not comparable to what you are now. Plus the muscle growth others have mentioned."

This has nothing to do with the bones. And bone density makes no much difference in weight. Try taking a chicken's skeleton and dry it - it's mineral mass weight is really not significant comparing to the total body weight - might be half a pound difference between now and then.

There might be a happy medium.  As people get older and their skin loses elasticity they tend to look very wrinkly without a little fat underneath there to keep it stretched taut.

I think most males have a major change in muscle density in the early 20s so in High school you might not have had this yet. In general, I would  think that comparing yourself to an ideal weight you had in hhigh school might not be ideal for your body as it is now. Your metabolism has also likely changed since high school which could make if very difficult to maintain the weight you had in high school. To me, 150 seems quite small for someone that is 6 feet. When I was in high school quite a few of my male friends had this built but all but a few have since rested around the 175-190 mark. None of then are overweight and I would say they all look very good. In high school they all quite thin. I think it's best to pick an ideal weight based on you today. Forgetting about what you might have looked like before. I'm sure you look great now but maybe if your like to lose a bit more pick a weight somewhere in between and see how you feel once you are there.

Original Post by ben_b:

virtoriangirl: "You bones become more dense as you become an adult, and reach maximum density at about age 30. So the weight you were in high school is not comparable to what you are now. Plus the muscle growth others have mentioned."

This has nothing to do with the bones. And bone density makes no much difference in weight. Try taking a chicken's skeleton and dry it - it's mineral mass weight is really not significant comparing to the total body weight - might be half a pound difference between now and then.

 Hmm well I am not keen on your example, as i am pretty sure human bones weigh more than chicken bones :)

I did a quick internet search though, to see if what you say is correct - that bone density does not make much difference to body weight. I could not find anything to support or refute that, how do you know? It seems logical to me that denser bones, measured by looking at bone mass, means heavier bones.

However in my travels I discovered that bone mass peaks at about age 30, but then starts to decline...so a 42 year old man may have the same bone density as a teenager, after all...I was mistaken to use this as support for the OP not using his high-school weight as something to compare his current weight to. Though I think that other posts here make very good points about it.

I am 35 ..180.. 5'11'' 16% bodyfat and bodyfat test indicated I would need to be 168 to reach 10% bodyfat (ripped).  That is too skinny!!  I instead chose to eat my full calories and start picking up heavy things!  The scale lies to me but the mirror says its working.  I get tested again in September.  Then I will know how much muscle I added and how much fat went away.

I"m 27.. 165lbs...5'10"...I think I'm hovering around 12% BF...I'm nowhere near ripped....I thought for sure when I hit 167, that I'd be jacked....not the case....so I'm aiming for 157 and see what that looks like.....I say go for your goal....you'll be surprised and disappointed when you hit your goal and realize that what you thought you would look like and what you actually look like aren't even close.

Maybe  focus on building muscle? That would probably be the best thing to improve the way you look.

I'm close to my goal of 180, but I'm still very unsatisfied. I still have a gut and man boobs. :( Probably gonna have to shoot for 170. Nonetheless, I too am getting the too skinny lines from friends/family.

Sooo....as all these different posts show... what is your ideal bodyweight and shape?????  I really suggest the hydrostatic bodyfat test to give you the best idea of what you are comprised off today.  Then set your goal for the future of what you want to look like.  (Favorite hollywood star, model, friend of yours?????)  Then find out what they are comprised off...(height, weight, ect. ect.)  I have been shooting for what I laughlingly refer to as....the male stripper look!  190-200 pounds and about 10% bodyfat.  I expect to be doing this for the rest of life!!!!!!

Funny about the skinny lines!!! I hear it almost every day from my wife.  She got so used to the 235 pound fat guy that when she touches me or observes me naked ...I get the ...your soooooo skinny.  When I started I could only bench press 8x135 pounds struggling....that is now 225.  My friend (who is 200 pounds of muscle) can bench 305.  Just to give you an idea of how much weight you have to throw around to get muscle. (This goes for deadlifts...squats... all the other exercises...tons of weight) Start now because it takes a while to get your body adjusted to lifting.

When I first started a year ago... everyone gave me advice to hit the gym.  I did not listen to them and instead ran my ass off "literally".  I entered triathlons and road bike races ect. (I started to get really skinny)  I had great cardio and endurance...but the muscle was small... It was hard work to shift back to adding muscle.  So if I was to start over again ....I would determine first what I want to look like and then choose the best path to get there.

 

Personally, I think you would look way too skinny if you lost more weight. If I was your Wife or Girlfriend, I would want you to stay at your current weight, 188 pounds. 33-34 waist is perfect for a man with a medium frame - I think.

 

 

 

ooookay wow 150lbs at 6'0 on a man would look TOO thin.. I knew a guy in high school who was 5'9 and 150lbs and scrawny as ****

men look best with muscle and definition, not skinny and boney, ick... i could never feel safe and secure in a man's arms that were literally digging into my body, ouch, gross.

and being that thin would probably age you, as skin begins to sag without tissue underneath to keep it taunt,

i think you are good now.. maybe a 5-8lb loss max, but otherwise go to the gym, tone up, build muscle, youll look much better then being a scare crow 

I think we all put too much credit on a number on a scale.  I now several women who are my height and weight and they look "fat" I do weights and although I am overweight and need to lose at least 15# to be a healthy BMI  I don't look nearly as bad as I did 10 years ago when I weighed this much and wasn't doing any exercise at all.

Maybe start adding some weight training to your routine to look thinner.  Personally I would much rather weigh what I weigh now and fit into a size 10 pants vs 10 years ago wearing a 14 and weighing the same.