Got a talking to this weekend by my mother-in-law about how unhealthy I have become

[MrChristian]

I thought you guys might enjoy this story. Let me begin by saying that my mother-in-law is a very kind, caring lady with only the best intentions. So I'm not throwing her under the bus here. But what I experienced this weekend speaks to a larger issue of how backwards we have become in the US when it comes to health and fitness.

My wife and I drove down and visited her parents this weekend. While there, my mother-in-law sat me down in front of the family and said, "Christian, I'm really worried about you. You're body fat is getting really low and I don't think you're being healthy. You're just way too skinny".

So guys, let me stop right here and mention that my body fat is like 12% right now. I'm 6'-1", 180lbs and I'm eating around 2500 calories a day. I'm not exactly a mountain of muscle yet, but I'm hardly skinny and I'm certainly not starving myself. LOL I should also mention that my wife's family are all overweight. A good percentage of them are morbidly obese in fact. These people think they're having a healthy day if they skip eating at McDonald's.

Anyway, I explained to her that I probably eat more food on a daily basis than she does. I eat only healthy, clean foods and I am, in fact, gaining weight right now in the form of muscle. "But why is your body fat so low? That's just not healthy!", she replied. I did my best to explain that having a fairly low body fat is perfectly fine, especially if you're eating a balanced diet. She just couldn't wrap her brain around the concept.

Anyway, I find it incredibly odd that she doesn't think about talking with the rest of the obese family members about their dietary habits which are KILLING THEM on a daily basis. Instead, she talks to the one guy in the whole family who's actually fit, healthy and happy. Again, she's actually trying to help me here. I honestly believe that. But her perception of "health" is so warped by society that she believe's healthy is unhealthy and vice-versa. What a crazy world.

 

[bmyers818]

I thought you guys might enjoy this story. Let me begin by saying that my mother-in-law is a very kind, caring lady with only the best intentions. So I'm not throwing her under the bus here. But what I experienced this weekend speaks to a larger issue of how backwards we have become in the US when it comes to health and fitness.

My wife and I drove down and visited her parents this weekend. This weekend my mother-in-law sat me down in front of the family and said, "Christian, I'm really worried about you. You're body fat is getting really low and I don't think you're being healthy. You're just way too skinny".

So guys, let me stop right here and mention that my body fat is like 12% right now. I'm 6'-1", 180lbs and I'm eating around 2500 calories a day. I'm not exactly a mountain of muscle yet, but I'm hardly skinny and I'm certainly not starving myself. LOL I should also mention that my wife's family are all overweight. A good percentage of them are morbidly obese in fact. These people think they're having a healthy day if they skip eating at McDonald's.

Anyway, I explained to her that I probably eat more food on a daily basis than she does. I eat only healthy, clean foods and I am, in fact, gaining weight right now in the form of muscle. "But why is your body fat so low? That's just not healthy!", she replied. I did my best to explain that having a fairly low body fat is perfectly fine, especially if you're eating a balanced diet. She just couldn't wrap her brain around the concept.

Anyway, I find it incredibly odd that she doesn't think about talking with the rest of the obese family members about their dietary habits which are KILLING THEM on a daily basis. Instead, she talks to the one guy in the whole family who's actually fit, healthy and happy. Again, she's actually trying to help me here. I honestly believe that. But her perception of "health" is so warped by society that she believe's healthy is unhealthy and vice-versa. What a crazy world.

Sociology is definitely a trip when it comes to the perception of the healthy vs. the unhealthy. It almost goes in hand when back in the day woman would seek obese men because of their monetary value. A man who is working his ass of is definitely going to be of more lean physique compared to a man who is from an extremely wealthy background who only has to feed his fatass and watch t.v all day

 

[-SD-]

Goes back to the old thinking that a "healthy woman" was a sort of overwieght woman and good for child bearing

 

[MrChristian]

Goes back to the old thinking that a "healthy woman" was a sort of overwieght woman and good for child bearing

I don't know about slightly overweight girls being more "healthy" or not, but I do have a genetic predisposition to prefer this body type on girls. I just think it's the hottest thing ever. I have no idea why. And yes, I realize that I'm officially derailing my own thread at this point. LOL

 

[SpikedEggnog]

dude i know what you mean, ive dealt with similar issues numerous times. I have given up trying to talk to people who think they know everything. if they want advice or help I will help BUT if thy want to be stuck up and rude and think they know something they dont, count me out....

and trust me its a lot of the women who are stuck in this mentality, no offense but I have found a lot of women lacking in the brain dept. especially when it comes to nutrition. they will listen to TVs and doctors like good little sheep and regurgitate what they "know" and in reality they are fat and eat like trash.

