# Strange body shape or am I overweight? Need some help



## Grunt (24 Feb 2005)

Ive been a member of the CF for around a year and have done BMQ-SQ Training

Im 19 years old around 5'6 tall (more like short lol) with a 43 inch chest

I currently weigh around 190 pounds and have a 38 inch waistline (but for some wierd reason I dont appear to have a massive belly)

The thing is, I used to be massively overweight when i was younger (I was 16-17 yrs old, 220 pounds and a disgusting 44 inch beer belly) 3 years ago until I started dieting and lightly working out and dropped weight to around 155 pounds with a 32 inch waist in 8 months.  Then when I wanted to join the CF I started working out at least 3 times/week to improve my phsyical abilities and have been doing this for 2 years.  Since I started really working out I found ive actually gained weight instead of staying around 160 pounds!?, and even though I do alot of situps my waist line has actually expanded from 32 inches to 38 inches!?!? (but again for some reason I do not have a beer belly still).  And Ive gained weight from 155 pounds to 190!?!?

For my physical training I am currently on Week 5 of the Navy Seals workout and I perform ruck marching on the weekends.

Anyways, I just cant figure out why the heck I weigh a disgusting 190 pounds, and have a 38 inch waistline but i can run forever (well not forever lol), and perform lots of pushups and situps as well as pullups.

Any help would be much appreciated
Thanks!


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## Paish (24 Feb 2005)

If i am not mistaken, muscle weighs more than fat, and you usually gain muscle when working out hard!


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## Grunt (24 Feb 2005)

you could be right, but i find it strange that my waist line went from 32 inches to 38 (although my stomach actually appears tighter then when i had a 32 inch waist ???)

Thanks for the post


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## nawk (25 Feb 2005)

Grunt,

I think your weight shouldn't really be a problem as long as you can handle it i.e. pushups, etc.  If you got proportionally stronger as you gained weight then it's all good.


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## TCBF (25 Feb 2005)

Grunt: It sounds to me that instead of worrying about fitness, you should probably be teaching it.  If half our country put one quarter of your effort into staying in shape, we could save billions on health care.
Keep it up.  
Note: I joined the LSSR way back on 7 Jan 1971.  Say hello to Thunder Bay for me.

Tom


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## old medic (25 Feb 2005)

Grunt said:
			
		

> Since I started really working out I found ive actually gained weight instead of staying around 160 pounds!?, and even though I do alot of situps my waist line has actually expanded from 32 inches to 38 inches!?!? (but again for some reason I do not have a beer belly still).  And Ive gained weight from 155 pounds to 190!?!?




Muscle tissue has more weight than fat.  It is very common to gain muscle and weight together. Even if your burning off your fat stores.


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## Sapper24 (25 Feb 2005)

grunt, I wouldn't worry about it, just keep up what you are doing, it seems like you have made alot of progress already.. Good Work


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## ReadyAyeReady (25 Feb 2005)

Same thing happened to me...My waistline increased when I started working out...if you're building muscle, especially abs then you're going to gain inches unless you try and shed some of the fat that surrounnds your abs...what I did is I started to do alot of cardio to lost weight as well...and in the end my waist went back to normal and then down...


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## NiTz (25 Feb 2005)

Keep on the good work! 

Don't misunderstand your weight... Don't follow this stupid guide called Body Mass Indez 'cause it's not true... like I should be dead right now according to it, i'm 35 pounds overweight. As it has been said before, muscle is way more heavy than fat and especially if you were "fat" before you started working out, since the fat now "converts" in some way into muscle and you keep the same "size" but you grow stronger. Waistline depends also on your constitution, like a buddy of mine who could'nt drop under 36 waistline and he was like 12% bodyfat... Don't ask me why   And if it doesn't cause you any problem , don't loose precious time thinking about this! Man, you're fit, that's what's important!


just my 2 cents !

Cheers! keep on the good work!!


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## Grunt (25 Feb 2005)

TCBF, Good to meet another member of the LSSR!

Thanks for the info and encouragement guys  

I think your right about the abs Ready Aye Ready, I do have muscle there...there is just this tiny bit of fat that seems to be very slowly going away.  Ive always been bad at running so I started the navy SEAL workout to build up my endurance and cardio (I was just a gym user before I joined up).


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## Marine837M (25 Feb 2005)

Run...Run...Run...Run...Run...Run...

more running.................................................more running...............................more running......................

circuits.............circuits.....................circuits............................

run....run....run....run....run....run....run....

hope this helps....

