Who has it tougher???

[gymtime]

Who has a tougher time getting in shape? Those who start out skinny with the lightning metabolism and are trying to gain size? Or is it the fat folks who can gain 5lbs by walking by a candy store? Or (option 3) is it pretty much a bitch all the way around?

Thrill me with your insights.

 

[Athlete]

I think it depends on the individual.Some fat people find it hard to lose weight while gaining is easy.Some skinny people find it hard to gain while easy to lose.There are so many factors involved:genetics,metabolim,commitments etc.I think no matter what your size if you train hard and diet right then everything will fall into place.

 

[diamonddiceclay]

I think people with slow metabolism have the hardest time

 

[DanielBishop]

I think it's much easier to cut carbs and fat and do some cardio every morning for 12 weeks.... than it is to get 400g of protein, 5000 calories and train like a bastard for years and years.

In my experience, gaining muscle is more much difficult and takes much more dedication and commitment than losing fat.

 

[jennifer BFL chick]

I don't feel anyone is really able to say, because you can't have both body types. Now, if you could try out both types, then make a desision, that would be different.

Plus, when you say "in shape" what does that mean? That is a very broad canvus.


Take what DanielBishop said, but I bet he's a hard gainer. For me personally, It takes ALOT more then just a little cardio to lose fat. My body fights with fat loss big time. My diet has to be super clean, and I never miss a workout----and still my fat loss is slow.

So like I said----you can't really say which is "harder" every person will have a different body type, and can only say what they have experienced.

 

[big calvin]

im overweight but i would have to say skinny people it would be harder. picture it like this:

a 400 lb guy can lose like 200 pounds on atkins/ckd and exercise in like a year. a 130lb guy can what? gain 5 lbs a year? 10lbs a year?

even if he gains 40lbs(not easy) he would be 170lb lean. but if that 400 lb guy goes to 200. hes still a 30lbs from that little guy. maybe not as ripped but still "looks" like hes in better shape cause he has a large amount of muscle.

 

[MS]

Without a doubt fat people have the hardest time. As for people such as DanielBishop....Bulking/gaining mass should be a fun pursuit. Anyone who's been a bodybuilder for years will tell you that bulking is the funnest part (even though it still takes commitment) and dieting sucks everytime.

Also, that skinny guy (who is prolly an adolescent or young adult) will usually gain weight as they grow older. So will the fat kid (statistically speaking). In terms of health, cosmetics, jobs, sex etc... the fat person is always prejudiced against, which puts a LOT of pressure on them to lose weight and constantly diet.

Of course being a mesomorph totally rocks!

 

[Enock]

I fall in the skinny category 6"3 was 164 IB (180now) now its not extremely skinny like others I know but, having to eat like a pig owns dieting anyday. Even if the progress is slow every lil bit of added mucle shows up immediatly making it that much more encouraging nothings ever hidden under a layer of flab.

and CUTTING SUCKS

 

[DanielBishop]

Yep, I'm the CLASSIC hardgainer.... I've been training for.... I think about 4-5 years now. Of course I'm always learning, but I think I push myself pretty hard in the gym.

And I still just look normal. Maybe I look "fit".... but I eat as well as I can (can't afford supplements) to gain muscle but I don't gain much. I can hardly ever notice results.... the gains come so slowly that it feels like I was always like this.

I'm 6'2" and 3 weeks into my cutting phase I'm 197lbs.... and still with quite a bit of fat to lose. I hate my genetics. My limbs are really long, and while 16.5" arms are okay, the look really skinny because everything is so stretched out.

I thought about it some more, and I think fat people (or more correctly, people with a slow metabolism) have it better in a bodybuilding sense.... but in every day life, it's easier to be a skinny person. You can dress to make yourself look normal, but if you're really fat there's no clothes that can cover it up. In terms of aesthetics, being skinny is considered attractive by a lot of people.... in the fashion and modelling world for example, they always use pretty slim guys. Sometimes with a little muscle, but always very lean.

So in that sense, fat people have it worse. At worst for a skinny person, they'll only look "normal" instead of big.

 

[big calvin]

i change my answer. i forgot about something.

HARD GAINERS GET TO EAT PRETTY MUCH WHAT THE WANT!!!

LOL. man i hate cutting

 

[KWKSLVR]

Man, thats a toughy, but i almost want to say that skinny people with speedy gonzales metabolisms

I'll do a comparision.

Fat People
I've had a relatively easy time losing weight. 3.3lbs a week on average, 60lbs total, and i've been trying for 18 weeks.

Skinny people
My best friend is 6'3" 156lbs. He works out 4 times a week. Works on builking at the like, yadda yadda, and it took him around 6 or 7 months to gain right around 15lbs.

But these are just my opinions from personal experience

 

[‡ÅnãBöLïK]

Who has it tougher???

That depends on there goals.

Skinny people can achieve a more model or fitness physiquie easier while gaining enough mass to be a bodybuilder would be extremely hard.

Vice versa with endomorphs trying to have a more cut phyique.

 

[enrage]

I think the race between the two is tied. lets face it, losing weight or gaining weight isn't easy. The fat person hates it because their cutting their calories, the skinny person hates it because he's not used to eating that much. either way its still hard depending which end of the spectrum ones at

 

[skinnyfat]

Skinny people. We have to overeat to put on the muscle, but with that comes fat. Then, to cut, we have to diet off the fat. So we essentially have to do both. A lot of skinny people like me. aren't "ripped" to start with, just thin.

 

[skinnyfat]

Actually, it's hard for both.

Not to make huge generalizations, but a lot of skinny people are skinny because they don't eat a whole lot (that's PART of why they are so skinny), and don't enjoy eating THAT much. So for them, bulking isn't that fun.

By the same token, a lot of fatter people eat a lot, and having to deny themselves of food sucks because they tend to enjoy eating more and have larger appetites.

 

[DanielBishop]

My parents will tell you that I eat more than anyone they've ever seen.... and I eat more than anyone I've ever seen too!

And I was never ripped.... I was just normal, if not a little fatter than around the stomach.

Yet it's still taken me 4-5 years of solid training to gain about 20lbs of muscle. And I still just look normal.

 

[gymtime]

Thanks for the responses everyone! Very interesting!

Coming from the fat side of things, I had no pity for my thin friends. Mostly because I only knew the pain of being fat and the frustration of trying to get in shape.

Then one day I called one of my buddies "skinny" one too many times and got bitched out pretty good. Never even occured to me that thinner folks had the same problem I did, just reversed.

So, the correct answer is, though shamefully overlooked in the poll, it's pretty much a bitch for both sides. However, I still believe society favors, if forced to chose, the too thin over the too fat. But as far as getting in shape, it's hard for everyone.

 

[lanky]

there is no right answer, both large boned and two dimensional figures(like myself) have a hard time. im 5'10 150 with extreemely low body fat. ill admit i wear an undershirt all the time to look buffer because my bony shoulders, and i bet fat beople like wearing long vertical stripes.this is what makes us human and the determination to max out our genetic potential. it would be a pretty dull world if everyone had the same bodytype. I work in the weight room at my college and see fat people go in and out all the time. fat and skinny alike it only matters if you try to get in shape. i say if you work out you should be proud of whatever you are ecto or endomorph.

 

[bonez]

i think im a meso. When i was serious about my diet i went from 127 pounds to 150 in 2 months then i stopped eating again and im about 147 now im sure once i get over being sick and i start training seriously again i'll get to 170-180 in 6 months tops.