A Spare Tire I Wish Was Flat...

At one point in time, my waist around my belly button was over 50". Right now today it is 41". Im cutting weight down to about 195 (now 207) which after getting my BF% checked would have me at a little over 9%.

Now I don’t know if anyone has ever seen a phenomenom like this before, but why is my waist so big to my bf%.

For those thinking maybe my BF% isnt what I say it is, I’ll try and get some leg pics (pretty cut) on here. ALL of my fat is waist concentrated (love handle especially), I’ve never seen anyone similar.

If you have advice on what to do, I would be greatly appreciated to anything that helps achieve my goals.

You do have a higher BF% - it’s just visceral fat vs. subcutaneous fat. It’s pretty common if you are training hard but your diet’s not good.

Are you low-carbing right now?

I am low carbing. And I disagree on the BF%
I have have been checked with calipers and the bioelectrical impedance. They both had me at a little over 17% back when I was 218ish, well Im 207 now,

I also had an executive physical and my numbers came back similar to someone with way less fat (he said that suggests less visceral fat)

My belief then is unlike most, I retain fat subcutaneously with very little visceral.

When I get to 195 (12 lbs) we will really see. Until then I appreciate the dialogue.


This is my left leg, cold.

Calves

Now im not trying to say my legs have Super development, but they are pretty lean and extremely lean if you base my BF% solely on my waist.

The only reason I made this thread is because I feel this situation is a rarity. I truly do, Im not disillusioned, just at a loss for answers.

According to your other pics and your height I would say that yes your body fat % is higher. My BF% is possibly higher and I see as much definition in legs as you. You need to lose probably 15-20 lbs before you are even close to “lean”

P.S. I weigh 195 today, and I am 5’11", to give you a relativity. You can see me in my Pull-Ups thread. We have similar body types.

Sorry. I usually look at profiles first before replying but forgot to here.

It does look like you’re carrying a bit more than normal in the suprailiac department. Have you ever had this much muscle before? Is this your first time in a long while that you’ve tried to get in shape? If you’ve come down from a really high BF the love handles can be the last area to come off.

Sorry about the uick post - off to softball myself…

No, this is actually the smallest I have ever been. At my peak I was 275 lbs. At my strongest I benched 365 squatted 515 6 times.

I have always ben really fit, I just was so big for so long that I could be fit at a high weight.

I was an accomplished football player and wrestler.

Like i said we really will see when I get to 195, but I do think the waist isn’t normal. I also feel the excess skin I have from being big for a long time is going to be hard to tighten and causes some of the problems in terms of definition and waist size.

Your situation sucks, man. A couple of thoughts that may or may not apply to you.

From what I’ve read, excess skin isn’t that big of a problem unless the subject was previously obese.

When bodyfat is held onto in different areas disproportionally, it sometimes signifies a poor hormonal relationship. Poloquin calls it your biosignature or something like that.

High Cortisol- weight held in stomach
High Estrogen- weight carried in legs/hips
Poor Insulin Sensitivity - weight carried on back
Low Test - weight carried about chest (moobs).

So I guess my question would be… do you have chronically elevated estrogen or cortisol levels?

I def. have been looking into the Poliquin Biosigniture stuff, and It looks promising in terms of altering my body comp. I haven’t found anyone in my Area who can do it yet, and I’m not in a dire situation enough right now to travel great distances to seek the help.

Like I said, When I had my physical my doctor was literally shocked at my numbers because everything came back immacculate. I even had a stress test and I went the whole way through and the doctor was again surprised at my performance. So I do not believe that my estrogen was at all elevated or out of normal range.

Your right about the skin, While i was 70 pounds heavier then now, I don’t believe that my skin is so damaged that it will never go back, I just feel its loose enough that It will inhibit my physique some.

Thanks for posting, I appreciate any and all posts.

[quote]Otep wrote:

High Cortisol- weight held in stomach
High Estrogen- weight carried in legs/hips
Poor Insulin Sensitivity - weight carried on back
Low Test - weight carried about chest (moobs).

[/quote]
i guess have all that…i am thinking of starting creatine…i dont know im confused

Creatine won’t lead to fat loss, It can help because it will increase your workload, but It isn’t thermogenic.

Use creatine when you are more advanced, early in a lifting program you should make quality gains with proper nutrition and recovery.