[i]Realistic[/i] height to weight and age?

lvquestpaddler

I've always been described as "stocky" amongst other similar descriptions, and have always had (and wanted- needed it for work) good upper body strength....I'm 1m70cm and currently 85kg (was 92kg , lost 10kg in 10 weeks but latterly put 3kg back on in the last 9 weeks(after a 2 week holiday in the Canaries and as winter bites and the dog walking gets shorter, the bike rides fewer and shorter and the grub intake slowly creeps up...) but turning 50 next year and want to get this down to 75Kg which I feel is realistic, and maybe 70kg which may be too much.
The thing that makes me wonder about how much weight I could realistically drop also raises the question of things you cannot change- for example size 10 feet for my height probably above average, and my "Bod-like" 63cm head... This has to be considered- I work with a lad who raced bikes competitively and he is the same height, naturally slim probably not even 70kg (he raced at 63kg) but also has size 6 feet and a 50cm head. My spacehopper head must weigh a whole lot more as do my bigger feet. I'll need more shoulder/neck strength for supporting this Merrick-esque bonce too??
The last time I (briefly)weighed 70kg was when I was road running in the early 90's and looked bloody awful and emaciated....

So- what weight would be realistic or should I aim for a set body fat percentage (awkward to monitor accurately outside of a proper gym?)??
TIA

StillGoing

http://www.coachmag.co.uk/lifestyle/451 ... -body-type

Think its bollox myself; you are what you are. Sure you can drop your weight to become thinner, but a stocky frame will just look emaciated in my opinion. My old cycling buddy of similar height, weighs approximately 1st heavier than me, yet is slimmer than me. The ideal is for 2 x your waist measurement to be no greater than your height.

keef66

People definitely come in a range of shapes and sizes with skeletons to match, but if you stand naked in front of the mirror and be honest about what you see, you can tell if you're carrying too much round your middle.

I'm not suggesting you should aim for the washboard abs and 5% body fat you see on the cover of Men's Health, but if you can grab a good handful or fail the 2x waist < height test then you likely have some to lose.

I'm 1.68m and 64kg, size 7 feet and just turned 60. Was always a skinny kid / teenager, and have the upper body strength of a stick insect.

But by my mid 50s my weight had slowly crept up to 72kg. I'd definitely not been putting on any muscle, so concluded the extra was abdominal fat both visceral and subcutaneous. I could definitely pinch more than an inch, and the thought of having my internal organs swaddled in fat was starting to concern me.

I amazed myself when I managed to drop the extra 8kg by adopting intermittent fasting (5:2) and now eat like that all the time. That seems to maintain my weight at 63-64kg, which feels and looks OK to me.

Your optimal lean weight is likely higher; why not try IF or running a modest calorie deficit for a while to see where your weight ends up?

fat daddy

ignore the number on the scales, it accounts for your overall weight of bone, blood, muscle, fat, food etc etc etc.

What you need is to strip down to your pants, stand in front of the mirror and jump up and down ..... look at what jiggles ... eat less until the jiggle gets down to a tolerable level .. at some point your boobs stop bouncing, you can see abs under the fat that is bouncing up and down ..... at this point you have a choice.

(1) suffer and lose the rest of it, but be aware that it comes back quick
(2) maintain and live with the small amount of jiggle, just learnt how to tense everything for those times a nice woman passes you at the pool on holiday

lvquestpaddler

Good advice folks, thanks for the input. Maybe the mirror might tell the more accurate story than the scales..... I was consuming 1900 cals a day, no alcohol whatsoever, and either hiking 7-9 miles a day through the forest/hills at a marching pace or going out for a lengthy bike ride when I was losing the kilo a week, so I think I'd hit the correct in/out balance as I didn't lose any strength/muscle or feel knackered. I'd lost 6" from the waist and the moobs had definitely reduced (bet they'd be the last thing to fully go guaranteed ha ha)....I don't "do" xmas (and it's excesses) so time to get back on the programme, at least I know it works, and if I can't get out for any exercise might make a few days a week 1400 cals. Deffo an endomorph but wondering if we're also genetically programmed to eat more at this time of year to store weight as a backup?!

tonysj

As a comparison to the OP.
I'm 54yrs, 177 cm- 5 ft 10, 77 kg - 12 ST 4 lb, 32" waist size 8 shoes and Yes I have a head size of a 9 feet man, same as yours to the point I cannot do sit ups as the "Bonch" mass exceeds my leg weight and my legs lift every time!!
My brother is more or less the same height etc but hes 10 stone and a bit..a None biker.
I've found that diet and cycling effort is the way to go, for me anyway.
Don't eat nibbles, biscuits, snacks, crisps in between meals. Eat regular healthy meals of a sensible size, fruit if your hungry not 2 x bags of crisps..
Try and drink alcohol only when you are socialising or going out, sitting at home every evening having Just the 1 bottle/can wont work.
When I cycle I put enough effort into it to see I've burnt over 1000 cals even on short rides. I find Strava is great for pushing yourself harder and getting motivated.

Only been road cycling 1 year exactly and love it, my fitness was really getting there in the Summer but I'm not sure of where I will be over winter

I would say 75kg is a good target and thats what I'm aiming at over winter so the turbo will get some use.

Regards.

Tony.

diy

I think 75kg is a good target. I'm taller than you and at 85kg (few years ago) I had a beer baby - no question. I've always been in to strength training/body building. To some degree that hinders my road cycling ability, but less so my MTBing.

My ideal weight is about 72kg, I've been 68kg but don't look well at that weight (due to age and skin elasticity), despite getting some good personal bests at the time. IMO there is no question that you will have excess body fat at 85kg.

For comparison I'm 5'9 size 9 feet, with fairly big arms and chest and currently a tubby 76kg. After Xmas I'll be leaning out a bit to get my body fat% down. Shouldn't take more than a 4-6 weeks to drop 4kg.

bigmitch41

BMI is a good gauge, try and get into the healthy (green) range and you shouldn't be far off..

https://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyw ... lator.aspx

haydenm

BigMitch41 wrote:

BMI is a good gauge, try and get into the healthy (green) range and you shouldn't be far off..

https://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyw ... lator.aspx

It works but I've found the ranges are quite large. Healthy range for me is between 50kg and 67kg (I'm very short), I'd look fat at the top and I'd be very very skinny at the bottom. I've found looking at comparison pictures of people with different body fat percentages and looking in the mirror a reasonable steer as well

SalfordBoys

I'm 6" 2 and 84kg, down from 101kg (divorce diet and started cycling)

I'd love to get to 76kg as ,at 44, I'd love to do Cat 5 racing.

lvquestpaddler

Gonna go for the 75kg, it's do-able for sure and where I want to be by spring. As much as 1kg a week is feasible and not too extreme I did think when I went on holiday at 82kg I looked a bit gaunt/clapped out around the face and was maybe losing too much too soon. The unavoidable pitfall of age eh, sagging..... So maybe up the cals by 300 see what happens and aim for 1/2 kilo a week?
One of the best things for sure is knocking drinking on the head while losing weight- it's a dead loss and huge amount of dead calories anyway, and it messes with my motivation big time (even a few pints- let alone a sesh!), plus Scottish winters are miserable, long and dark enough without buying an expensive depressant in a bottle lol...

diy

Do some strength training.

Muscle loss is well on its way by early 40s and approaching 50, you really need to train to keep what you have. This doesn't necessarily mean lifting big weights (though thats a good start), body weight exercises are good too. You can do a lot with a pull up bar, press-ups etc. If you are dieting, then your body will want to burn protein as well as fat.