Resetting my body to be lean

Must say, from those pics you look real good. A very pleasingly proportioned physique. You certainly look better in the lean pics.

Staying lean is a pig, because it will often interfere with your ability to gain muscle.

You're still young & judging from the pics you have plenty of potenial to fulfil.

Setpoint is not something measurable or quantifiable - just a useful way of thinking about your natural bf. But generally, the lower you stay, the lower your setpoint will become.

Why not stay at 13% until next spring, diet for a few months to drop to 10%, then stay there for the following year. This will gradually nibble away at your structural fat reserves & get you to a position in 3-5 years where you may be holding 20 or 30lb more muscle, but naturally low fat.

And like it or not, unless you are naturally lean or hyper-thyroid, diet & cardio are the key to lean.

I agree with Green Man - You look good, and I think his suggestion about how to 'reset' your natural bf% is a good one (which I'm planning on employing for myself too, now that I've built up enough muscle mass).

Also, let me offer a ray of hope. You're young, so all your buddies with naturally high metabolisms still look great. Give it 'til you're 30 - you'll have been practising years of healthy eating and lifting, and you'll have generally instilled good habits of monitoring and managing your bodyfat levels. You'll look great, probably even better than you do now.

Your buddies will have spent the past ten years eating and drinking what they want, maybe not lifting, or maybe lifting and counting on that to be the 'great equalizer.' It doesn't work that way, not forever.

I was a pudgy kid too; often it's the pudgy kids, or for guys, the really skinny ones, who end up looking amazing when they get older. When I run into highschool and college friends who were always effortlessly skinny, well let's just say things have changed.

I'm 29 now, and even though I haven't yet reached my goal (pesky thing keeps moving!), I can definitely say I look better than when I was 20. NO question (and I didn't look terrible at 20 - just hadn't started lifting and mastered nutrition).

You're on the right track!

Posted by: @Jinx Me

Also, let me offer a ray of hope. You're young, so all your buddies with naturally high metabolisms still look great. Give it 'til you're 30 - you'll have been practising years of healthy eating and lifting, and you'll have generally instilled good habits of monitoring and managing your bodyfat levels. You'll look great, probably even better than you do now.

I'm still in touch with a guy I was at school with who had an amazing physique at 20.

Now he bears uncanny resemblance to Homer Simpson

Well guys thnx for the kind words, I've busted my ass for years to get where I am. I think despite what ive read that a change in setpoint is not an unrealistic hope. I plan on approaching it in a slow manner, gradual switching compounds and such. Im pleasantly surprised at how easily I am holding my present musculature, so losing it shouldnt be an issue. 10 percent here I come, god Im so sick of being fat its ridiculous lol

Nutrition repartitioning / recomp supplements maybe? A while ago there was a guy that was a model that wanted to retain a bodyfat of around 10% and we listed off some supplements, methods of training (HIIT sprinting comes to mind), and diet to help him achieve that.

I echo Sword's recommendation of recomp supps. There are lots of simple things you can do, too, to utilize nutrients to the best of your body's ability - e.g. taking in the bulk of your carbs in and around your workouts or in the mornings, eating clean, dosing vinegar with carb meals, etc.

You've got a decent physique. Your definition of "fat" is my definition of "lean" - my goal right now is to get to where you're currently at.

Posted by: @sword-

Nutrition repartitioning / recomp supplements maybe? A while ago there was a guy that was a model that wanted to retain a bodyfat of around 10% and we listed off some supplements, methods of training (HIIT sprinting comes to mind), and diet to help him achieve that.

EDIT, Cool. I found it:

http://www.mindandmuscle.net/forum/index.p...topic=17986&hl;=

I recall that thread, read it over but everything in there was basic to me. Ive tried pretty much everything in there. Thnx though still a nice read. Too bad I cant stand cayenne gives me crazy heart burn.

Posted by: @kimboinatl

I echo Sword's recommendation of recomp supps. There are lots of simple things you can do, too, to utilize nutrients to the best of your body's ability - e.g. taking in the bulk of your carbs in and around your workouts or in the mornings, eating clean, dosing vinegar with carb meals, etc.

You've got a decent physique. Your definition of "fat" is my definition of "lean" - my goal right now is to get to where you're currently at.

I can't express how disgustingly fat I feel. Im big enough to pull it off, but in no way is my mid section esthetically pleasing. Not yet anyhow

Well I guess the jury is out on this one, but I have a decent plan of attack.

I already take sesamin 1-2 caps a night for my skin, but I can bump it to 3 once I get where I want.

I already take fish oil like 6-8 caps a day

I stay on CEE almost year round.

I think Ill also add some cardio twice per week and clean up my diet. Im very active as it is, so we shall see where this takes me. Diet is pretty shitty but if I stick to eating boatloads of oats like I do already to control my carb cravings I think Ill be ok. Wish me luck

Unfortunately it does not really seem that the setpoint can be lowered easily. It can be increased by long term obesity and it can also be changed during puberty but otherwise you are pretty screwed.

There is some evidence that long-term fish oil may help in this regard and also cardio (I believ erring on the endurance side).

Otherwise you could get hold of some recombinant leptin and inject that into yourself everyday while you are below setpoint and you won't have to worry about all the metabolic adaptations

A drug that is being developed called oleoyl-estrone (hormone that is naturally present in our bodies) has the potential of resetting the setpoint and that will be oral and pain free but that's still a good few years away.

Posted by: @The Godfatha

Unfortunately it does not really seem that the setpoint can be lowered easily. It can be increased by long term obesity and it can also be changed during puberty but otherwise you are pretty screwed.

I beg to differ.

As I understand it, the 'setpoint' is not even a proper scientific theory - it's merely a working model to explain the frequent observation that many individuals find that their bf% seems to gravitate towards a particular level. To the best of my knowledge, it's not something that has been investigated properly (since such a study would take years & couldn't possibly control for all the neccessary variables).

It may be that the whole setpoint idea is bunk, or it may be something that is a combination of factors that dissapears when you investigate it.

One of the factors is obviously genetic - look at your parents, and that's a good indication of what you will look like at their age if you follow their lifestyle.

Another is recent history. If your bf% has been 6% for years, and you suddenly go on a cream-cake binge and gain raise it to 10% in a month, then you will probably be able to get back to 6% quite quickly & painlessly compared to someone who has been 10% for years trying to get to 6% for the first time ever.

This is because your body accepts it's recent condition as 'normal', and if you suddenly change it, your body will strive to reverse those changes. Hence my suggestion that D-Termine shaves a few pounds of fat - stays there for a while, loses a few more, stays there for a while. This process will gradually train his body to accept a lower bf% & cause long-term atrophy of the fat cells.

Another factor is probably lifestyle. My setpoint when I'm training & eating clean seems to be around 12%, whereas my setpoint when I'm not training, eating 'normal' & drinking lots of beer seems to be around 18% - which is about what my father & brother are both settled in at.

How's this coming along D-termine?

Quite the opposite, many women see a drop in libido in their thirties, particularly after the birth of a second child. I am pretty sure it is not the placebo effect in my own case. What I am worried about is that there is something that I'm missing. If I can screen correctly in recruiting study participants, to screen out the women who do not respond to high DHA, then I will be able to isolate the phenomenon.

Sex hormones are at their peak in women in their twenties and there is a decline in women in their thirties and forties, and of course a steep drop when we hit menopause.

You are going to screen for non-responders? You are crossing dangerously into the realm of pseudo-science.