Losing BF % vs Losing Pounds

arains89

So I am trying to make a goal for myself. I really would like to get myself down to 18-20% BF. I am currently 29% at 153 lb 5'6" so my LBM is about 110lbs. I don't know how what a realistic goal should be for myself. What should I realistically expect as a time frame to drop about 10% BF? I currently have a goal of about a pound a week but I am not sure how that translates in respect to losing BF. I may be over thinking this. Any advice would help. Thanks!

arains89

Bump!

footiechick82

Go to this thread, it basically talks about the same thing:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1021935-defined-abs

I just posted in there.

and yes it is possible. I'm 5'7 and I have 17.5% (or so) bodyfat.

kathleennf

Dropping BF% WITHOUT losing weight is hard, with losing weight it's somewhat easier. I started out at roughly your weight (I am 5'8") and ended up on MFP after trial and error with other things. MFP has been great for this.

Having said that- if you want to primarily drop BF% - IMO you need to do two things: lose weight SLOWLY, and do some kind of weight training or strength training exercises. These will help you maintain muscle and lose fat. I think 1/2-1lb per week is probably not a bad start. Try that for about 4-6 weeks and see what happens to both your weight and your %BF.

revert510

Hi Arains -

I'm no expert, so take this as what it's worth (free advice!). Reducing body fat requires a combination of cardio and strength training, together with adequate diet to support your body's nutrition needs. Your results will also depend to a certain extent on what you're already doing (sedentary v. active).

If you are sedentary and don't work out all that often, ease into it by training cardio 2-3 times a week with some strength training 2-3 times as well, 30 minutes of cardio and 15-20 minutes of strength training. You can alternate days or do both in the same day and give yourself some rest in between. Your body needs rest to adapt, so trying to do too much will make it harder to get the results you're after. Adidas miCoach has some good training programs, plus it's free, so you might try signing up and trying that out if you haven't already.

If you are already fairly active, then I'd suggest you take a look at your nutritional intake and consider adding more strength training to your workout regimen. Losing body fat isn't always a factor of reducing calories, frequently it's shifting from carbs to lean proteins for your calorie needs. An active body needs more nutrition than a sedentary one, and the balance is very individual, but as a general rule, I'd suggest keeping carbs to less than 50% of your total intake and trying to cut out as much refined sugar as you can.

So based on all of those assumptions, 1-3 pounds a week is typical. If you're only a few pounds from your goal weight you don't need to drop a lot of extra weight, it's really your body composition you're trying to change, and that can be independent of weight. Also remember that if you're doing some strength training, muscle mass weighs more, so don't be discouraged if your weight doesn't change, if you're replacing fat tissue with muscle tissue, you're headed the right direction.

May be a whole lot more than you were looking for, but hope it helps, and good luck with your goal.

arains89

Hi Arains -

I'm no expert, so take this as what it's worth (free advice!). Reducing body fat requires a combination of cardio and strength training, together with adequate diet to support your body's nutrition needs. Your results will also depend to a certain extent on what you're already doing (sedentary v. active).

If you are sedentary and don't work out all that often, ease into it by training cardio 2-3 times a week with some strength training 2-3 times as well, 30 minutes of cardio and 15-20 minutes of strength training. You can alternate days or do both in the same day and give yourself some rest in between. Your body needs rest to adapt, so trying to do too much will make it harder to get the results you're after. Adidas miCoach has some good training programs, plus it's free, so you might try signing up and trying that out if you haven't already.

If you are already fairly active, then I'd suggest you take a look at your nutritional intake and consider adding more strength training to your workout regimen. Losing body fat isn't always a factor of reducing calories, frequently it's shifting from carbs to lean proteins for your calorie needs. An active body needs more nutrition than a sedentary one, and the balance is very individual, but as a general rule, I'd suggest keeping carbs to less than 50% of your total intake and trying to cut out as much refined sugar as you can.

So based on all of those assumptions, 1-3 pounds a week is typical. If you're only a few pounds from your goal weight you don't need to drop a lot of extra weight, it's really your body composition you're trying to change, and that can be independent of weight. Also remember that if you're doing some strength training, muscle mass weighs more, so don't be discouraged if your weight doesn't change, if you're replacing fat tissue with muscle tissue, you're headed the right direction.

May be a whole lot more than you were looking for, but hope it helps, and good luck with your goal.

It does thank you! I am very active I work out daily but I will be honest I do a lot more cardio and strength train only about twice a week for 30 mins. I am upping that to 3 days per week for 60 mins come two weeks from now after I complete my 5K. I do still plan to lose some pounds as well but I want to focus more on BF % then anything else. I guess I was wondering a time frame to expect significant bf% drop. When I lose a pound can I expect that I lost a full pound of fat and maintained the same LBM? Or is the only way to tell just keep measuring and be patient?