12% BF is a very healthy BF, if you were 4% then yeah that would be a concern but 12% come on lol....and the fact that they are all overweight really drives the nail in the coffin. which i am not surprised, fat people like to give nutrition advice and scronny people like to talk about weight lifting. ive talked to countless people who are either fat or skinny and they talk about nutrition and weights like they know something but obviously they dont lol....this reminds me of one thing I really like about Rich Piana. he talks from experience and he has been there done that, what works for HIM not some internet article or "study". a lot of things he says I dont like and his mentality i dont like 100% BUT when it comes to his no nonsense common sense approach I support that 100%.

one thing that gets me is when people say, im a nutrionist or im a nurse or im this im that...I DONT CARE, on top of that i have more experience with diet and training then every last one of them. this is the real world and you learn from experience 99% of the time, you can read all day long but when it comes time to ACT then you really learn what its all about.

to give you an example, a friend of my wifes sister, shes a nurse and she thinks she knows about nutrition and claims you need something like 50% carb to build muscle or 60%. something stupid, but the point is they are so naive they dont even understand that carbs dont build muscle protein does, carbs have a role in the body yes and give us energy and glycogen replenishment BUT i have seen people build muscle on KETO diets lol it all depends, but idiots will be idiots and flap their trap

 

[MrChristian]

dude i know what you mean, ive dealt with similar issues numerous times. I have given up trying to talk to people who think they know everything. if they want advice or help I will help BUT if thy want to be stuck up and rude and think they know something they dont, count me out....

and trust me its a lot of the women who are stuck in this mentality, no offense but I have found a lot of women lacking in the brain dept. especially when it comes to nutrition. they will listen to TVs and doctors like good little sheep and regurgitate what they "know" and in reality they are fat and eat like trash.

12% BF is a very healthy BF, if you were 4% then yeah that would be a concern but 12% come on lol....and the fact that they are all overweight really drives the nail in the coffin. which i am not surprised, fat people like to give nutrition advice and scronny people like to talk about weight lifting. ive talked to countless people who are either fat or skinny and they talk about nutrition and weights like they know something but obviously they dont lol....this reminds me of one thing I really like about Rich Piana. he talks from experience and he has been there done that, what works for HIM not some internet article or "study". a lot of things he says I dont like and his mentality i dont like 100% BUT when it comes to his no nonsense common sense approach I support that 100%.

one thing that gets me is when people say, im a nutrionist or im a nurse or im this im that...I DONT CARE, on top of that i have more experience with diet and training then every last one of them. this is the real world and you learn from experience 99% of the time, you can read all day long but when it comes time to ACT then you really learn what its all about.

to give you an example, a friend of my wifes sister, shes a nurse and she thinks she knows about nutrition and claims you need something like 50% carb to build muscle or 60%. something stupid, but the point is they are so naive they dont even understand that carbs dont build muscle protein does, carbs have a role in the body yes and give us energy and glycogen replenishment BUT i have seen people build muscle on KETO diets lol it all depends, but idiots will be idiots and flap their trap

Yea man, I get the same types of diet/fitness comments and lectures from guys that I work with. I'm surrounded by a bunch of engineers, so they think they know everything about anything because they read articles and studies from time to time. But dude, they're all overweight and eating crap on a daily basis. They really have no idea what they're talking about. I typically just sit and listen, laughing silently on the inside. LOL

 

[SpikedEggnog]

Yea man, I get the same types of diet/fitness comments and lectures from guys that I work with. I'm surrounded by a bunch of engineers, so they think they know everything about anything because they read articles and studies from time to time. But dude, they're all overweight and eating crap on a daily basis. They really have no idea what they're talking about. I typically just sit and listen, laughing silently on the inside. LOL

Lol yeah, when you get to that point its hilarious. at first you get flustered, then get mad, then it becomes a comedic relief lol

 

[JM750]

Not sure how old she is. But tell her if she watches some reruns of Columbo, dick van dyke shows and many others. No one was fat in them days. That was normal back then.

 

[MrChristian]

Not sure how old she is. But tell her if she watches some reruns of Columbo, dick van dyke shows and many others. No one was fat in them days. That was normal back then.

In her early 70s. Wow...that's hard to believe. But yea, those are the shows I grew up watching. I think it's been too long man. People have forgotten what "healthy" looks (and feels) like. Everyone's addicted to sugars and processed foods now. God save us. lol

 

[DylanGemelli]

take that with a grain of salt... it what it is... by that i mean, these people that make these comments live in a very different world where what they consider "being healthy" is over eating, having what they call "meat" on your bones which is nothing more than layers of fat, not "meat" unless your thinking of meat as 70/30 ground beef where in reality they should be eating 96/4... dont even think twice about it bro..

 

[MrChristian]

take that with a grain of salt... it what it is... by that i mean, these people that make these comments live in a very different world where what they consider "being healthy" is over eating, having what they call "meat" on your bones which is nothing more than layers of fat, not "meat" unless your thinking of meat as 70/30 ground beef where in reality they should be eating 96/4... dont even think twice about it bro..

Thanks Dylan. I've become somewhat accustomed to this now. And what she said didn't bother me too much, because I know her heart. She's legitimately worried about me. Thank God I have family members who actually care, right? Life could be so much worse.

