General Cycling Discussion - Too skinny

The flip-side of the problem of obesity in our modern society is our obsession with being skinny.

An overweight person who exercises aerobically (heart and lungs) on a regular basis will soon be far fitter than a skinny person who does not exercise, but only diets. Many overweight people are very fit, and many skinny people are very unfit. The bottom line is not how skinny you are, but how healthy and strong are your cardiovascular (heart, artery) and pulmonary (lung) systems.

Skinny people who do not exercise are setting themselves up for weak muscles, fragile bones, narrow arteries and other age related diseases.
Skinny is not always beautiful, and healthy overweight people are absolutely gorgeous!

Yes I would agree with some of your points. Look at professioanl power lifters or those guys that compete in the world's strongest man competitions. Alot of those guys look real fat but they are in great shape. Both cardio and muscle wise. Then on the filp side look at pro cyclists or runners. Some of these athletes look amaciated! Then there are some female models that are cool to look at but are unhealthy because of their own personal narcisism. I see your point good observation.

Yes, this is a serious problem. Society has an obsession with people's weight and how they should look and it's really stupid. I say this as one of those really skinny people (61kg). The fact is still the same, if you can ride 240km+ in a day, you are healthy no matter what you look like.

Chris

The fact that too many people are either overweight or too skinny stems from lack of an exercise regiment and/or bad diet habits.
If most people would follow a regular exercise routine and kept a half-way decent diet then you could eat more and you wouldn't have to worry about being either too skinny or too fat.

Joe,
That is not entirely true. Up until about 2 years ago at 6ft. 2" I weighed anywhere from 165 to 170 dpending on the season. Now at 34 I find myself at 200 and still I am called slender or thin. At the time when I was lighter I was riding 175 miles a week back and forth to work. I also am a martial artist and have been for 20 years. My diet now is better than it was a few years ago, and pound for pound I was as strong if not stronger than most people I knew. I am not trying to brag just make a point. Being either big or thin is irrelevant. How healthy are your bones, muscles and cardio condition? That is important At the time as I mentioned before when I was a lighter person I could not put on weight if I paid for it. I was the same weight for 12 years wore the same clothes size from high school. Genetics has a great deal on your body size. Look at Bruce Lee for example he was 5 ft. 5" and weighed 135 pds. at the time of his death. Skinny, yes unhealthy, absolutely not! Then look at former world record holder in the deadlift Alexi Alexef, big absolutely at 6 ft and ?? and around 300+ missing 2 fingers on his left hand. Could he have done the stuiff he did while being unhealthy or not eating right? No he could not have, he was huge and he was healthy.

I am 5'9 " and my weight now is around 160lbs, and I am not skinny:cool:and can still ride a 200 k on any given day and I feel great at my age, with a max heart rate at 150

Very true.
I knew someone really thin, and one time I took that person biking and she had a hard time moving the pedals unles they were in the biggst cog smallest chainring position,and even then she was still huffin' and puffin'.
I am 5'9, and I wiegh 140, but I'm not unhealthy or weak!!

of course, I am only 17.

Hunter, you took my statement way too literal and missed the point. My point was not that if you weigh under a 130 pounds or over 200 pounds you are automatically out of shape.

My point is that way too many people in our society do not eat properly or have any kind of an exercise regiment.

Joe

How about some of those professional football players.

Some of them are FAT with big ol' bellies hangin' out all over the place. Yet, they are physical for a living.

Now there is an example of someone who is fat and physical and still not what I would call healthy.

Professional athletes sometimes focus so narrowly on success in their given sport that they can become unbalanced. Sad to say, professional athletes sometimes put success above health.

Aren't linebackers more effective when they weigh more? I noticed Sumo wrestlers make no bones about being as fat as possible!

Ya, Pete, but let's face it. In Japan, the whole Sumo thing is about sex.

I am sorry, but that is just the ugly truth. I mean, what's with those big dudes going out and shaking some sugar around the ring, getting all slippery, slapping each other around, and sometimes pulling each other's loin cloths off?

You won't find skinny guys doing that kind of thing. It just would be too unattractive. A skinny guy couldn't do that to show off to a girl. It wouldn't work.

