[Thin Desire]

Hey guys,

I'm glad to see that you started a men's corner here so I thought I would post. I thought of a male question that would be good for the board. I have been fat my entire life, I went from 225 lbs at the age of 12 and ballooned to 325 by the time I was 14 (my mom lost her job and we were homeless and had to stay with friends for a time). By the time I was in my 20s I got to 448 lbs. I'm 6 ft tall.

Five years ago, I lost over 120 lbs and got to 237 at my lowest, then I got a bout of arthritis and started thinking I could eat more since I had been maintaining and got up to 351, grr. Right now I'm back down to the 270s after working hard to get it off again.

Anyway, this brings me to my question. I've been fat all my life, I have no idea what it's like to be skinny or slender. But all I want in the world is to be small, and not be the brutish thug or lazy or whatever, people assume fat guys to be. I don't want to have 300 lbs of muscle and a wide neck or thighs that are made of muscle. But when you go to most men's weight loss boards, the few that exist, they are geared toward weight training/gaining and fitness. You see posts where guys are upset because they haven't GAINED weight (talking about muscle).

So am I alone, in just wanting to be small? I know I don't want to be *too* thin, so I do want a nice layer of muscle, some definition in my arms and a nice v shape ultimately, but I don't want to be 350 lbs of Mr. Universe either, lol.

[Thin Desire]

I'm a guy btw, lol.

[darway]

You can always couch weight loss from a fitness perspective. It doesn't need to be about "weight training". Runners especially will consider their percentage of body fat, moreso than evaluating how much muscle mass they've developed.

I say there's nothing wrong with wanting to "look thin". A man can grow a beard, and it's nobody's business but his own, right? Why should setting one's fat level (to a safe and sensible point) be any different?