Almost Obese!

If have now reached 214.8 lbs. According to this website (http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/av.htm), I will officially become "obese" at 216 lbs. That means I only need to gain 1.2 lbs to reach obesity! Exactly one year ago, I weighed in at a "healthy" 182 lbs. I gained 8 lbs and became "overweight" two months later, then gained another 25 lbs over the next 10 months and became "obese". Over this one year period, I have packed away an astounding 33 lbs! Since I first started gaining weight, I have gained a total of 56 lbs and added 10" of fat around my belly.

I just went up to my local university a couple days ago and had my body composition measured in a device called a "BodPod". For those of you who haven't heard of it, it is an egg-shapped machine that you sit in to measure your body fat. It uses air compression - the same concept as when you go into a tub of water - to measure your body fat. You only have to pay $25 (they usually discount it if you attend the university) and it's very quick and easy. You strip down to nothing but compression shorts, step on a scale, have your height measured, then sit in the pod for about 2 minutes. The results are instantaneous - printed out and explained to you afterward.

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According to the results, my scale at home was off by about 10 lbs when calculating my fat percentage. When reporting my body fat percentage on here, I have been doing so as if my lean mass (everything but fat) was about 155 lbs. It turns out that my leans mass is actually 144.3 lbs. Weighing in at 214.8, that means I carry exactly 70.5 lbs of fat on my body (a body fat percentage of 32.82%).

According to the chart on the paper I'm......well, I'm off the chart. There are 5 columns - Very Lean, Lean, Moderate, Poor, and Very Poor. According to the chart, everything above 28.1% body fat for a 20-29 year old male is "Very Poor". Being over 4% higher than that puts my well into the "Very Poor" category. The guy told me I should lose at least 30 lbs, but that I could lose up to 50 lbs and and be ok. I told him I had no interest in losing weight; I just wanted to know where I am at. I mean, after doing what I did to gain this weight, there is no way I am going to lose it!

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For a 20-29 year old male:

Very Lean - <13%

Lean - 13.1-18.0%

Moderate - 18.1-23.0%

Poor - 23.1-28%

Very Poor - 28.1%<

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Now that I'm pretty much obese (just 1.2 lbs to go!), I have no more modivation to gain anymore weight. I mean, what's the use? All I can do from this point is become more obese. I feel like I have checked the final box on my weight-gain experience. I mean, I look pretty fat and round, I feel good about my body, and now I've reached the final weight level. I am now a retired gainer. I think I will gain another 4 lbs just so I can say that I have gained an even 60 lbs, but after that I feel there is no point gaining from here. I suppose if I gain unintentional weight, I'll let it be. But I'm honestly done gaining. It sounds easy at first, but it's a lot harder than it looks. It takes hours of work every day and is a bit costly on the budget. I feel like I've accomplished something, and now I'm done. I wish the best of luck to those of you still gaining, but I'm going to just kick back and stop worrying about it. I'm done.

Benefits to Being Fat?

I'm sure, like me, you guys have all heard well over a hundred times all the negative side effects of being overweight and obese. Turns out that there are actually benefits that come from packing away some pounds. The key is how much weight you gain, being too obese brings along health problems that cancel out the benefits of being moderately overweight to mildly obese. But being moderately overweight to mildly obese can actually be healthier than being at a normal weight or underweight in some cases.

Recent studies have found that being somewhat overweight doesn't necessarily raise your likelyhood of aquiring deseases like Diabetes, heart problems, blood pressure, etc. Biological factors are much more important. Even in the very obese, links between excess weight and health problems are correlational, not causational. That means there is a correlation, or trend, but not necessarily a direct cause and effect. You can actually die at an old age being overweight or obese, though too much weight will exponentialy increase your risk of developing health problems that will eventually cause death the more obese you are.