But in Japan - Oh, in Japan, it is a different story all together! Sure, how many evenings I spent in Japan in front of the television watching my girlfriends gawk all slackjawed while watching the Sumo tournaments.

When it was all over, they would look over at me and I knew what they were thinking, "Oh, you pitiful rail of a thing. You could never handle yourself in that kind of power-slap contest. Oh, you..." and then they would start thinking in Japanese language and I couldn't figure out what they were thinking any more.

But, so anyway, I forgot what this has to do with bikes, but Man, whew. The sumo thing; ya Pete that's just like too weird.

I don't really have an opinion on body weight but I just have to say that I'm 6'2" and weigh 145. I'm almost 26 years old.:)

Chris, you cannot be a Japanese Sumo.

Sorry, dude. That's life.

No one has mentioned so far that there are different body types, with a weight, or better, a range of weights, appropriate to each.

I believe that Ectomorphic, mesomorphic, and endomorphic are the terms used in the West.

The East Indian tradition of Ayurveda calls the same body types by the names Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. In layman's terms, these would amount, simplistically, to skinny, medium, and heavy.

Being fit has a lot more to do with living a balanced life than obsessing over whether at 6'1" and, say, 175 lbs, you're just right, underweight, or too heavy. The answer has a lot more to do with your body type than some arbitrary number.

In his writings, Depak Chopra, M.D.--who has done much to make the wisdom of Ayurveda available to us in the West--emphasizes that there is no ideal body type and no ideal weight. Real health and longevity have much more to do with your own lifestyle and personal expectations, than with experts' charts that proclaim a healthy male, aged 55, 6'1" tall, should weigh xxx--xxx lbs.

Hi, Rich,

I guess if I believe that I am special, but no more special than anyone else, and I seek to fulfill who I truly am, rather than become like someone else, I will be wise.

:)!

Thanks--

I don't really have an opinion on body weight but I just have to say that I'm 6'2" and weigh 145. I'm almost 26 years old.:)

You have to be jokin or you got some faulty scales...

I don't really have an opinion on body weight but I just have to say that I'm 6'2" and weigh 145. I'm almost 26 years old.:)

Chris - assuming you're not trolling, your Body Mass Index of 18.6 places you approximately in the 2nd percentile for your height (i.e., 98% of people your height are heavier than you). That puts you in anorexia territory.

http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/bmi.htm has more info on this.

Skinny is not always beautiful, and healthy overweight people are absolutely gorgeous!

billboards, magazine covers, TV and movies say otherwise, skinny physic is what people want, it's true what you say about health and appearances, supermodels are lust after yet they starve and chain smoke

There's stateside Sumo--one night a few years ago when listening to a San Francisco radio station (KGO) that was skipping through to my area, a commercial aired advertising same. It sounded like it was part of an ongoing series.

That puts you in anorexia territory.

http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/bmi.htm has more info on this.

That puts him in the shredded territory nevermind being lean & cut.

Skinny is not always beautiful, and healthy overweight people are absolutely gorgeous!

Bless you! :D

Gymnasts. Pure athleticism. Pound for pound, muscle for muscle, world-class gymnasts must be the epitome of body-mass efficiency. And gorgeous to boot!

my BMI at my best is 20.6 - in the 34th percentile. I always thought I could lose some more weight...I'm at 21.1 at the moment after xmas :D

Brendon

my BF is 6'2 and 135. He's thin, but not unhealthy. He eats, and eats, and eats. He just doesn't gain weight. He actually threatens to take my mirror away because he says I give it "too much weight" on my opinion of myself. I think it'd be okay if he took the mirror away.

my BF is 6'2 and 135. He's thin, but not unhealthy. He eats, and eats, and eats. He just doesn't gain weight. He actually threatens to take my mirror away because he says I give it "too much weight" on my opinion of myself. I think it'd be okay if he took the mirror away.

With a Body Mass Index of 17.3, there is a very high probability that your boyfriend is bulimic or anorexic, or perhaps has some other disease. See this web page for more information correlating BMI to eating disorders: http://ensbay.com/bmi.htm. According to the information on that page, a BMI less than 17.5 should be cause for alarm, and immediate consultation with a medical professional.