 ;D


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## Gouki (25 Feb 2005)

It could simply be a few things... 

For instance, you could have some solid lean muscle mass, but have a layer of fat over it that makes you look perhaps less fit than what you actually are.

Another thing could be your bodytype. If you're an endomorph and it kind of sounds like you may be, you're going to be a naturally big guy who gains muscle easy but has a hard time losing fat. I myself am an endomorph. My lean body mass is 179 lbs - without any bodyfat at all mind you. Meaning that my opitimal weight is roughly 185 lbs. I weigh 208 right now but you would never know it for the aforementioned reasons.

For a lot of people, this would be too big and would make them overweight or, for their height/bodytype, very bulked up. Endomorphs are the big guys though, and our main enemy is damned fat.

I suggest you look into more what your body type could be and see what you really are .. if you are an endo like I think you may be, the only way you're going to correct this is through diet. I mean obviously yes exercise is paramount, but without a strict diet (and for endomorphs I mean strict) you won't lose the fat as easily as a mesomorph can.

Hope that helped?


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## Gouki (25 Feb 2005)

Steve said:
			
		

> It could simply be a few things...
> 
> For instance, you could have some solid lean muscle mass, but have a layer of fat over it that makes you look perhaps less fit than what you actually are. By the way, sit ups will *not* make your stomach thinner in any way. That's such a propagated myth and it makes me mad everytime I hear it and see some 300 lb. woman at the gym doing a million crunches thinking it will help. It does, but it won't make your stomach go away. Sit ups build the abs under the fat layer, thereby pushing the fat out more and making you look .. well, fatter.
> 
> ...


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## coors (25 Jun 2005)

It is very possible that when you were very overweight in the past you 'ripped' your abdominal wall which happens to alot of peopel when their waistline extends too far. By working out it is possible that the added muscle and strength in your abdominal region has increased your waist size due to this. It is fairly common. hope this helps


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## Lost_Warrior (26 Jun 2005)

> Anyways, I just cant figure out why the heck I weigh a disgusting 190 pounds



Dude, 190 pounds isn't "disgusting"....think of it as a god send.  When it comes time to do the ruck marches (which you will do a lot of) you will be stronger than those who weigh 140-160...

Chances are, you just gained a lot of muscle.  I used to be chunky and weighed 240 pounds, 6 foot.  

Before I joined the army, I worked out like a SOB to lose weight, and went down to 200 pounds...then after 3 back to back army courses (BMQ/SQ/DP1) i'm 220 pounds.  

I didn't get fatter over the course of my training, I got more muscle mass, which, as said earlier, weighs more than fat.

I am only 20 pounds less than what I was before I joined the army, but I went from being able to do 10-15 push ups in a row to being able to do 50 in a row non stop.

And I can hump a 60 pound ruck with the best of them.

Don't worry.  Part of weight training is gaining mass.


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## FITSUMO (27 Jun 2005)

I am in the same boat, although I am bigger, 5'10 240, I have come down from 310 and then I stalled at the weight, as for fitness I am training for ironman and ultramarathons so I got that covered, I also weight and measure all the food that goes into the bod........my doctor who runs with me on my shorter runns is sending me in for some tests for my thyroid.  You may want to talk to your doc about your weight and ask about your thyroid.

BTW as lost_warrior stated 190 is not disgusting.

If you can carry your weight then it is not a problem.


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## BDG.CalgHighrs (27 Jun 2005)

If you're fit and healthy, and your body can do what you need it to, I wouldn't worry too much about the cosmetics.


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## Island Ryhno (27 Jun 2005)

You can be large and fit, more and more medical evidence is proving this. I'm a BIG boy 5'10" 280lbs, but here are my "power" stats

Squat - 425lbs
Bench - 310lbs
Dbell bench - 240lbs
Incline Dbell Curl - 120lbs
Military Press - 200lbs
Standing Bent Over Row - 200lbs
Weighted Crunch - 90lbs (2x45lbs plates)
Weighted Dips - 100lbs

I'm not ripped up, I'm large and lots of people think I'm fat, especially the pretty boys in the mirror, until I go over and lift double what they are lifting. Oh and my waist is 40" do you think I'm disgustingly fat? Cmon now, we are endomorphs, just like Steve said, get used to it and use it to your advantage. You will learn to appreciate that weight when your on a long ruck march and the 150 pounders are crumbling. Take good care of what you have my friend and it will treat you right every time!


