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OK, this may seem weird. Bear with me. This seemed like the most logical place to ask this question.
Is it possible for your waist size to increase with age, even at the same body fat percentage?
I'm wondering because I'm only 8 pounds from my goal of 165lbs. The last time I weighed 165lbs. I had a 32" waist. Right now I have a 36" waist. I can't see me losing four inches anytime soon. Honestly, I don't think that I could even possibly get my waist smaller because there really isn't that much fat around my abdomen anymore. I'm at about 14% BF and the fat that is left seems to be in my trunk area, not just around my stomach, but around my chest and back, etc.
Now, I've seen a picture of me recently at that weight of 165lbs. when I was 19 years old and I wasn't carrying around the muscle mass that I am now. So, I wonder how my waist could have been so much smaller.
I'm not really all that concerned about the size of my waist. It's just something that I find puzzling. How could I at 19-20 years old have been 165lbs. with less muscle mass and yet a smaller waist? Now, I'm 34 and 173lbs. with more muscle mass and my waist is 4 inches larger? Have the bones in my pelvis grown? Is there somehow more hypertrophy in the hip and stomach muscles? I'm curious if anyone know anything about this.
You measured your waist at 19 and know it was 32"? Because if you are going by clothing sizes, I don't know that that's a good gauge, given how the sizing varies, and has changed, etc.
You measured your waist at 19 and know it was 32"? Because if you are going by clothing sizes, I don't know that that's a good gauge, given how the sizing varies, and has changed, etc.
No, I'm just going by clothes size. When I was 18 and got out of basic training from the Army I was 150lbs. (hard to believe) and wearing jeans with a 28" waist. Over the course of that first year in the service I put on 15 pounds and was wearing 32" jeans. I know that clothes sizes aren't super accurate, but it's the only thing that I have to go by for any past reference point.
I know that my waist is 36" now because I do measure. I also know that there is no way I could fit into 32" jeans, and I don't think I ever could no matter how much weight I lost.
Many men are still growing right into their early 20s. It is not unreasonable to assume that you did indeed grow after age 19.
In fact one of my good friends was 5'3" at graduation. He continued to grow until 25 and ended up 5'11. Of course growth is not just height but overall size as well. He was a bit of a late blooming puppy but not outside of the norm.
I had a guy friend that grew two inches after I met him, and he was 22 when we met.
I just think you have developed the muscle area different than you had at the time.
A 19 year old guy is not fully developed yet, their bodies continue to change well into their 20's . . .
you just had to get all growed up!
How long did you stay in that size pants? My Dad wore a 28 inch pant size when he got married at 19 y/o, but it did start changing within a couple years.
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Many men are still growing right into their early 20s. It is not unreasonable to assume that you did indeed grow after age 19.
In fact one of my good friends was 5'3" at graduation. He continued to grow until 25 and ended up 5'11. Of course growth is not just height but overall size as well. He was a bit of a late blooming puppy but not outside of the norm.
It's pretty unlikely that any growth past 19 would result in an increase in waist size of 4 inches. Your friend is by far the exception. And unless the op equally went from 5'3'' to 5' 11'' then I doubt it's the case.
What's more likely is that it's a difference in the amount of muscle and fat that you had. I'm 31 and I know at the same weight I don't have the same measurements I had when I was 20 either and I would say with 99% certainty that it's because I have more fat now then I did then. Most likely you have both more muscle and fat, making your waist bigger.
How long did you stay in that size pants? My Dad wore a 28 inch pant size when he got married at 19 y/o, but it did start changing within a couple years.
Come to think of it I was probably in 34" waisted jeans by the time I was 20-21 years old. I know that by the time I was 21 I was 180lbs. and in 34" jeans. I got back down to 168 by my 22nd birthday still in 34" jeans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gradstudent78
It's pretty unlikely that any growth past 19 would result in an increase in waist size of 4 inches. Your friend is by far the exception. And unless the op equally went from 5'3'' to 5' 11'' then I doubt it's the case.
No, I've pretty much been a hair shy of 5'10" since I was 18. I find it amazing that I was 150lbs. coming out of basic training. I was probably around 11% body fat at the time. I'm carrying around about 150lbs. of lean body mass now. So, for all of the huge fluctuations in weight (150-245) over my adult life my LBM has been pretty much in the 140-150lb. range the whole time.
When I was in Jr High I found (and therefore wore) my Dad's USN pants (navy blue wool 13 button uniform pants) from WWII - he was 18 or 19 probably when he wore them. So he at 18 and his daughter at 12 in same hips/waist pants. I'm pretty sure he wasn't going to fit in them again.
Waist size increase with age?
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