It's genetic. His Dad has the same body type and structure. He's not bulimic or anorexic. We've been together 5 years, lived together 1 and I've noticed no behaviors relating to an ED. His doctor isn't alarmed and he's healthy, if not really thin.

Why is it that everyone wants a naturally healthy, but incredibly thin person to have an ED?

It's genetic. His Dad has the same body type and structure. He's not bulimic or anorexic. We've been together 5 years, lived together 1 and I've noticed no behaviors relating to an ED. His doctor isn't alarmed and he's healthy, if not really thin.

Why is it that everyone wants a naturally healthy, but incredibly thin person to have an ED?

Well, if his doc says he's OK and he's not hurling his meals, then perhaps you can write it off to genetics.

As for the assumption of an eating disorder...that's something he's just going to have to live with unless he gains some weight because statistically most folks at that height and weight do have ED. Of course, there are always exceptions to the averages so perhaps he's just a statistical outlier.

I do have to admit that I'm a little jealous of him, though. Although, I do have an easier time putting on muscle.

my BF is 6'2 and 135. He's thin, but not unhealthy. He eats, and eats, and eats. He just doesn't gain weight. He actually threatens to take my mirror away because he says I give it "too much weight" on my opinion of myself. I think it'd be okay if he took the mirror away.

Regardless of whether your BF is healthy, everyone and there dog would look at him walking down the street and think he was anorexic. 6'2 @135lbs would have the look of a catwalk supermodel that lives off water & cigarettes.

Have you seen Bruce Lee's physique. He was around 140lbs @5'7. Your BF is around 6 inches taller and 5lbs lighter. Go and watch Enter The Dragon, look how god damn skinny he is. Your BF puts Lee's physique to shame in terms of bodyweight.

If anyone in my family had that look, I'd be putting them on substantial weight gainers, buying him a set of weights and putting cardio on the back burner for a while.


I do have to admit that I'm a little jealous of him, though. Although, I do have an easier time putting on muscle.

Do not be jealous of his physique. It's so far away pound 4 pound what woman think to be the dream body. You couldn't get any further away. sm266, you are female aren't you, just that not many women like putting on too much muscle.

Guys do not like girls to have alot if any muscle mass...

Tell your boyfriend to read the article in this link, http://t-mag.com/nation_articles/176skin.html titled The Skinny Bastard Diet.

sm266, you are female aren't you, just that not many women like putting on too much muscle.

Guys do not like girls to have alot if any muscle mass...

Uh, I have a suspicion that the above is not exactly a motivating factor for a healthy, active woman. In fact, this seems only a step or two away from that 'barefoot, pregnant, in the kitchen' rubbish.

sm266, if you and your boyfriend feel well and are happy, forget the charts and graphs.

Uh, I have a suspicion that the above is not exactly a motivating factor for a healthy, active woman.

It isn't really, but then again, weights don't really make one healthy. The biggest myth in sport is bodybuilders believing there in good shape.


In fact, this seems only a step or two away from that 'barefoot, pregnant, in the kitchen' rubbish.
?????????????????....

I'm healthy, and so is my BF. Yes, he's thin, so what? He's healthy, and he's beautiful. He's a great mountain biker, rock climber, and I'll soon have him in a kayak. He's more active than many of the "gym rats" I know.

Bruce Lee is a badass. Straight up badass, and rock hard muscular. The difference is being lean, and having a lean practical body. You don't have to have a lot of muscle to be "healthy." That's a ridiculous notion. I'd say Bruce Lee was an outstanding athlete who was beyond healthy.

Although, men don't like women who have been taking testerone supplements to "bulk" up, but men LOVE a shapely women. Yes, sweetie, I'm muscular, but I've also got more curves than a fine Italian Sportscar. Plus, I can also climb my @ss off. Many people don't realize that the way a woman sculpts "shape" onto her body is through lifting heavy weights and training like an athlete.
That's what gives females the sexy back, shoulders, and arms for low cut dresses, the nice quads for shorts, and the nice glutes for everything else.