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## bled12345 (2 Jul 2005)

yeah steve hit the nail on the head with his endomorph comment...

endomorph's generally tend to have wider hips, which is why you prolly have a 38" waist. I'm glad to know that i'm not the only big guy, i'm 6'5" 240 pounds and I can only do about 20 pushups in a row, I hope BMQ SQ AND BIQ change that lol. to each their own though right, disadvantages and advantages to all body types, just gotta know how to use them properly.... even though we will rule at ruck marches, those 140 pound guys whoop our ass when it comes to endurance running and the majority of body weight excersizes.


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## axeman (2 Jul 2005)

yea i here you   , im on the stout size   never really was a smaller person . but i could always finish my rucksack marches , when we do the cooper's tests i never finished in a blinding speed but hey in the world of competive sports theres generally a breakdown by weight isnt there . in the infantry its those there at then end .i may never of gotten a gold but they were not there when i tore apart my shoulder twice. . they aint here when i try to rotate my shoulder and it screams at me   i now have gained a slightly differnt view of working out . i do it to stay fit   not to attain some goal that ive never wanted to attain any way crappy way of looking at it . but i always give   it to the point that it hurts and if some one starts screamming at me or trying to tear me aa new one i can turn to them and tell em F@ck off . im doing this for me   not you ... oh yes  i can ruck wi5th the best of them . can cross the finish line not with the gazzelles  but i can also do a lot more  then just the one thing too . do your best and strive to improve and eventully you will find limits ive found mine  annd it only took till i turned 40 .. lots of guys never thought i was that old just out of shape nope just 10 yrs older then what you thought i was ....


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## Jonathan (21 Mar 2006)

now I am worried, I am 5'7" and only weight 140 pounds, am I going to have a hard time with the ruck marches
I am 16, going to BMQ this summer


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## BDG.CalgHighrs (23 Mar 2006)

Jonathan,

I wouldn't worry all that much. Fitness and  size (to a lesser extent), will play a roll in your performance. A lot of the equation is attitude and mental toughness, though. 

There's a lot of information on how to get ready for ruck-marching on this site. If you are worried look it up and try some of the training.


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## DiamondDarryl (24 Mar 2006)

having an endomorphic body type is definitly not a bad thing going into basic. I was impressed at how much weight you gained in muscle mind you. treasure your pounds. when your a tall skinny guy (6'4 190), wieght is extremely hard to put on and extremely easy to lose.


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## shadow (24 Mar 2006)

I think there is way too much emphasis placed on "weight" these days and not on performance or health.
What you can do and how healthy you are is more important than how much you weigh.  I'm a chick and I rarely weigh myself.  If I am happy with my performance in the gym, on the road or on the river, then I am happy with myself.
You seem to be doing the right thing, keep it up!
Funny Story:  The bathroom scale in my house stopped working because after my brother moved in with me he used the scale so much the battery died!!


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## SweetNavyJustice (24 Mar 2006)

Maybe someone can make some sense of this for me.  Although it's not used against people, the CF still looks at healthy weight guidlines based on the Body Mass Index (BMI).  From my experience, this scale doesn't provide for a very accurate representation when it comes to people who lift weights and are fit.  For example, I am 5'11 and weigh 210lbs.  Based on the BMI I would be grossly obese!  All this and I still score excempt on my express every year (although this small feat is not something to brag about because even the excempt standard is ridiculously low IMHO).

So what's the deal with the BMI?


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## raymao (24 Mar 2006)

You are absolutely correct where BMI (Body Mass Index) is not as accurate as something like BIA:

Description
BIA stands for Bio-Electric Impedance Analysis. It is a simple and inevasive way to get your body composition analyzed. Body composition is the ratio of fat mass to fat free mass in your body. This is a much better indicator of your health than scale weight. 2 electrodes are stuck on your hand, and 2 on your feet, and a very small electrical current is passed through your body. The more fat one has, the slower the current. Fat acts as an insulator in the body.

Based on BMI standards at 5'5", 190 lbs, my body fat would be 31.6% which places me in the OBESE category. But, when I take the BIA body assessment, my body fat index is measured at 19.4%, which obviously accounts for my greater than average muscle mass. 12%-18% is the goal I am trying to reach to be in the 'fit' category, but at least I now know I am considered to be at a 'normal' weight for my body composition instead of 'OBESE'. If you want the most accurate assesment, I know the method where they submerse your body is the most accurate but it is hard to find places that do it. The next best thing is the eletro resistance method which is much cheaper as well.

Here is the site for Ryerson University for those in Toronto that are interested in the procedure:

http://www.firefly.ryerson.ca/sportsandrec/index.cfm?page=recreation/training/programs/bia


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