If you're not both lean and muscular, you're greatly underachieving your looks potential

[bigdave17]

The male face legit looks 10 times better at 8-10% bodyfat than 15-20%. I can show you guys some crazy transformations

On the flipside, lean guys who are skinny look too young/weak/feminine. For a lean dude to bulk up, you get a thicker neck (makes your face look a lot more masculine) and your overall appearance looks much better

A thicker neck by itself makes your face look way more handsome, it's crazy the difference

 

[mrgoodstuff]

You're getting outcompeted by fat guys and you still think this matters?

Explain to him why he got out competed by fat dudes? Explain to him why he got out competed by dudes with less than 1/2 the income?

 

[sangheilios]

Most guys should aspire to being fit and looking good, absolutely no real argument to this.

Your body fat, as a guy, should be somewhere between 10-15%. Going under this range is not healthy, requires way too much dietary restriction and is negative for your testosterone levels. Above 15% and you start getting into the softish territory, but I'd say not until around 20%+ is it a problem.

Being in this range and having a well developed/proportionate physique you are going to turn heads and have people admiring you. I maintain somewhere around 12-15% at 6'4" and 215 ish and I have people complement me and stare at me all the time. I don't take supplements, have to follow some uber strict routine or be in the gym so much I have no life.

 

[bigdave17]

Most guys should aspire to being fit and looking good, absolutely no real argument to this.

Your body fat, as a guy, should be somewhere between 10-15%. Going under this range is not healthy, requires way too much dietary restriction and is negative for your testosterone levels. Above 15% and you start getting into the softish territory, but I'd say not until around 20%+ is it a problem.

Being in this range and having a well developed/proportionate physique you are going to turn heads and have people admiring you. I maintain somewhere around 12-15% at 6'4" and 215 ish and I have people complement me and stare at me all the time. I don't take supplements, have to follow some uber strict routine or be in the gym so much I have no life.

you would be astonished at how much better your face would look at 8-9% BF than 15-18%


looks chiseled, angular and very masculine. BTW maintaining low BF% is fairly easy. It's hard just getting there. Once you get to 9% BF, you can maintain at around 3000 calories per day. You really need more food than that?

 

[lamath]

I agree with you on this, i am very muscular but im a bit more on the powerlifter/bulking bodybuilder side and i know in the past when i got to about 10-12% BF i was looking awesome

 

[bigdave17]

I agree with you on this, i am very muscular but im a bit more on the powerlifter/bulking bodybuilder side and i know in the past when i got to about 10-12% BF i was looking awesome

correct


you'll never have that super angular chad look in the face without being very lean

 

[BeExcellent]

My high school son is very lean at 4% body fat. He's an athlete (soccer & lacrosse, which is very high cardio)...trying to get him to eat as much as possible (including carbs in his case)...he's a handsome young man, just needs to fill out.

When he eats he gets full...although he needs more calories.

Ideas? Serious question. I'm not sure what is best. He was off the growth curve as a baby and I don't think has a usual number of fat cells. His appetite was never very high even very young.

I don't think he will ever be obese...but to help him bulk up a bit would be great. He is 5'8" and might weigh 120 on a good day at almost 17.

 

[bigdave17]

My high school son is very lean at 4% body fat. He's an athlete (soccer & lacrosse, which is very high cardio)...trying to get him to eat as much as possible (including carbs in his case)...he's a handsome young man, just needs to fill out.

When he eats he gets full...although he needs more calories.

Ideas? Serious question. I'm not sure what is best. He was off the growth curve as a baby and I don't think has a usual number of fat cells. His appetite was never very high even very young.

I don't think he will ever be obese...but to help him bulk up a bit would be great. He is 5'8" and might weigh 120 on a good day at almost 17.

I'm the polar opposite of your son. Losing weight for me is hell. I would gain 10 lbs a week if I let myself eat without controlling myself because I'm never full. I can keep eating and eating


Here's honestly what it comes down to - you have to do what you're not comfortable with. For me to lose weight, I have to eat so little to where I'm uncomfortable. For him, he has to eat so much to where he is very uncomfortable. I would strongly recommend NOT eating healthy. It's very difficult for people with sh*tty appetites to eat a lot of heatlhy food as healthy food is very filling. Have him eat carbs and fat and delicious stuff that he enjoys (candy, cake, ice cream, peanut butter, whole milk, ground beef, etc...) and eat as much as humanly possible

 

[lamath]

My high school son is very lean at 4% body fat. He's an athlete (soccer & lacrosse, which is very high cardio)...trying to get him to eat as much as possible (including carbs in his case)...he's a handsome young man, just needs to fill out.