Not to mention the squats help my racing career. Marla Streb and Alison Dunlap are both solid muscular women, who I consider sexy. Not to mention strong and confident. Tinker Juarez is one of the best endurance, xc, and bmx racer of our time, and he's thin.

I'm not particularly worried about what guys like, anyway. Because the man that wants to be with me will appreciate a woman who is strong and sexy.

I'm not particularly worried about what guys like, anyway. Because the man that wants to be with me will appreciate a woman who is strong and sexy.

'Nuff said! :beer:

being heathy is all realative, how much fat you have on your stomach doesn't show how healthy you are. BUT too much fat can be result of being unhealthy.

I'm healthy, and so is my BF. Yes, he's thin, so what? He's healthy, and he's beautiful. He's a great mountain biker, rock climber, and I'll soon have him in a kayak. He's more active than many of the "gym rats" I know.

Bruce Lee is a badass. Straight up badass, and rock hard muscular. The difference is being lean, and having a lean practical body. You don't have to have a lot of muscle to be "healthy." That's a ridiculous notion. I'd say Bruce Lee was an outstanding athlete who was beyond healthy.

I understand more than anyone that you don't have to have a lot of muscle to be healthy. In fact, if you compare Bruce Lee to a Bodybuilder, then he didn't have much muscle mass at all. Pound 4 Pound, maybe...

When Bruce Lee was nearing the end of filming Enter The Dragon, he actually admitted to feeling unhealthy. It was put down to his Body fat %, bodyweight & overtraining. There are alot of people that believe that is how Bruce Lee died. He was around 135-140lbs@ 5'7-5'8 and he was so skinny, I couldn't imagine how skinny your BF is.


Although, men don't like women who have been taking testerone supplements to "bulk" up, but men LOVE a shapely women. Yes, sweetie, I'm muscular, but I've also got more curves than a fine Italian Sportscar.

All women have curves, lol. If a woman is wearing a tight pair of black leggins, nice top, then there showing off there curves, most of them don't lift heavy weights to achieve that look though.

As for the ferrari, I will take the sportscar anyday :) . You can pick women up for free, the Ferrari costs £500,000.


That's what gives females the sexy back, shoulders, and arms for low cut dresses, the nice quads for shorts, and the nice glutes for everything else.

A woman who has well developed quads wearing shorts is enough to scare most men off. Glutes & Abs Allllllllll day. There isn't many better sites on earth watching a woman do abdominal curls or seeing a woman with nice glutes, but upperbody, forget about it, believe me.


I'm not particularly worried about what guys like, anyway. Because the man that wants to be with me will appreciate a woman who is strong and sexy.

OK, bump.

But when a woman has more strength to throw there boyfriends around the bedroom, when it should be the other way round :D, something is slightly wrong. If my GF was 6'2@ 135, I'd be scared of snapping her in half...

By Vitamin x-
A woman who has well developed quads wearing shorts is enough to scare most men off. Glutes & Abs Allllllllll day. There isn't many better sites on earth watching a woman do abdominal curls or seeing a woman with nice glutes, but upperbody, forget about it, believe me. You're wrong.
Just training the lower body and core and not training the upper body leads to imbalances and being misproportioned.

Speaking of well developed quads in shorts, the male cyclists I know, love my legs. I ride mountain bikes so they're strong, toned, developed, and scraped up with scars.

Of course I can't tell you what to find attractive, so this is kind of pointless. My ultimate point is that a person can be healthy and thin simultaneously, just as a person can be "overweight" and healthy at the same time.

[QUOTE]By Vitamin x- You're wrong.
Just training the lower body and core and not training the upper body leads to imbalances and being misproportioned.

Ohh, very true, especially when where talking about athletes, I know that more than anyone. Your only as strong as your weakest muscle. I was generally talking about the average woman. All she needs to please any guy is nice glutes and maybe abs, but a muscular upperbody with quadraceps is a complete no no... A woman having broad shoulders, :rolleyes: lol...


Speaking of well developed quads in shorts, the male cyclists I know, love my legs. I ride mountain bikes so they're strong, toned, developed, and scraped up with scars.

