Help - people with low body fat % / who are lowering!

mkwongh

bump

erickirb

BTW, congrats to the 51lb's lost of the previous poster! Go you!

I am in a similar place: weight is fine, want to shift body composition to more muscle, less fat. More definition in my arms, please, less circumference in my hips!

Question #1, Measurement: how are you all measuring body fat? I did a calipers test and it seemed very estimated and subjective. I believe that the number was in the very rough range of accuracy, but not enough to be useful.

Question #2, Cardio: Where does cardio fit? Is anyone doing HIIT? Where can I find a good HIIT program to follow?

Question #3, Weigh training: What is really meant by "weight training?" I am doing strength training 3x week in an *kitten*-kicking 1-hour barre/boot camp class, but it mostly uses body weight resistance and 5-lb dumbells, and the high number of reps without rest achieve that point of exhaustion. Should we be lifting very heavy things too? What are we missing if we're just doing a bootcamp + HIIT?

Question #4, Diet: I eat net 1,240/day net of exercise, which MFP recommends for someone of my height and weight looking to maintain current weight. I also follow the basic Carb/Protein/Fat/Fiber balance (62 / 17 / 15 / 5%) recommended. Are you guys saying to increase protein, and reduce the sugars and white carbs in that carb #? One of my barre instructors scolded me for drinking a 16g whey protein shake after class once - she said I was going to damage my liver with too much protein.

Help! No idea why it's THIS HARD to shift the fat off my lower half. I'm thinking now that it's not because I need to do anything more hard core, I just need to be doing something a little differently.

#2 - Cardio is not necessary to drop body fat %, you can achieve the deficit from diet alone, no cardio required (cardio has other health benefits, but lowering BF% isn't one of them)

#3 - Best to lift progressively heavier weights in the 3-12 rep range to retain lean muscle while in a deficit (lower BF% at every weight along the journey than diet and or diet and cardio alone) higher than 15 reps is just endurance and will not reap the same benefits.

#4 - I would say not enough fat or protein, and that carb source has very little to do with it.

Jamie2007

Because if you see it on Google it must be correct; right? Wow people!!

Yeah 10% is way too low for a woman. Google it and you'll see what healthy body fat ranges are for your age and sex. For me I'm trying to get around 20-22% body fat. I've been doing insanity and watching what I eat. I'm pretty close at 23.6% so I figure I have to lose about 4 more pounds to get to where I need to be. I eat a lot of lean proteins.

selenametts

that's where I am too so I'll be keeping an eye on this post. Feel free to add me as well if you are a women

mhcoss

the person who was 10% bf is a man ffs.


Opie! I have lowered my BF over 6 months from 20+% to my current 11-12%. All it boils down to is maintaining a calorie deficit that is large enough to lose weight and lifting weights to preserve lean muscle mass. I've actually gained some strength through this process.

LongIsland27itl

Plug your info into the calculator @ IIFYM (google it) it'll tell you how much of everything to eat to get ripped

MzManiak

hi there:) first off, congrats! You're in a good place if that's your goal.

I'm working on this too, I'm at about 107lbs and floating somewhere around 10-15% body fat. I've been talking to a lot of the more experienced ladies on here, and they've been a fantastic resource. What they recommended to me is focusing more on protein intake, keeping sugar intake low, and implementing more weight training into workouts. I'm between 1700 and 1800 calories. I've been doing that for the last few weeks, and I'd like to think it's working! I'm doing Julian Michael's Ripped in 30 program right now 6 days a week, run regularly, and do basic weight training. There are a lot of good youtube tutorials on how to do the weight thing (I know I had no clue when I started).

Feel free to add me, and we can plow through this together :happy:

A body fat percentage of 10% is very unhealthy for a woman

I just don't want anyone to get ill
Anything under 20% body fat for a women is supposed to put her in danger of losing her fertility.

This is not something I made up, I heard it from countless resources and dieticians with degrees in this subject.

I have never in my life heard this! There are plenty of lean women who get pregnant! It must depend on their height or body build or something... I, myself, have always had around 15% and the trainers always told me it was fine. I've had 3 kids... I actually thought it was a bit too high since I have this tummy that just won't go away... I'm working on it though! Make it under 10 and I might believe you! Under 20?? Naw, I don't think so! lol

MercenaryNoetic26

I'm on MFP with the intention to lower my body fat. So VERY interested in responses.

jwdieter

I have never in my life heard this! There are plenty of lean women who get pregnant! It must depend on their height or body build or something... I, myself, have always had around 15% and the trainers always told me it was fine. I've had 3 kids... I actually thought it was a bit too high since I have this tummy that just won't go away... I'm working on it though! Make it under 10 and I might believe you! Under 20?? Naw, I don't think so! lol

There are a lot of lean and fit women with 20%+ body fat.

tackie8383

bump

toutmonpossible

hi there:) first off, congrats! You're in a good place if that's your goal.

