If a dietician recommended that you gain 8.8 pounds of fat and 2.2 pounds of muscle would you do it?

I would never add the fat just for the mass. Muscle yes. I added some fat and upped my BMI and my cholesterol went up 20 points. Still around 200 but that was noticeable.

I would not but my body and your body are not the same.

I would not do anything on advice of the dietician. I would only do it if the doctor said to do it.

Not all fats are bad. There are good fats, like unsaturated ones, Omega-3s and all. Those are very good for you, but I don’t know about 8.8lbs of it. Good fats can be found in nuts, vegetable oils, certain types of fish, and seeds.

Did they say why?

If they just want me to hit “norms” then probably not. If their point is that you can still gain weight in a healthy way now, and weight is an indicator of health as you get older, then I might go for that. I’m not by any means saying 62 is “getting older”, but most 62 year olds probably aren’t as active as you are, and their guidelines play the percentages. When you’re “too thin” they worry about bones and a lack of fats causes worries about skin elasticity, etc… they would know better than I the specifics.

If I thought they had a point, I would try to add a bit and see how I felt during their recommended diet. You may feel better, and you can stop any time, so why not give it a shot? I love seeing how different elements change how your body reacts.

As a bonus, you make your wife happy, which is a noble goal for any man I’m told (by my wife).

Hell no. Here is my example. The Army’s AR 600–9 has some very in shape people who get taped at height and weight, when they are fine.

Scored a 287 on the PT test 13 points from maxing. I get taped because the Army says by my height I should weigh around 163lb. I weighed in today at 177lb. Last time I had to do this I was 178lb. Sorry if have muscle and least good to decent diet. I may not be a pro athlete, not a super ripped or a sculpture. Out of shape I am not. Before I had joined I was around 150–155lbs. I put on muscle since then.

These so called standards that have been made are simply never thoroughly tested enough and really should be based on case by case basis. Not some magical formula that somehow fits every person in the world. It’s a load of bologna.

Who knows I can be totally wrong possibly about this(only my opinion), but this is my personal experience on it. How else can I put it….? I think it is a bunch of bullshit.

@dxs Does bring up a good point there are good types of fat.

@funkdaddy My wife said that my body needs more fat so that I have plenty to make needed hormones and also fat helps to support the immune system. But my body fat was tested when I was in my 30’s and it was 10%. Apparently 10% has been working well for me all my life so I see no need to change now. We’ve been married for 22 years and I’ve heard all of this before but since she saw my body composition analysis she is back on the war path. I think that I’ll have to make an appointment with my family practice doctor and get him or his nurse to write a note saying that 10% body fat is great at any age or something like that so I can once again get some peace. HA!

@gondwanalon Are all other systems working ok? If yes, then I wouldn’t mess with success.

More important…. Do you know your PSA? Get tested.

@LuckyGuy All of my organ systems are in harmonious operation including my prostrate. My PSA is checked regularly, often and is always normal.

You are very thin. I guess your wife worries you are anorexickish. I wouldn’t purposely eat fatty foods if I were you. There are studies that show very low cal diets can prolong life. But, if you do get sick, you are at a disadvantage being so thin.

The question in my mind would be do you think you are overweight now? Do you pinch the skin on your stomach and worry you have a little fat? Because, at your weight and height you must be very very skinny, and if you worry about eating a meal because you might gain a pound, then I would say your perception of your body is very off. But, I am not assuming, I am just suggesting the people around you who worry about your weight probably do have a point. My husband, who is slightly shorter than you, would look like a cancer or AIDS patient at that weight. However, since muscle mass can affect the scale, I am not assuming 146 pounds looks the same on him as you.

I’m 6’ and 135 pounds. I don’t think gondwanalon is starving them-self. It is is how some of us are.

I eat when I am hungry. I don’t eat for pleasure, but I do get pleasure from it.

My mos is 5’3” and 230 pounds with type 2 diabetes. She eats out of boredom and it is quickly killing her.

@johnpowell Are you addressing what I wrote, or just answering in general. If he just doesn’t eat much or eats extremely healthy low fat foods that is one thing. If he is paranoid of gaining an ounce and doesn’t view himself in an accurate way, that is another. I have no idea what the case is. His wife may just think he will be more attractive with more weight, it could be completely superficial. I feel that way about my husband, when he drops too much weight, he is less attractive to me, and he can be a jerk, because he is hungry, even though he says he’s not, he simply is much nicer when he finally relents and has a bigger meal. But, that is my husband, I am not going to assume that about the OP or you.

You sound fine to me. If you’re happy with the way you look and feel now, leave it alone. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

Thank you all for your responses.

I’ve been examined by many medical doctors over the years and not one has suggested to me that I gain weight, let alone gain fat weight. Some have commented how healthy I look.

I’m not blind. I can see that I’m thin compared to people around me. I can understand that my appearance may be disturbing to others. I’m sorry about that. But like I said I’ve always been like this and I feel good.

I don’t eat much junk food but I’ll eat adequate amounts of any healthy foods that my wife prepares (which includes leftovers). Other than that I don’t think about food much. I just fill my belly but not until I’m stuffed. I exercise a lot and so I eat accordingly.

Anyway, as directed by my wife, I am trying to gain muscle weight with protein supplements and weight training. But at my age developing muscle is very hard to do. Any weight that I do manage to gain will likely be mostly fat. But I’ll be a good sport and try.

Strange how in this obese world people are haranguing thin, in-shape people to get more fat….

@gondwanalon While you are exercising and taking supplements make sure to exercise that prostate.
Use it or lose it. ;-)

I just got an e-mail back from my family practice doctor in which he simply wrote:

“No, I don’t think you need to manipulate your weight. You are healthy as you are”.

@Dutchess_III Good one. We took a trip to Taiwan a couple of years ago and those people are so active and blade thin that I must have looked over weight next to them. And then when we stepped off the plane at the Seattle air port I looked about at all of the way over fat people, I told my wife “We’re home!”. HA!

@LuckyGuy Good advice.

@gondwanalon You want to exercise your prostate like Al Capone voted: Early and often.

Ask your wife if the extra weight would likewise add to the all important PEF. (prostate emptying frequency). If, yes, then I predict a gallon of Perry’s Ice Cream is in your future.

My wife has already bought me ice cream and yet she knows that I don’t eat that junk. I do have my weaknesses though and I can’t resist lemon meringue pie. The thing is that the more kilo calories that I eat, the more energy that I have to exercise or do physical activities.

Basically, I don’t restrict calories, I burn them!

Cheesecake!

How fun it would be to worry abut GAINING WEIGHT. I used to like you @gondwanalon ~

@Judi For some people (especially me), it’s no easy task. Believe me.

I had a bad experience the last time a doctor told me to gain weight. I was newly pregnant and 5’1, 95 lbs. The doctor said I was too thin to have a healthy pregnancy. So I ate. And ate. And ate some more. The doctor never mentioned what I should be eating. Just that I should eat a lot. So I ate anything and everything. I finally started gaining. Then I kept gaining. By the end of the pregnancy I was 140. And I’m only 5 lbs lighter now. I gained unhealthy weight from eating crap. I got into such bad habits and am finding it very hard to get out of them now…2 years later. So in your shoes, no I wouldn’t gain. I feel like as long as you aren’t purposely starving yourself or eating very unhealthy foods, you’re just fine how you are. I trusted my doctor and now regret not doing more research on it and getting a second opinion.

My son’s fiance is 8 months along. She has this tiny little belly on this tiny little frame…I bet she’s around 5’ nothing. The baby is at 6 pounds. I can’t see it!

@ItalianPrincess1217 I feel your frustration.

The most important aspect I that I’ve learned from medical doctors is that they are imperfect humans and therefore make mistakes and are not to be trusted blindly. I can name more than just a couple of times doctors have hurt me (once severely) with poor advice. Within the last 2 months alone the following wrong diagnoses were make: “pneumothorax”, “congestive heart failure” and “anxiety problem”. It would be funny if it was fiction but it is very real.

If a doctor recommends any treatment to me I say that I’ll think about it. If it doesn’t seem right then I seek a second opinion. I’ve been seen by 5 different cardiologist in the lat 4 months. I trust only one of them completely.

@Dutchess_III I wonder what the doctors says about your son’s fiance’s body composition?

I think they say she’s tiny and the baby is healthy. This is her second child, btw.