When he eats he gets full...although he needs more calories.

Ideas? Serious question. I'm not sure what is best. He was off the growth curve as a baby and I don't think has a usual number of fat cells. His appetite was never very high even very young.

I don't think he will ever be obese...but to help him bulk up a bit would be great. He is 5'8" and might weigh 120 on a good day at almost 17.

Weight gainer protein shake
I know slim guy use it i cant remember whats in
there buts its 500 + calories per serving

Google weight gainer
There is also lots of recipe for some homemade 1

 

[Fzatf]

My high school son is very lean at 4% body fat. He's an athlete (soccer & lacrosse, which is very high cardio)...trying to get him to eat as much as possible (including carbs in his case)...he's a handsome young man, just needs to fill out.

When he eats he gets full...although he needs more calories.

Ideas? Serious question. I'm not sure what is best. He was off the growth curve as a baby and I don't think has a usual number of fat cells. His appetite was never very high even very young.

I don't think he will ever be obese...but to help him bulk up a bit would be great. He is 5'8" and might weigh 120 on a good day at almost 17.

Myfitnesspal app has a vast library of food that you can use to easily track your calorie intake. It approximates your caloric needs based on weight and height and then you can set a goal to gain weight at different rates. 1lb per week with muscle training would be 500 calories per day more than his maintenance requirement. He'll just want to ensure he tracks his caloric expenditure for his exercise as well. The app can help him do so. The free version will be all he needs and it's on both android and apple.

As for how to eat more, he can still eat what he enjoys but he'll want to exchange some of it for weight gaining protein powder. Mixed with milk and a banana I find the vanilla versions quite tasty, but there are several flavors.

 

[bigdave17]

Myfitnesspal app has a vast library of food that you can use to easily track your calorie intake. It approximates your caloric needs based on weight and height and then you can set a goal to gain weight at different rates. 1lb per week with muscle training would be 500 calories per day more than his maintenance requirement. He'll just want to ensure he tracks his caloric expenditure for his exercise as well. The app can help him do so. The free version will be all he needs and it's on both android and apple.

As for how to eat more, he can still eat what he enjoys but he'll want to exchange some of it for weight gaining protein powder. Mixed with milk and a banana I find the vanilla versions quite tasty, but there are several flavors.

Weight gainer protein shake
I know slim guy use it i cant remember whats in
there buts its 500 + calories per serving

Google weight gainer
There is also lots of recipe for some homemade 1

both of these are poor recommendations


people with mediocre appetites like her kid can't handle large amounts of protein as protein is very filling. He needs to focus on eating what he enjoys and eating as much as possible. You have to look at it through his perspective, not ours. I can eat 5000 calories a day and still be hungry. For that kid, I'm sure 2500 calories is a real struggle. He needs to force feed himself whichever food he enjoys

 

[Fzatf]

both of these are poor recommendations


people with mediocre appetites like her kid can't handle large amounts of protein as protein is very filling. He needs to focus on eating what he enjoys and eating as much as possible. You have to look at it through his perspective, not ours. I can eat 5000 calories a day and still be hungry. For that kid, I'm sure 2500 calories is a real struggle. He needs to force feed himself whichever food he enjoys

I agree that protein can be filling but in liquid form it goes down easy and just two shakes is 1000 calories. As for the app, are you against him tracking calories to reach weight gain goals?

 

[WayTooReal]

I dunno...I dont see much difference when I'm muscular at 17% at 198 lbs or muscular at 9% at 183 lbs.

I get the same "hotness" of women just different types...ie, the ones I get at 17% arent the same as the ones at 9%, but they look the same level wise...

 

[bigdave17]

I agree that protein can be filling but in liquid form it goes down easy and just two shakes is 1000 calories. As for the app, are you against him tracking calories to reach weight gain goals?

tracking calories is excellent


but for the most part, if he just eats to where he is uncomfortable, he'll be fine

 

[BeExcellent]

Wow guys. Thanks for the info. I'll share the app with my son (he likes stuff like that - he's very results oriented)

I think he needs to lift, do protein shakes between meals, and his dad and I are discussing powders.

He literally gets full at meals. Tonight couldn't finish a grilled pork chop & mashed potatoes.

You guys are great. Apologies if I've hijacked the thread. He does have a very cute GF and he's well liked socially. So he's good in the girl department for now, lol.

 

[bigdave17]

Wow guys. Thanks for the info. I'll share the app with my son (he likes stuff like that - he's very results oriented)

I think he needs to lift, do protein shakes between meals, and his dad and I are discussing powders.

He literally gets full at meals. Tonight couldn't finish a grilled pork chop & mashed potatoes.

You guys are great. Apologies if I've hijacked the thread. He does have a very cute GF and he's well liked socially. So he's good in the girl department for now, lol.

I dunno why there is such a difference in appetite in people. At his age, I could have demolished 5 pork chops


but yes, only real way to fix this issue is to eat beyond what he's accustomed to

 

[marmel75]

My high school son is very lean at 4% body fat. He's an athlete (soccer & lacrosse, which is very high cardio)...trying to get him to eat as much as possible (including carbs in his case)...he's a handsome young man, just needs to fill out.

When he eats he gets full...although he needs more calories.

Ideas? Serious question. I'm not sure what is best. He was off the growth curve as a baby and I don't think has a usual number of fat cells. His appetite was never very high even very young.

I don't think he will ever be obese...but to help him bulk up a bit would be great. He is 5'8" and might weigh 120 on a good day at almost 17.

Old bodybuilder trick:

Drink this 2 times a day: 8oz heavy cream mixed with 8oz pineapple juice.

Its a huge calorie load and it tastes really good to boot.

 

[marmel75]

Wow guys. Thanks for the info. I'll share the app with my son (he likes stuff like that - he's very results oriented)

I think he needs to lift, do protein shakes between meals, and his dad and I are discussing powders.

He literally gets full at meals. Tonight couldn't finish a grilled pork chop & mashed potatoes.

You guys are great. Apologies if I've hijacked the thread. He does have a very cute GF and he's well liked socially. So he's good in the girl department for now, lol.

Protein shakes are NEVER necessary. Its just BS the fitness industry has made up that people take as fact. The truth is that unless you are on steroids, the body can only process and use so much protein, which is much less than what most people take in.

In fact, as you work out more your protein requirements DECREASE not increase as your body becomes more efficient at using it and fewer muscle cells are being broken down.

Research confirmed with double 95% certainty that .84 grams of protein per pound of lean body weight is the absolute MAX amount of protein that any person could utilize. Realistically they found there was NO increase in muscle at anything above .68 grams per pound of lean body weight, but just to be double sure, they bumped it up to the higher amount to guarantee it.

People who claim to need 200+ grams of protein a day are either full of sh!t, have no understanding of how the human body work or are brainwashed by the industry.

 

[BeExcellent]

Thanks @marmel75 I always keep heavy cream in the house as I use it in my coffee as part of my Keto/Paleo eating habit.

I'll get some pineapple juice.

 

[HankHill]

My high school son is very lean at 4% body fat. He's an athlete (soccer & lacrosse, which is very high cardio)...trying to get him to eat as much as possible (including carbs in his case)...he's a handsome young man, just needs to fill out.

When he eats he gets full...although he needs more calories.

Ideas? Serious question. I'm not sure what is best. He was off the growth curve as a baby and I don't think has a usual number of fat cells. His appetite was never very high even very young.

I don't think he will ever be obese...but to help him bulk up a bit would be great. He is 5'8" and might weigh 120 on a good day at almost 17.

I'm the text book ectomorph with a high metabolism. The My Fitness Pal app is great for keeping track of your daily caloric intake, but here's really all he needs to do:

1. For workout https://stronglifts.com/5x5/ <- follow it to the T
2. Without all the hows and whats of the BMR and TDEE calculations, he should be eating 3k calories a day consistently. The easiest way to get 3k calories is GOMAD (Gallon of whole Milk a Day). He will gain fat % which is a problem for me but at 4% (is that even possible?) he needs it.

Do both of the above for 3 months, then take a month off from the workout and then start again if needed.

Back to the original thread, I'm following the above routine to put on mass before cutting because I'm too damn skinny to cut. Skinny fat to be more accurate at 16% BF when I started, now 18% and it'll keep going up until I stop bulking. For me bulking means 2000-2200 cal a day (for my age and activity level).

Unfortunately I fvcked up my right arm by going overboard with the barbell curls because I was finally able to bench press my own weight for 1RM. Got too c0cky and thought I could curl 90lbs for 5reps (up from my usual 75lbs). Now my tendons are torn and not healing, I might have to go see a sports medicine dr.