I guess whatever floats there boat. But I buy Mens Health magazine each month and from what I read, a woman who is muscular is a top 3 turnoff behind women who have moustaches, lol.


Of course I can't tell you what to find attractive, so this is kind of pointless. My ultimate point is that a person can be healthy and thin simultaneously, just as a person can be "overweight" and healthy at the same time.

Yes but there are lines. Read that article from T-mag...


So what about these guys who claim they eat and eat but still can't gain weight? In most cases, if you follow these guys around and log their caloric intake, it's usually not more than 2,000 calories at best, sometimes being only 1,500 or even less! So are they intentionally lying to us? No, in fact most believe they're truly eating a large amount of calories. The problem is that not everyone is as educated as we T-men. They don't know how many calories are in that cheeseburger, chicken breast, or can of tuna. So instead, they rely on their degree of satiety or feeling of fullness to judge how much they're eating. Not a good idea.

Your not going to convince many people that someone who is 135lbs @6'2 is healthy regardless of what your GP says. What would happen if he dropped down to 128lbs???... There wouldn't be anyone alive including supermodels at his height under that weight pound 4 pound.

If he came to live with me, I'd put a few lbs on him. Little cardio, more weights, out with the rabbit food in with the 10x 1000 calorie extra thick chocolate weightgainer shakes a day, chicken, turkey, fish, spaghetti Bolognaise more weights and within 1 month you wouldn't recognise him.

Ohh, very true, especially when where talking about athletes, I know that more than anyone. Your only as strong as your weakest muscle. I was generally talking about the average woman. All she needs to please any guy is nice glutes and maybe abs, but a muscular upperbody with quadraceps is a complete no no... A woman having broad shoulders, :rolleyes: lol...



I guess whatever floats there boat. But I buy Mens Health magazine each month and from what I read, a woman who is muscular is a top 3 turnoff behind women who have moustaches, lol.



Yes but there are lines. Read that article from T-mag...



Your not going to convince many people that someone who is 135lbs @6'2 is healthy regardless of what your GP says. What would happen if he dropped down to 128lbs???... There wouldn't be anyone alive including supermodels at his height under that weight pound 4 pound.

If he came to live with me, I'd put a few lbs on him. Little cardio, more weights, out with the rabbit food in with the 10x 1000 calorie extra thick chocolate weightgainer shakes a day, chicken, turkey, fish, spaghetti Bolognaise more weights and within 1 month you wouldn't recognise him.


I think that you are thinking of the wrong thing, vitamin x. A manly muscular woman is a turn off. but women don't get manly looking unless they take steroids. When women lift weights, they tend to get the long, lean quads that look so good in shorts. instead of having bony shoulders, women who lift have more toned shoulders, but they will never get the broad shouldered look of a weight-lifter.

As for the 6'2" 135 guy, I think that that he just is genetically skinny. If you look at most endurance athletes, they are skinny, and for the most part, can't help it. A friend of mine from track is about 6'2" or 6'1" and about 140, and yea, he looks skinny, but he eats more then I do, and I'm 6'1 180!

I think the take home message here is: If you judge someones lack of fitness, health, sexyness etc. based upon their height, weight, body mass index you look like an @ss.
People come in lots of shapes and sizes, which are great for different activities. I'm naturally tall and thin, (6'4" 145lbs) which works great- for me, my gf, for knocking off a scary fast 26.2 mile run, not to mention the local grocery store owner whose kid I am single handedly putting thru school.

I think the take home message here is: If you judge someones lack of fitness, health, sexyness etc. based upon their height, weight, body mass index you look like an @ss.
People come in lots of shapes and sizes, which are great for different activities. I'm naturally tall and thin, (6'4" 145lbs) which works great-...

Good point, I'm 35, 6'2" and 140. I havent been sick since 1992 (flu). I can't gain or lose weight because it's ALL GENETICS, very hard for people to understand.

