Which Body Type Would You Choose?

[soulforge]

Ok some advice wanted regarding that difficult to get rid of belly fat.

My fitness routine is consistent, in good shape for a dude in his mid 40s, however I do struggle with a little belly fat.. It's not major, but enough fat to kinda annoy me.

Currently I have two choices ahead of me.

01. Go into a calorie deficit & completely lose the belly fat, however I always find that I lose the excess fat, but lose overall size too.. My arms are not effected much, but chest, shoulders tend to look smaller.. I just look slimmer/leaner overall.

02. The other option is, keep my overall size, where I visibly look like a muscular guy & learn to live with the belly fat.

Obviously I can achieve both.. Lose the belly fat & keep the size/muscle, however this is no easy task in your 40s, unless you're genetically gifted.

I don't actually consume lots of calories. I will often only eat one meal a day & still hit the gym 5x a week.

 

[AmsterdamAssassin]

Men are supposed to have some belly fat. Look at men who do strong-man competitions, they are not 'shredded', they have some serious bulk.

If you're worried how it works with women: the more you (negatively) obsess about something, the more it will drag down your attraction. Doesn't matter if it's baldness or shortness or belly. If you don't care, she won't care, but if you obsess about hair loss or length or physical aesthetics, she will notice your insecurity and know you're not masculine enough.

So I'd go for option 2. Just keep your regular fitness regimen and don't care too much about the belly fat.

 

[Westminster]

Ok some advice wanted regarding that difficult to get rid of belly fat.

My fitness routine is consistent, in good shape for a dude in his mid 40s, however I do struggle with a little belly fat.. It's not major, but enough fat to kinda annoy me.

Currently I have two choices ahead of me.

01. Go into a calorie deficit & completely lose the belly fat, however I always find that I lose the excess fat, but lose overall size too.. My arms are not effected much, but chest, shoulders tend to look smaller.. I just look slimmer/leaner overall.

02. The other option is, keep my overall size, where I visibly look like a muscular guy & learn to live with the belly fat.

Obviously I can achieve both.. Lose the belly fat & keep the size/muscle, however this is no easy task in your 40s, unless you're genetically gifted.

I don't actually consume lots of calories. I will often only eat one meal a day & still hit the gym 5x a week.

Option 1. Lean is the way to go as you move into middle age. It's better for your health and can improve your facial aesthetics too. Plus, of course, your overall fitness shoud be better when you're lighter.

Nobody likes losing muscle mass, especially in the chest and shoulders, but this is a journey I travelled myself sometime ago myself - and nowadays I prefer being slim. You'll also get plenty of compliments about being slim, albeit from a slightly different demographic.

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

Definitely #1. It's always better to be lean and mean even if it means compromising a bit on strength/size. It's never worth increased mass/strength if it comes with excess body fat. Excess body fat is linked to a plethora of poor health outcomes even if you're strong. Almost no one is impressed or attracted to the "built fat" look anyway - that shouldn't factor into your decision though.

Men are supposed to have some belly fat. Look at men who do strong-man competitions, they are not 'shredded', they have some serious bulk.

Not really. Strongman/powerlifters have high body fat because they're competing for strength and strength alone, not aesthetics or overall health/fitness. It's very difficult if not outright impossible to truly maximize strength gains without gaining fat.

Honestly I think every man should have strive to have somewhere around 10-14% body fat. Once you're 50+, something like 16% is probably fine since you do actually need a bit more fat in your later years, but not that much more. There's no point in a mans life where it's healthy to have man boobs and a flabby gut.

 

[EyeBRollin]

Body composition takes care of itself if you focus on increasing strength and cleaning up your diet. Sounds like you aren’t eating enough to begin with.. and what you eat is the problem.

No need to do the OMAD shenanigans just eat clean, bro.

That means cut out the added fat, sugar, salt, and alcohol. Do not drink your calories.

Your diet should consist of whole fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, fatty fish, and lean protein (lean meat, eggs and low fat dairy if you choose to eat them).

 

[AmsterdamAssassin]

There's no point in a mans life where it's healthy to have man boobs and a flabby gut.

Agreed, but @soulforge doesn't seem worried he's turning into Jabba, he's worried about training away mild love handles.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

You can always get th bulk back once you lose the fat. It's much harder to try and do both at the same time. It can be done but usually not as optimally as it would be to do either at once.

 

[soulforge]

Option 1. Lean is the way to go as you move into middle age. It's better for your health and can improve your facial aesthetics too. Plus, of course, your overall fitness shoud be better when you're lighter.

Nobody likes losing muscle mass, especially in the chest and shoulders, but this is a journey I travelled myself sometime ago myself - and nowadays I prefer being slim. You'll also get plenty of compliments about being slim, albeit from a slightly different demographic.