I'm working on this too, I'm at about 107lbs and floating somewhere around 10-15% body fat. I've been talking to a lot of the more experienced ladies on here, and they've been a fantastic resource. What they recommended to me is focusing more on protein intake, keeping sugar intake low, and implementing more weight training into workouts. I'm between 1700 and 1800 calories. I've been doing that for the last few weeks, and I'd like to think it's working! I'm doing Julian Michael's Ripped in 30 program right now 6 days a week, run regularly, and do basic weight training. There are a lot of good youtube tutorials on how to do the weight thing (I know I had no clue when I started).

Feel free to add me, and we can plow through this together :happy:

You want to get lower than 10%? That's really low for a woman.

toutmonpossible

Anything under 20% body fat for a women is supposed to put her in danger of losing her fertility.

It's usually only under 10% when that becomes an issue, and of course not every woman is the same. Truth is, its extremely hard to get below 10% and stay there unless you're an elite athlete.

RobynLB83

Because if you see it on Google it must be correct; right? Wow people!!

Yeah 10% is way too low for a woman. Google it and you'll see what healthy body fat ranges are for your age and sex. For me I'm trying to get around 20-22% body fat. I've been doing insanity and watching what I eat. I'm pretty close at 23.6% so I figure I have to lose about 4 more pounds to get to where I need to be. I eat a lot of lean proteins.

You aren't providing much of an argument as to why other peoples arguments are wrong.
I ask you this. Do you really think its healthy for a woman to be 10% all the time? Do you think being 10% has any effect on hormones?

I think what is "too low" probably varies from person to person, and isn't based on the number as much as an individual's level of adaption. Our bodies are remarkably adaptable. Your bf is too low when it impedes your functioning, but some people can probably adapt and function perfectly well at lower levels than others. I have no support for this, but it's just a hunch based on the fact that people manage to live and reproduce even in periods of severe famine.

Jamie2007

Finally, some common sense!

Because if you see it on Google it must be correct; right? Wow people!!

Yeah 10% is way too low for a woman. Google it and you'll see what healthy body fat ranges are for your age and sex. For me I'm trying to get around 20-22% body fat. I've been doing insanity and watching what I eat. I'm pretty close at 23.6% so I figure I have to lose about 4 more pounds to get to where I need to be. I eat a lot of lean proteins.

You aren't providing much of an argument as to why other peoples arguments are wrong.
I ask you this. Do you really think its healthy for a woman to be 10% all the time? Do you think being 10% has any effect on hormones?

I think what is "too low" probably varies from person to person, and isn't based on the number as much as an individual's level of adaption. Our bodies are remarkably adaptable. Your bf is too low when it impedes your functioning, but some people can probably adapt and function perfectly well at lower levels than others. I have no support for this, but it's just a hunch based on the fact that people manage to live and reproduce even in periods of severe famine.

jacksonpt

Finally, some common sense!

Because if you see it on Google it must be correct; right? Wow people!!

Yeah 10% is way too low for a woman. Google it and you'll see what healthy body fat ranges are for your age and sex. For me I'm trying to get around 20-22% body fat. I've been doing insanity and watching what I eat. I'm pretty close at 23.6% so I figure I have to lose about 4 more pounds to get to where I need to be. I eat a lot of lean proteins.

You aren't providing much of an argument as to why other peoples arguments are wrong.
I ask you this. Do you really think its healthy for a woman to be 10% all the time? Do you think being 10% has any effect on hormones?

I think what is "too low" probably varies from person to person, and isn't based on the number as much as an individual's level of adaption. Our bodies are remarkably adaptable. Your bf is too low when it impedes your functioning, but some people can probably adapt and function perfectly well at lower levels than others. I have no support for this, but it's just a hunch based on the fact that people manage to live and reproduce even in periods of severe famine.

You still have provided no real answers. Just failed attempts at being condescending

Who are you talking about? Jamie's been pretty direct, but she hasn't been wrong. Robyn has been anything but condescending, and while I don't know the science, I tend to agree with her points.

CantStopWontStop92

^^ agreed. And quite frankly, what reason should either ladies be giving? They're both in killer shape, that's enough reason for me to take what they're saying into consideration:)

djeffreys10

Most people seriously understimate their bf percentage. I am curious what method the women on here who believe they are in the 10-12% range use to measure their body fat.

Joocey

Most people seriously understimate their bf percentage. I am curious what method the women on here who believe they are in the 10-12% range use to measure their body fat.

This is the sense I get as well. 10% is very, very low on a woman. Probably physiologically equivalent to something like 4-5% on a man.

90% of the time when someone claims their bodyfat is that low they are wrong every time.