I have 40% body fat, how do I change that?

myfitnespal22

Found out yesterday that I have 40% body fat...how do I change that? Through eating different foods, or through certain types of exercise? This is what I look like now

mccindy72

Eat less and lose weight.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here

jemhh

Eat in a caloric deficit. That means eat fewer calories than you burn. Set up your MFP profile accurately, choose a reasonable weight loss goal (in general I think that .5-1 pound is best for most women with less than 75 pounds to lose) and eat that. Weigh your food with a kitchen scale. Log it carefully. If you exercise, log the calories and eat at least half. Evaluate after a month if you should be eating more or less.

DeguelloTex

That's not 40% body fat, but you probably know that already.

tannibal_lecter

"Eat less and lose weight" does very little to change your body fat composition in my opinion. I'm in the same boat as you. I don't have a rolls and very little cellulite but I started with 41% body fat. My advice is this: lift heavy weights and eat a lot more protein than you were before with way less carbs. For you personally I think a focus on macros instead of calories might work better.

You can add me as a friend if you like.

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DeguelloTex

tannibal_lecter wrote: »

"Eat less and lose weight" does very little to change your body fat composition in my opinion. I'm in the same boat as you. I don't have a rolls and very little cellulite but I started with 41% body fat. My advice is this: lift heavy weights and eat a lot more protein than you were before with way less carbs. For you personally I think a focus on macros instead of calories might work better.

You can add me as a friend if you like.

Unless you are losing fat and muscle in the same ratio as your beginning ratio, of course it changes your body fat composition.

MakePeasNotWar

DeguelloTex wrote: »

That's not 40% body fat, but you probably know that already.

I was kinda wondering what method she had done, because to me that looks like 30-35% at the most. Maybe bioelectrical impedance, or calipers done by an amateur would give 40. My old Tanita was off by about 7 points.

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msf74

myfitnespal22 wrote: »

I came to the 40% body fat conclusion after doing an in body composition at the gym....I'd love to know which foods have high protein low carb. Before, I just ate stuff and I really don't know much about nutrition. And yes she said I don't have enough skeletal muscle mass, whatever that means...

I would ignore the reading then. It is next to useless in terms of accuracy.

You need a reasonable calorie deficit per day and some regular resistance training coupled with time, patience and consistency for good results.

Also if you need more skeletal muscle then your current method of eating is hugely counter productive.

brianpperkins

http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1575987-eating-disorder-resources

jemhh

It doesn't really matter what your bf% is. If you're overweight, you're overweight. If you can grab a handful of jiggliness, you have excess fat.

I don't believe that you got to 28 pounds overweight eating every other day for 1000 calories. How long have you been attempting this every other day thing? How tall are you? How much do you weigh?

MakePeasNotWar

myfitnespal22 wrote: »

So, it was the thing where you stand on the scale and then you grip the handlebars. Sorry I don't know the exact term.

That would be a bioelectrical impedance scale. They tend to be off, but they are generally off consistently so they are useful for progress, but not necessarily in terms of absolute numbers.

In order to lose fat and retain lean mass (which is how to reduce your body fat %), you need to eat at a moderate deficit, and get sufficient protein. CDC recommends 0.8g per kg bodyweight, but many studies have shown that during active weight loss, more is better. It wouldn't hurt to lift weights, as it will help you retain muscle, and if you do need to put on muscle, getting stronger while you lose will put you in a good position to do a bulk (where you eat slightly above maintenance and lift to gain muscle) afterward.

msf74

Incidentally if you are trying to do ADF the idea is not to fast one day, and then eat a tiny amount the next but rather eat to at least your maintenance level of calories if not more.

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jgnatca

That is not 40% body fat; no way. That's more than a third of your body.

You need to be eating a lot more.

I think you can get to a lovely figure through exercise alone.

