Hi guys.

As my topic stated about two years ago i was quite fat, 138kg or roughly 303lbs on a 191cm or 6'3'' frame. Obviously i was nearly 50kgs or 110lbs overweight if you go by BMI. Now i've managed to drop to 98kgs or 215lbs by controlling my food intake and frequent low intensity cardio, mainly swimming and walking long distances. Obviously i haven't been loosing weight all this time, that would be quite a slow cut, i've had periods were i've lost weight, periods when i've regained some and periods where i've just been maintaining my weight.

My latest and biggest drop in one chunk has been from 118kgs in October to 98kgs just this morning. This has been mainly through the strains living in Beijing and backpacking through asia puts you through. Food hasn't always been available in quantities and qualities to suit me and this together with a quite active lifestyle, not too much alcohol and no crap food has been good. Obviously i've seen some quite remarkable changes but now when i look myself in the mirror i notice that the belly, though not nearly as big as before this recent drop and positively tiny compared to two years ago, is still very much there. As i've not been too much of a researcher into fitness, body composition etc. before i made the changes to my lifestyle that resulted in my loss i was under the illusion that if i dropped down to 90kgs which would be "normal" for a guy my size i would be rid of my gut, now however when the goal is nearing i just can't imagine that it'll be gone by 90kgs. It's obious to me now that i've had some unnecessary muscle loss, but i'm not to worried about that because i haven\t been crash dieting and i have plenty of time to hit the gym when i go back home.

So guys what do you think should be my goal weight and most important what's the most accurate way of measuring bf% with "improvised" equipment?

I'd say it is quite normal to have a belly at that weight and height unless you have a considerably amount of lean mass.

As for goal weight, I couldn't say. But what I would say is don't get too hung up on bodyfat percentages. Look in the mirror, if you think you look too fat then cut until you don't. I think too many people get hung up on this number that is essentially just an estimate anyway.

Hi guys.

As my topic stated about two years ago i was quite fat, 138kg or roughly 303lbs on a 191cm or 6'3'' frame. Obviously i was nearly 50kgs or 110lbs overweight if you go by BMI. Now i've managed to drop to 98kgs or 215lbs by controlling my food intake and frequent low intensity cardio, mainly swimming and walking long distances. Obviously i haven't been loosing weight all this time, that would be quite a slow cut, i've had periods were i've lost weight, periods when i've regained some and periods where i've just been maintaining my weight.

My latest and biggest drop in one chunk has been from 118kgs in October to 98kgs just this morning. This has been mainly through the strains living in Beijing and backpacking through asia puts you through. Food hasn't always been available in quantities and qualities to suit me and this together with a quite active lifestyle, not too much alcohol and no crap food has been good. Obviously i've seen some quite remarkable changes but now when i look myself in the mirror i notice that the belly, though not nearly as big as before this recent drop and positively tiny compared to two years ago, is still very much there. As i've not been too much of a researcher into fitness, body composition etc. before i made the changes to my lifestyle that resulted in my loss i was under the illusion that if i dropped down to 90kgs which would be "normal" for a guy my size i would be rid of my gut, now however when the goal is nearing i just can't imagine that it'll be gone by 90kgs. It's obious to me now that i've had some unnecessary muscle loss, but i'm not to worried about that because i haven\t been crash dieting and i have plenty of time to hit the gym when i go back home.

So guys what do you think should be my goal weight and most important what's the most accurate way of measuring bf% with "improvised" equipment?

Same boat.

Went from 145kg to 76kg. loads of lose skin and still a belly - After i started weight lifting consistenly with the diet sorted out i see quick results though.

The more muscles you have, the leaner you appear. It's quite normal really. Hit the weights, it will help tremendously. Besides, if you ain't very muscular you probably won't drop the belly before your down to 81kgs or so, and without lifting you'll look like a stick by then ;)

Agreed with what has already been stated....

Time to put on some lean muscle mass...:nod:

If you go look at the transformation of the month threads....you will see what is called recomposition...that should be your goal at this point...

Don't worry so much about the scale now, focus on adding muscle and trimming body fat...

