Ok.. you guys are starting to sound like my wife... "You just dont eat enough!!" You are right I would guess, but I used to be a 260 pound fat a## couch potato so I have a tendancy to take wieght loss to the extreme. I dropped those 20 or so ounds this year between January and February so that is a bit extreme I suppose. But I have stayed steady at ~177 this month by upping my cal intake a bit. I will follow your advice and raise it more into the 4000 range. I know my HR monitor tells me I am burning about 850/hr when i go out for tempo runs and I try to adjust my daily eating based on the amount of training I do on any given day. I see my Doc this afternoon, so lets see what she has to say. Thanks everyone for your input, I appreciate the input.

Hoop,

The connection between adipose tissue and immune function is pretty well documented. Search Pubmed/Medline for a selection of scientific papers on the subject.

There is a lack of studies on males with low body fat because they are hard to find. Anorexia research is common on women and the immune effects are well documented.

Richard

Look back a few posts at my disclaimer. If you could produce a male study on Anorexia and low body fat, a low BF % wouldn't be the cause of anorexia, but rather a symptom of the illness.

I'm looking back but I don't think I ever said anything about immune function other than it doesn't seem to be a problem for me and I would guess that's because of my eating habits.

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Ross Hoopingarner

I agree with Hoop. He didn't make any claims about BF % and immune function. Rather I brought up the topic that most people when they cut BF also cut their fat intake to low, primarily essential fats. We both agreed that we take in higher amounts of these "good" fats (Flax, Canola, fish, etc) and that these are essential to a healthy immune system. There are numerous studies that show essential fats improve immune function. You can visit Maffetones website www.mafgroup.com and read some of his articles related to this topic (studies are cited).

It appears to me that Ken could in fact take in more quality fats. He mentioned he takes one capsule at night with his vitamins and such. I personally take Flax morning and night and use 4-6 EFA capsules (Omega 3 fats) during the day with meals. There are a whole host of postive reasons to do so including immune function and reduction in imflammation to name a few.

BTW - I am 6'3" 195 at 6% BF. I have been this weight and BF % for 7-8 years. My weight fluctuates no more than 3-5 pounds plus/minus. The fluctuations are do to activity and intensity. I also place a huge, huge, huge commodity on protein intake. The higher the intensity the more protein I ingest. IMO Ken probably does not get enough protein in his diet and has lost lean tissue with his BW.

T2. I appreciate your input. But between the 6 meals I eat everyday I average about 150-180 grans of protien a day. Which is sufficient compared to what I have read. I will however take you advice and up my intake of essentials fattys. The capsule I take at night contains ALL the omega fats that have been found to be healthy. I will start slamming a few more of those a day.

The original post asked about being sick and body fat %.

There are no (few) studies on males with body fat below 3% because this is not a frequent occurrence. What I was pointing out is that studies on low body fat and ints effect on normal body functions are performed using anorexic women because there are enough available for a study. Anorexia leads to low body fat not the other way around. While menstrual effects probably do not occur in men, there is no reason to believe that other effects are not seen.

Additional body fat studies are done with rodents, mice, guinea pigs etc. Male and female have been used.



Please remember also that we are talking about extremely low body fat, there are many people walking around at 5% or 4%, getting much below this probably requires extreme circumstances i.e. anorexia

Ken - I hope you took my comments in the positive way I meant them. My intent is to offer some helpful advice. On that note think about this, if you are on a 3,000 calorie diet at 30% protein (I am more like 35-40%) you should get at least 225 grams of protein. 4,000 is around 300 grams. IMO at your size and activity level you need more protein in your diet.

You will thank yourself in the long run for increasing your essential fat intake (especially Omega 3's). The EFA formula that Maffetone sells is good stuff. Also, I would start supplementing Flax as well. You may want to check out his book Eating For Endurance as it discusses the relationship of fats and how properly balancing them in your diet does positive things for your health.

Good luck getting back to health...train smart!

Richard R wrote:
"The original post asked about being sick and body fat %. "


Hoop wrote:

However you were responding to my post and to me by name, so I assumed you were reffering to my information.

Richard R wrote:
"There are no (few) studies on males with body fat below 3% because this is not a frequent occurrence. What I was pointing out is that studies on low body fat and ints effect on normal body functions are performed using anorexic women because there are enough available for a study. Anorexia leads to low body fat not the other way around."

Hoop wrote:

So we agree. :)

Richard R wrote:
"While menstrual effects probably do not occur in men, there is no reason to believe that other effects are not seen. "


Hoop wrote:
And it could be equally stated that there is no reason to believe there are other ill effects. Couldn't it be that there are no studies because there is nothing of significance to study? It's like saying there are no specific studies that say the moon in not made of cheese, therfore the moon is made of cheese.

Richard R wrote:
"Please remember also that we are talking about extremely low body fat, there are many people walking around at 5% or 4%, getting much below this probably requires extreme circumstances i.e. anorexia "

Hoop wrote:

Again anorexia being the cause of the lowbady fat, not the other way around.

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Ross Hoopingarner