In addition to not increasing potential health problems, fat can actually save your life in many dangerous situations. Your fat acts as an energy and nutrient reserve for your body, allowing your body to pull energy from it when you don't get enough from regular food consumption. One study found that moderately overweight people are 40% less likely to die from diseases like emphysema, pneumonia, injuries and various infections than normal weight people. If you have known someone who has been hospitalized for a serious injury or infection, you will know that they lose a lot of weight - even if they don't have a lot of weight to lose. Once the body runs out of fat to burn, it begins to burn muscle. If you already have a good amount of excess fat reserves - like 25-50 lbs - your body can burn it off for energy and will actually cause you to recover faster than someone without excess fat reserves.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21655928/

Another study specifically studied car crash victims and found that moderately overweight males are more likely to survive serious car accidents than either the thin or the very fat. Apparently, a bit of extra padding - but not too much - provides extra protection, according to the study. One reason is because the fact acts as a barrier that cushins your vital organs, bones, and muscles during impact. The second reason is the same as what I previously described from diseases - it allows you to recover faster in the hospital because it gives your body extra nutrients. Being too fat, however, might mean that you have high blood pressure, heart problems, etc that will acctually decrease your ability to survive the trauma from the car crash.

http://www.bermudahospitals.bm/health-wellness/MedicalNews.asp?chunkiid=112382

I am currently at 212 lbs, which would make me 22 lbs overweight. That means I need to gain 3 more lbs to be in the target range for carrying enough fat to be helpful, but not enough to compromise the benefits of being moderately overweight. It also means that I can gain up to 28 more pounds and still be ok. So I guess if I stay under 240 lbs, I should be fine.

Here are some target weight zones for you guys to look into:

If you are...

5'4" tall - normal 145 lbs - moderately overweight 170-195 lbs
5'5" tall - normal 150 lbs - moderately overweight 175-200 lbs
5'6" tall - normal 155 lbs - moderately overweight 180-205 lbs
5'7" tall - normal 160 lbs - moderately overweight 185-210 lbs
5'8" tall - normal 165 lbs - moderately overweight 190-215 lbs
5'9" tall - normal 170 lbs - moderately overweight 195-220 lbs
5'10" tall - normal 175 lbs - moderately overweight 200-225 lbs
5'11" tall - normal 180 lbs - moderately overweight 205-230 lbs
6'0" tall - normal 185 lbs - moderately overweight 210-235 lbs
6'1" tall - normal 190 lbs - moderately overweight 215-240 lbs
6'2" tall - normal 195 lbs - moderately overweight 220-245 lbs
6'3" tall - normal 200 lbs - moderately overweight 225-250 lbs
6'4" tall - normal 205 lbs - moderately overweight 235-255 lbs

Basically, it's the physical pressence of fat on your body that helps you out. Inactivity and not eating enough servings from all the food groups will cause health problems that will cancel out the benefits. It's the obese lifestyle that is unhealthy, not necessarily the fat in of its self. So my word of advice is to eat all the right foods, just eat lots of them. Breads, pastas, dairy products, and meats can help you gain a lot of weight if your eat a lot of them. Then, don't worry about eating a few unhealthy things here and there. Remember, being fat is healthy! (If done properly)

I think I'll stay....

First off, let me appologize for taking over a month to post. I just get caught up in things and honestly forget. Secondly, thank you all for posting comments. I'm glad I'm a valued member of this whole blog community thingy :D I will deffinately stay, but I can not ensure that I will post often. I will most certainly post more often than I have recently - like maybe once every 1-2 weeks, maybe 3 weeks tops. Maybe I could start a weekly thing? I will come up with new ideas, even if its a stretch. I'm not promising every week, but I will try.

As for an update, I'm right where I left ya - Still just over 200 lbs. My belly is sitting right at 41". Weight wise, I'm just about 205 lbs - right about where it was last time. My body fat percentage is at about 25%. So I guess that means that 1 out of every 4 cells in my body are fat cells. It's weird to think about how one quarter of my total mass is pure fat. I remember the days when less than a 10th of my mass was fat, back when I would practically starve myself.

I have had fun floating around this weight for a few months, but I think I will now set a goal. I will gain 15 more pounds by the end of the year - not too big of a goal, but a good goal nonetheless. That would put my at 220 lbs and 30% body fat - probably expanding my belly outward by another 3 or so inches - so about 44ish" around.

Should I stay, or should I go?

I hate to say this, but I am considering closing this account/blog. I am considering this for three reasons:

1) I'm not gay, like most of you are. I feel kind of out-of-touch with those of you who are gay. I just look at this whole thing differently - I want to get bigger and fatter, but I'm not sexualy drawn to it. I just like having the extra mass, but I don't see it through a sexual lense. I don't at all feel uncomfortable with you guys being gay, I just feel like I can't relate very well.

