I like your point about buying new clothes and inventing a new look. I'm waiting until I can comfortably fit in a 30" waist before I buy any new pants.
Bruce Lee has always been a personal hero of mine. He was incredibly powerful, but in a very compact package. And I want that Brad Pitt midsection from Fight Club. That's the look I'm going for. I don't want to look big anymore. I just want to be a healthy and strong me.
I've spent most of my adult life TRYING to look bigger through weight lifting. But I've reached a point lately where I've really internalized the fact that that mentality is sold to us by marketers trying to sell supplements. I've lived almost 44 years and have never been in a fight. At some point a man needs to put his defenses down and realize that most people are good and most are not looking for a fight. Why be so big? I guess I'm just questioning the nature of perception and why people perceive each other in certain ways.
Yup, my window is coming up soon, can you tell? :)
-Rick
--- In fast5@yahoogroups.
>
> I'd go by how you feel, and how fit you are. Your body has an inner meter
> for how big it wants to be. It can "tweak" your appetite and your metabolism
> to reach that weight. Eating many meals, it wanted to be bigger. Now it
> wants to be smaller.
>
> If you eat more food, what will happen? My guess is one of the following:
>
> 1. The meter will go back to wanting to be your old weight, and you will be
> 204. OR
> 2. Or, you will be stuck counting calories to get to some arbitrary weight
> you decide you ought to be.
>
> If you eat more than what you feel like eating, you will be uncomfortable.
> And the extra calories will likely just be fat.
>
> So, if you really want to "weigh more", you can probably do that by working
> out. Guys can gain a fair bit of extra muscle. I'm not sure that the extra
> muscle does more than make one look bigger though. You can get really strong
> without the bloated muscles. Monkeys and chimps are way stronger than men,
> and they look skinny.
>
> As for the pockets of adipose tissue: your body uses them. Getting rid of
> all of them isn't healthy at all. Doing hard workouts does get rid of many
> of them or at least hides them though: the people I know who joined
> competitive swimming clubs look real good in their suits!
>
> If you feel you "look small" though, I'd look into your clothing choices.
> Roosters and lions make themselves look big by adding a big ruff of feathers
> or fur: so do male humans in many cultures. My kids always "grow a year"
> when I buy them new clothes to replace the ones they grew out of.
>
> If you look at male fashions, you'll see that historically, a lot of the
> clothing is about making the guy look bigger. The typical American clothing
> that is popular right now, a tee shirt over jeans, shows off one's abs but
> also makes a person look smaller.
>
> But a nice sports jacket makes any guy look wider in the shoulders and also
> way more classy (even when it's worn over a tee shirt, and with jeans!).
> Hats do amazing things too. Hey, you got a nice bod now, show it off! You
> probably need a new wardrobe now anyway, with all that fat gone. So go to a
> nice store that has people to give you advice, and try on some good clothes.
> Get "a look" that is one class up from where you feel comfortable. Chances
> are people will stop saying "you are so skinny" and start saying "Wow. You
> look great!".