I have no upper body presence, my arms are skinny but I have strong legs, I climb hills but can't race (don't have the stamina, smaller lungs :p )

I am 5'9 " and my weight now is around 160lbs, and I am not skinny:cool:and can still ride a 200 k on any given day and I feel great at my age, with a max heart rate at 150

I'm 6'2" and 155 lbs. I was pushing 200lbs when I started a low fat diet and exercise almost 1 year ago. I think the key is getting to where your body is supposed to be. I was around 150 lbs in high school 15 + years ago. That was fresh out of puberty and while leading an athletic lifestyle.

This doesn't mean that everyone is ok if they reach there high school weight. Some people were obviously overweight in high school. One thing I find interesting is watching channels like Discovery and TLC on TV. Whenever they visit these "primitive" tribes you very rarely see obese people. Everyone is lean and mean. Coincidence? I doubt it. They still have to work very hard physically to exist and food is available but not to the degree it is here in this obese country.

Some people were meant to be bigger than others. Some animals are meant to be bigger than others. However nothing was meant to be obese. There are no obese Lions or Tigers in the Wild. They simply would not survive. I for one think it is good that people are becoming obsessed with being healthy which often means skinny. It is sad to go to the local WalMart or Mall and see all of these people that have eaten and lazed themselves into disease, immobility, and unattractiveness.

I haven't eaten one piece of fried food for 11 1/2 months. I haven't entered one fast food restaurant. I have lost nearly 40 lbs. I also haven't missed any of the junk food. Compared with quitting smoking, which i did years ago, quitting fatty foods was a breeze. The problem is most overweight people have 0, none, not an ounce of will power. That is why they are typically overweight.

Chris - assuming you're not trolling, your Body Mass Index of 18.6 places you approximately in the 2nd percentile for your height (i.e., 98% of people your height are heavier than you). That puts you in anorexia territory.

http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/bmi.htm has more info on this.

I would have to disagree with what you are saying. While the BMI is useful in a general sense, it doesn't take into account a lot of factors that contribute to a persons "ideal" weight.

When I first saw the title of this thread I thought it was a joke. I checked my BMI and it is 19.1(6'1" and 145lbs). Do I think I am on the unhealthy side.....no. I have been a track distance runner for most of my life and recently got into biking. You would be hard pressed to find any distance runners with BMIs much higher then mine, and believe me they are all very healthy and in shape. It is just the way distance runners (and others) are built. I don't starve myself, I eat whatever I want, whenever I want. I am not trying to brag, it just my genetics. I do watch the types of food I eat, but this is more from a training standpoint.

I would have to disagree with what you are saying. While the BMI is useful in a general sense, it doesn't take into account a lot of factors that contribute to a persons "ideal" weight.

When I first saw the title of this thread I thought it was a joke. I checked my BMI and it is 19.1(6'1" and 145lbs). Do I think I am on the unhealthy side.....no. I have been a track distance runner for most of my life and recently got into biking. You would be hard pressed to find any distance runners with BMIs much higher then mine, and believe me they are all very healthy and in shape. It is just the way distance runners (and others) are built. I don't starve myself, I eat whatever I want, whenever I want. I am not trying to brag, it just my genetics. I do watch the types of food I eat, but this is more from a training standpoint.

In my admittedly limited experience, nearly all of the highly competitive athletes I've met (runners, cyclists, triathletes) have had, in my opinion, some form of "eating disorder". But, it's an eating disorder that makes sense from a competitive perspective. You simply cannot be competitive in those sports unless you are very, very thin. Unlike anorexics, however, thinness is not the goal...it's just a requirement to be successful in competition.

I've also heard other athletes say "I eat whatever I want", but then seen them rinsing their cottage cheese to reduce the fat content :). I think it's all part of the athletic lifestyle, and its obsession with fitness and thinness, and for the most part there's nothing wrong with it.

However, I've also heard plenty of stories of both women and men finding out in their 30's that they have the brittle bones of an 80-year-old, due to keeping their body fat so low for so long. And, we've all heard how often pro cyclists and runners get sick due to diminished immune systems from overtraining and low body fat.

This is a fascinating subject, and if anyone else has links to studies on competitive athletes and eating disorders, I'd appreciate seeing them.

I guess I just have a Mendelian 'eating disorder'