EDIT: Oh yea....holy sh!t...way to go in losing almost a hundred pounds....:spaz:

I suspect based on your exercise and diet plan, you have lost muscle along with the fat. Some sort of resistance work is optimal to retain and build muscle to avoid the "skinny fat" syndrome where your scale number goes down, but overall body shape still does not go toward a lean and athletic look.

Time to change the focus from the long low intensity cardio to lifting or similar.

Great work on the progress so far. Before I learned how to do things, I did exactly as you did and ended up not as happy at my goal weight as I had thought I would be.

Thanks for the replies.

I'm still in Asia, Sumatra at the moment, and gyms are few and far between in these parts. However in a couple of months i'll probably be home so now i'm doing the research and planning for my big body overhaul. Basically what i've been thinking about is how much focus i shoudl give to the cardio and how much i should give to the weights. Ultimately i'll be wanting to focus totally on building muscle of course but in a weight loss period wouldn't it be kinda logical to let the weight-training take the back seat for a little while until i hit a decent weight?

'bout the muscle and such, i'm not the skinny type. I've always been that guy who carries the biggest load when you're out trekking, wins all armwrestlingmatches etc. and although i haven't worked out in a gym for 5 years or so my work has been plenty physical. I hope haven't wasted all that by now though.

Thanks for the replies.

I'm still in Asia, Sumatra at the moment, and gyms are few and far between in these parts. However in a couple of months i'll probably be home so now i'm doing the research and planning for my big body overhaul. Basically what i've been thinking about is how much focus i shoudl give to the cardio and how much i should give to the weights. Ultimately i'll be wanting to focus totally on building muscle of course but in a weight loss period wouldn't it be kinda logical to let the weight-training take the back seat for a little while until i hit a decent weight?

No, the opposite. I rarely do cardio and let the weight training take care of things.

Use lifting as your primary exercise, and work in the cardio work around it as needed.

Good Read (http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_hierarchy_of_fat_loss)

'bout the muscle and such, i'm not the skinny type. I've always been that guy who carries the biggest load when you're out trekking, wins all armwrestlingmatches etc. and although i haven't worked out in a gym for 5 years or so my work has been plenty physical. I hope haven't wasted all that by now though.

You probably haven't, but you want to keep what you have and maybe improve some areas to truly reach your body compositional goals.

No, the opposite. I rarely do cardio and let the weight training take care of things.

Use lifting as your primary exercise, and work in the cardio work around it as needed.

Good Read (http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_hierarchy_of_fat_loss)



You probably haven't, but you want to keep what you have and maybe improve some areas to truly reach your body compositional goals.

that was a very good read.

No, the opposite. I rarely do cardio and let the weight training take care of things.

Use lifting as your primary exercise, and work in the cardio work around it as needed.

Good Read (http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_hierarchy_of_fat_loss)



You probably haven't, but you want to keep what you have and maybe improve some areas to truly reach your body compositional goals.
That was a great read. Thank you for posting that.

I think it also depends somewhat on your natural (or otherwise) body fat distribution.

When I first tackled my obesity, my belly got a lot smaller and my jeans size went down by ten inches. However, since then, I have gained and lost weight, and my body composition has also varied quite a bit, and my abdomen (especially at the navel, and even more so, above the navel) has been remarkably unchanging in size, regardless of either fat or muscle in other areas of my body. In my avatar, I was between 7 and 8% body fat and there was absolutely no sign of a 6-pack. A month ago I was (I would estimate) maybe at 20% bf, and my abdomen was only slightly bigger.

I was between 7 and 8% body fat and there was absolutely no sign of a 6-pack. A month ago I was (I would estimate) maybe at 20% bf, and my abdomen was only slightly bigger.

Yeah that's the feeling i've been having, gettin' leaner all over except where it matters... Nah, not that bad. I don't expect to ever have a six-pack though time will tell.

The 19th of march i touch down in home sweet home and 23rd will be the start of some serious cutting on my part. Watch out for a cutting journal. From 98kg to 88kg in 2 months, is it possible? Hell yes.

By the way thank you MannishBoy for an excellent read, i'll be following the advice.