Experienced, but underweight?

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi Team, I’m a 34 y/o male family doc - previously a football/rugby player, intentionally slimmed down via nutrition and endurance exercise after playing in college, and up until approx 2 years ago did a variety of inconsistent mostly bodyweight programming. I’ve been consistently weight training over the past 2 years, and I also train BJJ. Current stats are:
BW 160lb
Waist circ 32.5"
Chest 41"
Thigh 22"
BackSquat 310lb
DL 320lb
Bench approx 185lb
I’m pretty lean in appearance, though I’ve never really had significantly visible abs.

I’m predominantly plant-based when it comes to nutrition, with addition of seafood and occasional eggs. My current goal is to increase muscle mass - I don’t feel as though I have adequate joint protection, nor an adequate “muscle bank” built up for the inevitable muscle loss with future aging. Based on data above, do you guys agree that I’m generally “underweight,” and that caloric surplus with appropriate protein quantity is warranted in this case? I tend to be wary of fat gain, due to genetic heart disease bullets (thanks Dad!) and being a “recovering chubby kid.” Thanks for your thoughts - I should feel comfortable with this stuff as a doc, but having objective input is helpful. Love your content, thanks guys.

2

I don’t think you’re necessarily underweight from a health or “life” standpoint, but for barbell sports…sure.

I’m not sure how tall you are, but a WC of 32.5" at 160lbs and a nearly 2x BW squat doesn’t scream underweight to me. If you wanted to gain slowly over a few months, that’d be fine…but you certainly don’t need to.

3

Thanks Doc. I’m 5’ 10 1/2”. All of that makes sense.

4

Yep, I think this is mostly a personal preference kind of thing here :slight_smile: