Can I decrease body fat percentage using diet and cardio only?

supermysza

Or do you need to add muscle training to get significant results?

Edit: I'm female and currently at around 25%, I want to go down to about 21%

Hornsby

Yes, you can reduce your body fat percentage with just cardio and diet and yes you can get significant results. I wouldn't say they are optimal results however, but that is a preference thing.

jemhh

Yes, you can decrease body fat percentage that way. Strength training will help you to keep your muscle (or at least more of it) and maximize the amount of fat that is lost, which will make it easier to decrease your body fat percentage though.

tomatoey

Strength train if you want to look good at the end of it.

mperrott2205

Being in a caloric deficit reduces your body fat. Cardio simply allows you to eat more and become healthier. Weight Training makes you aesthetically pleasing and healthier still.

jtabiolo

defmut3 wrote: »

Being in a caloric deficit reduces your body fat. Cardio simply allows you to eat more and become healthier. Weight Training makes you aesthetically pleasing and healthier still.

Being in a caloric deficit reduces your weight. You can lose body fat by just doing cardio and diet but not as significant as adding strength/weight training. If you just do diet and cardio only, you will lose muscle and you will just be weak. You burn more calories doing strength/weight training anyways. IMO I don't do any cardio and I can still lose the weight but my focus is losing body fat. Just try to implement strength/weight training to your activity. Cardio is good for overall health. "Cardio simply allows you to eat more and be healthier" lol. If your trying to lose weight/body fat, why would you even eat more? And healthier??? Doesn't make any sense.

pmm3437

Yes, but you may end up skinny fat.

Keeping your protein intake up and doing a couple days a week of strength training/toning will help maintain and define muscle mass, which is generally considered more attractive. The higher muscle mass will also help your BMR.

Graceious1

I'm all for adding strength training in there, especially if you want to look shapely.

MeanderingMammal

N=1 study here, but yes. I reduced my body fat percentage by a third in deficit and running, a lot.

The weight bearing aspect plays a part.

Notwithstanding that, some resistance training of some kind will certainly help. Needn't be throwing weights around, bodyweight can be pretty effective.