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jgnatca

Serious health complications from what? I'm guessing from your photo that you are well within normal weight range. Eating less than 1,200 calories a day however can have serious health problems. I would never return to a personal trainer who scared me. Scared people make rash decisions and are not thinking rationally.

jemhh

You are within your healthy weight range based on BMI but you could lose some fat. I would suggest eating at or slightly (maybe 250 cals) below maintenance while lifting weights. Do some cardio if you'd like the health benefits but you don't have to go crazy with it.

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msf74

myfitnespal22 wrote: »

msf74 wrote: »

Incidentally if you are trying to do ADF the idea is not to fast one day, and then eat a tiny amount the next but rather eat to at least your maintenance level of calories if not more.

What's ADF?

Alternate Day Fasting (which is more applicable to people who have a lot more to lose than you do.)

You are going to be fine.

Plug your stats into MFP.
Select a weight loss goal of 1lb per week at most (I would suggest 0.5lb per week would be more reasonable.)
Eat to the recommended calorie goal each day trying to eat a bit more fruit, vegetables and lean meat if you can.
Do some kind of resistance training that you like 3 times a week.
Reassess your results every 4 weeks and tweak as necessary.
Win

DeguelloTex

myfitnespal22 wrote: »

Haha Ignata, yes, maybe it's a conspiracy to scare us >< Yeah, my BMI is normal, but she said my body fat is obese...

Makes no sense, except based on a faulty body fat analysis.

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Chabela53

myfitnespal22 wrote: »

The personal trainer scared me...she said that I'm going to have serious health complications

Did she/he ask you to join for the "$ saving 5 year plan".? 40%..that is outrageous. You should be eating every day you need fuel to burn.

amusedmonkey

You're smack in the middle of normal BMI. Instead of doing what you have been doing for the last week (which will degrade your muscles further and you need reverse the process right away), eat at a small surplus, which means eat enough food to gain a tiny bit of weight, while eating enough protein and starting a heavy lifting program. You may want to ask people who have experience in bulking/cutting cycles. It gets results much faster than recomp (eating at maintenance) and is less affected by error since you are a beginner.

MakePeasNotWar

myfitnespal22 wrote: »

Haha Ignata, yes, maybe it's a conspiracy to scare us >< Yeah, my BMI is normal, but she said my body fat is obese...

It's not common, but it's possible. I was 32% body fat (obese) at a 23BMI years ago before I started doing Muay Thai. I'm almost there again, due to an illness that causes muscle wasting, even with adequate protein and strength training.

The good news is that the risks that come with obesity (normal weight obesity and regular obesity) tend to happen over years, not weeks or months. So if you start losing body fat now, you don't have anything to worry about. There is no emergency or need to do it quickly, just take your time and do it in a healthy way. FYI, when I started to train, my body fat dropped to the high 20's (normal) within about 6 months, low 20's (fitness) in a year or so. Eventually I got it down to 17% last year while cutting for a tournament, so it is possible and not overly difficult to lose the fat, no matter where you start.

whmscll

myfitnespal22 wrote: »

I came to the 40% body fat conclusion after doing an in body composition at the gym....I'd love to know which foods have high protein low carb. Before, I just ate stuff and I really don't know much about nutrition. And yes she said I don't have enough skeletal muscle mass, whatever that means...

To simplify, your body weight is made up of muscle and fat (it's more complex than that, but this is the basics in a nutshell). When you severely restrict calories to lose weight, your body not only burns fat for energy, it burns muscle. So you can end up being a normal weight but a high percentage of body fat, with not enough muscle. To combat this you must not restrict calories too severely (this is why MFP won't let you go below 1200 calories a day), get enough protein, and, ideally, do strength training/lift weights.

To reduce bodyfat and build muscle, lift weights. If you are still losing weight and eating at a deficit you will not be able to build muscle, but if you lift weights you will keep the muscle you have (and strengthen it). Then, when you are at the weight you want, lifting weights and eating at maintenance calories will build muscle.