BMI is somewhat misleading because it's solely based on height and weight and doesn't factor in body composition. Most pro athletes would be considered "obese" going simply by BMI. For example, Arian Foster at 6'1", 228 lbs has a BMI of 30.1. I'm 6'1" and the most I've ever weighed was 228. But me at 228 and Arian at 228 aren't exactly the same thing. Still, even though I was technically obese, I never looked it. I was (am still) overweight, but I have a large frame and wear the weight well enough that when I have a shirt on, I don't look THAT fat. I'm not what you picture in your mind when you hear the word "obese". Anyway, for my personal story, I was a skinny 190 lbs when I graduated high school. I spent my first few years of college living at home while attending UH and San Jac. Then I transferred to Texas State and like I mentioned before, I stopped having home cooked meals, ate a lot of junk food, and put on 30 lbs and was 220 when I graduated. It pretty much stayed there for awhile but bad habits led to me eventually creeping up towards 230. A couple of years ago I started running regularly and dieting/cycling my calories and got back down to 192, though I wasn't as skinny as the last time I was at that weight. But I stopped for some reason, don't remember why, and put the weight back on. I started doing P90X on New Year's Eve and am now 3 weeks away from completing it. It took awhile for me to start losing weight with the program but I've now lost 10 lbs in the last 5 weeks and am 216 lbs at the moment. Should be around 210 when I'm done. I'm not where I want to be yet so I'll take a couple of weeks off and then start it again. PS - I've seen some people mention overactive thyroid as an excuse for weight problems. It's actually the other way around. The thyroid hormone helps regulate your metabolism. People with an overactive thyroid (Hyperthyroidism) typically have an elevate Basal Metabolic Rate while those with an underactive thyroid (Hypothyroidism) will have a lower BMR. Thus people with Hyperthyroidism naturally burn more calories than normal and people with Hypothyroidism burn less. The only reason a person with overactive thyroid would gain weight is that if untreated, they have to eat more calories than the average person to maintain body weight. If they start treatment to bring their thyroid levels back to normal, then that same diet will cause them to gain weight.
Alcohol also makes you fat quickly. If you are a happy hour type of person and drink after work everyday, you will gain a lot of weight. Everyone I know likes to go to happy hours and there are a ton of places in Houston that have them. I do not like drinking in bars/restaurants. I can buy a bottle of liquor for the same price you pay for 2 drinks at a bar.
Welcome to H-town nono! http://www.mensfitness.com/training/lose-weight/the-fittest-and-fattest-cities-in-america Fattest City: Houston We’ll spare you the predictable Texas-size jokes, but one thing Houston seems to maintain— and expand yearly—is the circumference of its collective paunch. Fine, we threw one in anyway, but it couldn’t be helped, because, according to the CDC, a whopping 34% of H-Town residents are overweight. In previous surveys we’d claimed Houston was on the upswing in the weight-loss department, but there’s evidently been a bit of a regression since we last checked in. It could be the heat. Houston typically suffers through a hundred or more days each year with temperatures in excess of 90Åã, combined with relative humidity that rivals Manila’s. The city’s average commute—27.5 minutes, primarily by car since Houston lacks a comprehensive mass-transit system—also plays a major role in keeping Houstonians seated and sedentary. “It’s just not a place that’s conducive to getting out and doing stuff,” says longtime resident Kent Martin, a competitive runner and MMA coach, “and that’s because of the humidity. It’s brutal here in the summer.” City with the Most Fast-Food Joints: Houston (1,034) Everything’s bigger in Texas, and drive-thrus may be to blame. (City with fewest: Boston)
Diet is the most important thing. If enough people are interested in the way I stay healthy, pm me and I'll start a thread. But don't reply directly to this because I'm not coming back to this thread.
Are you saying you do cardio for 2-3 hrs each time, or total? Seems like that's way too much cardio. That's gonna get you the skinny-fat look, which I'm sure you don't want. Try to fit in weights 3x a week (should only take 45 min-1 hr max each session). Finally, as other posters have said, diet is the most important thing.
Skinny fat is kind of a person who is of normal weight but has less muscle and more fat than they should. The lack of muscle and increase in fat offset each other so the weight remains normal, but the person still has more fat than the average person would at that weight and still appears somewhat flabby despite not really being "fat". Hence the term skinny fat.
umm..doing a lot of cardio IS the best remedy to fat loss. So you're not going to get skinny fat. Cardio will make you thin, yes, but at the same time you'll burn off any excessive fat.
Well I have more muscle than fat.. But I still have a gut. I just got to target that area and it can be good.