 

[GTFORMULA]

Society's body image is so twisted it's crazy. People are mostly fat yet models are skinny. So now they want fat models to make themselves feel better. Instead of getting healthy lol.

 

[RickRock]

I thought you guys might enjoy this story. Let me begin by saying that my mother-in-law is a very kind, caring lady with only the best intentions. So I'm not throwing her under the bus here. But what I experienced this weekend speaks to a larger issue of how backwards we have become in the US when it comes to health and fitness.

My wife and I drove down and visited her parents this weekend. While there, my mother-in-law sat me down in front of the family and said, "Christian, I'm really worried about you. You're body fat is getting really low and I don't think you're being healthy. You're just way too skinny".

So guys, let me stop right here and mention that my body fat is like 12% right now. I'm 6'-1", 180lbs and I'm eating around 2500 calories a day. I'm not exactly a mountain of muscle yet, but I'm hardly skinny and I'm certainly not starving myself. LOL I should also mention that my wife's family are all overweight. A good percentage of them are morbidly obese in fact. These people think they're having a healthy day if they skip eating at McDonald's.

Anyway, I explained to her that I probably eat more food on a daily basis than she does. I eat only healthy, clean foods and I am, in fact, gaining weight right now in the form of muscle. "But why is your body fat so low? That's just not healthy!", she replied. I did my best to explain that having a fairly low body fat is perfectly fine, especially if you're eating a balanced diet. She just couldn't wrap her brain around the concept.

Anyway, I find it incredibly odd that she doesn't think about talking with the rest of the obese family members about their dietary habits which are KILLING THEM on a daily basis. Instead, she talks to the one guy in the whole family who's actually fit, healthy and happy. Again, she's actually trying to help me here. I honestly believe that. But her perception of "health" is so warped by society that she believe's healthy is unhealthy and vice-versa. What a crazy world.

Bro, I totally understand what you are going through. Years ago I went through the same thing when I first got into really good shape and made getting into single digit bodyfat a priority. I had family, coworkers, and friends telling me that I looked sick and unhealthy. Of course this was all coming from people that were very overweight or obese primarily. I was like "Are you serious? I've never been healthier in my life!"

It's such a backwards concept that people have sometimes, and unfortunately our society has been corrupted and blurred into a false reality that fat is healthy. It comes largely in part that America is the fattest nation there is with a 60% obesity rate. So in fact "normal" is fat if you consider the average American. So when you have someone actually in shape it's easy for them to say these things. A lot of times more than not, I don't believe these people actually be.ieve what they are saying. It's their way to try and degrade someone's success to make them feel better about themselves. I'm not saying this was necessarily your situation with your family, but just in general. Regardless, Just let the haters hate, and keep pushing. Let your actions and results do the talking for you!

 

[MrChristian]

Society's body image is so twisted it's crazy. People are mostly fat yet models are skinny. So now they want fat models to make themselves feel better. Instead of getting healthy lol.

Yes, that's very true. I do think there has been a tendency to use emaciated and sickly models in the past though. And as a father of two daughters, I don't want them thinking that's normal or okay either. Preferably the models should be fit and strong. It's beautiful to look at and it promotes a healthy lifestyle at the same time.

 

[TX TERROR]

Dude try being me... my family is as average as you get and I'm just sitting there looking ridicukous lol.

I litterly can not go to a family even and not be asked if I'm on steroids. My 96 year old grandpa even asks me lol

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[TX TERROR]

Out of all the men in my family the biggest besides me is 6'3 and 175. There are about 18 if you count uncles cousins exc...

Last Xmas I was at dinner 6'1 as 280. Lol....sitting there eating turkey with veins coming out my head.... ah good times, good times....

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[TX TERROR]

They think I'm gonna die any day. I'm 23. Lol god willing at least gimme 60!

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[Dangans]

I understand. When I went from 35% body fat to 13% I intend to loose it in my face the first so I did look drawn but my blood work what almost optimal. My family were like you look sick is there something wrong with you then pointed to my cousin who is 40% body fat and they said you see so and so he is healthy I was like yeah right his lipids are off the charts

 

[MrChristian]

I understand. When I went from 35% body fat to 13% I intend to loose it in my face the first so I did look drawn but my blood work what almost optimal. My family were like you look sick is there something wrong with you then pointed to my cousin who is 40% body fat and they said you see so and so he is healthy I was like yeah right his lipids are off the charts

You and I had a very similar transformation. I went from the mid-30% BF range down to 12% in the past 5 years. I think that might be part of why they're freaking out. They got used to seeing the "fat" me and now I look like someone else entirely. But I'm actually healthy and happy now, with more energy than I've ever had.

 

[Dangans]

You and I had a very similar transformation. I went from the mid-30% BF range down to 12% in the past 5 years. I think that might be part of why they're freaking out. They got used to seeing the "fat" me and now I look like someone else entirely. But I'm actually healthy and happy now, with more energy than I've ever had.

Yeah I learned to block out ignorance not saying your mom in law is my mother was concerned and then I explained to my mom how it is to be healthy. I said to her if I was that sick I would of been dead already lol