2) I'm not getting a lot of comments. This leads me to believe that I am not getting a lot of traffic on this site. It could be you guys are reading and just don't have anything to say, but I get the feeling I'm talking to the wall.

3) I'm not really sure what to blog about. I mean, I have decided to stop gaining (I am still floating around 200 lbs, 40" waist), so I don't have any progress to post about. Then, I am just running out of ideas for blog entries.

The reason I hesitate to close this blog is because I would hate to disappoint anyone. I have had a couple comments from people who have told me that I have inspired them, and I would hate to take that inspiration away. I don't want to just vanish like I have seen some do, but if no one is reading this, I don't want to waste my time. If you are reading this and value my blog contributions, please let me know. How about this? If I get 5 responses within a week from today asking me to stay, I'll stay. If not, I will go.

How I relate to the rest of America

- 201 lbs (73" tall)
- 26.5 BMI
- 40.5" waist
- 25.37% Body Fat

Fat Statistics in America:

- 1 in 3 (100 million) are overweight or obese: 58 million overweight, 40 million obese, 3 million morbidly obese.
- 4 in 5 over age 25 are overweight.
- 3 in 4 over age 15 are overweight
- 4 in 5 don't meet necessary exercise levels.
- 1 in 4 are completely sedentary.

Statistics I am a part of:

- I carry excess fat reserves on my body, like 100 million Americans.
- I am considered 'overweight', like 58 million of my fellow pudgy Americans.
- I represent 1 of the 75% overweight Americans age 15+.
- I represent 1 of the 80% of Americans that is too lazy/unmotivated to meet exercise recommendations.

You know, it's kinda weird that I feel out of the norm sometimes when I am right with most people. I mean, 100 million other people in this country are fat, just like me - 58 million are at my same level of fatness!! 80% of Americans don't meet exercise recomendations. When I think of it that way, I don't feel guilty about sitting on my fat butt and not exercising everyday. Everybody's doing it, right?

I don't know what it is about this picture, but it sure makes me hungry!! Maybe all the food in the background? lol I chuckle when I look at this picture because it reminds me of me. Not that I'm anywhere near that big, but that it is a perfect symbol of a fat guy's bond with his refridgerator. I like the whole former jock theme as well. You can tell he played football back in the day due to the pants and his build. It reminds me of how far I've come from 50 lbs ago, and how far I still have left to go. I don't think I'd ever let myself get that big, but maybe minus 50 lbs. I think this guy is probably 325-340 lbs. I wouldn't mind being 275-290 lbs eventually.

I don't mean to change my mind again, but I'm thinking that I will actually keep gaining - but without a goal. I love the feeling of eating what I want, when I want it. I like to be able to live and just let my body grow where it wants to grow. I'm at 205 lbs right now, so I'm predicting that I will reach about 225-230 lbs by the end of the year (based on current trends). But no pressure! I'm just going to get as fat as my body is willing to get, even if that's only 10 or 15 lbs. I will put my foot down and force myself to at least gain 5 lbs if nothing else.

Speaking of eating what I want, when I want it...I have had a very plentiful weekend! Today, I have downed 15 chocolate cookies and 3 hardy meals. Yesterday, I had a Baconator from Wendy's (it actually has more calories than a Big Mac. Go figure.) and a foot long from Subway for lunch. I had the Baconator around 11 am, then the sub around 3 pm - so that's two lunches. I had a very hardy breakfast of sausage, pancakes, eggs, cereal, begals, etc. Then I had a decent sized dinner. I ate myself to sleep with 3 servings of Cheetos (almost 500 calories) and half a carton of icecream (about 750 calories). I probably packed away a good 1000-2000 extra calories that day.