Body composition takes care of itself if you focus on increasing strength and cleaning up your diet. Sounds like you aren’t eating enough to begin with.. and what you eat is the problem.

No need to do the OMAD shenanigans just eat clean, bro.

That means cut out the added fat, sugar, salt, and alcohol. Do not drink your calories.

Your diet should consist of whole fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, fatty fish, and lean protein (lean meat, eggs and low fat dairy if you choose to eat them).

My diet is very clean bro, I don't do junk food.. I'm always on top of things when it comes to nutrition..

Sugar I don't do... Carbs very little, most of my food is lean protein, meat, eggs.

However.. Age is a factor.. Once you hit the age 45 mark, even looking at a fukin doughnut puts weight on you.

By the way, I don't have a belly.. I'm lean everywhere, just a little stubborn belly fat..

I'm actually very disciplined in losing weight, or adding muscle mass weight.

However.. I have noticed, anytime I aim for muscle mass, I put belly weight on.

Whenever I cut and lose the belly weight, I lose overall size, apart from my arms.

So I suppose I need to decide on what type of build I should settle for.

Smaller in size, lean with no belly fat.

Bigger in muscular size, and live with the belly fat.

 

[soulforge]

 

[soulforge]

This is me when I am looking my leanest.

 

[Westminster]

Get lean - and buy a Jaguar

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

IMO, women like fit men, inguinal clefts, the belt of adonis, defined abs (don't need to be cheese grater), good calves, bis/tris of some size, and many love Popeye forearms.

Many guys strive to go freakishly huge, and there is definitely a female audience for that, but it will also drop your audience a bit.

 

[soulforge]

Get lean - and buy a Jaguar

Haha I decided on an Audi, I think the Jags look great, very lavish looking cars, however when they go wrong, they REALLY go wrong!

 

[soulforge]

IMO, women like fit men, inguinal clefts, the belt of adonis, defined abs (don't need to be cheese grater), good calves, bis/tris of some size, and many love Popeye forearms.

Many guys strive to go freakishly huge, and there is definitely a female audience for that, but it will also drop your audience a bit.

Yeh I think most females prefer the leaner looking guy, especially if he has good arms.

The good thing for me is, even when I lose chest, shoulder size, my arms still remain looking quite big.

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

I decided on an Audi, I think the Jags look great, very lavish looking cars, however when they go wrong, they REALLY go wrong!

Funny, I've been driving high-end German for decades; now a Shelby Mustang looks good.

 

[soulforge]

Funny, I've been driving high-end German for decades; now a Shelby Mustang looks good.

I just Googled Shelby Mustang.. I'm British & the Mustang is very American.

Nice looking car.. That car would turn some heads here in the UK, as it's not they type of car we see on our roads.

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

I just Googled Shelby Mustang.. I'm British & the Mustang is very American.

Nice looking car.. That car would turn some heads here in the UK, as it's not they type of car we see on our roads.

I think England, like Germany taxes heavily on engine size, so I’d see where a 5.0 liter engine would not happen a lot over there.

 

[soulforge]

I think England, like Germany taxes heavily on engine size, so I’d see where a 5.0 liter engine would not happen a lot over there.

Hell no.. 5 litre engine, would cost you half your salary to drive around here.

UK has taken the global Warming BS agenda to another level.. We have clean air zones here.. You would have to pay a substantial amount of money to drive into certain areas of our chit hole country.

The area in where I live is a clean air zone.. Uber, or business vehicles, or any vehicle with a hefty engine would have to pay to drive into this area.

 

[EyeBRollin]

My diet is very clean bro, I don't do junk food.. I'm always on top of things when it comes to nutrition..

Sugar I don't do... Carbs very little, most of my food is lean protein, meat, eggs.

I'm actually very disciplined in losing weight, or adding muscle mass weight.

However.. I have noticed, anytime I aim for muscle mass, I put belly weight on.

Both things can’t be true my friend. If you are packing on belly weight, the diet is not clean. You’ve got metabolic problems of some sort. What is a typical day of eating?

 

[soulforge]

Both things can’t be true my friend. If you are packing on belly weight, the diet is not clean. You’ve got metabolic problems of some sort. What is a typical day of eating?

It's not a great deal, however it's enough to prompt me to get rid of it.

I don't eat breakfast.. I wait till around 1.30pm & I will eat 3 boiled eggs as my first meal... From that point onwards I drink water or coffee.. around 7.30pm I will eat a larger meal.. Chicken breast & rice.. Cottage cheese & some salad.. alternatively.. Rump Steak, rice and Houmous.

I have one cheat night,. usually Friday night. Most of the time, my diet is pretty clean.