I read an old article from 10 years ago that I particulary found amusing and relatable. Sorry for those of you who are gay, but this is written in a straight fat guy perspective. You should still like it all the same. I think you guys will enjoy:

"Fat guys kick ass"
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-A Salon article By Steven A. Shaw
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Oct. 15, 1999 That the world is run by fat guys is no secret (more on this later), yet Americans devote a tremendous amount of time, effort and money to losing weight without ever stopping to consider the advantages of obesity. And the advantages are many -- not least of which is that you can eat whatever you want.
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I'm a fat guy -- always have been. I'm not "big-boned" (surprise, there's no such thing), I don't "carry it well," and I'm neither "husky" nor "just a little heavy." There's nothing wrong with any of my glands. I'm not a victim in any way. I'm a fat guy because I eat too much. If I ate less, I'd lose weight. But I don't, because I love food (and I even eat food I don't love, because I love the mere act of eating). I'm a fat guy, as in I could lose 50 pounds and still be fat, as in I'm 5-foot-10 and 250 very apparent pounds (plus or minus 10 pounds depending on what I ate that day). I'm a fat guy, and I'm not alone.
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According to a study published in the May 29, 1998, issue of Science, 54 percent of American adults (and 25 percent of children) are overweight (and that figure is likely skewed downwards by all the people who crash-diet the week before their annual physicals because they know they're going to get weighed). We, the fat, are the rapidly expanding majority. (The fat population has grown by 33 percent since 1978.) It is the thin who are abnormal.
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I enjoy being a fat guy, although I must confess I wouldn't want to be a fat girl. The societal deck really is stacked against them (unfairly, I might add, because fat girls are in many ways superior to skinny ones). But being a fat guy is great. I've never felt that my weight kept me from getting a job or a girl, or from gaining admittance to a club. And it has many, many advantages.
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Fat guys are strong. Ask any bar owner who hires bouncers, or anybody who gets in a lot of fights, or any high school wrestler. They'll all tell you the same thing: Don't 'f' with fat guys.
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Despite the propaganda of 10,000 suburban strip-mall tae kwon do "academies" and health-club self-defense classes, the simple truth is that victory in a fight is largely a matter of inertia. "The 300-pound tub-of-lard beats the 165-pound musclehead every time," says Navy Lt. Jonathan Shapiro, my brother-in-law and all-around physically fit tough-guy, who spends much of his life recovering from various exercise-related injuries. "Fat guys kick ass."
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In competitive wrestling, if one guy outweighs another by a few pounds, they put him in a different weight class -- the match wouldn't even be fun. Every fat guy is inherently strong, but the ultimate weapon is the fat guy who knows how to fight (aka the sumo wrestler).
Fat guys aren't as slow as you think, either. I don't have time to explain all of Newtonian physics to you, but remember that a body in motion tends to remain in motion. Fat guys may have trouble turning on a dime, but they can move in one direction with great alacrity and effectiveness, as demonstrated repeatedly in every NFL game. "
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http://www.salon.com/health/feature/1999/10/15/fat_guys/
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This guy writes other good articles in a "fat guy" perspective.

Looking Back

I left 2008 at 203.2 lbs (24% body fat) with my belly stretching past 40" by about an inch. Just this year alone, I have gained 32 lbs (7 lbs of muscle, 25 lbs of fat). My waist has expanded a good 5" outward from about 35.5" to 41". I feel really great and I think my body is begining to adjust to the new parameters I am setting for it. I have started exercising and stretching to keep myself from getting fatigued and provide extra strength to support the extra 50 lbs. I like the way my gut is coming into shape. I feel really good at this weight and plan to stay here for a while.

While at the mall today, I stood in line waiting to get some overly-priced food drowning in greese. I looked out the window to my right and saw the reflection of the people in line on the inside of it. I looked at the guy in front of me and thought, "Wow, that guy is pretty fat." Then I looked at my reflection and realized that I was actually fatter than he was! It caught me off gaurd because I had never really looked at myself in relation to other people before. Sure I see my gut in the mirror every morning, but I don't really appretiate its size until I have other guts to compare it to. There were two other guys in line that were significantly fatter than me, but I was fatter than the remaining 3. That's right about where I want it. I'm pretty fat, but not obese. I'm bigger than a good number of people, but there are still a lot of other people bigger than me. So I guess my goal for 2009 will be to keep on all the weight I gained in 2008 and just maintain my weight.

Anyways, I guess that will be all for now. So what are your goals? Do you like where you're at, or do you want to get bigger? Or both? If you want to get bigger, by how much?